It seems like every bookmaker is offering 2010 FIFA World Cup promotions at the moment. These take the form of freebies, betting bonuses, odds promotions, and refund offers. It pays to be aware of these offers if you have more than one account because they may determine who you place your bets with. As with any promotion, be sure to read the terms and conditions before placing any bets.

Below is a list of promotions that I’m currently aware of. Let me know if I’ve missed any.

Free football jersey promotion

Don’t forget, new Luxbet members are still eligible to receive a free World Cup Jersey for the team of your choosing.

bet365 – World Cup Penalty Payback

• “Place a bet on the Outright Market for the 2010 World Cup and if the team you back is eliminated on penalties, we will refund your losing bet. This offer applies to both win and each-way bets.”
• This promotion is highly valuable in the knockout stage, and irrelevant for the group stage. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, one ’round of 16′, two quarterfinals, and the final were decided by penalties, so it’s an important promotion to keep in mind. I’m not sure if bet365 will adjust their odds accordingly, but if they offer the same odds as another bookmaker, you’d be mad not to go with bet365.

bet365 – World Cup Bore Draw Money Back

• “Our Bore Draw Money Back offer is being extended to include First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer and Anytime Goalscorer bets for every World Cup game! So have a pre-match bet on any World Cup match and if the game finishes 0-0 we will refund all losing bets on these markets: First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Anytime Goalscorer, Correct Score, Half-Time/Full-Time, and Scorecast”
• This promotion obviously applies to both the group and knockout stage matches. In the 2006 World Cup there were seven 0-0 draws in the sixty-four matches.

Centrebet – Fat Lady

• “Who says it’s over? We’ll refund all losing Correct Score bets on any World Cup match if your score is beaten by a goal scored in or after the 88th minute (from 87:00 onwards).”

Centrebet – Boar Draw

• “No-one likes a 0-0 draw! We’ll refund all losing 1st Goal Scorer bets on any World Cup match that finishes goalless.”

Centrebet – Save the Best

• “For last…any goal’s a good goal! We’ll refund all losing Last Goal Scorer bets on any World Cup match if your player scores but does not score last.”
• This looks to be good value, especially for fixtures where a lot of goals are expected.

IASbet – Money Back Specials

• “Place a Match Bet (1×2) bet on any of the following matches this weekend, and if your team leads by half time but subsequently lose the match, we’ll refund your bet up to $200 per game. (Italy v Paraguay – Bonus code: ITVPAR) (Spain v Switzerland – Bonus code: SPVSW)”

IASbet – Novelty Specials

• “England v USA: If the last goal scored in this match is a header, we’ll refund all losing First Goal Scorer Single Bets on this match up to $100. To register for this promotion, you must enter the bonus code: ENVUSA on the My Account page of the website by the start of the game on Saturday, 12 June 2010.”
• “Germany v Australia: If Tim Cahill scores at anytime we will refund all losing first goalscorer bets up to $200. To register for this promotion, you must enter the bonus code: GEVAUS on the My Account page of the website by the start of the game on Sunday, 13 June 2010.”

IASbet – Refund Specials

• “Receive a 10% Rebate on your losses during the World Cup on all group stage matches. The rebate is an amount equal to 10% of the cumulative settled stakes minus returns for all Internet bets placed on Match Bets (1×2) only. Simply enter the promotional code: WCREBATE on the My Account page of the website between Friday 11 June and Friday 25 June 2010.”

Luxbet – 90 Minute Madness

• “Our 90 Minute Madness is 90 minutes of crazy odds for those who are crazy about soccer. 90 Minute Madness is available each day of the tournament between 19:30 and 21:00 AEST and there will be a maximum total bet limit of $90 per account for each daily 90 Minute Madness.”
• I’m not sure how much the odds generally change during the promotion. During the latest window they offered odds of 4.00 for South Africa to beat Mexico. After the window closed the odds dropped to 2.85. To see the promotional odds, click on ’90 Minute Madness’ in the side navigation panel once you’ve logged on.

Luxbet – First Goal Scorer Refund

• “If you place a minimum $10 First Goal Scorer bet and the game finishes nil all (0-0) in normal time, Luxbet will refund your bet up to $200.”
• This is similar to the bet365 promotion, but it only applies to first goal scorer.

Luxbet – Pre-Match Injury Time Refund

• “If you place a minimum $10 Match Result bet before the start of the game and your bet is winning but goes down in injury time, Luxbet will refund your bet up to $200.”
• “Example: If Team A is leading 1-0 at the 89:59min mark, and then the match ends in a draw or Team B wins in injury time, all Match Result market bets placed on Team A before the scheduled start time of the match will be refunded up to $200.”
• Does anyone recall Italy’s injury time penalty against Australia?

Luxbet – Half Time Injury Time Refund

• “Simply place a minimum $10 second half market bet (i.e. Second Half Result) during the half-time break by calling 132 LUX (132 589) and if your bet is unlucky enough to lose in injury-time, Luxbet will refund your money up to $200.”
• “Example: If Team A leads the Second Half 1-0 (i.e. may differ from the actual Match result) at the 89:59min mark, but the Second Half ends in a Draw or Team B wins the second half, all bets on Team A will be refunded up to $200.”

SportingBet – 2010 World Cup – Offer a Day

• “Simply head to the Sportingbet World Cup Portal everyday to see what the latest offer it, can be from match specials, bonuses, Free Bets or 2nd Chance offers.”

SportingBet – Socceroos World Cup Special Offer

• “Simply have a min $10 bet on the Socceroos in any eligible market, and we will give you a $20 Free Bet each time they advance a stage.”

SportingBet – 2010 World Cup 10% Winner’s Bonus

• “Sportingbet … is offering members a 10% Winners Bonus on selected markets. Simply have a min $10 bet on the selected ‘World Cup Finals Specials’ markets, and if your bet is a winning one, we will give you a bonus 10% on your winnings. “
• Just remember to adjust your odds accordingly when comparing the specials odds to those of other bookmakers. I.e. you would adjust 1.50 to 1.5×1.1 = 1.65.

SportingBet – Socceroos First Goal Second Chance

• “Get behind the Socceroos this World Cup, simply have a min $10 bet on an Australian player to be the first goal scorer in any of their matches, and if Australia fails to score a single goal in the match, we will give you a Free Bet. For new Sportingbet members, enter “CUP” when you register and deposit $30 for your $20 World Cup Free Bet.”

Sports Alive – World Cup Lucky 100′s

• “Every 100th World Cup bet daily wins $100 to bet during the World Cup.”
• They have a maximum bonus of $200 per person. This promotion applies to any World Cup bet. Hmmm. Time to start making a series of $1 bets!

SportsBet – Every Match Money Back offer

• “If the last goal is a header, we’ll refund all losing 1st Goal Scorer bets as cash up to $100.”
• I have no idea how valuable this is. Does anyone have any last goal header statistics?

SportsBet – Share in a $20,000 Bonus this Weekend

• “Pick the Score Super Bonus: place a Pick the Score wager for $5 or more in any or every match this weekend, if your bet is a Winner, you will share in a weekend $20,000 Free Bet Super Bonus bounty!”
• In their terms and conditions it says that this promotion applies to 11-14 June

SportsBet – Australia v Germany Special

• “If Tim Cahill scores a Goal, but Australia does not win the match against Germany, we will refund ALL losing Head to Head bets (win/draw) as a Free Bet up to $100!”
• How random! Cahill is in my opinion Australia’s best player. He has scored more goals than any other Australian at the World Cup, so if Australia does manage to score against Germany, the odds are decent that Cahill will be the scorer.