Most people who bet, especially on football, will know the feeling of one team letting them down in a multi-selection accumulator bet on a Saturday afternoon.

You check the scores and find you’re sitting pretty with seven out of eight selections winning and the last drawing 0-0 but in total command in-terms of possession and chances created. There’s five minutes left, and you feel confident the eighth team will score to give you a nice win. But, disaster strikes as the opposition break away and go 1-0 up. Your hopes and dreams are shattered and another acca bites the dust.

Some online bookmakers have decided to soften the blow when that happens by offering ‘Acca Insurance’.

Usually, this is offered on accumulator bets of five or more selections that meet minimum odds and other requirements. Then, if one selection lets you down, you receive your stake money back, up to a certain amount and usually as a free bet.

Football is the main sport acca insurance covers, although sites like William Hill offer it across all sports.

Again, this is a popular promotion used mainly for football bets but that is offered across all sports by some bookmakers.

It basically boosts the odds on a multi-selection accumulator bet, giving you the potential of higher winnings and a bigger profit.

Most acca boosts are used with the site making the selections and increasing the price.

For example, SkyBet do an enhanced accumulator promotion where they select three teams and raise the odds. These boosts do usually include a team who you may not have backed in normal circumstances, along with two big favourites, but the boosted odds can certainly be enticing. Sometimes, the odds are even doubled.

Another form of accumulator boost is a percentage bonus, which is added to your acca if you meet certain requirements.

Coral offer 10% extra winnings, up to £/€100 and paid as a free bet, for accumulator bets of four or more selections and at odds greater than 6/4 (2.50).

This is a pretty simple promotion to explain, with odds for certain big sporting events boosted to encourage more people to place a bet.

Sometimes, this boost will be on an outsider and give punters who like to back the underdog a chance of bigger rewards for their bigger risk.

However, most boosted odds bets will be on the favourite. This is in an effort to make them more appealing to punters.

Sites like Ladbrokes will allow all customers a price boost on one bet of their choice every day, with the boosted odds decided at the time of placing the bet.

Others will offer boosts on pre-decided selections. For example, a horse that’s priced at 1/1 (2.00) may be boosted to 11/8 (2.38). The bigger odds are more appealing, and more people will bet on this selection.

Always read between the lines with odds boost promotions. Some will only be offered to new customers, while others may have several requirements that need to be met in order to take advantage of it.

Everyone loves being given something for free, and in betting free bets are used to reward loyal customers and to entice back customers who have previously used the site.

Usually, sites will have a ‘Free Bet Club’ where customers must wager a certain amount during the week to earn their free bet for the following week.

An example of this is customers who bet £/€25 between a Monday and Sunday will receive a £/€5 free bet the following Monday.

Most of these free bet clubs will have certain requirements which must be met. For example, bets in which the customer cashes-out are not included and selections may have to be greater than certain odds..

Another way betting sites use free bets is to entice customers back, by e-mailing or texting a free bet sporadically to old customers who haven’t used the site for a while.

Another popular promotion offered by many online bookmakers is the risk-free bet, which usually involves punters receiving their money back if their bet loses.

This is mainly used for big horse racing meetings, such as the Cheltenham Festival or Aintree Grand National meeting. A certain race is selected and all punters who place a bet on the race will receive their stake back, up to a certain amount, if their horse loses.

It’s usually used on the first race of the day and money-back is paid as a free bet, which can then be used for the next race.

Some sites offer risk-free acca bets, with the bookmaker making the selections and all losing punters receiving their stake, or a percentage of, in free bets.

Money-back works in pretty much the same way as the risk-free bet promotion, but there is risk involved.

For example, this may be offered to all customers who place a win bet on the horse that finishes second, or punters who back a player to score the first goal and they score the second.

It just gives customers an extra incentive to place a bet and reduces the risk involved.

There are sites out there that compare odds for each sporting event and make it possible for customers to choose an online bookmaker based on who provides the best odds.

