Reasons for Offering a Freeroll?

[JeffreyGB]

I've been wondering lately: Why do sites offer freeroll tournaments with real prizes? If they have to pay money out to the winners of a free tournament, even if it's a small amount or it's in bonus money or what not, how is this profitable to them?

- Jeffrey

[koolmoe]

All the players are paying for it via rake (i.e., the freeroll prize pool is paid for by the rake taken off the ring tables).

Freerolls encourage players to play. The poker room will make a lot of it (if not all of it) back via rake later on when the freeroll winners venture to the real money tables.

[FyrFytr998]

Seriously. With the millions these sites are making. You think they're gonna miss a couple hundred dollars for throwing out a freeroll? Like Kool Moe said, they make it back in seconds.

Yeah these sites are making $1000s every minute, they only do freerolls for popularity really.

[rob6597]

how is this profitable to them?

It's no different than your local retail store's loss leader... offering a product or service at a substantial discount or even a loss in order to attract future business. As Koolmoe stated, it encourages players to play, and they'll make it back in the long run.

[Humphrind]

If players want a freeroll, they can get a freeroll. TOns of places offer them and we wouldn't be much different for offering one of our own. It will be just as beneficial to the site to list some places and times to get freerolls as it will be to host them.

But then again, most of the players on FTR don't encourage freerolls, so why would we want to go through the hassle of either locating them or hosting one?