Robinhood Review & Promo Code - Get Up to $200 Worth of Free Stock

Robinhood is a federally regulated trading platform. While it primarily focuses on regular stock investments, it’s possible to bet against other players on select sports markets. Robinhood isn’t a regular sportsbook, and government oversight allows them to operate in all 50 US states. 

In this Robinhood review, I’m exploring how the platform works from a sports betting perspective and comparing my experience to what I’d normally expect from a traditional sportsbook. I’m also showing you how to claim your Robinhood bonus. 

What Is Robinhood? 

Robinhood is an American financial exchange market and brokerage firm that allows players to trade “event contracts” on the outcome of their favorite sports. While regular sports betting sites let you wager against the house, event contracts allow you to wager against other players.

Because Robinhood is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it can operate legally throughout the United States. 

How Does Robinhood Differ From Other Sports Betting Platforms? 

While traditional sports betting platforms offer a range of bets like moneylines, spreads, and totals, Robinhood limits you to placing bets on something called “event contracts”. Event contracts allow you to bet against other players while answering “yes” or “no” questions related to specific sporting events. 

The betting markets are much more limited than regular sportsbooks, and during the week I spent testing Robinhood, I could only bet on the NBA and NHL. Live betting is not available. 

As an exchange, you aren’t betting against the house at Robinhood. Instead, when you buy an event contract, you’re taking an opposing position against another user directly. 

The price of one contract hovers between $0.01 and $0.99 based on the probability of an event going either way. For example, if a “Yes” contract is priced at $0.53, the market is suggesting that there is a 53% chance your prediction will be correct. However, these numbers are subject to change based on the betting action, just like odds on a sportsbook. 

Let’s say you predict that the Boston Celtics are going to win the Men’s Pro Basketball Eastern Conference, and the price of every “yes” contract for that question is $0.59. Should the Celtics win that conference, you’ll get to keep $1.00 for every contract you purchased that was correct. 

When you buy lower-priced contracts, you’re essentially betting on the underdog. If you bet on Miami to win the Men’s Pro Basketball Eastern Conference at $0.01 per contract and they end up winning, you still get $1.00 per successful contract.  

Instead of needing gambling licenses from individual state gambling authorities, like sportsbooks, Robinhood is regulated at a federal level like any financial institution. 

Even though Robinhood is very different from traditional sports betting from both a legal and a structural perspective, the actual experience of buying event contracts is pretty similar to placing a bet, or even entering a DFS contest. 

The price of each contract is similar to the odds at a traditional sportsbook. When you buy a contract, you can type in different stakes to see how much you would win before confirming, similar to a betslip.

Robinhood Promo & Promo Code 

Robinhood will give you between $5 and $200 worth of free stock at random once you’ve signed up and made your first deposit. You can opt into this bonus with no promo code necessary. I got my hands on this bonus as a brand-new user, and I’m showing you exactly how to do the same.

See more sportsbook promos handpicked from the best sportsbooks.

How to Claim the Robinhood Promo 

It took me just five minutes to download the Robinhood app to my iPhone 16, confirm my details, fund my account, and receive their welcome bonus. Here’s what I did to claim free stock: 

1. Download Robinhood’s mobile app from the iOS App Store and click “Sign Up.” 

2. Enter your email address, name, create a new password, and verify your cell phone number with a six-digit SMS code. 

3. Click “Continue,” and enter your date of birth, residential address, and nine-digit Social Security Number (SSN) when prompted. 

4. I was asked a handful of “yes/no” questions related to my investing experience. All these questions are required to open a brokerage account with any firm in the United States. For instance, if you have family members that work inside a brokerage, the government needs to know. 

5. After completing these questions, I was directed to Robinhood’s home screen to link my financial details. I opened their upper-left menu and chose “Transfers” from the following screen. 

6. I clicked “Deposit,” entered the amount of money I wanted to deposit, clicked “Continue,” and selected “Add an Account.” I chose “Debit Card” to benefit from immediate transfers and entered my card information when prompted. 

7. I was asked to verify my debit card because it was my first time using it. I followed their instructions to find a $1.95 surcharge on my bank account, went back to the Robinhood app, and entered the six-digit code associated with their transaction to continue. 

8. After verifying my debit card, I clicked “Deposit $10” to fund my account. Once finished, I tapped “Done” and found $10 in my balance as soon as I laid eyes on the home screen. 