However, there are also betting sites that will offer customers best odds guaranteed regardless of what price their selection is when they place their bets.

For example, a customer may back a horse at odds of 15/8 (2.86) but the odds drift out and it wins at 85/40 (3.12). Some sites will pay the customer based on the odds when the bet was placed.

Sites offering best odds guaranteed will pay the higher price, regardless of whether that is the odds at time of placing the bet or the starting price of the selection.

You can find full list of bookies with Best Odds Guaranteed here.

This means customers who like to place their bets early don’t lose out if the market changes.

Something more familiar with online casino or poker customers, but becoming more widespread with sports betting operators, is a reload bonus.

Basically, a customer depositing funds into their online casino or poker account is called reloading.  A reload bonus is offered to loyal customers as a way of thanking them for their custom, as well as a way of preventing them going elsewhere.

After a qualifying period, customers who are opted in to the bonus will receive an extra amount as bonus funds every time they deposit cash, or reload, during the promotional period.

Reload bonuses can be as small as 5% but have been known to reach around 150% for the most loyal, and biggest spending, customers. This is a pre-set percentage and there will be requirements that need to be met before the bonus is applicable.

At the minimum of 5% mentioned above, a customer depositing £/€100 would receive an extra £/€5. At the highest, that same deposit would earn the customer an extra £/€150 on top of their initial £/€100.

However, regardless of the size of the reload bonus, it’s a popular bonus as it gives loyal customers something for nothing and shows appreciation for their custom.

You can find full list of bookies with Reload Bonuses on dedicated page.

The world of online betting is an extremely competitive market and every company must find different ways to entice and retain customers. One way they do this is by offering betting promotions, which can range from price boosts for certain big sporting events to money back offers.

Betting promotions are different to welcome bonuses, as they are generally offered to all customers.

A welcome bonus is usually a one-time offer only available on sign up of a new account, designed to entice new customers. Promotions are an on-going thing, used as a customer retention tool, with some companies offering them daily or for every bet placed in some circumstances.

Obviously, different betting sites will offer different promotions and customers must find the one(s) that best suit their requirements. People who only bet on football will find no good in an each-way boost for a major horse race or boosted odds to win the next set in a game of tennis.

But, most betting companies will provide promotions across a number of different sports and for pretty much every major sporting event. So, there’s usually something for everyone.

Betting promotions will vary from one online bookmaker to the next, with some offering unique price boosts and others offering weekly free bet clubs.

With every company trying to outdo the others, promotions will regularly change. However, here’s a list of the most popular betting promotions you will find at the biggest and most well-known online bookmakers.

This is a promotion mainly used for football and aimed at those customers who bet in-play or use the cash-out facility.

It’s used for the betting site to save a bit of money but rewards the customer in the process, so it’s a win-win situation.

The way it works is simple. Customers may have the chance of boosted winnings every time they cash-out.

So, let’s say a customer has an accumulator bet which will pay £/€250 if it wins. With ten minutes left, all the teams are winning and the cash -out value of this bet is £/€175.

If the customer cashes-out, they risk winning £/€75 less than they would. However, if they let the bet run and a team concedes a late equaliser, they will win nothing.

Cashing out seems a good idea, and the chance of a boost makes it even more enticing. So, the customer cashes out and receives a boost of £/€25. They win a little extra to what their cash-out value was, but the bookmaker saves £/€50 from what they would have had to pay if the bet was left to run and still won.

Obviously, this isn’t always the case as the boost will be random and not available for every bet cashed out.

Most online betting sites will offer competitions and prize draws during major sporting events, such as the football World Cup or Six Nations rugby.

It will often work by offering customers the chance to win tickets into a prize draw when they meet certain wagering requirements. For example, every £/€25 staked will earn one ticket into the draw.

The more a customer stakes, the more tickets to the prize draw they receive and the more chance they have of winning. But, as the draw will be random, everyone who qualifies for a ticket during the promotion will have the chance of winning.

The prize(s) offered can range from free bets and cash prizes, to tickets for big sporting events.