Matched Betting Beginners Guide 2023 | Step-By-Step Tutorial

Matched Betting is a risk-free technique used to earn tax-free profits from the free bets & promotions offered by online bookmakers. It’s based on a simple strategy rather than chance — so, despite involving sports betting sites, it’s not gambling at all. Anyone can learn Matched Betting without any prior experience of betting.

Don’t be put off because Matched Betting involves “gambling”. Thousands of people in the UK, from all kinds of occupations and backgrounds, are making a second income from Matched Betting. You just need to follow the process and place the correct bets.

What Is Matched Betting?

Matched Betting is the name given to the risk-free strategy that extracts a profit from sports betting promotions. It is also referred to as “bonus hunting” or “bonus bagging” — but those terms are most commonly associated with advanced techniques used to earn a profit from online Casino bonuses (which is more risky).

The process of Matched Betting requires an account with a bookmaker and a betting exchange, where at least one is offering a free bet. When the free bet is placed on a sports event, the other account is used to hedge all the possible outcomes, thereby eliminating risk and ensuring that no matter what happens a large portion of the free bet is retained. At its simplest, a matched bet involves placing a:

1. BACK bet (FOR) a sports outcome at a bookmaker.
2. LAY bet (AGAINST) the same sports outcome at a betting exchange.

More advanced versions of Matched Betting involves placing bets at multiple bookmakers to avoid the commission charged for using an exchange. This is known as dutching.

What’s The Catch?

Provided you hedge your risk, and place bets at the optimal odds, there isn’t a catch. I’ll get on this later in the article.

The only snag is that bookmakers incorporate several terms into their promotions, usually requiring that customers risk their own money (at minimum odds) before being able to obtain the free bet.

Matched Bettors get around this by placing a qualifying bet with the bookmaker and a second bet against the same result at the betting exchange. The latter is required to offset any loss in the event that the bookmaker bet does not win. This process usually incurs a small loss (￡1-￡2) temporarily, prior to securing a profit from the free bet using the same process.

Essentially, the only catch is that bookmakers don’t just give away free bets for nothing. Nonetheless, the process is still profitable.

What Do You Need For Matched Betting?

It goes without saying that you need to be over 18 years of age. But aside from that, strictly speaking, there’s only three essential things required for Matched Betting:

1. Money

You’ll need some cash to deposit to both the bookmaker and betting exchange.

Without money you can’t?become a Matched Bettor. However, you don’t need to be rich to get started as you can build up your bankroll?slowly using?low value offers (Free Bets) to begin with.

The lowest value Free Bets?are?around ￡10. In order to profit from one of these promotions?you’ll need approximately ￡30-70 of spare cash.?This is used for the?‘Qualifying Bet’ and ‘Free Bet’.

2. Free Bet

You’ll need a free bet from a bookmaker or betting exchange.

The biggest and best free bets are offered to new customers that haven’t ever deposited or placed any bets before.

So if you’ve signed up to several Bookmakers already then you’ll be?limited to the “reload” offers for?existing customers. This means you won’t be able to claim new customer “sign-up” promotions.

When claiming any bonus it’s highly important to take note of any promotional codes, “opt-in” requirements, or minimum deposit amounts. Failure to get this right can invalidate your eligibility for the offer.

To stay up-to-date the very best free bets currently available, I highly recommend subscribing to a Matched Betting Service. The best ones feature a daily list of free bets to tackle.

3. Betting Exchange Account

You’ll need to have an account with at least one betting exchange.

The obvious option is Betfair because it has the most liquidity (available money to take for a bet). This means you’re less likely to ever encounter a scenario where you have to queue your stake in order to get matched on your (opposing) Lay bets. However, there’s other exchanges that charge lower commission for using their service.

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Main Types of Sports Betting Promotions

There are two main types of sports betting promotions:

1. Free bets. This is the most common type of sports promotion, whereby customers need to earn their free bet by placing placing a “qualifying bet” using their own money. Generally winnings made from the free bet itself will exclude the stake amount; this is known as a “Stake not Returned” promotion.
2. Bonus funds. This is a less common promotion, whereby customers are credited ‘free money’ before any bets are placed. You must place a total sum of eligible stakes (known as the “rollover requirement”) before a withdrawal is allowed. The bonus amount can usually be withdrawn along with any winnings.

