What is College Basketball Parlay Insurance – Is College Basketball Parlay Insurance a Good Promo?

One of the most gut-wrenching things that can happen to a college hoops bettor is they place a great parlay, only to lose by just one leg. So close to that huge payout only to be left with nothing. Well, luckily there are some sportsbooks that offer college basketball parlay insurance. 

The specific terms will vary from book to book, but the general sentiment of parlay insurance is that you will get a refund -typically up to $25- if your parlay loses. 

How Does College Basketball Parlay Insurance Work? 

Parlays are popular bets to place because of the high payouts associated with them, but they are also risky. All it takes is one bet to lose and your entire parlay is up in flames. So, because of this, sportsbooks will offer parlay insurance. Basically, sportsbooks will try to incentivize users to place parlays by offering them parlay insurance and inherently minimize the user’s risk.

Again, the specific terms are going to be different for each book, but here is the process of how they generally work:

• Place a parlay of 4+ legs (sometimes the minimum will be 5 legs depending on the book)
• The odds of each individual leg must be no worse than -200 (so +100, +150, -150 would all be fair game)
• If all legs hit except one, you will get a refund up to $25 in site credit.

That last bullet point is the most important one to note. The parlay insurance only gives you a refund if only one leg loses, and almost always only up to $25. So, if you place a 4-leg parlay and two of them lose then you would not be eligible for a refund. Or if you place $50 and one leg loses then you would only get $25 in site credit. 

It is also important to read all the terms before placing your bet. On some books, same game parlays won’t be allowed, and only cash bets will be eligible. So, you can’t use a free bet or site credit and have the parlay insurance apply.

Is college basketball parlay insurance a good/profitable promo?

Yes! Absolutely. We love the college hoops parlay insurance. 

It can definitely be profitable, but only if used correctly. Below we will detail strategies for how to use this promo.

Strategies for betting college basketball parlay insurance

Of course, with any type of promotion, there are going to be strategies involved to best take advantage of them. 

Don’t Go Crazy With it

Even with getting the insurance, the parlay should still be bet within moderation. Meaning, you shouldn’t start placing 10-15 leg parlays with the insurance. Naturally, the more legs you add to the parlay, the less chance you have of only one leg missing, and even less chance of the actual parlay hitting. 

So, with that said, the best practice here in terms of the number of legs is to add the number of legs necessary to meet the minimum requirement. So, if the sportsbook requires a 4+ leg parlay, then only place 4 legs. You’d be surprised how far a $25 4-leg parlay can get you in terms of odds. 

Bet the Maximum Amount Refunded

It is also a best practice to not bet above the amount that sportsbooks will refund you. If the book refunds up to $25, then bet $25. If you bet over or under that amount then you are lowering the value of the promotion. 

Pay Attention to the Minimum Odds Requirement

This is probably the most important strategy in terms of actually getting a parlay to win or not. If there is no requirement on minimum odds, then the best strategy one could do is to parlay money line favorites. 

Of course, college basketball is known for upsets, so the key here is to find favorites that have a positive expected value associated with their money line odds. 

If the book you are using does have a minimum odds requirement, then finding positive EV bets is even more valuable. This is where we highly recommend using the OddsJam Positive EV page to find 3-5 college basketball bets that are Positive EV, and use those to build your parlay. 

What Sportsbooks Offer College Basketball Parlay Insurance

The most popular one is FanDuel Sportsbook. The terms of their college basketball parlay insurance are similar to what was detailed above, with the major difference being they require 5 legs minimum. Everything else is the same (odds no worse than -200, up to $25).

Another sportsbook that offers this promo is Caesars Sportsbook. They have exactly the same terms as mentioned at the beginning. 4 legs, -200 odds minimum, and up to $25.

DraftKings Sportsbook offers their own college basketball parlay insurance, and their terms are the exact same as Caesars.