Free IA Bets: Online Bonuses and Promo Codes from Sportsbooks
Free IA bets and bonuses are now easier to take advantage of than ever before. Iowa sportsbooks were set free when the state legalized online sports betting in Iowa in 2019, but if you’d wanted to register with an online operator at any time before the end of 2020, you needed to physically visit a land-based casino and sign up in person. Fortunately, that requirement was lifted in January 2021, and you can now claim free bets and bonuses directly from online sportsbooks operating in the Hawkeye state.
In this article, we will tell you how to do exactly that. We’ll explain what kind of bonuses are available and how each one works. We’ll also showcase the free bets and bonuses that can be claimed right now so that you can help yourself and start enjoying them without delay.
You'll soon see that there are quite a few free bets and bonuses that are being offered by online sportsbooks in the state of Indiana that makes online betting in the USA more attractive. These all have potential benefits for you as a bettor, and the exact benefits that you can enjoy will depend largely on the type of free bet or bonus that you claim. We will talk about each of the main bonus types that are available a little later, but for now, we can summarize the two most common ones as follows:
IA free bets are given to you for free by an Iowa online sportsbook as a reward for taking a particular action. That action is often registering for a new account. When you have received a free bet you can use it to wager on your choice of event, and if the bet wins, you will keep the profit but not the free bet stake. The benefit here, then, is a chance to make a profitable wager without risking any of your own money.
IA risk-free bets sound very similar to the free bets mentioned a moment ago, but they are actually very different. With a risk-free bet, you will need to place a wager with your own money, and the sportsbook will simply cover the risk by promising to compensate you if your bet loses. The compensation will be given in the form of betting credits that you can use to make subsequent bets with the sportsbook, and there will be a maximum limit on the value of those credits. The key benefit here is that you will have a chance of winning your wager as usual, but the sportsbook will refund your stake if it happens to lose.
When you come to explore the free bets and bonuses that are available in Iowa, you will notice that some will refer to promo codes or bonus codes. In those cases, you will need to enter a valid promo code when opening your account or making a deposit in order to activate the bonus that it signifies. Other operators won't require a promo code to be used but will issue the bonus automatically.
The table below shows the various free bets and bonuses that you can claim right now in the Hawkeye state. Where a promo code is needed to claim the bonus described, that is also provided.
All of the online sportsbooks that operate legally in the state are very tightly regulated by the Iowa Gaming Association, so you can bet with any of them with complete peace of mind. But if you want to join just one or two, which ones should you pick? The following notes might help you to decide, particularly if you also follow the links provided and read our full reviews of the sportsbooks mentioned.
BetMGM Iowa
The MGM roaring lion has long been famous in the entertainment industry, and with the BetMGM sportsbook in Iowa, you'll have access to all the sports betting entertainment you could ever want. This operator is making itself easy to like by offering new bettors who use the promo code HOWTOBETMGM a risk-free bet with a maximum value of $600.
BetRivers Iowa is a very popular sportsbook, and you may wonder why when you see that its bonus looks quite a bit smaller than those available from many of its competitors. The reason for its popularity is that the bonus being offered (100% of your first deposit, up to $250) only needs to be wagered once. After that, you can withdraw it as easily as you can withdraw your own cash.
You only need to say the name Caesars and most people immediately think of the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas. Online casino gaming isn't yet legal in the state of Iowa, but this sportsbook certainly lets you enjoy your sports betting in style. That’s why you should use the Caesars/ William Hill promo code Iowa offers and start a betting adventure. This company also proposes the biggest risk-free bet around for new bettors of up to $5,000.
Having made its name in the world of Daily Fantasy Sports, DraftKings is now even more famous for being a superb online sportsbook. You can bet on almost any sport you care to mention here, and when you make your first deposit you'll get a 20% bonus that could be worth up to a maximum of $1,000. No DraftKings Iowa promo code is needed.
Like DraftKings, FanDuel also began as a Daily Fantasy Sports company before transitioning into the world of online sports betting. This online sportsbook has plenty to offer bettors in Iowa, not least of which is a great first deposit bonus that has a maximum value of $1,000. And you won't even need a promo code to take advantage of the offer.
PointsBet is becoming very popular among sports bettors in the United States, which isn't at all bad for a company that was originally founded in Australia. The big draw here is the ability to bet using the Points Betting method as well as the more straightforward approach. A 100% deposit bonus of up to $250 is also a pretty good selling point.
Unibet Iowa
Whereas PointsBet got started in Australia, Unibet was founded in Europe. It is now very successful here in the US as well, but it retains its European style and perspective and offers a wide range of betting markets on sporting events around the world. New bettors who want to explore this sportsbook for themselves can sign up and get a risk-free bet bonus worth up to $500.
Earlier in this article, we explained the benefits of free bets and bonuses from the perspective of you as a sports bettor. But what are the benefits for the legal sportsbooks that offer them in the first place? Well, there are actually a couple of them.
The first benefit of giving away free bets and bonuses, as far as the sportsbook is concerned, is that such offers do a great job of attracting new clients. All sports bettors are keen to take advantage of anything that has the potential to enhance their bankroll, and so they respond very well to free bets and bonuses. The sportsbook can therefore attract a steady stream of new customers by making such offers available.
A second benefit of providing free bets and bonuses is that doing so helps the sportsbook to remain competitive with others that do the same. If only one or two operators were to offer bonuses, the ones that don't would soon lose favor with customers. Offering bonuses, therefore, helps a sportsbook to have a fighting chance of being one of the winners in what is becoming an increasingly competitive marketplace, but one that’s also attracting huge profits.