Note: Bookies attach tricky terms and conditions to their free bets. Usually they insist that your bets are placed at minimum odds of a given amount (e.g. 2.0), within a certain time frame. This is something you have to look out for. If you’re ever in doubt, ask the bookmaker staff on live chat to clarify your uncertainties about their promotions.

For the remainder of this tutorial I’m going to focus on tackling the most common type of promotion: A Free Bet (Stake not Returned).

Step 1: Find A Free Bet

The first step for Matched betting is to find a free bet to make a profit from. But where do you find one, and how will you know whether it’s profitable?

Unless you’re an experienced Matched Bettor, you’re unlikely to know which of the current sports betting promotions are worth taking. So my advice is to subscribe to a Matched Betting Service, which includes a lengthy list of all current promotions with explanations of how to tackle each one (and how much you’ll make from them). These services are certain to make you money provided you follow their instructions.

A Typical Free Bet from ‘Bookie X’

A bookmaker promotion might be advertised as:

This means that players must take an initial risk of ￡25 to be granted the ￡25 free bet, where their stake is not returned in any winnings.

• If the free bet wins, customers can keep the profit.
• If it loses, customers haven’t lost anything.

But the obvious problem here is that you stand to lose ￡25 from the initial qualifying bet — which you don’t want, right?

Right. So for the remainder of this tutorial I’m going to explain how to eliminate the risk in this type of promotion and capture a large portion of the ￡25 free bet using the Back & Lay Matched Betting technique. We’ll turn this typical promotion into a profitable, risk free money-maker!

I’ll assume that you have signed up to ‘Bookie X’, made a deposit, and loaded up your Betting exchange with money. Now you’re ready to place a qualifying bet.

Step 2: Set Your Account to Decimal Odds

Before we go any further, you’ll need to set your bookmaker account to the European Decimal odds format. This is necessary because Betting Exchanges use decimal odds — so you’ll need the same format in order to make Matched Betting calculations. You can change the odds format in your account settings, or sometimes from a simple dropdown on the Bookmaker’s site.

You don’t need to fully understand odds for Matched Betting, but it helps to have a very basic grasp of them. Decimal odds are very simple: the higher the number, the bigger the odds are, and the more payout you get on a win. So odds of 6.5 will give a bigger payout on a win than odds of 4.0.

To calculate winnings placed at European (decimal) odds, simply multiply your stake by the odds. For example:

• ￡25 @ 10.0 = ￡10 x 10.0 = ￡250 return

The return includes the stake. So that’s ￡225 profit (￡250 – ￡25).

Learn more: How To Convert Your Betting Odds To Different Formats

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Step 3: Select an Event

We’ve established that you need to place a bet at the Bookmaker — without losing or gaining any money — in order to qualify for the free bet. But what event do you choose?

Mathematically it doesn’t matter what sport or market you choose provided the Bookmaker & exchange odds are of a similar value. This is because the sport itself, and the result, isn’t relevant.

However, in practice some events are better for Matched Betting than others.

The Ideal Event

For all matched bets I recommend looking for:

• Popular events. The best option is Premier League football “Match Odds” or “1×2” odds — which are the same thing. These have the most liquidity (people actively betting) on the exchange. And the pre-game odds aren’t too volatile.
• Taking place soon. You don’t want to have to wait too long long for the bet to settle.

And because this is the qualifier, there’s one other thing you need to aim for:

• Low odds. This is because high odds will increase the balance you need to have in your exchange account to cover your Lay bet. So aim to keep your bets just above the minimum odds allowed at the Bookmaker for the promotion.

But most importantly you need the odds to be closely matched between the Bookmaker and Betting Exchange. This is crucial!

Why Matching Your Odds Matters

Matching the odds from the Bookmaker and Betting exchange is the most important aspect of Matched Betting. I’ll explain why in a quick lesson about hedging.