9. I clicked the bottom-left menu tab and tapped “Claim Free Stock” on the following page. I got $5.40 in free stock and chose to sink funds into Google, but you can select any of 26 leading American companies (including Amazon, Apple, Windows, Microsoft, and more). 

Robinhood Promo Terms & Conditions 

Robinhood stipulates that all new signups be at least 18 years old. You also have to be a citizen of the United States to get past their initial verification process. Additionally, you must verify your debit card/link your bank account and make at least one deposit to claim $5 - $200 in free stock. 

If you’re lucky, you can get up to $200 worth of free stock. The amount you receive is calculated at random, but Robinhood says 99% of all bonus stock is worth just $5.00. 

Robinhood Promo Code 

There’s no Robinhood promo code necessary to claim any bonuses. 

More Promos at Robinhood 

Because Robinhood is a financial exchange market, they don’t offer quite as many promotions as your average sportsbook. Their sign-up bonus and referral bonus feature identical rewards, but these are the only ways to claim free cash at Robinhood. 

Robinhood Refer-A-Friend Bonus 

When you invite a friend to Robinhood, you’ll both get between $5 and $200 worth of free stock that can be put towards 26 leading American companies. I tested this promotion with a friend of mine. To get started, I opened my profile data at the bottom-right corner of the app. 

I clicked “Earn Rewards” and “Invite Friends” on the following page. After giving Robinhood full access to my list of contacts, I selected “Invite” next to my friend’s contact information. They got an SMS message, clicked the link, and signed up with Robinhood to lock in our double rewards.

They were prompted to make a deposit, after which point they received $5 worth of free stock. I got another $5 worth of free stock, and this time, I opted to put it all on Apple instead of Google.

You’re allowed to earn up to $1,500 worth of annual free stock in referral bonuses. If you know enough people, you can make this offer work for you. 

Robinhood User Experience 

Robinhood is available to use on desktop and mobile devices, but only their mobile app delivers support for the “prediction markets” that sports betting falls under. 

I enjoyed a simple registration process with guided steps along the way.

It was also easy to verify my debit card before depositing cash and getting free stock. Even without much experience in the world of financial speculation, I never felt out of my depth.

Of course, the betting process is a little different than placing a moneyline wager, but I was able to get used to the format of event contracts rather quickly.

Their simplified version of sports wagering is ideal for beginners who want to start a Roth IRA and manage sports bets with the same app. 

Unfortunately, if you were hoping for all the bells and whistles that come with established sports betting apps like FanDuel and BetMGM, you might not appreciate their lack of market variety.

I wasn’t able to bet the spread, build parlays, or bet on live sports. 

Mobile App

I downloaded Robinhood’s mobile app to my iPhone 16 from the iOS App Store. You can install their app for Android using the Google Play Store. I was able to start trading event contracts on mobile within five minutes of creating a new account. 

Robinhood doesn’t look like a traditional sportsbook by any stretch of the imagination and it took me a few minutes to find the sports bets. I found them under Prediction Markets, and scrolled down the page until I saw options for Men’s Pro Basketball and Men’s Pro Hockey. 

There are no filters present to help users differentiate between categories, with everything just collected in one section. Still, their market availability is so limited that filters are almost unnecessary. What you see is what you get, and sports markets often change with the seasons. 

Robinhood includes some interesting background data along with its prediction markets.  I was able to monitor real-time price fluctuations for event contracts using the “Live” graph that appears when you open an event (I chose “Championship” under Men’s Pro Basketball). I liked being able to view changing probabilities on a daily and weekly basis by clicking “1D” and “1W.” It feels like I’m engaging in data analysis, as much as betting on sports. 

Event contracts are listed from most expensive to least expensive based on the team that has the highest probability of winning, just like showing teams with the shortest odds first. For example, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a 38% chance of winning the Men’s Pro Basketball Championship at the time of my Robinhood review. 

I was able to see more about Robinhood’s rules and payout structure by reading the “About” section underneath the “Timeline” given for each event, and I like how much detail Robinhood goes into here. 

I will say that prediction markets feel somewhat detached from the rest of their user interface, and the majority of the real estate is given to more traditional financial trades. However, I can see this as a good thing for purist sports bettors who don’t feel like muddying the waters with crypto or stock investments. 

