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FanDuel Sportsbook recently announced a promotion for new users offering a three-month trial of NBA League Pass and the chance to earn $150 in bonus bets. New users will need to bet at least $5 to qualify for the promotion, and betting on the NFL in Week 9 is a great way to do that. This week's intriguing NFL matchups include Cowboys at Falcons, Dolphins at Bills, Lions at Packers, and Rams at Seahawks.
This article provides the details on this new FanDuel promo, including the pros and cons and how it compares to other sportsbook promotions.
Explaining the FanDuel promo
There are two main rewards included with the current FanDuel welcome bonus.
First, new users can get $150 in bonus bets if they win their first bet of at least $5. In the past, FanDuel has offered similar "bet & get" style promotions where users would receive bonus bets after a qualifying first wager, regardless of whether the qualifying bet wins or loses. For this promotion, the bonus bets are only awarded if the qualifying wager is a winner.
Importantly, there are no minimum odds requirements for the qualifying wager. That means new users can choose a bet with very short betting odds like -1000, which imply that the bet is likely to win. Regardless of the odds, users will get the $150 in bonus bets as long as the bet wins.
Bonus bets must be used within seven days (168 hours) from the time they are received, and they cannot be transferred or withdrawn as cash. The $150 in bonus bets can be used for multiple bets and do not need to be used all at once, which is the case with some other promos.
If a bonus bet wins, the user will receive the profits but not the original stake. For example, a winning $50 bonus bet at +100 odds will be paid out as $50 in withdrawable cash in the user's account. An equivalent cash bet would be paid out $100, including the original $50 stake.
To claim this promotion, new users can click the "Claim Bonus" button anywhere on this page to be directed to the registration page for a new FanDuel account. To create a new account, users must provide some personal information like their name, date of birth, and the last four digits of their social security number, which is used to confirm they do not have an existing FanDuel account. New users also must verify their email address, location, and age to ensure they are at least 21 years old and located in a state where FanDuel is licensed to operate.
After creating a new account, the final step is to deposit a minimum of $5 using any of FanDuel's available payment methods, then use that money to place a qualifying wager. Once that first bet settles (and assuming it wins), the bonus bets will be delivered to the user's account within 72 hours.
FanDuel offers three months of NBA League Pass
Bonus bets are the most common type of reward that the top online sportsbooks offer in their sign-up bonuses. Occasionally, sportsbooks will also include other benefits as additional incentives for signing up. That's what FanDuel is doing right now by offering three free months of NBA League Pass for all new users, which is the second part of the current promo.
Claiming this reward still requires placing a $5 qualifying wager, but it does not require the bet to win. Even if the bet loses, new users will receive an NBA League Pass promo code via email within 72 hours of their first bet settling. This code can be used to activate the three-month free trial at any time until January 31, 2025. To start their free trial, users must create an active NBA League Pass subscription, including payment information. The subscription will auto-renew at the regular price after the trial period ends, so it must be canceled beforehand to avoid being charged.
NBA League Pass is the NBA's streaming service that provides access to live, out-of-market NBA games during the regular season. Games that are broadcast by local or national networks will be blacked out on NBA League Pass, but every other game is available. Viewers can even choose from home and away broadcast options, select different viewing angles, and view live stats during the game. NBA League Pass also includes 10-minute condensed game recaps and access to NBA TV.
FanDuel Sportsbook welcome promo: The good, the bad
There are always pros and cons to any promotion in the world of online sports betting, and this FanDuel promo is no exception.
The pros are fairly straightforward. Bonus bets give users a chance to win money without using any of their own. It's nice that this FanDuel promo allows users to place multiple bets of different sizes with their bonus bets, rather than requiring them to use the full $150 on one bet.
Most sportsbooks only offer bonus bets (of varying amounts) in their welcome bonuses, so any time an additional perk like the NBA League Pass trial is available, that is also an additional pro for that promo. The NBA League Pass trial is valued at $51 ($16.99 per month), which is a nice value that is not available with most sportsbook promos. The typical trial period offered by the NBA is only seven days, so getting three months provides a better chance to use the service and determine if it's worth keeping beyond the trial.
Finally, this promo will work well for any bettors who do not like to place large wagers, since it only requires a $5 bet to qualify. It's also helpful that there are no minimum odds requirements for the qualifying wager, so it should be relatively easy to pick a winning bet (though nothing is ever guaranteed).
That last point is also one of the cons of this promo. While it should be easy to pick a bet with a high likelihood of winning, it's never a sure thing, so requiring a winning first bet is a drawback of this promo. Many other "Bet & Get" style promos provide the reward instantly after placing the qualifying wager and do not have a winning bet requirement.
While it's nice that this promo only requires a $5 bet, another con is that the $150 in bonus bets is a low value compared to other sportsbooks' promotions (discussed further below), which can offer as much as $1,500 in bonus bets. That makes this promo very much geared towards beginners and less appealing for higher-stakes bettors.
Finally, it's unfortunate that the NBA League Pass trial only includes the base plan and not the premium version. The premium version eliminates commercials and instead shows the entertainment inside the arena during halftime and commercial breaks. It also allows concurrent streaming on up to three devices and the ability to download games to watch offline. The NBA League Pass website says that the premium version is more popular, despite the higher cost ($24.99 per month), so not giving users that option with this promotion is disappointing.
FanDuel promo comparison: Which promos are better than FanDuel?
