Matched Betting For Dummies
Matched Betting Formula
Matched betting is all about placing a bet with the bookmaker and then eliminating all of the risks by placing an opposite bet with the exchange to scalp the bonuses & free bet effectively.
Financial Adviser’s Story
As the opening up of Matched Betting for Dummies Guide, let me quote the article of the Guardian on 24 July 2010 (yes, matched betting was not born yesterday but has over a decade of history) as follows;
“I was a financial adviser for 10 years until I sold the business a year ago. I think I have a more critical and suspicious mind when it comes to money-making schemes, especially ones that purport to be risk-free.
There is an old proverb that says: “In a bet, there is a fool and a thief”, and I’m not inclined to disagree. Could I really sit in front of my screen and make money from the bookies for nothing? The answer, to my surprise, was yes.
Over the past month, I have researched and used every decent online free bet introductory offer from a bookie. I’ve taken up 31 offers so far – and I’ve made in the region of £770.
The money I have made has been absolutely risk free, it’s not been about gambling but about playing the system – and it was inspired by Guardian Money. I don’t even have to pay tax on my winnings.”written by ex-financial adviser in the Guardian on 24 July 2010
Matched Betting Is No Gambling & Tax-Free
Matched Betting is Not Gambling but Sure Bet.
It’s neither scam nor a fishy system, but a legitimate & risk-free method publicized by many established media, which enables you to start & make £/€1,000 every month on the side.
Additionally, despite the fact that Matched Betting is No Risk, it’s still categorized in Gambling. In the UK & Ireland, any winnings from gambling are Tax Exempted.
Even if you are considered a Professional Gambler who relies on gambling for a living, you will be exempted from taxation, which is clearly defined by HMRC Internal Manual – a professional gambler.
For the outside UK, there are many jurisdictions that apply the same rule as UK & Ireland, for details, take a look at How To Make Money From Offshore Sports Betting, which I explain a bit later.
A. Matched Betting – Real Basics
1. Conventional Bookmaker & Betting Exchange
Conventional Bookmaker
Although it’s not gambling but still Betting. And you bet on Sports Events at Bookmakers, like William Hill, Ladbrokes, Paddy Powers, etc, which you find in the high streets everywhere;
You can bet at shops, but basically, all bookmakers operate online sites.
The number of online betting sites is far larger than the bookies that run street shops. Or, let me correctly say there are so many online bookies that don’t have street shops, represented by giant Bet365 (Bet365 sold their street shops to Coral).
We use online bookmakers for matched betting (we have a separate advantage method to use street shops).
Opening Up Account – CAUTION
Matched betting is all about making the best use of bookmakers’ promotions like the sign-up offer of “Bet XX Get XX Free Bet”.
Don’t sign-up directly with bookmakers before checking the availability of Cashback Offer because if you use cashback sites you may receive both bookies’ own welcome bonuses & cashback (usually big operators like Bet365, PaddyPower, Ladbrokes & Corals are listed there).
Betting Exchange
In matched betting, we also need a Betting Exchange. You may have heard the name Betfair. Yes, Betfair is the inventor of the betting exchange, and there are 4 established betting exchanges as below;
A betting exchange allows you to bet against each other rather than against a bookmaker, so it’s a marketplace like a stock exchange.
You bet on Win (called “Back Bet”) at conventional bookmakers, but in the betting exchange, you can bet NOT Win (called “Lay Bet”).
The lay bet is, for example in Football, betting on both draws & losses. Namely, players can make the bookmaker’s role by offering odds to any liability they are prepared to lose. We explain in full detail How to make money on the Betting Exchange.
BTW, this report shows all the top 4 betting exchange’s latest sign-up offers & how to extract cash risk-free from each offer including Betfair’s £100 Free Bet, which is supposed to be one of the best offers in the industry.
So, we place bets at bookmakers & exchanges to make guaranteed risk-free profits by covering all the outcomes.
