Op-ed: Bonus bets are a bad bet for Massachusetts

Submitted by GlobeOpinion t3_11zqhft in boston

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?

0

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

cheech14 t1_jddlmcp wrote

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.

16

riski_click t1_jde4knt wrote

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!"

4

willzyx01 t1_jddy87k wrote

What is this free money cheat code?

1

cheech14 t1_jdea1te wrote

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.

2

man2010 t1_jderg8s wrote

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)

2

riski_click t1_jdf4b3d wrote

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..

1

man2010 t1_jdf6qkl wrote

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

3

Reckless--Abandon t1_jdfdnfq wrote

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

1

pmv8899 t1_jdene2u wrote

You had some good luck more than doubling your money.

1

Icy-Neck-2422 t1_jddo3nn wrote

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

8

[deleted] t1_jdeh41r wrote

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.

2

willzyx01 t1_jddyeod wrote

”Bet $5, Get $200”?

Shit, I’m missing out. Thanks Joshua.

2

riski_click t1_jde3j2n wrote

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

2

husky5050 t1_jdenyqg wrote

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

2

Reckless--Abandon t1_jdfday9 wrote

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.

2

tjbaco t1_jdfm0e1 wrote

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

2

RailRoad_Candy t1_jddop74 wrote

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!!

1

takes12KNOW t1_jddszp8 wrote

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.

1

RhaenyrasUncle t1_jddx4s6 wrote

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%.

0

Codspear t1_jde632x wrote

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.

1

Swayz t1_jdfmvsv wrote

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

1

SpindriftRascal t1_jdfyqxq wrote

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

1

jm9903 t1_jde09be wrote

More globe bullshit. Jesus that was poorly written

0

RhaenyrasUncle t1_jddo5tw wrote

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.

−1

riski_click t1_jde453o wrote

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.

1

RhaenyrasUncle t1_jde4dts wrote

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

0

riski_click t1_jde5ryw wrote

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!"

1