ESPN Bet “Bet $10, Get $100”: how it worked, and why Ontario never had it

"Bet $10, Get $100" was the sentence that sold ESPN BET on US sports radio for two years. It's simple to say and easy to misread, so this page does three things: explains exactly how it worked, puts a dollar value on it, and says plainly why an Ontario reader couldn't use it then and can't use it now.

How the offer worked, step by step

1. Be eligible. New customers only, aged 21 or older (18 in Kentucky), physically located in an ESPN BET state. The app checked location by geolocation before any bet.
2. Deposit at least $10 in cash.
3. Place a first cash bet of $10 or more on almost any market. Bonus funds couldn't be used for the qualifying bet.
4. Wait for it to settle. Win or lose — in most versions — the qualifying bet unlocked the reward.
5. Receive $100 in bonus bets, normally as five separate $20 bonus bets, within about 72 hours of settlement.
6. Use them within seven days. Each bonus bet had its own seven-day expiry and could be used once, on one wager, with no cash value.

No promo code was required for the standard version; affiliate codes mainly tracked who had referred you. Some versions of the offer, especially later and in particular states, were "if your first bet wins" offers instead of "win or lose" — the same headline, half the certainty.

The arithmetic: what $100 in bonus bets is worth

Two rules decide the value: the stake is not returned, and the bonus bet can't be withdrawn. So the only cash that ever reaches you is the profit on a winning bonus bet.

Add the $10 qualifying bet, which at -110 loses about 50 cents on average, and the whole package was worth something like $45 to $70 to a disciplined US bettor. That's a real incentive — and a very different thing from "$100".

Why Ontario never had it — and won't

Three separate walls stood between this offer and an Ontario reader:

• Licensing. ESPN BET held US state licences only. iGaming Ontario's operator directory has never listed it.
• Advertising. Even an Ontario-registered operator can't publish an offer like this to the public. AGCO Standard 2.05 confines inducements to the operator's own site or app and to people who have consented to its marketing.
• Existence. Since 1 December 2025, the ESPN BET sportsbook doesn't exist. Coverage after the switch described theScore Bet running its own "bet $10" offers in several US states — with at least one version paying only if the first bet won — which is a reminder that the same headline can hide different terms.

The company behind ESPN BET does operate in Ontario, as theScore Bet. Whatever it offers new Ontario customers is shown inside its app, with the terms attached. It may look nothing like "Bet $10, Get $100", and that's by design: Ontario chose to keep bonus headlines off billboards and broadcasts.

Visit theScore Bet ↗

What to take from it

Offers like this aren't scams; they're customer-acquisition spending, and the US market spent billions on them. But "$10 gets $100" compresses a lot of conditions into four words. When you next see a headline like it — on a stream, in a podcast read or on a page like this one — ask four questions: is the operator licensed where I am, is the reward cash or bonus bets, is the stake returned, and when does it expire. In Ontario, only the first question has a public answer; the rest are in the app.

Bet responsibly, in Ontario

Sports betting is entertainment that costs money. Over time the book keeps a margin on every market, and no promo changes that arithmetic.

• Decide the amount before you start, not during. A limit set mid-session isn't a limit.
• Use the tools the app gives you. Regulated Ontario apps must offer deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion. theScore Bet's own deposit screen carries a "Set Responsible Gaming Limits" link next to the amount buttons.
• Never chase a loss, and never bet borrowed money or money that already has a job.
• Watch the time, not just the balance. Time spent is the earliest warning sign.

ConnexOntario is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 1-866-531-2600, by text at 247247 or by chat at connexontario.ca. Ontario also runs a centralized self-exclusion service, BetGuard (betguard.ca), that blocks you from every regulated online operator at once.