Let’s suppose that you placed a qualifying bet at the Bookmaker by backing Spurs to beat Chelsea at decimal odds of 2.5, while Laying Spurs at the available odds of 3.0 on the Betfair exchange.

The problem here is that the difference between 2.5 and 3.0 is fairly big. The Bookmaker’s price is only 83.3% of the Lay odds on Betfair. It’s a weak match.

This matters when the Bookmaker ‘Back’ bet wins and Betfair ‘Lay’ bet loses. Here’s the win and lose outcomes:

Bookmaker BACK Wins @ ￡25 Stake:

• (￡25 x 2.5) – ￡25 = ￡37.5 profit

Betfair LAY Loses @ ￡25 Stake:

• (￡25 x 3.0) – ￡25 = ￡50 loss

Due to the fact your loss at Betfair is much higher than the winnings at the Bookmaker, you make a hefty loss of -￡50 + ￡37.5 = -￡12.50. That’s not good.

If the odds were identical — i.e. they matched exactly — then you’d break even whatever outcome happens (Betfair commission aside).

The lesson here is that it’s vitally important that you match your bet properly by?finding odds that are close between the Bookmaker?and?the Exchange. The closer to 100% the better.

How to Match Your Odds

You now know what type of event to look out for (popular, happening soon, and low odds) — but how can you find those with closely matching odds?

The good news is that you don’t need to manually hunt around for matching odds. That’s far too time consuming and it increases your chance of making a mistake. There are some great tools to help you.

I recommend that you save yourself a lot of effort by signing up for a free account with OddsMonkey. Their service includes an automatcher tool — for finding the perfect sports events to bet on. I’ll use the free OddsMonkey Oddsmatcher to show you how to select a sports event for our example ￡25 qualifying bet.

Once you’ve signed up for an account at OddsMonkey, open up the Oddsmatcher?to browse the upcoming sports events. Filter the list by your Bookmaker (in our example case it’d ‘Bookmaker X’, which does not really exist, of course).

What you can see in the following screenshot are the best rated matched betting opportunities in descending % order for the Bookmaker.

Note: If you’re lucky and you’re?able to Lay at lower odds than you could back at the Bookmaker then what you’ve found is an arbitrage opportunity and you’ll make a profit regardless of the outcome. However, this is a rare case and a separate way to earn altogether!

OddsMonkey Oddsmatcher, with the bookmaker selected from the top dropdown.

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I’m instantly drawn to one particular fixture: the Stoke v Newcastle football game.

I like this event is because:

1. It’s a very popular market (two Premier League teams, at the time of writing)
2. It’s taking place in a couple of days (so I can start earning money faster)
3. The odds are low (and hopefully within the Bookmakers’ minimum odds terms)
4. The Rating % on the Oddsmatcher is very high, at 97.03%.

… I’ve found a close match.?

This is an ideal event for placing the qualifying bet at the Bookmaker, to Lay against on the Betting Exchange.

But before placing any bets I just need to calculate how much to Lay on the exchange against the ￡25 back stake, to offset the risk.

Step 4:?Calculate The Lay Stake

Due to the difference in odds, the Lay stake needs to be calculated in order to create an equal outcome for any result.

This is a very important step, so?take a little care.

Using the Matched Betting Calculator

Open up the Matched Betting Calculator from your OddsMonkey?account. Enter the details of the Stoke v Newcastle match like this:

• Bet type: Normal
• Back stake: ￡25
• Back odds: 2.0
• Lay odds: 2.04

OddsMonkey Matched Betting calculator with the bet type, Stake, Back odds, Lay odds and Commission entered.

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In case you’re wondering, the “Lay Commission” is just the % the betting exchanges charges on profits. For new Betfair accounts it’s 5% (as entered above).

Here’s what the calculator shows:

• The perfect Lay stake on Betfair, which is labelled “you could lay?￡25.13″.
• The loss you’ll make — labelled?“your overall position will be -￡1.14” — which is the same regardless of the outcome of the event (1p aside…).

It’s showing a loss. Why?

