Cheltenham is here yet again – is it just me or has it come around much quicker than usual? It feels like just a few months ago that Paul Townend galloped to victory with Galopin Des Champs. You could make a strong case that the Cheltenham Festival is essentially Christmas week for horse racing punters.
I’m sure there’s at least one person you know who booked off work for this event months ago, or maybe you’ve taken that annual leave yourself; the magnitude and anticipation for this festival is palpable, even in the weeks leading up to it. In a week in which Cheltenham becomes the epicentre of UK gambling, more casual bettors are looking for cost-effective ways to get in on the action and see what all the fuss is about. If that person is you, well, you’re in luck today, my friend!
We’ve put together the gold standard of guides to walk you through taking advantage of the copious number of Cheltenham offers currently bouncing across every social media channel, TV network and sports radio station you may lay your eyes or ears on. Cheltenham betting offers are aimed at horse racing fans at all levels – aside from this year’s Euros, it’ll be the busiest time of year for the marketing and design teams at the UK’s most prominent sports betting companies. So, let’s dive right into the thick of the action and see what horse racing betting markets are available to utilise these gambling offers.
The popularity of Cheltenham Festival – what’s it all about?
Money, money, money – money makes the world go around, so they say. I mean, it’d be disingenuous to say that’s the only thing driving the popularity of this festival, which has spanned three centuries. But there is some truth in it – it’s second only to Aintree in total prize money, which is crucial.
Higher prizes mean better stables, a better calibre of jockeys and horses, and a higher quality of racing. Sure, there’s the esteem and heritage, especially for the quarter of a million racing fans who stream through the gates over the week and for the jockeys looking to get their hands on the world-famous Gold Cup.
However, the money on offer, the level of competition and the coverage it gets from the UK sporting media all mean that it is one of the top races on the horse racing calendar. While 2023 didn’t have the headline-grabbing heroics we saw in 2022 from one of the outstanding jockeys of the modern day, analysts believe that more surprises could be in store for this year’s meet.
The top Cheltenham betting offers
As always, Cheltenham brings out all the heaviest operators in the industry – Bet365, Paddy Power, Sky Bet and talkSPORT BET, to name a few. The bookmakers are queuing around the block to get your custom, with analysts confident that punters will bet tens of millions of pounds daily for the duration of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.
All of these offers are for new customers, but with over a dozen of the most prominent sports betting platforms in the UK throwing their names into the hat and offering a range of promotions, we’re sure you’ll be able to find one or two that you haven’t signed up for yet.
How to use your betting offers
Betting on Cheltenham puts many punters at an advantage, because all of the big names are in town, and it’s not their first rodeo. It’s not a case of trawling the internet and looking for a market for a niche sport or event and having to jump through hoops to take advantage of their welcome promotion or bonus. Bet365, TalkSPORT BET and Sky Bet all offer a somewhat similar offer: bet £10 and get £30 in free bets, specifically for Cheltenham.
Step 1
If this is your first time on any of these sites, you can enter the bonus code using a roughly similar method. Firstly, access any of these providers via their website on a desktop or laptop, or with a mobile device like your iPad or smartphone. Once you get to their site or download and open the app, select “sign up”.
Step 2
Once you’ve signed up, depending on the company you use, you’ll have a different step to enter your promo code. There’ll be two or three steps where you enter your name, address, payment information etc, and this is where you can enter your promo code. Some of these sites will have it on the first step, and some might have it on the last step – but as long as you’re aware of this, you won’t miss it.
Step 3
Read the terms and conditions! Just like any promotional offer, there are terms you must comply with. While these promotions aim to get you on the site and explore the latest Cheltenham betting offers, you want to be sure of what happens next if your bet is a success.
If you’re asleep at the wheel and miss the opportunity to enter your promo code, you should contact the customer services of the respective betting platform directly and they’ll likely accommodate your shortcomings and supply you with the free betting amount – provided you meet all of the T&Cs, of course!
Am I limited to one or two offers?
No. If you’ve been around this game for a while, like we have, you’ll know about the subtle art of using 35 different welcome bonuses to get the most for your money. Cheltenham sits alongside Aintree, the World Cup and the Euros, which are some of the biggest weeks in the calendar for betting companies to flex their muscles and try to get as many new punters through their digital doors as possible.
Theoretically, if you haven’t yet signed up for talkSPORT BET, Sky Bet, Bet365 or the other half a dozen titans in UK gambling, then there’s no reason you can’t use all of their offers for Cheltenham week.
Of course, many of these offers involve depositing £10, so these amounts can rack up fairly quickly. As long as you keep an eye on your budget and only place Cheltenham bets with money you can afford to lose, you can use these offers as they were designed. You’ll get a lot more longevity utilising these sign-up offers than simply depositing your cash and placing a bet like you usually would – without the offers.
Final thoughts
Promotional offers and bonus codes are the best way for sports betting platforms to advertise themselves to new punters. For this reason, the sign-up process is often simple and allows you to enter the promo code as easily as possible.
If a site is difficult to use, or they have all sorts of stipulations before you can claim your free bets, then it’s just as easy to move to their direct competition. Sports betting platforms that have been around for as long as Bet365 or Sky Bet know that it’s counterproductive to bury unfavourable terms in the T&C small print, or offer a bonus and then have punters jumping through hoops to claim their winnings.
That’s not to say it doesn’t happen and you shouldn’t check, but with such stiff competition knocking about and in one of the busiest gambling weeks in the entire calendar, the onus is on them to deliver for you, not the other way around.
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