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Sportsbook promo terms glossary
The specific vocabulary that shows up in every offer's fine print, decoded once so you don't have to re-figure it out each time.
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Qualifying bet
The specific real-money wager that triggers a promotional offer once it settles. Qualifying bets usually need to meet a minimum odds threshold (often around -300 or longer) and sometimes a minimum stake. A bet that doesn't meet these requirements - even if it wins - typically won't trigger the associated offer.
Bonus bet / site credit
Promotional credit that can be wagered but not withdrawn directly. It functions like a coupon for a bet rather than cash sitting in your account - you have to place a wager with it, and only the resulting winnings (usually just the profit, not the credit itself, at most operators) convert to real, withdrawable money.
Rollover / playthrough requirement
A condition, more common with deposit-match bonuses than with simple bonus bets, requiring you to wager a certain multiple of the bonus amount (or sometimes the deposit amount) before associated winnings become withdrawable. A "5x rollover" on a $100 bonus means $500 in total wagering is required before that bonus-linked balance can be cashed out. This term shows up less often in the "bet and get bonus bets" structure common at most major U.S. books today than it did in earlier deposit-match-heavy eras of the market, but it's still worth checking for on any deposit-match style offer specifically.
Stake not returned
A specific note on how bonus bet winnings are calculated: when this applies, winning a bonus bet pays out only the profit as cash, and the original bonus stake is not added back to your balance the way it would be on a real-money bet. This is the single detail most likely to make an offer worth meaningfully less than its headline number suggests, and it applies at most (though not all) major operators - always confirm it on the specific offer you're reading.
Odds boost
A promotional, temporarily improved price on a specific, sportsbook-selected market - for example, a moneyline bumped from -150 to -120 for a limited time or a limited maximum stake. Odds boosts are usually opt-in (you need to actively add the boost to your bet slip) and often capped at a maximum bet size, beyond which the boosted price no longer applies.
Profit boost / token
A promotional token, often earned through ongoing wagering activity or handed out periodically, that increases your payout by a set percentage (commonly 25-100%) if the bet wins. Unlike an odds boost, which changes the underlying price, a profit boost is applied after the fact to whatever bet you choose to use it on, generally up to a maximum stake or payout cap specified in the terms.
No-sweat bet / first-bet insurance
An offer that refunds your stake as bonus bet credit specifically if your qualifying wager loses - you keep the winnings if it wins, and get bonus credit back (not cash) if it loses, effectively removing some of the downside risk from that first bet. The refund amount is typically capped at a maximum dollar figure specified in the offer terms.
Deposit match
An offer crediting bonus funds equal to some percentage (often 100%) of your deposit, up to a maximum dollar amount, sometimes released gradually as you wager rather than all at once. Deposit matches are more likely to carry a rollover requirement (see above) than the simpler bonus-bet-on-qualifying-wager structure common elsewhere in the industry.
Void / push
A "push" occurs when a bet's outcome exactly matches the line (e.g., a game landing exactly on the spread number) - pushes are typically refunded in full, stake returned, no win or loss recorded. A "void" occurs when a bet can't be settled as intended for reasons outside the game's actual result - a postponed game, a player scratched from a lineup after a prop was placed on them - and is also typically refunded in full. Neither counts as a win or a loss against your record.
Eligible market / minimum odds
The specific restrictions on which bets actually qualify for an offer, a boost, or a promotion - commonly a minimum odds threshold, a restriction to certain sports or leagues, or an exclusion of certain bet types like same-game parlays. Reading this specific line in any offer's terms before assuming a bet you're about to place will count is the single easiest way to avoid an unpleasant surprise after the fact.
FAQ
Where can I find these terms for a specific offer?
Every licensed U.S. sportsbook publishes full terms and conditions for each active promotion on its own promotions page - that's the authoritative, current source, since terms and figures change often.
Is "stake not returned" the same at every sportsbook?
It's common but not universal - some offers and operators do return the bonus stake on a winning bonus bet. Always confirm this specific detail on the live offer rather than assuming based on a different operator's structure.
Do odds boosts and profit boosts have limits?
Yes - both are typically capped at a maximum bet size or payout, specified in that promotion's terms, beyond which the standard price or payout applies instead.