ESPN BET promo code CTNEWS unlocks $150 in bonus bets after you deposit $10 and bet anything on any game in 17 states.
If you’re in North Carolina, you’ll get $225 in bonus bets instead with promo code CTNEWSNC.
In all states, you’ll also get a 200% deposit match up to $500 in what ESPN BET calls Eligible Cashback, meaning the max deposit is $250. It comes with a 10% unlock rate, meaning for every dollar you wager, 10 cents will unlock from your deposit match balance.
How to Claim the ESPN BET Promo
You won’t be eligible to claim this offer if you’re transferring over an old PENN account to ESPN BET. Here are the basic steps:
- First, download the ESPN BET app, or head to ESPNBET.com if you’re on desktop.
- Enter all your real information — don’t use a fake name, or a fake address. If you do, ESPN BET can’t verify your identity and you won’t be able to deposit. All sportsbooks tie your account to your identity using the last four digits of your SSN so you can’t make multiple accounts. Using an incorrect address can cause problems with the verification process.
- For the fastest verification, make sure the address on your license matches the one you enter. If not, it could take a few days for ESPN BET to manually verify your account and allow you to bet.
- Enter ESPN BET promo code CTNEWS or CTNEWSNC if you’re in North Carolina..
- Make a $10 or more deposit using any method (debit card is usually pretty reliable, moreso than credit cards depending on your provider).
- Make a first bet of any amount. You’ll get the $100 in bonus bets pretty soon after, then another $50 in a day or two.
- Use your bonus bets in your first seven days or they’ll expire.
Optimal Way to Use ESPN BET Bonus Bets
The mathematically optimal way to use bonus bets is on plus-money wagers. That’s because you’re not keeping the stake. The higher the line, the more value you’re getting, but you don’t have infinite bonus bets.
Bonus bets at ESPN BET follow a similar pattern to other bonus bets at sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. You keep any profit from the bonus bets, but not the stake of the bonus bet itself. So a $25 bonus bet on Clemson +250 against Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, you’ll profit $62.50 if it wins, but you won’t keep the bonus bet itself like you would with a normal cash wager.
Generally, there are two ways you can approach your bonus bets:
- Conversion requires you to hedge the opposite side of the same game at a different sportsbook, guaranteeing your bonus bets turns into 60-70% of the value in cash.
- Maximizing your expected value, which is the act of putting bonus bets on plus-money wagers in tight markets in which your sportsbook has the best odds available.
If you’re going for expected value, you should try to find lines between +300 and +500 in tight, two-way markets in which ESPN BET has one of the best prices of any sportsbook. That means touchdown scorers are not a great option, because they’re not two-way — you can only bet the “yes” side at most books (though ESPN BET you can bet both).
How the Deposit Match Works
With the deposit match portion of this offer, you’re getting 200% of what you deposit, with a max $250 deposit.
But you’re not getting bonus bets — you’re getting what ESPN BET calls Eligible Cashback. It’s cash, but it unlocks 10% for every dollar wagered, until the balance is gone or 30 days is up. Whatever you did unlock, you keep, even if you don’t unlock it all after 30 days.
So say you do the max deposit and get $500 in Eligible Cashback. Then you make a $100 bet as your first bet — you’ll get $10 cash added to your account. Then you make a $50 bet — you’ll get $5 cash added to your account.
Keep betting to reach the full max, and if you don’t unlock all of it in 30 days, you’ll keep whatever you did unlock.
