You've seen the offers from bookies promising to "double your deposit" or refund your bet "if your horse runs second".
They're usually accompanied by a couple of asterisks pointing to disclaimers that tell you the extra $100 or the money you got back can't be used for anything, really, except placing more bets you probably won't win.
Well, the odds are pretty good that you won't be seeing as many of these deals in Queensland.
That's because the money these deals give punters is now considered taxable revenue for gambling companies, under new laws coming into effect today.
The purpose of the laws – according to the government – is to provide better and more reliable funding for Queensland racing.
But, as a consequence, gambling companies have threatened to slash odds, remove Queensland races from their home screens or cut back betting incentives in the state.
What's a free bet?
A free bet – aka "bonus bet" or "credit" – is the extra $100 you get under those 'deposit a $100, play with $200 offers", or the $50 bet you "got back" because your horse finished second.
Under Queensland's new laws, free bets are defined as: "A bet made wholly or partly using an amount that is provided to the person making the bet by the betting operator with whom the bet is made and is not immediately redeemable by the person for cash."
Simply, that means: made-up money that can't be withdrawn from the app or used for anything except making a bet.
"These kinds of offers are a really crucial part of the marketing machinery of betting companies, because they want to get people gambling," Nicholas Carah, University of Queensland's director of digital cultures, said.
"Like some incentive to say, 'This isn't going to cost me anything; I'm going to get 50 bucks for free'.
"It's that last little bit of sales promotion that activates the consumer."
What do these new laws do?
Among other things, the laws change the calculation of taxable wagering revenue; currently that's the money the company receives in bets minus the amount it pays out.
Free bets haven't been included in that, but now they'll be considered as money received by the company.
So even though that $100 extra (you got under your deposit deal) doesn't exist as actual money, betting companies still have to pay tax on it.
The laws also raise the rate of that tax from 15 per cent to 20 per cent (by including a 5 per cent racing levy).
They also allocate 80 per cent of total wagering tax revenue to Racing Queensland – up from 35 per cent, previously.
What's the point of all this?
The long and short of it, according to Treasurer Cameron Dick, is to provide a more sustainable funding model for Queensland's racing industry.
"This is not a tax on punters — it is a levy on big online betting companies," he said.
"The significant growth in online betting over the last few years has led to a very different wagering market in Queensland and we need to adapt.
"Now, the industry will have the certainty of knowing they will get 80 per cent of the betting tax, and if the size of the pie grows, so too will their share."
Still, Responsible Wagering Australia – a body that represents bet365, Betfair, Entain, Sportsbet, Unibet and Pointsbet – said the changes to Queensland's laws could result in less-attractive odds.
In the months since the announcement, companies have removed Queensland races from their home screens and their "next to jump" sections (which show coming races).
So … no more free bets?
Certain providers are planning to scale back the offers in the state as a consequence of the laws.
So, you'll probably start to see fewer promotions or you'll notice fine print excluding Queensland from promotional offers.
Griffith University economics professor Fabrizio Carmignani said that's because the cost of offering free bets had increased.
"You would expect that if the cost is going up, then they will offer less of these for free," he said.
"[Free bets] serve a purpose around attracting new customers [and] creating loyalty.
"The decision that the betting companies will finally make depends on the balance of benefits and cost.
"And even if now, because of the new legislation, free bets are probably a bit more costly, they still continue to provide a benefit."
This all coincides with the announcement of new national laws forcing online bookies to advertise under new taglines, like: "You win some, you lose more" or "Chances are you're about to lose".
Dr Carah said we're likely to see a shift in the way betting companies advertise as a result.
"There's a tug-of-war going on between sports betters and government," he said.
"I think the new tag lines push us in the direction that we've gone with products like tobacco, like alcohol, where the product itself and the advertising of the product contain a warning that's pretty explicit.
"Sports betting companies are relatively new entrants to the market. And that makes them as organisations pretty nimble and pretty flexible and pretty innovative.
"I'd expect that that we will see them continue to innovate."
