No deposit bonuses are the ultimate form of promo for new players.
The primary reason for this is that you are not required to place a deposit to qualify for your bonus. This has all sorts of advantages, but most importantly, it means you are not risking any of your own money.
An absence of financial commitment also means that you need not concern yourself to the same extent as other forms of bonuses in the small print. Many bonuses attach a turnover requirement which means that you need to win multiple times before a bonus is considered real cash.
This means that if you collect a matched deposit bonus, your first deposit exactly determines the size of your bonus. You may have to place a deposit to qualify and then win multiple times with that bonus until you can withdraw it as cash. With a no deposit bonus, even if there is a high turnover requirement, you have not invested any of your own money, so it's really no loss to you.
So, what's the catch?
This is always an important question to ask, especially when it comes to bonuses which can contain misleading promises.
As long as it is a legal and licensed online sportsbook in the US, there should not be a catch. No deposit bonuses are simply great value for new customers. However, it is not all good news. These are much sought after bonuses means two things; no deposit bonuses usually offer smaller amounts than other forms of bonuses, and they are scarce.
Now that we have tempered your expectations, we should point out that you are much more likely to come across a legit no deposit bonus if you are in the US. This is because the market - which has only been legal since 2018 - is still in its infancy. Online sportsbooks that are new to the US are therefore much more likely to reach into their marketing spend and roll out the most attractive promo they can find to attract new customers and establish themselves in a new state - the good news is that this usually comes in the form of a no deposit bonus.
No deposit bonuses are not only the most trustworthy form of bonus because you are not required to spend your own money, they are also a strong indicator that the sportsbook in question has an excellent product. For an online sportsbook to be willing to give away bonus bets with little commitment from you as a customer suggests that they are confident you will continue to use their product.