By Joshua Pederson, BU ethics professor:

Rob Gronkowski has come out of retirement and is back in New England.

Not for the Patriots, sadly, but for FanDuel, one of a number of betting apps flooding the zone with ads since online sports gambling became legal in Massachusetts on March 10. FanDuel is putting Gronk everywhere, from billboards to banner ads, touting the app’s promotional “bonus bets.” “Bet $5, Get $200,” they all blare, calling the deal “reGronkulous.”

Perhaps. Here’s how this particular type of bet works. You sign up with the app and deposit a minimum of $5, which you subsequently bet. FanDuel then puts $200 into a bonus account for you. When you gamble and lose with these funds, you lose only the bonus dollars. But when you win, you keep the proceeds, no strings attached.

I did just that last week during the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament. With a mere $5 deposit and a little help from the Kansas State Wildcats (the team beat favored Kentucky on Sunday), I turned my bonus dollars into a little over $230 in real money, which I promptly withdrew. Granted, I got lucky, but clever gamblers have found a foolproof way to guarantee winnings by pitting apps against one another, taking the bonus bets from two different apps and placing them on two sides of the same game. So if I had taken $200 from DraftKings and bet on Kentucky, I would have a guaranteed payout no matter which team won. And as Bloomberg reported last year, others are trying to game the system in even more elaborate ways — often with really big surefire payouts.

Sounds too good to be true, right? For savvy bettors, though, it’s really not: This is free house money, pure and simple. However, we all know that the house never loses. And the people who pay for this “free money” are often the ones who can least afford to do so.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/23/opinion/bonus-bets-are-a-bad-bet-for-massachusetts/

NGL, I (Deanna) have been intrigued by the bonus bet offers and getting free money, but I also know it's a slippery slope to a gambling addiction. Has anyone here made a real profit from these bonus bet offers?

Comments

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cheech14 t1_jddlmcp wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:09 PM

#2,320,626

Is the author saying bonus bets are bad because they get people hooked on betting? Their point is not clear at all.

I took the draftkings bonus bets and turned it into $500 last weekend then withdrew it.

Icy-Neck-2422 t1_jddo3nn wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:25 PM

#2,320,880

That piece is a meandering mess. It reads like it was written by a middle schooler.

RhaenyrasUncle t1_jddo5tw wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:25 PM

#2,320,885

Again, sports betting isnt slot machines. There are ways to effectively navigate it and make money from it. There are people whose entire livelihoods are based on sports betting...like stockbrokers, effectively.

Just dont be an idiot.

RailRoad_Candy t1_jddop74 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:29 PM

#2,320,949

This author likely has a six-figure salary from one of the most expensive schools in the world. One that regularly saddles kids with inescapable debt that will take the majority of their working lives to pay off.

...but dropping $5 on the Celtics is bad. Gotcha!!

takes12KNOW t1_jddszp8 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:56 PM

#2,321,404

Sports book investors are calculating that bonus money, in addition to other acquisition costs, are less than the lifetime-value of a bettor. That's the simple math that wall street is uh.. betting on. If you're not part of the 2% who comes out a winner, you're their ideal bettor.

The difference between bonus bets and deposit bonuses is the satisfaction comes from the action of betting, not depositing, centering the dopamine hits for an onboarding novice around their key action (placing a bet) .

The industry determined that for a betting habit to develop, a certain number of successful bets need to happen in a specific window, thus the change from bonus deposits to bets.

- A sports industry professional.

RhaenyrasUncle t1_jddx4s6 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:22 PM

#2,321,848

Replying to takes12KNOW (#2,321,404)

2%?

I mean, there might be a few people making extreme bets like that (what would that be...+150000? 😅)

But there are usually substantially more winners than that. Closer to ~50%.

willzyx01 t1_jddy87k wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:29 PM

#2,321,952

Replying to cheech14 (#2,320,626)

What is this free money cheat code?

willzyx01 t1_jddyeod wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:30 PM

#2,321,970

”Bet $5, Get $200”?

Shit, I’m missing out. Thanks Joshua.

jm9903 t1_jde09be wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:42 PM

#2,322,134

More globe bullshit. Jesus that was poorly written

riski_click t1_jde3j2n wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:02 PM

#2,322,433

Replying to willzyx01 (#2,321,970)

remember the gambling proverb "If at first you don't succeed..."

riski_click t1_jde453o wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:06 PM

#2,322,492

Replying to RhaenyrasUncle (#2,320,885)

definitely! I keep telling people that betting the over/under requires very complicated and difficult to navigate methods...

It's like how not everyone knows you need to scratch your scratchers bottom left, than middle, then top right, then top left. If you scratch them in the correct order, you can make money from it.. scratchers arent slot machines.

RhaenyrasUncle t1_jde4dts wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:07 PM

#2,322,522

Replying to riski_click (#2,322,492)

I bet you think Paul Pelosi is just very lucky, too. 😏

riski_click t1_jde4knt wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:08 PM

#2,322,542

Replying to cheech14 (#2,320,626)

the author is saying "I can do this because I am educated and have an article in the Globe, but if you are not an Associate Professor of Humanities with degrees in English and Religion, FanDuel is far too complicated for you!"

riski_click t1_jde5ryw wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:16 PM

#2,322,653

Replying to RhaenyrasUncle (#2,322,522)

I've never played that ticket. I only play "$4,000,000 JUMBO CASH," "BILLION DOLLAR EXTRAVAGANZA" and "Diamond Millions." The guy at the Park Plaza 7-11 is like my stockbroker. His motto is "I only get paid if YOU get paid!"

