SNR vs stake-returned free bets

SNR and SR describe one small difference with a large effect: what happens to the promotional stake when the bookmaker bet wins. Choose the wrong calculator mode and the lay stake will be wrong, even if every odd and market is otherwise correct.

With a stake-not-returned free bet, the bookmaker pays only the winnings. With a stake-returned free bet, the winning return includes the promotional stake as well. Outplayed uses those definitions in its glossary.[2] The letters are not decorative jargon. They change the amount available on the bookmaker side, so they change the exchange hedge.

The short answer

Use Free Bet (SNR) when the terms say the free-bet stake is not included in the return. Use Free Bet (SR) only when the terms say the stake is returned as part of a winning return. If the terms are unclear, do not infer the mode from the button colour, the offer name or an old forum answer. Open the terms attached to your reward and ask the operator if necessary.

Do not use Normal mode merely because SR looks like an ordinary cash bet. A calculator may use similar arithmetic, but your record still needs to show that you are spending promotional credit rather than your own cash. Outplayed's calculator lists Normal, free bet SNR and free bet SR as three separate types.[5]

What is actually returned?

Suppose you receive a £20 free bet and use it at decimal odds of 6.00.

If the selection loses, the bookmaker return is normally £0 in both cases and the free-bet token has been used. The useful difference appears only when the bookmaker side wins. SR puts another £20 into that outcome, so it requires a larger lay stake to balance.

One warning about the language: SR can also mean stake restricted in matched-betting discussions. Outplayed's glossary records both meanings.[2] Inside a calculator's bet-type menu, SR normally means stake returned. In a conversation about a limited bookmaker account, it may mean something else. Read the sentence, not just the initials.

Find the mode in the offer terms

Look for the settlement sentence attached to the reward. Useful wording includes:

• "free-bet stake is not returned" or "stake not included in winnings", which points to SNR;
• "stake returned" or "stake included in returns", which points to SR;
• "winnings exclude stake", which also points to SNR; and
• "refund issued as a free bet", which describes how a reward is credited, not necessarily how that new free bet settles.

The last one catches people out. A lost qualifying bet may be refunded as a £20 token, yet that token can still be SNR when used. "Stake returned" in the name of a refund offer is not proof that the later free-bet stake comes back with winnings.

The Gambling Commission says significant promotion conditions should be clear, intelligible, unambiguous and prominent, and that terms must not be hidden from players.[4] That does not remove the need to read the version shown in your account. Offers change, and a familiar bookmaker can use different settlement wording for different rewards.

If a winning return gives the promotional stake back only as restricted bonus funds, check what must happen next. Do not count restricted credit as withdrawable cash unless the terms make that true. The calculator mode models the stated return; it cannot decide whether a balance is cash, bonus credit or subject to wagering.

One stake and one set of odds

Here is the clean comparison. Both examples use a £20 promotional stake, back odds of 6.00, lay odds of 6.20 and 2% exchange commission. These are hypothetical figures, checked with Python Decimal. The selection and market are identical on both sides.

Smarkets gives the balanced formulas as follows:[1]

• SNR lay stake: free-bet stake × (back odds − 1) ÷ (lay odds − commission)
• SR lay stake: free-bet stake × back odds ÷ (lay odds − commission)

The commission in those formulas is the decimal rate, so 2% is 0.02.

The penny difference in the SR result comes from rounding the lay stake to £19.42. A calculator may offer an adjust-lay control to put the spare penny on the outcome you prefer. It is not a £3.17 puzzle to solve: SR is worth more here because the winning return contains the extra £20 stake.

Smarkets' published SR example uses the same £20 stake, 6.00 back odds, 6.20 lay odds and 2% commission, and gives a £19.42 lay stake.[1] Its SNR formula removes one from the back odds because that stake is absent from the winning return.[1]

Enter the calculator fields once

A matched-betting calculator needs the promotional stake, bookmaker odds, exchange odds and your exchange commission. It should then show the lay stake, liability and both final outcomes. Outplayed describes those inputs and outputs on its calculator page.[5]

1. Open the reward terms and decide SNR or SR.
2. Select that exact free-bet mode before entering any figures.
3. Enter the token value as the back stake.
4. Enter the accepted bookmaker odds, not an earlier price from the oddsmatcher.
5. Enter the live exchange lay odds and your actual commission rate.
6. Check the selection, market, lay stake and liability before submitting.
7. After acceptance, compare the exchange's matched stake and odds with the calculator.

OddsMonkey's standard calculator likewise separates Normal, Free Bet (SNR), Free Bet (SR) and Risk Free modes.[3] Similar labels across tools are helpful, but the operator's reward terms still decide which label fits.

Before clicking the exchange button, read the two result rows aloud: "bookmaker wins" and "lay wins". They should be close after rounding. A large gap is a useful warning that the mode, odds, commission or stake may be wrong. Then check that the exchange has accepted the full lay. A perfectly calculated order that remains unmatched does not cover the bookmaker bet.

CALCULATE THE FREE BET WITH OUTPLAYED ↗

Three mistakes worth catching

Using Normal for every returned stake

Normal mode assumes a cash stake belonging to you. SR free-bet mode records promotional credit whose value is included in the winning return. Keep the transaction type accurate even if a tool produces similar stakes under particular settings.

Treating every refund as SR

A refund describes how you receive the reward after the qualifying event. SNR or SR describes how that reward settles when you spend it. They are different questions.

Reusing an SNR lay in SR mode

In the worked example, laying £16.18 against an SR return would leave much more money on the bookmaker-win outcome. Recalculate from the accepted figures. Do not top up by eye.

Useful next guides

Read qualifying bets and free-bet conversion for the whole two-stage offer. Use the exchange commission guide if you are unsure which rate belongs in the calculator. The lay-liability guide explains why the exchange reserves more cash at longer odds, while the match-rating guide turns a percentage into pounds.