The following table shows how this FanDuel promotion compares to the current welcome offers at the other top online sportsbooks.
| Sportsbook | Promo |
|---|---|
FanDuel | Win a $5 bet, get $150 in bonus bets, plus three months of NBA League Pass |
DraftKings | |
Fanatics | Bet up to $100 per day for the first 10 days to get up to $1,000 in no sweat bets |
BetMGM | |
Caesars | |
bet365 | Bet $5, get $200 in bonus bets OR a first bet safety net up to $1,000 |
FanDuel is the only sportsbook with a perk like the NBA League Pass trial, so if that's important to a prospective user, that could make the FanDuel offer the most appealing regardless of other factors.
That said, when it comes to the bonus bets in the offers, FanDuel's current offer provides less value than most of the other current sportsbook promos. DraftKings and bet365 also offer "bet & get" promos like FanDuel, but they offer $200 in bonus bets. They also offer those bonus bets whether the qualifying wager wins or loses, which is a big advantage.
The "first bet insurance" style of promos at Fanatics, BetMGM, Caesars, and bet365, all offer a much higher potential dollar value as a bonus bet or bets, with BetMGM offering up to $1,500 and the others all offering up to $1,000. These promos are different from "bet & get" promos because they provide bonus bets only if a qualifying wager loses. Sportsbooks sometimes call these promos "no sweat bets" because they offer a form of insurance on the first bet. At bet365, it's called a "first bet safety net."
The main difference between the various "no sweat bet" promos is how the bonus bets are distributed. Caesars gives users one bonus bet equal to the full amount of the qualifying wager, while BetMGM divides any qualifying wagers of $50 or more into five equal bonus bets (e.g. from $1500 to five $300 bonus bets). Fanatics' promo is a unique structure where bettors can get 10 different bonus bets up to $100 per day for their first 10 days after signing up. So they all offer different potential denominations and ways of qualifying for the bonus bets.
The higher potential dollar value of the "first bet insurance" or "no sweat bet" promos is not necessarily a good thing for every prospective sportsbook user, since it also requires a much higher dollar value to earn those rewards. For bettors who do not want to wager as much on their first bet, the "bet & get" promos might be a better fit.
It's always important to remember that bonus bets do not pay back the original stake, so to get back the full value of the bonus bet, it must be used to place a bet with odds of +100 or longer. Any negative odds would not return the full amount of the original bet. For example, if a bettor loses $1,000 on their first bet, then wins a $1,000 bonus bet at -110 odds, they would get back $909.09. That would be a net loss of $90.91.
Compare that to this scenario: a user loses a $5 bet, but gets $200 in bonus bets. With those bonus bets, they bet $200 at -200 odds, which implies a 66.67% win probability. They win the bet and get their $100 bonus bet winnings deposited in their account as withdrawable cash. They have profited $95.
That might lead some bettors to prefer the "bet & get" promos, but plenty of bettors like the ability to place a large wager with the chance to nearly double that money, knowing they will still have a chance to win some or most of it back if they lose.
The style of promo a bettor prefers will ultimately determine how they feel about the value of the current FanDuel promo. If a "bet & get" promo makes more sense, then FanDuel could be a good choice, even with a lower total in bonus bets. If one considers the $51 value of the NBA League Pass trial, then FanDuel is offering about the same dollar value in its promo as the other sportsbooks offering "bet & get" promos for $50 more than FanDuel. The relative value of the NBA League Pass to any particular user will make or break whether FanDuel's promotion is the best value for them.
What can one bet on with FanDuel?
FanDuel offers a wide variety of betting markets across many sports, not just popular ones like the NFL, NBA, MLB, or college sports betting. It also offers standard bets like the point spread or over/under along with a vast array of prop bets. FanDuel was the original creator of the now ubiquitous "same game parlay."
Right now, most of the attention of sports bettors is on the NFL. In Week 9, one of the top matchups is the Lions at the Packers. The Lions (6-1) are just a half-game ahead of the Packers (6-2) for the NFC North lead, and both teams are strong contenders to win the NFC. Packers star QB Jordan Love is questionable to play in this game with a groin injury, which is contributing to the Lions being 3.5-point road favorites.
| Moneyline | Point Spread | Over/Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
Detroit Lions | -172 | -3.5 (-102) | Over 47.5 (-118) |
Green Bay Packers | +144 | +3.5 (-120) | Under 47.5 (-104) |
In another divisional matchup, the Los Angeles Rams (3-4) visit the Seattle Seahawks (4-4). The NFC West is jam-packed with three teams at 4-4, and with the Rams a half-game back, that makes this a critical matchup. This will be the Rams' second game since star wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned from injury with strong performances last week. That tandem gives the Rams a much more dangerous offense led by Matthew Stafford, which is partly why they are small favorites in this game.
| Moneyline | Point Spread | Over/Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Rams | -126 | -1.5 (-110) | Over 48.5 (-110) |
Seattle Seahawks | +108 | +1.5 (-110) | Under 48.5 (-110) |
The highest over/under of the week is in the Cowboys vs. Falcons matchup. Both defenses are near the bottom of the league in most major metrics, and both offenses have the firepower to exploit that. The Cowboys are looking to snap a two-game losing streak and keep up in the NFC East, while the Falcons are trying to win back-to-back games and remain atop the NFC South.
| Moneyline | Point Spread | Over/Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Cowboys | +134 | +2.5 (+100) | Over 51.5 (-115) |
Atlanta Falcons | -158 | -2.5 (-122) | Under 51.5 (-105) |
FanDuel responsible gaming
Sports betting is intended to be for entertainment purposes. If bettors struggle to gamble responsibly, FanDuel has tools which can assist users to keep their betting in check.
Users at FanDuel can set up a variety of limits on their accounts, such as deposit limits, spend limits and time limits. If more restraint is necessary, users can self-exclude themselves from betting, or take a timeout for a specified period.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and is willing to get help, call the National Problem Gaming Hotline at 1-800-GAMBLER.