Metaspins rolled out two giveaways on Thursday, one tied to UFC 330 and one to Dota 2's biggest tournament. The UFC contest asks players to predict a winner for a share of a $200 prize pool split between five winners. The Dota promo hands a $30 Extra Bet to anyone who lands four winning bets of $10 or more. Both offers are real, both are structured, and both are a masterclass in how far a casino can stretch a number while keeping a straight face.

Forty dollars and a friendship tax

To enter the UFC 330 contest, Metaspins wants a like, a repost, your prediction in the comments, two tagged friends, and your user ID. That is five separate actions for one entry. The pool is $200 split between five winners, which works out to $40 a head, which is less than most people spend convincing two friends to do anything for them. For anyone keeping score, UFC 330 features Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry, and the only guaranteed winner so far is whichever friend gets tagged into this contest against their will. The pitch, in Metaspins' own words:

Predict the winner and be 1 of 5 winners to share $200 💸

Stake forty, collect thirty

The Dota 2 offer is the one that belongs in a business school case study. Place four winning bets of $10 or more on any tournament market and Metaspins will hand you a $30 Extra Bet. Do the arithmetic: that is at least $40 of your own stake committed across four winning wagers, in exchange for $30 in bonus credit that is a wager, not a withdrawal. The rebate is smaller than the minimum action required to trigger it, which makes this a rare promotion that rewards your winning bets by asking you to bet again. It runs through August 23, by which point everyone involved will have a very clear sense of what thirty dollars gets them.

None of this is a grift, which is almost the disappointing part. Metaspins published its modest math in plain sight, and the only thing inflated in either post is the emoji budget. If you were going to watch UFC 330 or bet the Dota tournament anyway, the promos are fine toppings. Just do not describe forty dollars as a win, or a thirty-dollar Extra Bet as a bonus, without doing the division first.