A discount and a bonus are not the same thing, and the difference decides which one is worth taking. A discount reduces what you pay. A bonus increases what you hold, usually with conditions attached to it. On this site we cover both, and this page is about how to tell a real reduction from a repackaged one.
What counts as a genuine discount
- Reduced fees. A broker cutting spreads or commission for a period is a straightforward saving, because it applies to money you were going to spend anyway.
- Cashback. A percentage of losses or of turnover returned as withdrawable cash, rather than as bonus funds with a wagering requirement. Check which it is: the word “cashback” gets used for both.
- Fee waivers. No deposit fee, no withdrawal fee, no monthly account fee. Small individually, and the only category that keeps paying out over time.
What looks like a discount and is not
Matched deposits, free spins and “risk-free” first bets are bonuses. They can be worth taking, but they come with wagering requirements, caps and expiry dates, and none of them reduce what you pay. Treating them as discounts is how people end up depositing more than they planned.
A “risk-free” bet in particular usually returns a stake as bonus funds rather than cash, which means the risk was moved rather than removed.
How to compare two offers quickly
Work out what you would need to stake to clear each one, then compare that against how much you were going to stake anyway. An offer that requires more activity than you had planned is not a saving, whatever the headline says. Our page on claiming a bonus covers the terms to check before opting in.
Gamble responsibly. Terms vary by operator and by country, and the operator’s own terms are the ones that apply.