# Sports book apps are offering me ridiculous “bonus bets.” What’s the catch? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 14, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046 "2025-09-14T22:40:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/21 "2025-09-16T00:42:17Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > It’s worth it to the gambling sites to be the dealer who finds such a person They’re also banking on the fact that the other larger betting apps already have a stockpile of suckers, and they offer a big enticement to come over to their app and lose their money there. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/22 "2025-09-16T00:56:53Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Glitch is not the right word, perhaps. Thanks for the links. Looks like BetMGM was trying to get away with some obvious bullshit, but had to pay up when the regulators stepped in. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/23 "2025-09-16T00:56:55Z")
True. The payoff on one whale who will take out a second mortgage, drain the kids’ college funds, and tap his retirement savings over a few years is way more than $150.00. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/24 "2025-09-16T00:57:58Z")
And I figure there are a lot of stories we don’t hear, from people without the resources to pursue legal action for a smaller payout than the ones that get into the papers ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/25 "2025-09-18T01:39:13Z")
The Illinois Gaming Board, which oversees sports wagering, rejected Mr Aiello’s appeal and said BetMGM didnt have to pay his parlay off. It appears the odds Mr. Aiello bet were actually way off the mark (he should have only won 40,000 not almost 400,000 if the odds were right), and the bets were cancelled before the game was even played, so Mr. Aiello didnt actually have the bets made. He just thought he did, and he has a cool story about wanting to pay for his daughter’s college (maybe save up the fucking $2000 you bet rather than playing a stupid parlay) so it’s news. Of course I doubt BetMGM will give him even the $40,000 correct odds he didn’t actually win because he didnt actually bet because they’re jerks too. Pretty much everybody is a jerk in sports betting. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/26 "2025-09-18T01:40:08Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/27 "2025-11-29T02:21:39Z")
Ok, so I’ve downloaded a sportsbook app and they matched me dollar for dollar. So I assume the prudent thing to do is to bet my money on one team and the house’s money on the other, in the same game. But I’m hazy on the particulars. Do I need to look for really close contests, bet-wise, or should I go for longer odds on a more wild contest? And I assume I bet my own money on the safer outcome, correct? Also, if I bet optimally, could I still wind up losing money on this transaction? Also also, I expect the odds on the Chiefs game on December 8 to perhaps too-heavily favor the Chiefs, thanks to a sudden influx of Missouri money being placed on them, on sentiment alone. Could I somehow use this to my advantage, or am I grossly overestimating how much MO money (saw it) is affecting the churn in that game? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046/28 "2025-11-29T03:28:41Z")
I’ve been playing on the initial DraftKings sign-up bonus ($200 for a $25 deposit) since 2022 when Maryland first legalized it. But I bet miniscule amounts and none of the above warnings are incorrect. I bet small because I’m terrible at it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-book-apps-are-offering-me-ridiculous-bonus-bets-what-s-the-catch/1023046.md?page=1)