These days, it seems as if the web is awash with free bets and it’s often difficult to try and get a real feel for which are genuine and which are so convoluted that they aren’t worth doing. But it’s most definitely worth keeping an eye on the market for the genuine free bets which are nice and simple; matched cash offers, straightforward free bets and bonus offers.

There are some sites that specialise in keeping an eye on this market for you as all the major bookmakers scramble for our business. Keep your own eye betfair.com, for example, for the latest offers, as this site does the hard work on your behalf.

The best free offers on Betfair, for example, tend to come in the run-up to big horse racing events like the Grand National (the biggest single betting day in the UK), the Cheltenham Festival and other big race events. The same is true, though to a slightly lesser extent, with other major sporting events, with football and horse racing still vying for the overall top spot.

During these times, and in March and early April in particular thanks to the Grand National, there really are some startlingly good offers around. But a big word of warning here; the bookies aren’t exactly renowned for their generosity towards punters so the reason they want to lure us in is that they know most of us will keep coming back until we’ve lost the lot and, often, a whole lot more as we can’t be bothered to keep switching accounts and/or simply exhaust all new account possibilities.

So don’t do this. Instead, take the shrewdest bet you can with the free cash available then walk away – either having had a gamble to nothing or, better yet, with a pocket full of bonus money.