2. Not Only for UK & Ireland But Also for Everybody in the World
Which Countries Can It Work?
One of the most popular questions we receive is “Can I make money from matched betting in my country?” or “What about matched betting in the USA, is it profitable?”
In this guide, I mainly use UK & Ireland examples though, it doesn’t mean it’s not for the people outside the UK. Conversely, UK players are getting worse terms from the bookies who don’t like this activity.
- this approach enables everybody in the world including US citizens to make decent profits from this risk-free betting technique
- for Germany, Austria and Switzerland residents, suggest this programme that focuses on these 3 countries
- when it comes to Australia, this service is supposed to be the best.
Betting Exchange Availability
A similar question we often receive from the people outside UK & Ireland is “We don’t have Betfair or any betting exchange”.
- Go to Betfair Alternatives For People Who Can’t Access Or Seek Better Options, where you will find the white-label of Betfair (which means everything including market coverage & liquidity is identical to Betfair).
- However, you have to use Betfair Whitelabel via Bet Broker, and strongly suggest you read Honest Opinion About Bet Broker & How To Use Them Safely & Smartly. Because this is the area you need to make careful risk management.
- For those who even can’t access these bet brokers, the solution is Bitcoin Betting Sites (both sportsbooks & betting exchanges), for full details, take a look at Bitcoin Betting – Ultimate Way To Lock-In Profits From Anywhere In The World.
3. Matched Betting Legitimacy & Risk
Legitimacy
Matched Betting is a legitimate activity, which is endorsed by established bookmakers like William Hill as follows;
“Matched betting is legal and a spokesperson for William Hill has indicated that the betting industry does not have a problem with this use of free bets.”wikipedia
“Graham Sharpe, from William Hill, says the industry does not have a problem with matched betting. “There’s no illegal element,” he says. “It’s a free bet and you can do what you like.”The Telegraph articles
Caution – Bookmaker’s Real Voice & Account Restriction a.k.a. Gubbing
You need to know the harsh fact that most matched bettors face account restriction, a.k.a. “Gubbing” in many bookmakers.
Simply bookies don’t like Sharp punters (matched better is one of the Sharps) who take too much value from them. see the quote from wiki;
“Most bookmakers have people on their staffs looking for bettors ‘taking too much value’, something which tends to happen with matched betting.
They will place restrictions on the accounts of bettors who may be taking advantage of promotions too often, such as preventing them from placing very large bets. Bettors whose betting behavior is unacceptable to a given bookmaker risk being banned from that bookmaker’s site.”wiki
It is proven by the below correspondence with Matthew Ha (Bet365);
It clearly implies they do gub, and it’s a proven fact that people face account restrictions in Bet365.
No-Risk Matched Betting BUT Not Effort Free
Most of the sites that introduce Matched Betting as “This is the easiest way to make a quick $100 profit?” “No Risk money-making for newbies” etc.
But Too Good To Be True is the Essence in this real world. Matched Betting is Not Effort Free. MoneySavingExpert.Com (MSE) Forum cautions like the below screenshot;
However, it’s not as risky as money-saving experts cautioned. Actually, it’s one of the safest & quickest ways to make real money.
Betting is a male-oriented image, but a lot of females started matched betting and it’s one of the most popular topics on Mumsnet.
Matched betting is simply based on mathematical advantage. As long as you take offers with Positive EV (Expected Value), you will not lose because mathematics will protect you.
As said at the beginning, hundreds of thousands of ordinary people have been making money effectively risk-free. The biggest issue is human error or careless mistakes and you need to make effort to learn how to work and carefully execute betting.
B. Matched Betting – How it Works
This chapter will help you understand how Matched Betting works theoretically & practically. You will have been able to know basically everything by the time you finish this chapter. Then, you will decide what you should do in the Warp-Up.
