Spreadex Review: Bet £10, Get £60, Fixed Odds and Spread Bets on Racing

Spreadex promo code

The Spreadex sign-up offer needs no promo code. New customers qualify for Bet £10 Get £60 simply by opening an account and placing the right first bet.

The catch is that the £60 welcome bonus is a package, not cash. Only £30 comes as conventional fixed-odds free bets. The rest of the joining offer is a set of free spread bets, three on football Total Goals, three on racing Winning Favourites and a single £1 Race Index bet, and they can only be used with a full spread betting account. A free spread bet is free to place, but it does not cap what you can lose if it goes against you.

Spreadex sign-up offer: what is inside the £60 bundle

Place a £10 fixed-odds single, or £10 each way, at odds of 1/2 or bigger, before or during the event, and let it settle without cashing out. The first batch arrives on settlement: a £10 free fixed-odds bet, a £5 Total Goals football spread bet, a £5 Winning Favourites racing spread bet and the £1 Race Index bet. The second and third batches, each with a £10 fixed-odds free bet and £5 of each spread, follow at 24-hour intervals.

The 1/2 minimum is generous by the standards of most welcome offers, so a short-priced favourite will do as the qualifier. Remember that on an each-way bet only the win half counts. The fixed-odds free bets are the easy part to use; the spread bets reward some homework first.

The split design is deliberate. It is built to get fixed-odds punters dipping a toe into spread betting without risking much. Whether that is a plus depends on you: if you only ever want straight win-or-lose bets, a chunk of the £60 will sit in markets you may not use.

To use a free bet, tick Claim as Free Bet on the bet slip. Free bets can be placed in-play but must run to a result; they cannot be cashed out.

1. Open an account through our link. There is no promo code to enter.
2. Place a £10 fixed-odds bet at 1/2 or bigger, as a single or £10 each way, and do not cash it out.
3. Collect three batches of free bets, the first on settlement and the next two at 24-hour intervals.
4. Use them within 28 days. The spread free bets need a full spread betting account, and spread losses can exceed your deposit.

Spreadex horse racing: fixed odds, spreads and concessions

Spreadex prices British and Irish racing and greyhounds on fixed odds, streams racing live, and layers spread betting on top. The fixed-odds side carries several punter-friendly concessions, and the spread markets give racing fans a way to bet on performance rather than simply on a horse winning.

Most bookmakers are variations on the same theme. Spreadex is not. Set up in 1999 by former City trader Jonathan Hufford and still run out of St Albans, it grew up as a spread-betting house and runs a full fixed-odds sportsbook alongside, which makes it one of very few UK operators where you can back a horse at a fixed price and, on the next slip, buy or sell on a spread market. That dual nature runs through everything, including the welcome offer.

The racing product is solid rather than flashy, and it leans on a handful of concessions you will not find everywhere. For a steer on the racing before you stake either way, our racing data for today covers every card.

How spread betting on racing works

In a spread bet, Spreadex quotes a range for an outcome, and you either buy, if you think the result will finish above it, or sell, if you think it will finish below. Your stake is a sum per point, so every point the result lands beyond the quote multiplies your profit, or your loss. On the Race Index, a horse earns points according to where it finishes, letting you back it to run well or oppose it. Winning Favourites measures how the favourites fare across a meeting, so you can buy if you expect a good day for the market leaders or sell if you expect an upset or two. Because there is no fixed limit on how far a result can go against you, spread betting losses can exceed your stake and your deposit. Set limits before you start.

A worked example shows the asymmetry. Say Spreadex prices Total Goals in a match at 2.6 to 2.9. Fancy a high-scoring game? You buy at 2.9 for £5 a point. Four goals go in, so you win (4 − 2.9) × £5 = £5.50. But if it finishes goalless, you lose (2.9 − 0) × £5 = £14.50, more than the £5 you put up. That is the whole point, and the reason spread betting suits confident, numbers-minded punters rather than casual bettors.