The net result of ￡-1.14 is a perfectly reasonable loss to incur on a ￡25 qualifying stake. It will be dwarfed by the profit made from the Free Bet. We’re not aiming to make money at this point, remember.

So now you’ve calculated your Lay stake. It’s time to place those two bets for the qualifying phase.

Step 5: Place Your Back & Lay Bets

Hopefully I haven’t lost you yet — because you’re now finally ready to place that ￡25 Back bet at the bookmaker, followed by the ￡25.13 Lay bet on the betting exchange.

Here’s some advice for when you’re placing your Back and Lay bets:

• Ensure you have sufficient balance in your Betfair account before you begin. You need to be able to cover potential losses.
• Manually check both betting websites to verify the odds shown on the Oddsmatcher e.g. 2.0 (Bookmaker BACK) and 2.04 (Exchange LAY) are still valid. Odds change all the time.
• Place your bet at the Bookmaker FIRST, then Lay on the Exchange?instantly AFTER. Be?sure to hit the Pink?Lay?price?and not the Blue Back price on the exchange.?That’s a common (and costly) mistake.

Then you’re done with placing your first risk free matched bet, and you need to wait for it to settle.

Well done! You’ve now learnt how to “match” your qualifying bets without losing (much) money. The process becomes a lot easier from here onwards, because it’s mainly repetition.

Step 6: Select an Event (Again)

Firstly ensure that your SNR free bet (sometimes called a “bet token”) is active in your Bookmaker account. You can often see it as an option in a betslip (if you pretend you’re making a bet). If it’s there, you’re ready to go.

Before placing your free bet you need to, once again, find a suitable upcoming event with matching odds on the Betting Exchange. Follow the same process to before, but with one subtle difference to take note of this time.

The event you want to find, just like before, needs to be:

• Popular (e.g. Premier League football)
• Taking place soon

But because this is the Free bet, you now want to look for High odds.

Why High Odds This Time?

By matching an SNR bet at high odds you retain more of your free bet. It’s more profitable. The downside is that you?also?require?more?money in your exchange account to place the Lay part. I find that a good compromise is to use odds of around of 5.0-7.0.

Without being?too mathsy, the reason for it being more profitable is that?high odds win at the exchange more frequently than at low odds. The benefit to this is that you reduce the?frequency of winning?free bets at the Bookmaker where your stake is not returned.

Step 7: Calculate The Lay Stake (Again)

So you’ve found the event that you’re going to place the free bet. Now you just need to calculate the Lay stake you’re going to place against it on the betting exchange.

This step is almost identical to the qualifier, except this time you need to set the calculator’s bet type to Free Bet (SNR).

It’s important to note that the maths is different when the stake is not returned to a regular bet. The default on the calculator is “Normal” — so don’t forget to change it this time!

Example

Let’s suppose that you have identified a suitable match from the Oddsmatcher with the following odds:

• Back: 6.0 at the Bookie
• Lay: 6.5 at Betfair

That’s a 92.3% match at high odds, which is great. So you simply enter those details into the calculator again as follows:

How to place a ￡25 SNR Free Bet at bookie odds of 6.0, betfair Lay odds of 6.5:

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The Lay stake is ￡19.38 for this example scenario. So this 2-part Matched Bet will make a guaranteed PROFIT of ￡18.41 from the SNR free bet whatever the outcome of the event.

Now, once again, you find yourself at the point where you have found close match between the bookmaker and exchange odds, and know the correct Lay stake to place against it. It’s time to place it.

Step 8: Place The SNR Free Bet & Lay Bet

Go ahead and place those two (Back & Lay) bets in this order:

1. ￡25 SNR bet at the Bookmaker.
2. ￡19.38 at the betting Exchange.

Wait for them to settle. Then you’re finally done.You’ve earned a risk-free profit from Matched Betting!

Feel free to withdraw those earnings from whatever account(s) have the money. But perhaps leave money in your betting exchange account so that you can carry on earning from more promotions.

This tutorial explains how to tackle just one particular type of free bet — the SNR bet. However, there are several other types of promotions to take on (including Casino bonuses). These are all taught by Matched Betting Services.

