While everyone talks about betting offers and bookmaker offers, this is only part of the research you need to do when choosing where to bet. Alongside this, another aspect of the service you need to look out for is what concessions the bookmaker has available.
There isn’t much difference between a concession and an offer, but basically, a concession is something that is always available to punters, rather than an offer, which is put on for a limited period or for a specific event.
Benefits from your bookmaker, such as best odds guaranteed, early payouts, extra places and no 5p rule 4 deductions, would all come into the category of a concession, something all customers can claim because it is available all of the time.
What are the Main Concessions from Bookmakers?
The betting industry is one of the most competitive out there, so seeing bookmakers put something on the table that enhances their service is common. This is how concessions have grown over the years, starting off as something one or two bookmakers offered, and now they are part of what punters expect.
The best odds guaranteed concession for horse racing is the best example of this. Back in the early 2000s, when the best odds guaranteed were on offer with limited bookmakers, this was seen as a huge offer and one that all punters were quick to take advantage of.
Now, it’s developed into something that is expected by punters. Suppose a bookmaker doesn’t offer the best odds guaranteed concession. In that case, they are sticking out as not offering a good service, even though all they are doing is not offering a particular concession.
We’ve now got a wide range of concessions on offer with bookmakers. If you are lucky, you’ll get the majority of these with one company. At the same time, some people will find they have three or four different accounts in a bid to cover all concessions available that they need across the different accounts.
Here are some of the most popular concessions that you can expect to find with leading bookmakers:
- Best odds guaranteed
- No 5p Rule 4 deduction
- Extra place races
- Early payout offers
- Two goals up payout offer
- Money back if second
- Double result payout on official result and first past the post
Understanding the Concessions on Offer
When you are using the concessions on offer, one key for punters is to actually understand them and what they mean. This will help you value each concession, so if you are in a position where you need to choose between the two, you can do so in the best possible way.
As an example, if you’ve got two betting accounts, both offering different concessions, you can place your bets with the one that offers you the best deal for the particular type of bet you want. If you are placing a winning bet, you can avoid the each-way concessions and focus on things such as best odds guaranteed and double result payouts.
It’s not just horse racing where you will find concessions in play either, other sports also have them. The most popular of these are based around early payouts, with the football version of this being an early payout if your team goes 2-0 ahead. Regardless of what happens in the game afterwards, if your team is 2-0 ahead, your bet is a winner.
Now that so many bookmakers offer concessions, there is a race on to find new and unique ways of offering something different to punters, so it would be no surprise to see the concession market evolve and grow further in time.
Are Concessions from Bookmakers Important?
When people are choosing where they should bet, the big welcome offers and bonuses always catch the eye and sway many people. On top of this, other free bets and offers will grab the headlines, and these are great, having a major impact on the value you get from your bookmaker.
But if you are going to be a long-term player with a bookmaker, and want to really get value over that period, then concessions is how you will get that.
If you are a regular horse racing punter who bets most days of the year, then over the course of that year, you will gain a lot of additional profit from the best odds guaranteed offer. On top of this, if you bet each way, then there will be times over the year when you have a winner, thanks to an extra place concession, which would have been a loser elsewhere.
For those who bet regularly, this could happen a lot throughout the year, and the additional winnings it produces, which you wouldn’t get with some other bookmakers, will certainly add up. Yes, it is important to find great welcome offers and free bets, and these will certainly help you in the short term to create a betting bank with a new bookmaker.
But when those have gone, it is concessions where you will get the best long-term value, and this is why you should always consider the concessions on offer when choosing where you would like to bet. Get this right, and you should be able to combine free bets at the start from your new bookmaker with long-term value thanks to concession offers for the sports and events that you like to bet on, and these will hopefully last forever.
The Difference Between Concessions and Offers
While the main difference between concessions and offers is around the fact that concessions are always in place and can be used all the time, there is something else that punters should take note of.
This is because concessions are, more often than not, based on giving cash returns to you so that you can do as you please with the money, including withdrawing it. When it comes to offers, these are generally focused on free bets, so you have free bet tokens added to your account rather than additional money.
For example, bets that use the best odds guaranteed concession, extra places, no 5p rule 4, and early payouts are all paid out to you in cash, just like any other bet. You are not tied into any kind of re-investment when you use concessions, perhaps with the exception of things like money back if second offers, which can either be cash or free bets.
This means that concession offers, while maybe not as big and attention-grabbing, offer a lot more freedom for those who take advantage, you don’t have to reinvest a free bet on the same sport or in a short time period as you do with offers.