The menu runs well beyond those two. The Race Index awards 50 points to the winner, 25 to the runner-up and 10 to the third in fields of 11 or fewer, and 50, 30, 20 and 10 down to fourth in bigger fields. Winning Distances adds up the winning margins across a meeting, with a nose counted as 0.05 of a length, a head 0.2 and a neck 0.3, and each race capped at 12 lengths. The Jockey Index follows a named rider through the card at 25 points for a win, 10 for second and 5 for third, and match bets price the distance between two horses in the same race. These are angles a standard book cannot give you, including the ability to bet against a fancied runner.

Best Odds Guaranteed and each-way terms

We could not confirm that Spreadex offers Best Odds Guaranteed, so treat any early price you take as the price you will be paid. Each-way betting is available throughout; our each-way calculator works out what a placed horse returns.

Racing concessions

2nd to a Rag refunds your stake as a free bet, up to £25, if your selection finishes second to a winner sent off at 33/1 or bigger. Lucky 15, Lucky 31 and Lucky 63 bets earn double odds if only one selection wins, and First Past the Post settlement applies on qualifying races. Use our bet calculator to see what a Lucky 15 is worth before the concessions are applied.

First Past the Post is the pick of them. If your horse crosses the line first but is demoted in a stewards' inquiry for causing interference, Spreadex pays out on it as well as on the horse promoted to first. For anyone who has been burned by a disqualification after the race, that is a useful safety net. 2nd to a Rag is small consolation when an outsider mugs you on the line, and Lucky Double Odds rewards multiples fans who land just one winner.

Streaming and other bet types

Live racing is streamed for customers, and the fixed-odds book covers win and each-way singles as well as the full-cover Lucky bets. Cash out, Bet Builder and acca boosts are available on the sports side.

Every UK and Irish race is streamed, along with a wide range of overseas racing, and you do not need a bet to watch: log in to a funded account and the pictures are there. Football and tennis are streamed too. On British and Irish racecards, tick Show all horse info and the streaming icon brings up a horse's previous runs, a handy shortcut for anyone who likes to watch the form back.

Spreadex app and payments

The Spreadex Sports app holds a 4.7 rating from more than 1,400 ratings on the UK App Store, and fixed-odds and spread markets sit side by side in it. See how it ranks against other racing apps in our betting apps guide.

The app, on iOS and Android, mirrors the site well: Bet Builder, Auto Cash-Out, which lets you set a profit or loss level that triggers itself, live streaming and Face ID or Touch ID login. In-play is a strength, with fast markets, in-play streaming and cash out across both fixed-odds and spread bets, pre-match and live.

You can pay by Visa, Mastercard or Maestro debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer. Card withdrawals typically take two to five working days, bank transfers up to two, and a same-day CHAPS payment is available for a £25 fee. Help comes by live chat or telephone.

Spreadex sports and financial spreads: Total Goals, Supremacy and beyond

On the sports side, the spread markets run to Total Goals and Supremacy in football alongside the full fixed-odds book, and Acca Boost adds up to 100% to winning football multiples. If you are curious about spread betting, there is no better place to learn it alongside familiar fixed-odds markets, and the welcome bundle is a low-risk way in.

Spreadex also runs financial spread betting under its FCA authorisation, with markets such as Daily Wall Street, Daily US Tech 100 and Daily UK 100, and trades on indices, shares, commodities and currencies. The platform displays the sell and buy price alongside percentage changes. As with sports spreads, losses can exceed your deposit.

Where Spreadex falls short for racing fans is the unconfirmed Best Odds Guaranteed, and the fact that spread betting genuinely is not for everyone: the downside is open-ended, and casual punters should treat the spread tokens with respect. See how it lines up against the field in our best UK horse racing betting sites comparison.

Spreadex welcome bonus terms in detail

The Spreadex offer page sets out its terms in full, and a few of them differ noticeably from the bet-and-get deals at mainstream bookmakers.

