If you like football it’s virtually impossible to imagine why someone might not like it. We’ve all watched 0-0 draws that have been utterly captivating, with tremendous defensive performances coupled with superb saves and unbelievable misses. Yet there really are some people out there that don’t get football. They don’t understand how a game can last for an hour and a half, feature no goals but at the end of the 90 minutes there not be a winner.
As a supporter, it’s perhaps easier to understand that mindset when both teams score goals but the game still not be settled. Perhaps the most frustrating thing in the world of sport is seeing your team’s attackers do their job and put the ball into the back of the net, only for the defenders to let them down and concede. It’s even more frustrating and annoying when you’ve got money on the game and one of the goals ruins your bet. Thankfully, 21Bet know your pain…
What’s the Offer About?
21Bet’s promotion is simplistic enough in its approach. If you place a First Goalscorer or Correct Score bet through the company and the match that you’re betting on ends in a score draw then you’ll get your stake back as a free bet.
This is an offer that 21Bet have run in the past, with the big difference this time around being that they’ve opened it up to additional competitions and leagues. These are:
- The Premier League
- The Sky Bet Championship
- La Liga
- The Champions League
- The Europa League
What Do You Need to Know?
There are a number of things to bear in mind with this offer, not least of which is that the maximum bet amount that will be refunded as a free bet is £25. That doesn’t mean that you can’t place a larger wager, just that you’ll only receive £25 of it back as a free bet token.
If you place numerous First Goalscorer or Correct Score bets on a match then you’ll find that it will only be the first one that counts towards the offer. Any other bets that you place won’t count towards the deal, regardless of whether the first bet you placed then goes on to be a winning or losing bet.
You need to make sure that you’ve placed your bet ahead of the match’s kick-off, thanks to the fact that In-Play bets won’t qualify for a refund. You’ll also have to place Win singles if you want to qualify – other bet types aren’t valid for this promotion. Neither will bets that are price boosted or have enhanced odds for any reason.
Don’t place your bet with any previously awarded free bet tokens. If you do then they won’t be counted towards the offer. You’ll also find that only one free bet will be awarded to each customer per calendar day.
How Does the Free Bet Work?
Provided that your bet meets the qualifying criteria I’ve outlined above, you’ll receive your refund as a free bet by 10am the morning following the match that you bet on. Obviously that will only be the case if your bet was a losing one and it was placed on either the Correct Score or First Goalscorer markets in any game taking place within the competitions outlined earlier.
Your free bet token will be valid for seven days and can be used on any sportsbook market. The only restriction placed on your free bet is that it must be used on a selection with maximum odds of 6/1 (7.00). If your bet is victorious then you’ll receive the winnings as cash, but the free bet stake won’t be returned to you.
Is This a Good Deal?
From the start of the Premier League season in 2017-2018 through to the end of October, there were exactly 100 games played. Of those 100 games, fourteen of them ended in a score draw. That means that 14% of the games you’d have bet on during that period would have seen your stake returned to you as a free bet. Here are the figures on the other competitions covered by 21Bet’s offer:
| Competition | Matches Played | Score Draws | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champions League | 56 | 9 | 16% |
| Europa League | 72 | 14 | 19% |
| Sky Bet Championship | 176 | 32 | 18% |
| La Liga | 100 | 14 | 14% |
Looking at that table, then, it’s clear that you can expect somewhere between 14% and 20% of games to end in a score draw. If it’s at the upper limit then that’s about one in every five matches.
If you’re someone that likes to bet on football matches with a reasonable degree of regularity, especially when it comes to the First Goalscorer or Correct Score markets, then it’s absolutely worth covering your back for the one in five occasions the stats suggest your match will finish in a way that sees your stake refunded as a free bet.