1. Theory & Logic
Matched Betting Step-By-Step
Let me show you a very simplified explanation for you to understand the process of matched betting;
- The organizations you use: Bookmakers such as 888Sport & Exchange like Betfair (suggest the use of Betfair Alternatives)
- The profit source; Bookmaker’s Free Bet Offer such as 888Sport sign-up Offer of Bet £10 Get 30 Free Bet as seen above
- You Do 2 transactions; Back (bet on winning) £10 at 888 Sport& Lay (bet on NOT winning, which means both lose & draw like the case of a football match) appropriate stake £ (use Free Calculator) at Betfair so that you cover all outcomes.
- No matter what the event’s result will be, your losing & winning will cancel out each other. In real practice, usually, 2 bets are not perfectly offset due to the odds difference & exchange commission. Therefore you make a small loss called Qualifying Loss. However, you get £30 for Free Bets.
- Now, you repeat the exact same process but use the free bet for the back bet at 888 Sport. Then, this time free bet value (minus a little loss) will become your net profit.
- People can extract cash usually in the range of 75% – 95% of free bet value, depending on how close the odds between the bookmaker & exchange will be.
- So, unless you make any careless mistake, you will get risk-free guaranteed profit.
Note: 888Sports offer – for all territories outside the UK, need to enter the “30FB” code when you make your first deposit. Besides, the offer includes a £10 Casino Bonus which you will find how to tackle in the casino bonus hunting guide.
Original Theory
The above concept originally came from Arbitrage Betting which originated from financial arbitrage. It’s based on the application of a mathematical equation rather than chance.
Matched Betting is based on exactly the same mathematical logic and actually, it’s safer & easier than Sports Arbitrage which has a lot of pitfalls to avoid.
The Difference From Sports Arbitrage
In matched betting, due to the use of Free Bets / Bonuses offered by bookmakers, your risk of losing money caused by the pitfalls is much lower than in Sports Arbitrage.
Besides, the chance of your account restriction imposed by bookies is relatively lower, because sports arbitrage exploits the market efficiency or bookies’ mistake which bookies don’t like.
2. Matched Betting Glossary / Jargon
You may come across a lot of matched betting jargon, so open the below box to find the basic terms for your reference while learning matched betting;
3. Bookmakers’ 8 Common Type Of Offers for Matched Betting
Broadly speaking, we can split the bookmaker’s bonus into two, which are the “Welcome (Signup) Bonus to New Customers” and “Reload Bonus to Existing Customers”.
The Welcome Bonus has three basic types and Reload Bonus has five common types.
Three Popular Types of Welcome Offers for New Players
- Qualifying Bet First before you receive Free Bet, typically “Bet XX Get XX Free Bet”
- If You Lose Your Qualifying Bet, Receive a Bonus, typically “We Refund If You Lose Your 1st Bet”
- Receive a Bonus When you Deposit and Make Qualifying Bets based on the required Rollover / Turnover before Withdrawal, typically “We Match 100% Bonus of Your Deposit”
We separately prepare this guide, which summarizes 5 popular sign-up offers of the bookies in the whole of Europe & the process to extract cash, FYI.
Five Common Types of Reload Bonus for Existing Players
There is various type of promotions but 99% of them are variations of the following 5 types of offers and our methods will allow you to extract real cash risk-free.
- We will Boost Your Price / Enhanced Our Odds
- We will Refund you IF your horse Finishes 2nd
- We Offer You Extra Places (Horse Racing/golf or Tennis Tournament etc)
- We refund your losing bet “IF xxx happens”
- We refund IF 1 team fails your ACCA
We explain details of each bonus type & the guide on how to extract cash from each offer in No Risk Matched Betting Starting Guide (1) – Bonus SR and SNR (Free Bet)
Alternatively, we also prepared the common types of welcome offers the bookies in the whole of Europe with specific instructions to lock in profits via matched betting, please find more details in this guide.
4. Process, Caution & Key Tools
Process – Turn Free Money into Real Cash
As said at the beginning, matched betting is all about placing a bet with the bookmaker and then eliminating all of the risks by placing an opposite bet with the exchange (or possibly another bookmaker) to scalp the bonuses effectively.