If you’re looking for a clean and crisp mobile app that can handle simple futures wagers, Robinhood provides a great user experience.

Robinhood Features 

Robinhood is an investment platform, which means you won’t find traditional moneyline bets or most of the market types you may enjoy with competing sportsbooks. The sports event contracts at Robinhood are most similar to futures betting in my experience, although they also sometimes feature markets for the winners of individual games - similar to moneylines. 

Compared with a regular sportsbook, Robinhood has way fewer betting options. However, you can find event contracts on plenty of non-sports markets, like inflation rates, job numbers, GDP growth, and even gas prices. 

Outside their prediction markets, which are only available via their mobile app, Robinhood is an excellent platform for stocks and ETFs.

Robinhood Sports Markets 

Robinhood’s event contracts are visible underneath “Prediction Markets” from the “Investing” tab on your mobile account. During my review of the platform, I saw markets labeled Championship, Eastern Conference Finals, and Orlando vs. Boston Series Winner. 

Basically, I was restricted to simple predictions about the upcoming sporting events. The markets are simple to understand and accessible to users who don’t have a ton of sports betting experience, but experienced bettors will find them lacking, in my opinion. 

There’s no way to place bets on individual players, bet props, or create parlays here. At a regular sportsbook like FanDuel or Caesars, I’d be able to cash in with odds boosts and other betting promos, search for certain players or teams directly, and explore dozens of different sports. None of this is possible at Robinhood. 

Instead, Robinhood offers a simplified version of the betting process, suited to casual players. 

Usability

From a usability standpoint, it couldn’t be much easier to purchase event contracts. The process actually feels pretty similar to placing a wager at your average sportsbook. 

Instead of clicking on odds, you’ll select either “Yes” or “No” to purchase an event contract. Enter the number of contracts you’d like to buy (this is like your stake at a sportsbook), and click the button to confirm your trade. Your payout arrives very quickly after the event finishes, similar to a sportsbook. 

During my Robinhood review, they were taking action on the NBA championship winners, with the Oklahoma City Thunder at $0.38 and the Celtics at $0.32, respectively. This simply means that you need to spend $0.38 or $0.32 to receive a total return of $1, if you are correct. 

You can buy as many event contracts as you like, all at the same rate. For instance, buying $38 worth of contracts on Oklahoma would return $100. 

Comparison with a Regular Sportsbook

I decided to check how this compares to a traditional sportsbook, so I opened my BetMGM account to find the NBA futures market. The Thunder were at +150 while the Celtics were at +200, meaning betting $38 or $32 would return $95 or $96, respectively. 

All that is to say that you are actually getting slightly more bang for your buck at Robinhood, which is impressive. While Robinhood doesn’t have a built-in vig or house edge like the odds at a sportsbook, they do charge $0.01 commission per event contract that you trade. This fee also applies when you open a contract or close your position by taking your cash out of the event early. 

All in all, I don’t see Robinhood replacing any of the established sportsbooks anytime soon, but it’s an interesting addition to the ecosystem. Personally, I’ll certainly be checking the prediction markets before making any futures bets from now on, to see if I can get a better price. 

Robinhood Deposits & Withdrawals 

Robinhood has optimized its deposit and withdrawal process to be quick, easy, and simple. On the downside, compared with most traditional sportsbooks, Robinhood offers much fewer payment methods. 

I got age-verified immediately after signing up, so I wasn’t required to submit a copy of my ID or send additional documents before requesting a withdrawal.
They don’t charge any fees on deposits and withdrawals made through bank transfer. Debit card deposits are also free, but you have to pay a $1 or 1.75% fee for debit card withdrawals. There’s no way to use a credit card for deposits or payouts here. 

Although Robinhood charged $1.95 to my debit card for verification purposes, they refunded my money a few hours later. I’m explaining how I funded my account and withdrew cash right here:

Robinhood Deposits 

I was able to fund my Robinhood account using Visa debit, Mastercard debit, or a standard bank transfer. There’s no way to use crypto, Apple Pay, or other e-wallets like PayPal/Venmo/Skrill as you’d expect from a traditional sportsbook. 

Here’s an explanation of the steps I followed to deposit $10 after getting my debit card verified:

1. I opened the upper-left menu tab and selected “Transfers” from the list of options on the next screen. 

2. I selected “Deposit” and entered the amount of cash I wanted to fund my account with. I clicked “Continue” and then selected “Add an Account” from the drop-down menu. 