Was This A ‘Good’ Result?

￡18.41 is a great return from a ￡25 SNR bet, as it retains 73.64% of the ￡25 promotion. After subtracting the ￡1.14 loss from the qualifier it leaves it at +￡17.27 overall. Not bad for betting without taking any risk.

Always aim to retain around the 70-75% mark of your SNR bet. But don’t strive for perfection, or you’ll waste too much time. The aim is to tackle as many free bets as possible.

The Maths Behind The Profit

The Matched Betting process is (almost) the same for qualifying/rollover bets as it is for free bets. But the strategy is only profitable because of the inclusion of a free bet at the Bookmaker.

Without free bets you don’t make a profit, and Matched Betting ceases to exist.

Here’s how to calculate the profit for each of the two possible outcomes of the Free Bet. Note that the profit is identical whatever happens.

Case 1: Bookmaker Free Bet Wins

Bookmaker: (￡25 x 6.0) - ￡25 = +￡125
Exchange: -(￡19.38 x 6.5) + 19.38 = -￡106.59
Overall profit = +￡18.41

Case 2: Bookmaker Free Bet Loses

Bookmaker: ￡0
Exchange: ￡19.38 x (0.95) = +￡18.41
Overall profit = +￡18.41

In case 1, the Bookmaker wins and the ￡25 stake is removed from the winnings leaving a total gain of ￡125, minus the loss made at the betting exchange. This leaves ￡18.41 profit.

In case 2, the Bookmaker account loses ￡0 (nothing), because it was not placed with your own money. The exchange wins ￡18.41 (the amount Layed).

You can create an Excel spreadsheet ‘Matched Betting Calculator’ using these calculations. But it’s a whole lot simpler to use the tools provided by services like OddsMonkey. However, if you’re still keen, take a look at the formula for “calculating guaranteed profit” in my post on arbitrage. It’s the same principle.

Key Points From This Guide

Here’s a quick recap on some of the key points you need to remember about Matched Betting.

1. Free Bets Have Strict Terms & Conditions. Look out.

A Bookmaker typically?stipulates that an initial qualifying bet must be?placed for a player to be eligible for a?free bet. In most cases only your very first bet counts.

Look out for tricky terms like this because it’ll prevent you from being awarded the promotion. Remember: no free bet means no profit.

2. Always Ensure that there’s Enough Liquidity (Available Money)

“Liquidity” refers to the amount of available money on the Exchange (e.g. Betfair) to place your Lay bet.

I have suggested seeking popular sports events in order to avoid running into low liquidity problems on the Betting Exchange. But if you find that there’s not enough money on Betfair, then you may need to wait to get matched. And there’re no guarantee you will be.

In the worst case scenario, consider queuing your Lay bet at a higher price. This will increase your liability and thereby reduce your profit (but it’s more likely to be matched).

Issues like these can be resolved quickly by utilising the educational resources and support provided by Matched Betting Services?such as OddsMonkey. I highly recommend signing up.

3. Take Care When You’re Placing Both Bets.

Whether its win, lose, or draw it’s always the same process. You simply:

1. BACK at the Bookmaker, and
2. LAY that same outcome on the betting exchange with the appropriate stake provided from the calculator.?If you Back the Draw,?then you Lay the Draw. Simple.

Furthermore, remember to use:

• Low odds for qualifying/rollover bets.
• High odds for SNR free bets in order to reduce losses and maximise profits.

Matched Betting Q&A

How much can I earn from Matched Betting?

This largely depends on what free bets are on offer, and how many you claim.

Dedicated matched bettors invest a lot of time into claiming offers. They’ll hoover up every free bet they can get their hands on, and earn hundreds from it every month.

Do bookmakers mind Matched Betting?

Matched Bettors aren’t their ‘model’ customers. But they know that it goes on and they don’t try to stamp it out.

There’s been several public statements?that?imply that Bookmakers don’t?particularly care about it. After all free bets attract new customers — many of which become regular gamblers and lose money. A percentage of Matched Bettors?will continue to bet recreationally, too.