As briefly explained before, It’s actually very easy & simple. We have prepared the below 3 series of instruction, which is step-by-step instructions using real examples;
- Matched Betting Quick Start Guide (1) – Bonus SR and SNR (Free Bet)
- Matched Betting Quick Start Guide (2) – Place Qualifying Bet
- Matched Betting Quick Start Guide (3) – Extract Profits From Free Bet
T&C (Terms & Condition)
One of the most important things people often overlook is to carefully check the Terms & Conditions (T&C) of the offer.
I know it’s cumbersome & boring to read the T&C of every sign-up offer. But strongly suggest you do, because skipping it may lead to a costly mistake.
Free Tools
There are 2 essential tools you need when you implement matched betting, which are;
- Odds Matching Software to find the opportunity of matched betting (closest odds between bookmaker & Exchange)
- Matched Betting Calculator to calculate the lay stake required and predicted Profit / Loss.
Currently, the best free software is;
- Bonus Bagging Odds Matching Software
- Bonus Bagging Matched Betting Calculator or Tricky Bet Lay Calculator
The issue with the free Odds Matching Software is that the matched betting opportunities they show you are 20-30 minutes of delayed information. It’s fatal for Sports Arbitrage but for matched betting you can use it without so many problems.
5. Quick Practice – Grab £20 – 25 Now!!
Quick £20 – 25 Money Making Trial Now!!
Practice is the quickest & best way to master it. For those who want to earn £20+ risk-free profit instantly, Try It NOW, just exactly follow the below 2 instructions, No Brainer, just do what you see;
Update & Confirm T&C (Terms & Conditions)
- Firstly, Go To Smarkets Welcome Offer Page and see the latest offer. Currently, you can choose either 0% Commission for 60 days or a £20 Cash Refund Sign-Up Promotion (or if you’re lucky you may find a better offer they periodically run via that link)
- Read welcome bonus T&C. I know it’s boring stuff but never try to save time by skipping it to avoid any unpleasant future surprise;
Simple Sign-Up By Filling Information
- After reading the T&C, click the “Claim Bonus” button;
- Fill in the required information related to your Account, Personal Information, and Never Forget to enter Promotion Code, namely 0% Commission for 60 days (code COMMFREE) or £20 Cash Refund (code SMK20) & Deposit;
A Few Key Points
- For the deposit method, Skrill & Neteller deposits are not eligible for the £20 Cash Refund.
- You need to deposit at least £10 in a single amount to qualify for the £20 Cash Refund.
- You need to spend the full £20 Cash Refund within 7 days after you get credited, otherwise, any unused cash refund balance will be removed.
- Account Verification. You will receive the below e-mail to verify your account. Suggest you do it as quickly as possible to prevent any future transaction delay;
Click To Enlarge
- That’s it. You’re now ready to place lay bets to construct matched betting once you sign-up the bookmakers.
- If you are not familiar with how to start matched betting, see how to place a qualifying bet.
How To Extract Cash From The Offer?
As said, the Smarkets signup offer is probably the easiest one. Because you don’t have to do anything. Smarkets will refund your first £20 loss. Yes, even if you win thousands of £ before you lose £20, Smarkets will refund your first £10 loss.
So, just keep doing the matched betting, and whenever you lose £20 for the first time in Smarkets, you will be refunded, and as you’re aware it’s your profit. But beware that the Cash refund will expire in 7 days, therefore make sure you use up all the refunds within 7 days.
Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Click To Enlarge Actual Result Click To Enlarge If it’s your first betting experience, you may take 10 minutes each to sign-up for Smarkets & Sky Bet. And took probably 30 – 40 minutes to complete the whole matched betting process (both qualifying bet & free bet). Or I would say you’d better take enough time to avoid careful mistakes. After you construct a few matched betting, you should be able to finish the same process within 20 minutes. The important thing is to keep doing and your efficiency will be improved exponentially. When you finish the Sky Bet offer, complete the following offers which basically work the same as the Sky Bet case It really depends on the level of your commitment & the number of bookmakers you involve. The more effort you pay, the more extra income you can make. Just for the sake of estimating the required commitment level, once you get used to the method and can work efficiently if you want to make £2000 a month, you will need to devote around 1-2 hours a day, and £1000 a month will need 30 mins - 1 hour. For £500, 15-30 mins should be sufficient. But you need to use this time efficiently. This is a long-term consistent basis and you should be able to gain much more but with much more time during the first 24 months. You can start exploiting free bets from the sign-up offers but the real sustainable big money comes from reload and free bet offers available to existing customers. Many of the matched betting sites focus too much on the sign-up bonuses, consequently, many players miss such continuous profitable opportunities. Allow us to share a bit about our betting policy on this occasion. We say "avoid prejudice of Betting = Gambling". We do bet but don't count on luck. We do 6 Advantage Plays based on mathematical edge to beat the bookies, casinos & bingo. When it comes to Sports Betting & Horse Racing, we use Matched Betting / Sports Arbitrage / Value Bets On Proven Systems & Tipsters to lock in a profit or consistently earn extra income for the long term. And matched betting is probably the easiest advantage play. With that said, one of our policies is "Betting On Luck Is For Losers, Stop Gambling But Bet on Only +EV (Expected Value) To Win Reliably". It is effectively our way to promote Responsible Gambling under the regulation, and we strongly support GamCare & GambleAware being explained about us. We, Global Extra Money (GEM) would like our readers to exploit reliable money-making opportunities as much as possible, which is the reason why we provide you with this guide. Suggest you go Matched Betting Instructions Index Page, where you find a list of our all-matched betting instructions including the step-by-step guides for all 3 Types of Welcome Offers and 5 Types of Reload Offers. You will know exactly how to tackle them with real examples. We provide you with various spreadsheets to make all the calculations & implement the tactics Very Easily. Don't Forget All Are FREE. The core benefit you will get is the Free Program of Make Extra Money £/€/$ 50,000 on The Side Within 2 Years. You can use Not Only Matched Betting But Also 6 Advantage Plays to Extract Money from Bookmakers, casinos & Bingo sites based on Mathematical & Statistical Edge. We have 3 Comprehensive Chapters including Daily Planner for anybody from newbies to seasoned advantage players to follow based on their level. Access Free Now. However, once you reach a certain level you may want More Efficiency. The key factors to enhance efficiency are 2 folds; If you're seeking premium matched betting service including sophisticated ACCA software, the below 3 are the current best choices (one of the benefits to using them is 0% Betting Exchange Commission thanks to their partnership with Smarkets, Matchbook & Betdaq. Only with this, you can cover years of their subscription fee.); Remember, you can still make the best of our Free Program after you decide to use one of the subscription-based matched betting services because matched betting is just one out of 6 Advantage Plays we cover in our own program. If you have any inquiries or need any help from us, please contact us anytime (don't worry, we will not charge you any fee, everything is free here). Good Luck!! Joshua Walker (bio) Editor - Global Extra Money (GEM)Before Sign-Up, T&C, T&C, T&C —
Sky Bet Sign-Up
Account Verification
Now, Time To Start Matched Betting – Find Sports Events & Calculate
Odds Selection Tactics – Qualifying Bet
Just FYI.Odds Selection Tactics – Free Bet
Automated Calculation
In Case Choosing The Top Rated Kempton “Goodbye Ludu”
Note – Lay Liability
Placing Bets
Final Profit
6. How Much Money Can You Make?
C. Conclusion - The Short-Term & Long-Term
Matched Betting For Dunnies - Why Do We Share This Method?
Starting Matched Betting
6 Advantage Plays For £/€/$ 50,000
For Ultimate Efficiency in Long-Term