3. You’ll be able to link a maximum of one debit card and up to three bank accounts. After clicking “Debit Card” from the “Choose Account Type” page, I was prompted to enter my card number, expiry date, CVV code, and billing zip code. 

4. I clicked “Deposit $10” and noticed $10 in my balance immediately. However, I like that it’s possible to deposit as little as $1 for beginners. 

Robinhood Payment Methods Comparison 

Here’s how Robinhood’s payment methods compare to those offered by popular sportsbooks and exchange markets: 

Robinhood Customer Support 

Robinhood offers live chat, email, phone, and FAQ support on mobile. 

To access Robinhood’s contact options and Help Center, launch the upper-left menu and select “Robinhood Support” from the next screen.

Then, click “Contact Support” and describe the issue you’re having in a few sentences. They will start with some AI responses, but you can just ask to talk to a real person if you prefer.

I was connected to an agent 30 seconds after explaining that I wanted to update my bank card.

They helpfully guided me through the process of unlinking my current card, adding new details, and making a new deposit. I was able to get fast replies from their chat team around the clock. 

I then sent an email to [email protected] to confirm their $0.01 commission rate on event contracts.

One of their representatives got back to me just two hours later, which is quicker than I’d expect for a traditional email hotline. I’ve waited 12 to 24 hours for an email reply at Caesars. 

I’m a huge fan of Robinhood’s Help Center, which avoids corporate jargon in favor of language that everyone can understand. 

Select “Robinhood Support” and “Help Center” to learn all about their payment options, limits, regulations, and more. The “Robinhood Derivatives” section is most relevant to sports betting on their app, as it explains how event contracts and futures trading work in layman’s terms. 

If you’re still having trouble, you can request a callback from a support agent via phone. I had the most success asking their virtual chatbot for help. After asking twice, I was given an option to request a callback, and I waited for less than 60 seconds before speaking with a real person. 

My only complaint about their support is that there’s no way to request callbacks without going through live chat first. They should just have a dedicated page that shows you their phone number. 

Is Robinhood Legit? 

Robinhood is a legitimate brokerage and financial exchange market that’s regulated at a federal level by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). 

As such, when you trade sports event contracts, you’re not actually placing a bet on sports the way you would at FanDuel or Caesars. 

Instead, you’re participating in derivatives trading. Other federally regulated exchanges, such as Kalshi, have pioneered the rise of sports betting in otherwise illegal states using event contracts. 

Robinhood has more of a background in the financial industry than Kalshi, as its app launched in April 2013. They began hosting sports markets in collaboration with Kalshi on March 17, 2025, just days before the NCAA playoffs began.

See more about Kalshi in our full Kalshi review.

Robinhood accepts secure payment methods like Visa debit, Mastercard debit, and bank transfer for deposits or withdrawals. 

According to their LinkedIn page with 285k+ followers, Robinhood employs between 1,001 and 5,000 employees. As far as transparency is concerned, they’ve been a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ since July 2021 under the ticker symbol “HOOD.” 

What States Is Robinhood Legal In? 

Robinhood is legal to use in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

Because Robinhood acts as a brokerage and financial exchange market with regulatory approval from the SEC, they are allowed to operate in locations that prohibit real money sports gambling. 

How to Sign Up for Robinhood 

I signed up with Robinhood in five minutes, and I was guided through every step of the process by their simple instructions. Here’s how I made a new account: 

1. Create a new account: I downloaded Robinhood’s mobile app to my iPhone because it isn’t possible to trade event contracts on their website. I opened the app, signed up with my email address, and verified my phone number before clicking “Continue” to proceed.

2. Enter personal info: Enter your birthday, address, and nine-digit SSN before answering questions about your prior investing experience to avoid a possible conflict of interest. You must answer questions truthfully. 

I was sent back to Robinhood’s main page after I finished answering their investment questions. Once you’re ready to deposit funds, open their main menu and select “Transfers” to get started. 

Robinhood Responsible Gambling 

Robinhood doesn’t offer traditional responsible gambling services. It’s not possible to set deposit limits or trading limits, and I couldn’t find the equivalent of a self-exclusion on their app. 

