Barstool Sportsbook’s promo code ACTNEWS1000 will net all new users a $1,000 new player bonus — what most other sportsbooks call a risk-free bet.
So how’s it work? If your first bet at Barstool loses, you’ll get refunded the same amount you lost in bonus cash. But Barstool’s bonus cash setup is more advantageous than most other books, because you keep the bet stake if it wins. We’ll get into the details more below.
If you want to wait until Thursday to claim a bonus, use promo code ACTNEWS150 to get $150 in free bets when you bet $20 on an NFL game. Panthers vs. Falcons is Thursday Night Football this week.
Confused? Don’t worry, we’ll cover it all below.
How Barstool’s Promo Works
Promotional lingo can be confusing, so we did a deep-dive on what each sportsbook promo offer means.
At Barstool, here’s how it will go.
Let’s say you deposit $300 and put it all on Knicks moneyline against the Nets on Wednesday night. New York is priced around +120 at time of publish.
- If the Knicks win, you’ll profit $360, and keep the original $300. You’ve now got $660 in your account you can withdraw, or continue betting.
- If the Knicks lose, you’ll get $300 back in Barstool bonus cash, aka free bets.
Here are the two ways your account could look:
| Bet | Profit | Money in Acct. |
|---|---|---|
| Knicks win | $360 | $660 |
| Knicks lose | $0 | $300 bonus cash |
What About Bonus Cash?
Alright, so how does this bonus cash work? Many sportsbooks call it free bets, and it does behave similarly, with one key difference.
At Barstool, you keep the bet amount. So if I use $50 in bonus cash on Panthers moneyline against the Falcons at +130 on Thursday Night Football, I’ll win $65 if Carolina wins, but also keep the $50 in bonus cash. It becomes real cash.
If Carolina loses, however, I’ll end up with nothing.
Bonus cash can be split across different bets, so you don’t have to use it all at once.
Using the example above, here’s what your account might look like:
| Bet | Profit | Money in Acct. |
|---|---|---|
| Panthers win | $115 | $115 + $250 bonus cash |
| Panthers lose | $0 | $250 bonus cash |
Free Bets Strategy
We advise to use free bets on plus-money wagers. It seems like you’re losing more, but you’ll get more expected value over time.
Expected value means the margin between the real odds of something happening and the what the sportsbook says the odds are.
While golf may not be the ideal free bet due to market width, here’s an example from this weekend’s Houston Open from our expert, Chris Murphy, on why he likes Denny McCarthy at +4000.
The last time we saw Denny McCarthy, he was the low man on the odds board at the Bermuda Championship. While he didn’t come through for his maiden victory, he was right there throughout the week and hit the ball really well. He fell short, finishing T6, but now he comes to another course that should be a nice fit for his game at much more palatable odds.
McCarthy has made the cut in each of his last four trips to Memorial Park, with finishes of T11 and T9 in two of his last three years. He is consistently one of the best putters on TOUR, and Bermudagrass is his favorite putting surface. This is a week where the flatstick will be the important club in the winner’s bag, and with McCarthy’s combination of solid recent play and putting upside, I love his value at +4000.
The Sign-Up Process
Signing up for most legal sportsbooks is pretty simple and can be done in just a few minutes. Here’s how it works at Barstool.
- Follow this link
- Put in your name, address, last four of SSN, etc.
- Enter Barstool Sportsbook promo code ACTNEWS150 at checkout to qualify for the bonus offer
- Deposit using a bank account, credit card, or PayPal
- Make your first NFL bet for $20, get $150 in free bets