Codspear t1_jde632x wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:18 PM

#2,322,681

I made a couple hundred dollars with the bonus bets from DraftKings last week and similar with FanDuel this week. I always withdraw most of the winnings however.

It’s not your place to tell people what they can do with their money. Gambling restrictions are stupid and puritanical.

cheech14 t1_jdea1te wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:43 PM

#2,323,067

Replying to willzyx01 (#2,321,952)

No code you sign up and deposit $5 then get $200 in "free play" in $25 increments. You place bets either the free play, if you win you keep the winnings as cash, if you lose you get nothing and spent $5.

[deleted] t1_jdeh41r wrote on March 23, 2023 at 8:28 PM

#2,323,816

Replying to Icy-Neck-2422 (#2,320,880)

It reads like this guy wanted a soapbox to share how smart he is for taking the money and walking. You know, like what's been discussed heavily the past week, and what tons of people are doing without writing an op-ed about it. Nothing novel, then the one kind of interesting part about taxes is dumped in at the end like an afterthought.

pmv8899 t1_jdene2u wrote on March 23, 2023 at 9:08 PM

#2,324,501

Replying to cheech14 (#2,320,626)

You had some good luck more than doubling your money.

husky5050 t1_jdenyqg wrote on March 23, 2023 at 9:12 PM

#2,324,548

Why does the Globe think we want to read their opinions?

man2010 t1_jderg8s wrote on March 23, 2023 at 9:34 PM

#2,324,901

Replying to cheech14 (#2,323,067)

I don't think that's what they're describing, but rather if you bet one side on one app and the other side on another with free money, you're guaranteed to win. For example, if I put $25 on the Celtics to cover the spread on Draft Kings and $25 on their opponent to cover on Fanduel, it's a guaranteed win with no risk because the bets are made with free bonuses (assuming the spread/odds are the same on each site)

riski_click t1_jdf4b3d wrote on March 23, 2023 at 11:02 PM

#2,326,200

Replying to man2010 (#2,324,901)

i'm surprised the sites have a built-in system to be able to tell that you're not betting both sides even on the same app..

man2010 t1_jdf6qkl wrote on March 23, 2023 at 11:18 PM

#2,326,427

Replying to riski_click (#2,326,200)

I assume it's against their terms and conditions but idk how they would enforce it. I also wasted my free money on stupid parlays so I'll never find out

Reckless--Abandon t1_jdfday9 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 12:04 AM

#2,327,121

Yes. I use WynnBet and deposited $100.

They gave me $50 in my account with the stipulation that I have to bet a total of $250 total in a few weeks on games. With March madness hit that pretty quickly.

They also gave me a $100 “bonus bet” which is $100 you can make on one bet. If you lose you don’t lose anything. If you win, you keep the winnings. That hit and I think that’s the biggest game changer.

I then withdrew my initial $100 so was playing with essentially $150 in house money (which I can now withdraw at anytime) and all my winnings outside of that.

I would say my college basketball is the easiest to research for me so that’s why I did well. Winning that $100 free bet essentially put me in a good spot.

WynnBet also has one of the “worst” promos in theory versus the other apps.

Since then they have said if I deposit $50 I get a $50 free bet. I could do this twice. First bet hit so I won $40 with essentially no risk. Second bet going tonight. I will then withdraw the $100 I deposited so I’m playing with winnings only. Currently up $400 (with withdraw my $100 deposit tonight after my 2nd additional bonus bet closes).

The problem for a lot of people is chasing money. I bet $10 or $20 a game and do decent research before every bet. Once you go on a bad streak, people try and make it up in one shot… and bet maybe 5-10x what they normally do… and if they lose they enter a bad hole.

My plan is to worst case scenario lose $0 and win $0 and switch apps or continue using the bonus deals. This is not risk free obviously but I have a stable amount in my account right now.

Reckless--Abandon t1_jdfdnfq wrote on March 24, 2023 at 12:07 AM

#2,327,151

Replying to willzyx01 (#2,321,952)

If you’re not familiar with sports betting I would not do the complicated one, there’s a couple terms you need to abide by or you might screw yourself

tjbaco t1_jdfm0e1 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 1:07 AM

#2,328,043

It is possible to make in the thousands of guaranteed money if you have the bankroll ($k in funds) and discipline to do so (and havent already wagered on the sportsbooks). This article overstates the amounts - I think $4-ish k is more realistic than $8k, but this does a great job walking through the process and is helpful in finding the right odds (for $9 the first month): https://about.darkhorseodds.com/blog-posts/ma-launch Be careful

Swayz t1_jdfmvsv wrote on March 24, 2023 at 1:13 AM

#2,328,146

$50 scratch ticket good. Bonus bet bad. Okay got it. Ty.

[deleted] t1_jdfq92j wrote on March 24, 2023 at 1:38 AM

#2,328,510

Replying to husky5050 (#2,324,548)

[deleted]

SpindriftRascal t1_jdfyqxq wrote on March 24, 2023 at 2:43 AM

#2,329,416

Really quite similar to a heroin dealer giving a free sample or two.