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Best Free Bet Offers for EFL First Round on Saturday 15.08.2026

August 14, 2026
by Emma Harrison
If you’re an avid fan of the EFL, we’ve found some awesome free bets you could use ahead of the first round this coming Saturday. Ranging up to £50 in free bets, these offers pack a punch.

These offers are available at some of the best EFL betting sites in the UK – Betfred, bet365, and BetMGM. Aside from the welcome offers, these bookies are offering great coverage, live betting, and additional bonuses you could use on EFL betting. Read on to learn more about these bonuses and why these sportsbooks stand out.

Let’s start by comparing the free bets for new users

Right, seeing as you have come here in search of the best free bets to use for the EFL first round on Saturday 15th August, we’ll kick things off by highlighting the promotions you can claim at our handpicked UK betting sites:

SportsbookWelcome Bonus
BetfredBet £10 and Get £50 in Free Bets
bet365Bet £10 and Get £30 in Free Bets
BetMGMBet £10 and Get £40 in Free Bets

Betfred – Broad range of football bonuses

Betfred: Pros and Cons
  • Virtually every type of gambling feature available from sports to bingo.
  • Superb sports betting setup with outright and in-play markets.
  • Simple but easy-to-use website design.
  • Highly rated mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
  • The sportsbook layout can be a little confusing.
  • No esports betting coverage.
Visit Betfred

Any sports bettor in the UK knows about Betfred, because of its focus on football markets. Naturally, you are going to find a great deal of EFL markets here in both pre-game and in-play bets. Besides the Betfred free bets for new users, what stood out to us is the Sub Switch, which continues your bet even if your player gets substituted. It’s available for pre-game bets only, but covers single bets and bet builders. If you’re eyeing up some football accumulators, you can bag yourself an Acca Flex, which either gives you a cash bonus for winning or a refund if you lose.

bet365 – Quality live streaming

bet365: Pros and Cons
  • Multiple sections including sports betting, casino games, bingo, and esports
  • One of the best mobile apps available for Android and iOS
  • Awesome bet builder and player builder betting options for the sportsbook
  • Easy-to-use website with simple primary navigation
  • PayPal minimum deposit limit could be lower at £25
Visit Bet365

If you’re a big fan of live betting, bet365 is a must-see. It’s easily one of the best bookies for in-play betting, with live streaming of 600,000+ events every year. In the mix, you will find EFL matches, of course, so it’s well worth checking out the live section this coming Saturday for the EFL first round. Just make sure that you have either placed a bet or deposited funds in the last 24 hours to access the live markets – which is a great excuse to unlock the bet365 free bets by wagering £10. Other football bonuses that stand out are the abundance of boosts, including Acca Boosts, Boosted Odds, Super Boosts, and Winning Boosts – so it’s always worth exploring before you wager here.

BetMGM – Predict goals to win up to £250K

BetMGM: Pros and Cons
  • One of the best mobile apps available for UK sites
  • Wide variety of payment methods
  • Instant deposit and withdrawal processing times
  • Huge array of casino games including live dealers
  • Not a big variety of promos for existing customers
Visit BetMGM UK

BetMGM is another household name in the UK, offering a great deal of coverage on the UK’s favourite sports – football and horse racing. When it comes to football, the EFL is high on BetMGM’s priority list, so you’ll come across a range of markets here. To help get you started, there are some BetMGM free bets to claim ahead of the EFL first round this week, offering £40 in free bets for betting £10. Want to keep the fun going? We recommend checking out the Golden Goals, where you could win up to £250,000 by correctly predicting 2-6 goals. You’ll also encounter plenty of other football offers, including early payouts, Acca Boosts, and the Golden Sub.

Bag some free bets for the EFL first round this week

As you can see, there are plenty of EFL betting sites dishing out free bets for this Saturday’s match. Regardless of which bookie has caught your eye, there’s a minimum £10 bet to unlock the free bets. We also made sure that our recommended bookies offer plenty of UK betting promotions to continue fueling your EFL wagers later on, including boosted odds, moneyback guarantees, and more. Found your favourite bookie? All that’s left is for you to click the on-page links to get started.