Iowa Online Sportsbook Bonus Types and How They Work
Online sportsbooks are always coming up with new types of bonus offers to try and set themselves apart from their rivals, but there are some types that will always be around in one form or another. For that reason, we will now take a look at some of the most popular bonus types that you can expect to encounter so that you will know exactly what each one offers.
Free Iowa Bets
As far as simplicity is concerned, bonuses don't come any better than the free bet. Here the sportsbook will give you a betting credit (or possibly even more than one) for you to use as you please. If the wager wins, you get to keep the profit from it, but not the stake used to place it.
This type of bonus is usually given when you perform a relatively simple action, such as opening an account with the sportsbook in question. Because you don't have to do very much to qualify for this kind of incentive, its value will usually be quite modest – anything from $5 to $25 is fairly common.
Risk-Free Iowa Bets
Risk-free bets tend to have a higher value than their free bet cousins (as much as $1,000 in some cases) and that's because you need to do more to receive them. As well as signing up for an account, you will also need to make a deposit of your own money and use those funds to make your first wager. Should your first bet win, you get to keep the winnings exactly as you normally would. However, if your first bet loses, the risk-free bonus will kick in and the sportsbook will refund you in the form of free bet credits.
Sign-Up Bonus
Any bonus that only requires you to sign up for a new account to claim it can also be referred to in generic terms as a sign-up bonus. These often have modest values, so are seldom valued at more than $25, but because you have to do so little to claim them, they are still well worth claiming when you see them.
Deposit Bonus
The term deposit bonus refers to any bonus that needs you to make a deposit in order to claim it. This is technically a risk-free bet because you need to make your bet with your own deposited funds. However, when most people talk about a deposit bonus they are usually talking about one that is given just for making a deposit.
For example, a sportsbook could give you a 100% deposit bonus of up to $250. In that case, when you make a deposit, the sportsbook will match it dollar-for-dollar up to the maximum of $250, even before you have placed a wager with it.
No Deposit Bonus
No deposit bonuses are an often used incentive by online gambling sites to attract you to their venues and to make you stay. The main benefit is that you won’t need to deposit any of your own money in order to participate in different wagers and games. Everyone’s a winner here.
Bet & Get Bonus
A Bet & Get bonus is offered to encourage you to make a deposit and place a wager of a fairly modest value in order to receive a reward of an often higher value. You'll come across Bet & Get offers like, 'Bet $10 and Get $50 Free' or, 'Get $100 When You Bet $20'.
The 'free money' that can be claimed by fulfilling the requirements of a Bet & Get Bonus is usually awarded in the form of betting credits. You can use those credits to make wagers, but you probably won't be able to withdraw them as cash until you have bet them a certain number of times, as detailed in the Terms and Conditions relating to the offer.
Odds Boost
Sometimes a sportsbook will offer an odds boost to reward bettors for making a bet in a particular betting market. When they do this, the operator will boost the odds available in that event so that anyone who places a wager and wins will get a bigger payoff than they would have enjoyed otherwise.
Odds boost promotions are most common in headline events, such as the Super Bowl, but they can also be offered for other events, as the sportsbook prefers. If you had intended to bet on the featured event anyway, taking advantage of an odds boost promotion as you do so almost always makes sense.
Refunds/Bonus Back
A refunds bonus is another one that can be used to highlight a particular event. With this type of bonus, you will usually be told that you have a chance of being refunded if your bet in the featured market does well but still fails to win. For example, you might be told that your wager on a soccer match will be refunded if your chosen team is leading at half-time but fails to win at full-time. Again, these promotions are worth your attention if you were already intending to bet on the highlighted event.
VIP/ Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs and VIP schemes are more common at online casinos and poker rooms than at online sportsbooks, but there are a few sports betting operators that offer them. The idea behind them is simple. Every time you place a wager with the sportsbook you will earn points for doing so. Typically, the more you bet, the more points you will earn. The points you earn will be collected over time and you can then use them to buy rewards such as special bonus deals or even free betting credits.
Refer-a-Friend
All businesses want to have as many customers as possible, and sportsbooks are no exception. A refer-a-friend bonus is offered by many operators to bettors who are willing to help them by recommending their sportsbook to one or more people. When the person in question starts betting with the sportsbook, you'll get a bonus for making the recommendation. Your friend will also be welcomed with their own bonus, too, so everyone wins.
Who Can Claim Free Iowa Bets and Bonuses
While free bets and bonuses can be claimed by a huge percentage of people in the state of Iowa, they aren't available to absolutely everyone on top of the fact that there aren't any legit online casinos to play in at the moment. That's because Iowa has strict laws in place about what types of online gambling are permitted, who can participate in online sports betting, and where. The most important points you need to be aware of are as follows:
You can only bet at online sportsbooks in Iowa if you are 21 or older.
You must be physically located in the state of Iowa when betting.
You may only bet at online sportsbooks that are licensed to operate in Iowa.
Free Iowa Bets & Bonus Codes FAQ
Do I always need promo codes for Iowa free bets and bonuses?
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No. Some sportsbooks will activate their bonus offers automatically, just as soon as you have signed up or made a deposit. But many will ask for a promo code, so in those cases, you will need to enter a valid code to claim the bonus associated with it.
Are promo codes valid in all states?
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Some promo codes may be the same in different states, but it is just as common for promo codes to vary from state to state. For that reason, you should always check that a promo code is valid in Iowa before using it.
Where can I find Iowa free bets and bonus codes?
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Online sportsbooks will advertise their free bets and bonus codes on their websites, so you could get into the habit of checking every sportsbook website on a regular basis. If all of that sounds like too much hard work, you'll be pleased to hear that we've already done it for you, and all current free bets and bonus codes are provided right here on this page. We even have some exclusive promo codes that you won't find anywhere else!
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