The NFL season is finally here, which means the Carolina Panthers will put us through the wringer once again.
As a North Carolina native who has been pulling for the Panthers for 30 years, I’m cautiously optimistic. Meanwhile, I’m excited that for the first time in the Panthers’ long history, I can wager on the NFL in North Carolina.
When NC sports betting launched in March, I was among the first to download the apps, create accounts, gobble up welcome offers, and place bets. Since many in the state are likely doing the same as the NFL season gets underway, I thought I’d share a few things I wish I knew when I got started with North Carolina sports betting.
What you actually win with bonus bets
What do you win when you bet with bonus bets? I knew this one before I ever claimed an NC Sportsbook promo, but I’m listing it here because I don’t think everyone necessarily does.
As you assess the value of a welcome offer and, in particular, bonus bets, remember that when you place winning wagers with bonus bets, you only get back the winnings and not the bet amount.
For example, let’s say you place a $10 bonus bet on the Panthers. The odds on the moneyline bet are +175, and the Panthers pull the upset. The bet would win you $17.50, but that’s all you’d see go into your account. If it were a regular cash bet, you’d also get your $10 stake back ($27.50 total).
All of the sites handle bonus bets this same way, only awarding winnings and not the stake for successful wagers. Try to take that into account when estimating the value of bonus bets.
Also keep in mind you probably aren’t going to win all your bonus bets. In other words, receiving $100 in bonus bets probably isn’t going to mean you end up with $100 in cash. The likely result is probably you ending up with something less than that, even if you win a few wagers.
Bonus bets are a great way to get started with sports betting. You can experiment with different types of bets, including trying out conservative approaches or perhaps going for some long shots.
Hopefully, you use these bets to learn a little about how sports betting works.
With bonus bets, it’s best not to sign up with too many sites at once
I won’t go deep into the details of each NC sportsbook welcome offer here. But I want to draw attention to the time limits associated with bonus bets at each of the sites. When you receive bonus bets, you have to use them within a certain time period or else they will expire and simply disappear from your account.
Looking through the terms and conditions of the current welcome offers, here is how long you’ll have to use your bonus bets when you receive them at each site:
| Sportsbook | Time to use bonus bets |
|---|---|
| BetMGM, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics, FanDuel, Underdog | 7 days |
| Caesars | 14 days |
| bert365 | 30 days |
When sportsbooks first launched in March, I was excited to create accounts with all of them. What I didn’t realize was that meant I’d have to use bonus bets on several sites right away. Looking back, I wish I had spaced out joining the sites and receiving the bonus bets, thereby allowing me to take more time to use them.
When first starting, you’ll likely make some betting decisions you’ll later realize weren’t well considered. But if you sign up at several accounts at once and then suddenly have to place lots of bets within your first week or two, you aren’t going to benefit as much from that experience.
If you think ahead a little and stagger your joining of the sites and when you receive bonus bets, you won’t have to use them all during one week of the NFL season. You’ll also allow yourself to draw on your early experience (and learn from early mistakes) when making bets later.
The truth about parlay boosts
Speaking of trial by error, one piece of advice I’d give my earlier sports betting self would be to practice more moderation when it comes to betting parlays. And, similarly, not be overly excited when sites offer parlay boosts.
Most online sportsbooks offer parlay boosts on a regular basis. In fact, parlay boosts are probably the most common type of promotion you’ll see on the sites. They tend to come in a couple of formats:
- Premade parlays you’re often greeted with when you visit the site or open the app.
- General promos offering a boost to parlays you build yourself.
The premade parlays caught my attention a lot more when I first started using the apps than later on. It’s hard not to be tempted by them, especially when they offer big payouts of +1,000 or more.
I clicked a few of those early, but after a while, I began to avoid them. I preferred building my own parlays. Also, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find sometimes these premade parlays don’t actually offer much of a boost to the parlays they suggest.
Always look for parlay boosts, but don’t let them dictate your betting
When I do want to bet a parlay, I always look to see if there’s a parlay boost promo I can apply to my wager, and often there is. Caesars Sportsbook NC frequently will have a 25% or 33% parlay boost available, often tied to a particular sport (e.g., “50% CFB Parlay Profit Boost”). Sometimes, you might even find a 100% parlay boost.
FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM also often have parlay boosts listed in their current promos. ESPN Bet is less generous with them, and when they do have them the terms aren’t so attractive. Fanatics also sometimes offers small profit boosts that can be used for parlays. Meanwhile, bet365 automatically adds small boosts to parlays that increase with each leg you add, but you have to have a lot of legs to get a significant boost (e.g., you need eight legs just to get to a 25% boost!).
My advice here is to be circumspect about parlays and parlay boosts. Parlays are hard to win, and you can expect to lose them more often than not. Parlay boosts are enticing, but no matter how big they are, they aren’t worth anything if you don’t actually win the bet.
Take advantage of the boosts, but don’t let them influence you into making reckless wagers.
No hurry, no worry
The NFL season is long, and we Panthers fans are hopeful the games will remain meaningful as we move from fall to winter. Indeed, when it comes to rooting for Carolina, we have become accustomed to patience.
Patience is also key when it comes to sports betting. For those of you in North Carolina signing up for accounts to bet on the NFL season, enjoy it, but pace yourself and realize there’s no need to rush. Take your time and get familiar with the sites’ terms and conditions, and always try to be as informed as you can about the wagers you make.
Also, don’t ever feel obligated to make bets, or have a fear of missing out when it comes to wagering on certain games. There will always be more games and other chances to bet. Keep it fun, practice responsible gambling, and make good, thoughtful decisions when betting.
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