STOP: Are You Using The Right Calculator?
This calculator is designed to convert Site Credit. Site Credit is less common than Bonus Bets. The difference between Site Credit and Bonus Bets is if the stake (original bet amount) is returned. Site Credit promotions return your original bet amount and Bonus Bets do not. This difference drastically changes their value and the math behind determining the correct hedge amount. Not all sportsbooks use the terms "Site Credit" or "Bonus Bet". You might see terms like bet credit, bonus funds, or bet tokens. Read the terms carefully to determine if the stake is returned on a win. If it is, use the Site Credit Calculator. If the stake is not returned, use the Bonus Bet Calculator.
What Is Site Credit?
Site Credit is promotional money given to you by a sportsbook, most often through a deposit match. Some books call it bonus funds, bet credit, or sportsbook bonus cash. The name changes; the mechanics do not.
Four things define it:
- The stake is returned with the winnings. A winning $100 site credit bet at +150 pays $250, the same as a cash bet would.
- It cannot be withdrawn. It has to be bet before any of it becomes withdrawable cash.
- It usually carries restrictions, most often a minimum odds requirement and a rollover requirement.
- Losing a Site Credit bet costs you nothing out of your own bankroll. The credit was never your money.
Returning the stake on a win is what makes site credit the most valuable promotion a sportsbook can offer, and it is why it is less common than Bonus Bets.
Finding The Most Profitable Site Credit Conversions
First you need to verify the terms of your promotion, and check for minimum odds requirements and rollover requirements. The best Site Credit conversions are often between -250 and +150. You can manually search for opportunities across every sportsbook and prediction market you belong to, or you can use the DarkHorse Odds Site Credit Bet Finder. You can try a free demo here, or start a free trial.
How The Math Works
Note: The calculations below use decimal odds. If you are starting with with a different odds format, first convert them to decimal odds using the Odds Converter.
You hold $200 in site credit at one sportsbook. You place it on the Lakers money line at -115 (decimal 1.8696) and hedge the Pacers at +115 (decimal 2.15) at a second sportsbook.
Step 1. Determine the profit on a winning bet
\[
\begin{aligned}
\text{Payout if Site Credit wins} &= \text{Site Credit} \times \text{Decimal Odds} \\
&= 200 \times 1.8696 = \$373.91
\end{aligned}
\]
Step 2. Determine hedge amount
\[
\begin{aligned}
\text{Hedge Stake} &= \dfrac{\strut \text{Payout if Site Credit wins}}{\strut \text{Hedge Decimal Odds}} \\
&= \dfrac{\strut 373.91}{\strut 2.15} = \$173.91
\end{aligned}
\]
Step 3. Verify the profit on both sides
If the Site Credit bet wins...
- Profit $373.91 from the Site Credit Bet
- Lose $173.91 from the hedge bet
- Net profit of $200
If the hedge bet wins...
- Profit $200.00 from the hedge bet
- Lose $0 from the Site Credit bet
- Net profit of $200
\[
\begin{aligned}
\text{Conversion Rate} &= \dfrac{\strut \text{Profit}}{\strut \text{Site Credit}} = \dfrac{\strut 200.00}{\strut 200} = 100\%
\end{aligned}
\]
The Lakers and the Pacers play each other, so one of the two bets wins. Either way you finish with $200 in withdrawable cash from $200 of Site Credit.
Why Site Credit Converts Near 100%
Because the stake is returned, the only impact to your conversion percentage is the difference in odds. Finding opposite sides with no vig results in a 100% conversion. The example above uses -115 against +115, a market with no hold, resulting in a 100% conversion.
The best conversions for Site Credit are often on negative odds or closer to even. A Bonus Bet always has better conversions at longer odds, typically +300 to +500. For Site Credit look for the tightest pair of prices you can find, at whatever length. You can also try the DarkHorse Odds Site Credit Bet Finder for free on our demo site.
Minimum Odds
Site Credit bets usually carry a minimum odds requirement, often around -250 though it varies by sportsbook. A line of -260 is too short to qualify; -250, -200 and +150 all qualify. The site credit calculator will size a hedge at any odds you enter, including a line your promotion would reject, so check the terms first. The DarkHorse Odds Bet Finders include filters so that only bets that meet your promotion's requirements are considered.
Rollover & Playthrough Requirements
A rollover requirement is how many times the credit, and any winnings from it, must be wagered before it can be withdrawn. They range from 1x to 20x or more. The rollover requirement may be tied to the bonus amount or the bonus and deposit amount.
- One time (1x): Get $100 in credit at 1x and you wager $100 to satisfy it. Whatever remains afterwards is withdrawable. If the requirement is tied to a $100 deposit as well, you wager $200 instead.
- High rollover: A 5x on $100 of credit, you must wager a cumulative $500. Bet $100 at +100 and win, and the resulting $200 is still locked until the remaining $400 has been wagered. If the deposit amount is included in the rollover requirement, a $100 deposit for a $100 Site Credit match ($200 total), becomes 5 x $200 for a total playthrough requirement of $1,000.
- Drip: The credit is released in increments as you wager. DraftKings' $1,000 sign-up offer is the standard example: $1 of credit released for every $25 played. Wager $100, receive $4 in Site Credit, which is applied automatically to your next wager. This continues until the playthrough or the deadline is reached. The best way to handle a drip offer is usually to use that sportsbook as the hedge book for promotions you are converting elsewhere, so the credit releases as a side effect of work you were doing anyway.
The High-Rollover Strategy: Try To Lose
This is the least obvious idea on the page and the most useful. With a 1x rollover, take the highest conversion you can find and it does not matter which side is Site Credit. With a high rollover, you might want to consider putting the Site Credit on the underdog, who is more likely to lose.
If the Site Credit bet loses, the hedge bet won, and that cash is sitting in a different sportsbook with no restrictions attached. Most times this completes the playthrough requirement since you lost the Site Credit, which means any remaining rollover no longer applies. If the Site Credit bet wins instead, you are holding a larger restricted balance and still owe the rest of the playthrough.
Losing the Site Credit bet is how you complete the transfer. Think of losing a Site Credit matched bet as a bank transfer from a restricted balance at one sportsbook to withdrawable cash at another.
What The Calculator Assumes
DarkHorse Odds assumes a Site Credit wager as 100% Site Credit at a 1x rollover. That assumption sits behind this calculator and behind the Site Credit Bet Finder. If your promotion has different terms the profit might vary based on how much of the bet was cash or having to complete multiple rollovers, but the bet amounts are the same.
Site Credit vs Bonus Bets
A winning Site Credit bet returns both the stake (the original bet amount) and the profit, unlike a bonus bet, which pays only the profit. This difference changes the math on determining how much to hedge and impacts which calculator you should be using.
Run identical numbers through both and the gap is obvious. A $200 token at +250, hedged at -280, keeps $131.58 as a bonus bet, a 65.8% conversion. The same $200 as site credit keeps $184.21, a 92.1% conversion. Same market, same odds, 26 points of difference from one term in the promotion. If your promotion pays winnings only, use the Bonus Bet Calculator instead.
