They’re not quite giving away free money, but it’s close. Most sportsbooks offer tantalizing bonuses to new customers: free plays, bonus earnings (25 percent, for example) on the first play, doubling your initial deposit, and so on.

We certainly wouldn’t refuse an offer like that – provided we really want to do business with that book in the first place. If you sign up with a less than reputable book just to grab a quick bonus, you might not get any return at all, even if you win your bet.

You also have to win your bet to collect just about all the kinds of bonuses there are on the betting market; 25 percent of nothing is still nothing. Even if you win your bet and earn your bonus, the bookies figure they’ll make that back in vigorish every time you place a wager. As long as you’re playing, the book gets its vig.