Robinhood was purely a financial exchange market until March 2025, but from my perspective and everyone here at WSN, their foray into sports betting means they have an ethical duty to protect players just like other regulated sportsbooks. 

You can close your account, but you have to sell off your positions and take your funds out first. Robinhood will also re-activate your account at your discretion, so it’s not anything like self-exclusion.

Finally, Robinhood doesn’t point struggling players in a specific direction. They fail to provide a basic list of responsible gaming organizations, which is the least I expect. 

WSN doesn’t agree with Robinhood’s hands-off approach, and we take the safety of every bettor seriously. 

Our Responsible Gambling Center shows you how to exercise moderation in real-life situations. I suggest you read “Do You Have a Gambling Problem?” or take our self-assessment quiz if you have concerns about your gambling habit. We also link to state-specific responsible gambling tools and resources for casino players and sports bettors. 

Robinhood Final Verdict 

I enjoyed my time on Robinhood, and I believe it definitely has its place in the world of sports betting, primarily for beginners and casual investors. 

The platform is very much a brokerage first and a sports betting app second.

I think Robinhood is a great site for beginners who want to dip their toes in the world of sports betting. By presenting popular bets as “yes” or “no” questions, Robinhood makes derivatives feel very accessible. You don’t even need to know how to read moneyline odds to begin trading here, which is more than I can say for most sportsbooks. 

Experienced bettors looking for a more complete sports betting experience will not find it a Robinhood. 

The app is well designed, and I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use, even as someone with little financial or investing expertise. The customer support is great, and deposits and withdrawals were very simple, albeit with far fewer payment methods compared with traditional sportsbooks. 

If you’re looking for something different and you don’t necessarily need a ton of market coverage, I’m happy to recommend giving Robinhood a try. 

How We Rate Sportsbooks 

We use an identical rating process for each sportsbook we review. This allows us to provide a consistent overview of where each platform excels and where we think they could improve. To guarantee accuracy, we spend at least seven days personally testing each platform. 

Our experts spend at least ten hours assessing five important areas. We allocate two hours for each of the following benchmarks: 

1. User Experience: We create new accounts, test all the features at a given sportsbook, and search for a mobile app on iOS/Android. We prioritize sites that make it easy for beginners to get started with step-by-step instructions. At the same time, we look for sportsbooks that cater to seasoned gamblers with lots of features and flexibility.

2. Features: We explore each platform’s range of markets and place bets on dozens of popular events while assessing how the lines compare to competing sportsbooks. Our experts give higher ratings to sportsbooks that deliver special features, such as built-in live streaming or odds boosts. 

3. Promotions: Starting with a sportsbook’s welcome offer, we opt into every bonus we can find. Our team reads the fine print to assess playthrough requirements and take note of hidden stipulations that might be unfair. We use this data to judge the real value of each bonus, and we look for sites that offer a good mix of promotions for new/existing players. 

4. Deposits and Withdrawals: We deposit cash and withdraw funds at each sportsbook we review to show you how it’s done. We like to see platforms that avoid processing fees, deliver low transaction minimums, and partner with trusted payment software to handle your personal information. Any site worth its salt accepts debit cards or ACH, but we give higher ratings to sportsbooks that make a point of accepting e-wallets, crypto and other digital payment methods. 

5. Customer Support: Our team gets in touch with support reps using every contact option that’s available at a sportsbook. We prioritize sites that feature chat and phone support, but we don’t stop there. We keep ourselves busy sending social media DMs, writing up emails, and exploring FAQ pages to see if the information inside is worthwhile. We take note of response speeds across the board and base ratings on their overall helpfulness.

Why You Should Trust Us 

World Sports Network (WSN) came from humble beginnings in 2005, but we’ve since become a one-stop shop for casino and sports-related news. Our work has been featured by Forbes, CBS News, Reuters, Entrepreneur, and the LA Times.

Our writers are all sports bettors and gamblers in our spare time, so we know what is important to our readers. We’ve been around the block and we’ve seen everything there is to see in this industry, but we’ve never lost the hunger to learn more. 

We’ve mastered the art of explaining complicated details in a simple way. We’ll be the first to let you know if something doesn’t look right at a particular sportsbook, and we never shy away from suggesting improvements when necessary. 

At the same time, we enjoy giving praise to sportsbooks that we love and sharing our latest discoveries with our readers.