A 28-day window, and in-play counts

The qualifying bet does not have to go on straight away: you have 28 days from opening the account to place it, much longer than the seven days common elsewhere. It can be struck before the off or in-play, so long as it is not cashed out early.

Fixed-odds account only gets half

Every qualifying customer receives the three £10 fixed-odds free bets. The £30 in spread bets, plus the £1 Race Index bet, only follow if you open a full spread betting account within 28 days of the fixed-odds one and pass Spreadex’s own eligibility checks for spread trading. A punter who sticks to fixed odds should value the offer at £30, not £60.

Winnings, not stakes

Free bet stakes are kept back from any return, and the terms set no minimum odds for the free bets themselves, only for the qualifier. Each must run to a result: free bets can go on in-play but cannot be cashed out. Unused tokens lapse 28 days after they are awarded.

A worked example

Back a horse at 4/1 for £10 each way, £20 in total. The £10 win part clears the 1/2 minimum, so the first batch of free bets lands when the race is settled, whether or not the horse is placed. Use one £10 fixed-odds free bet on a 3/1 winner later in the week and Spreadex pays £30, without the £10 stake.

Spreadex promotions for existing customers

The racing concessions at Spreadex are covered above. Away from the track, the offers page lists an Acca Boost on football accumulators of three or more selections, worth between 5% and 100% of the winnings depending on the bet, and 2-Up Early Payout, which settles a bet on the 2-Up Match Odds market as a winner once your team goes two goals clear.

Daily price boosts run across the sportsbook, and a Refer and Earn scheme pays a reward when a friend you introduce joins and places a bet. The terms of each are set per offer, so read them on the promotions page before relying on one.

Who can claim the Spreadex sign-up offer

New customers aged 18 or over who live in Great Britain or the Republic of Ireland. The terms do not mention Northern Ireland. The offer is once per customer, and former clients who reopen a closed Spreadex account do not qualify. Employees of other spread betting or fixed-odds firms, and their partners and relatives, are excluded. It cannot be combined with any other Spreadex offer, and anyone already barred from promotional free bets is ineligible. No deposit methods are excluded in the terms.

Is Spreadex safe and legit?

Spreadex Ltd has been taking bets since 1999 from its base in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and holds a UK Gambling Commission licence under account number 8835 for its fixed-odds betting, while its spread betting is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Jonathan Hufford, the former City trader who founded the firm, stepped back from executive duties in 2021 and remains on the board. Spreadex bought Sporting Index's consumer business in 2023, but the Competition and Markets Authority has since ruled that it must be sold. Account controls include daily, weekly or monthly deposit limits, time-outs from one day to six weeks, self-exclusion from six months to five years and a block on virtual sports.

As a long-established, dual-regulated operator, the fundamentals are sound.

Screenshots from the Spreadex app listing on the UK App Store.

How Spreadex differs from SBK and Betfred

Terms checked on each operator’s own site. Read the full terms before you bet. More detail in our SBK review, Betfred review.

Spreadex pros and cons

Spreadex for racing: the verdict

Spreadex is the odd one out among British bookmakers, and that is its appeal. Alongside a conventional fixed-odds book it lets you spread bet on racing, buying or selling a horse's finishing performance on the Race Index or a whole meeting's favourites on Winning Favourites. Live racing pictures, a Lucky 15 that pays double odds on a lone winner, a 2nd to a Rag refund and First Past the Post settlement on British and Irish races add substance to the novelty.

The novelty has a sharp edge, though. Spread bet losses are not limited to your stake and can exceed your deposit, so this is no place to learn on the hoof. We could not confirm Best Odds Guaranteed, the e-wallet choice is thin, and the welcome offer's spread free bets need a full spread betting account. Seven out of ten: a distinctive, well-run firm for punters who understand what they are buying, and a fine second account to sit beside SBK and the names on our horse racing betting sites list.

Spreadex: frequently asked questions