Furthermore, Bookmakers can’t be sure that you’re Matched Betting to begin with. They don’t have any rights (or ability) to investigate your betting activity outside of your account with them. So they won’t know you’re Laying on the betting exchanges.

Is Matched Betting legal?

Yes, of course. There’s nothing illegal about placing promotional free bets, or Lay bets. Combining the two doesn’t make Matched Betting illegal.

From a Bookie’s perspective, it’s always the same loss they incur on free bets — regardless whether customers create a no-lose bet from it.

Furthermore, specialist?Matched Betting companies?wouldn’t exist in the public domain if it was illegal.

Can I claim signup bonuses more than once?

No, definitely not.

Signing up to the Bookmaker for a second time in order to claim a new customer’s free bet isn’t smart. In doing so the Bookmaker will either: invalidate your winnings, close your account, or leave the account open?without?the ability to claim any future promotions. They?don’t take kindly to customers?trying to claim promotions they aren’t entitled to — and their terms & conditions always state this. Don’t try?it.

Is there such thing as Matched Betting without free bets?

Yes and no. You?can’t?profit from Matched Betting without free bets. However, the same process can be applied in situations where the Bookie offers?better?odds than the betting exchanges, to earn a risk free profit. This is known as?arbitrage betting.

For the best arb finders, read my post:?What’s The Best Sports Arbing Software? (Sure Bet Finder)

Is Matched Betting only for the UK? What countries can do It?

Matched Betting is primarily aimed at the UK because sports betting is legal here. But strictly speaking Matched Betting can be done at?any?Bookmaker offering?+EV?promotions, provided you also have an account at a?betting exchange.

If you’re unable to sign up to Bookmakers or claim offers because of your country of residence (e.g. the USA) or any other circumstances, then needless to say you won’t be earning from Matched Betting.?No offers means no profit.

Can I use an e-wallet for Matched Betting?

Most free bet promotions state that you can’t deposit using an e-wallet. This helps to prevent fraud.

You’ll need to use a bank account, or other eligible deposit method.

Do I need a separate bank account for Matched Betting?

You don’t need it — but it’s advisable. If you are planning to apply for a loan or mortgage then having tons of gambling activity might not work in your favour. It’s best to keep it private.

However, if you open a bank account and only ever use it for betting activity, then there’s a risk it will be closed by the bank. Therefore the best compromise is to use your account for general expenses, too. Why not spend from that account?

Should I use a VPN for Matched Betting?

I wouldn’t advise using a VPN for Matched Betting. It will look suspicious to the bookmaker. You don’t have anything to hide.

Is it true that promotions are restricted to one account per household?

Yes, that’s usually the case. If two people share the same address (and/or IP address) then you won’t be able to claim multiple free bets. The Bookmakers have to protect themselves against abuse.

Is it OK to use the same email for all the bookmakers, betting exchanges, and any Matched Betting sites?

It shouldn’t be a problem. You might decide to avoid using the same email at OddsMonkey (or other?matched?betting?sites) as the Bookmakers. Just in case.

Should I use a different username for each and every bookmaker, betting exchange, and Matched?Betting site?

It’s your call. They shouldn’t be allowed to share information between one another. However, with so much consolidation between betting companies in the UK I would suggest mixing it up to protect yourself.

Should I consider the time I place bets? Is there a ‘best’ time window?

To be safe, do it in the evenings, after work or at weekends. You might be mistaken for a professional bettor (or addict) if you bet at unusual hours. Neither are good labels to be given.

Do bookmakers suspect people using decimal odds are Matched Bettors?

It’s definitely possible. No concrete evidence, though.

You could always keep your Bookmaker odds in fractions and convert them into decimals yourself, outside of their site. It’s just a bit inpractical.

Will betting on too many ‘close matches’ look suspicious to the bookmakers? Is this something they will notice / know about?

Yes, that’s one of the only ways they might suspect you’re?matched?betting. Don’t consistently bet on events that are too closely matched between the bookmaker and betting exchange.

Think about it. If there’s a really close match, then it’s also where 99% of other matched bettors will be placing stakes. You don’t want to be mixed in with those guys for the sake of saving a few more pence per bet.

Is it possible to create a situation where Matched Betting is win-win for the punter and the bookmaker?

Not really. Free bets lose the Bookmakers money. Whether or not you’re matching it off on the betting exchange at your end makes no difference to them.

So don’t kid yourself that Matched Betting is highly detrimental to the Bookmakers’ bottom line. It doesn’t really impact their profits unless players fraudulently claim bonuses that they aren’t entitled to.

Are there any bookmakers who are particularly savvy when it comes to identifying ‘Matched Bettors’?

Smaller bookies may have more ability (or inclination) to monitor individuals. In general, if you avoid close matches, the only other way Bookies can detect you’re matched betting is if you have a history of betting using only free bets. That’s a good indication that you’re not interested in betting?for fun.

Will I be gubbed for Matched Betting? Should I place mug bets to conceal my activity?

Anyone that does Matched Betting?over a long period of time is likely to be gubbed eventually. Or you won’t be offered free bets any more — which is much the same outcome.

I don’t advise “Mug Betting” as there’s no guarantee it will help you. Plus it loses money. But you may experiment and find your own strategy that works.

Be aware that once you’re gubbed you won’t convince the bookies to ‘un-gub’ your accounts. They won’t listen to your stories or excuses. They’ll ignore you!

Can fraud prevention software be used to identify whether you do Matched Betting?

You’re not committing fraud by Matched Betting on your own account.

Besides, I don’t think a system can prove you’re Matched Betting unless it’s capable of snooping on all of your browser activity (which is generally illegal). You could use your Matched Betting Service in a different browser to what you normally use, or switch on incognito/private mode. That should be safe enough.

Also, you could?even place your Bookie bets on your phone, in a shop, or through the app. Then place the Lay bets on your desktop or phone afterwards.

Remember that you’re placing standard bets in popular markets. Unless you go out of your way to seek a 100% match (i.e. identical odds) between the bookie and exchange, then you won’t draw much attention to yourself.

Does maximising my free bet from the bookie’s welcome offers affect my long-term account health in any way? Should I take less than the maximum bonus?

No, it won’t. They offer these promotions to get new customers, after all. Some of them are gamblers, some are matched bettors. Might as well maximise it.

Should I mimic the patterns of a ‘Real Gambler’? (e.g. bet frequently on my favourite football team)

There’s no need to mimic anything. Just stick with popular fixtures, that’s all.

But you’ll make yourself obvious if you decide to bet on Division 2 Kazakhstan League football correct scores markets, etc. Just use common sense.

Can Matched Betting be done by identifying bets without the use of an Oddsmatcher?

Yes — but I strongly advise using an Oddsmatcher.

With the help of an odds matching tool, which comes as part of a Matched Betting Service, you’ll consistently find a strong match between the bookmakers and betting exchanges. This ensures you maintain good profit margins, saves you time, and decreases the risk of making a (potentially costly) error.

Is Matched Betting sustainable? How can I maximise what I earn from Matched Betting?

Matched betting has been around for many years — but it might not last forever. I wouldn’t recommend doing it as a full time job. It’s just a great way to make some extra cash from home.

Once you’ve signed up to several Bookmakers then your Matched Betting activity will be strictly limited to the “reload” offers for existing customers. This means you won’t be able to claim juicy new customer “sign-up” promotions. There is still consistent money to be made, though.

I highly recommend that you subscribe to one of the top?Matched Betting Websites as provide the tools such as a Matched Betting Calculator, daily offers (free bets, promotions, casino bonuses), dummies guides, and ongoing support to help you sustain a regular income from Matched Betting.

Want to Take Matched Betting Further?

• Use your Matched Betting skills to earn money from Arbitrage Betting.
• Learn more proven ways of profiting from sports betting.

Originally posted 6th July 2016, and updated for 2023.

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Toby @ Punter2Pro

Toby is the creator & writer of Punter2Pro. Drawing on his experience in developing value bet finders, Betfair bots, and other professional betting tools, he provides honest advice to help improve your approach to sports betting and safely navigate the murky waters of the online gambling world.

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