Matched Betting What is Matched Betting?
This process allows you to unlock and convert sportsbook promotions into real profit and ensures you cover all outcomes of a bet, allowing you to profit from free bets with minimal risk. One of the key aspects of matched betting is using two types of bets – back bets and lay bets. The bettor places these bets on different websites and because these two bets cover all possible outcomes of a particular event, the player is guaranteed returns. Matched betting can be as hands-on or as casual as you want it to be. Advanced techniques, like each-way betting and multi-accounting, are often explored by those looking to go beyond basic free bet offers.
Core Concept: Converting a Bonus Bet
Sportsbooks and online betting sites offer matched betting, which is a strategy that helps individual bettors make a profit from incentives that bookies provide. A bettor may deposit in a bookie account, which the bookie matches to allow for risk-free betting. An account holder may also wager with two or more betting establishments and accept a free bet from one. Matched betting is an approach to sports betting where you can mathematically guarantee a profit from sportsbooks’ promotions.
For a full review, read our Identifying Sportsbook Promotions guide. Sportsbook arbitrage sounds like a great idea and a quick way to profit. Now that you have a general understanding of converting a Second Chance Bet let’s look at how to do it using the DarkHorse Odds Second Chance Bet Finder. In this example, we will use the $100 Second Chance Bet sign-up offer for BetRivers.
When you place a bet using Site Credit, you are not risking any of your own money, meaning if the Site Credit bet loses, you do not lose any money. The Matched Betting Calculator, also known as a lay bet calculator, is an essential tool for anyone Matched Betting. Every time we place a bet with a bookmaker, we place a lay bet at a betting exchange.
- Create an account on the first two sportsbooks you are planning to use.
- It is possible to make several hundred pounds when you start using the strategy, with ongoing opportunities to make some extra money each month.
- You can see your liability is £3.44, and it’s good practice to check this figure against the expected loss on the calculator.
- Many matched bettors treat it like a side hustle and manage their activity with the same professionalism.
- However, you can start with much smaller bankrolls with just a few hundred dollars.
By laying a selection, you act like the bookmaker, offering odds to other bettors. For example, if you lay Team A, you profit if Team A loses or draws (in a “win” market), and you lose if Team A wins. This ability to bet against outcomes is what makes matched betting possible, as it allows you to cover every result and eliminate risk. To get started with matched betting, most people begin by signing up with a few well-known UK bookmakers that offer welcome bonuses or free bets. Once you place a qualifying bet, the bookmaker usually credits your account with a free bet.
WHAT ARE MATCHED BETTING PRODUCTS ABOUT?
As before, the calculator will be filled with all of the relevant information BUT this time it will be set to “Free Bet (SNR)” mode as you’re placing a free bet. Let’s look at your overall profit/loss for the potential outcomes. For example, a bet on Liverpool to win – the bet wins if Liverpool win. If you prefer to learn by doing – sign up for our free trial to access over 40 different bookmaker signup offers worth over £850 in profit.
Initially though, you should be able to make around £1,000 from matched betting by taking advantage of stake sign up/welcome offers. Over the years, we have helped thousands of people earn a second income with matched betting. Now, if you’ve never heard of matched betting before, you’re bound to have questions. Hopefully we’ll have answered most of them above, but if not, keep reading, or head over to our FAQ section to find out more. Since then, we’ve put together a strong team of matched betting experts and top developers. All of this means we’ve been able to add new tools, training, videos, tutorials and customer support to the OddsMonkey site.
Bookmakers aren’t huge fans of matched betting, purely because they’re not making money off you. However, it’s a completely legal way to use the bonus offers given out. We do have a paid membership option known as OddsMonkey Premium, which you can upgrade to at any point. There you’ll find guides for lots of new customer offers, as well as ongoing and daily offers. You’ll also have access to all of our matched betting tools. While we did build the first odds matching tool, we didn’t create matched betting itself.
A lay bet is a wager you place against a particular outcome happening. Instead of betting “for” a team to win (that’s a back bet), a lay bet means you’re betting that the team won’t win. Lay bets are placed on betting exchanges rather than traditional bookmakers.
Taking advantage of a lower commission exchange can make a measurable difference to your long-term returns, especially if you place a high volume of bets. It’s worth noting that the betting exchange only takes the liability amount of your lay bet from your balance and not the lay stake amount. You’ll only need to pay out winnings to the bettor, not their stake plus winnings. The calculator works by using a mathematical formula that calculates the amount to bet on with both the bookmaker and the betting exchange. It takes into account the odds offered by both and the commission charged by the exchange.
You can find this information in dedicated Offers Guides in the Premium Members Area. The most basic requirements are that the bettor must deposit and place initial bets of a certain value. In some cases, these bets must be placed on specific sports or potentially even on individual matches or events. It may also be necessary to choose bet lines with odds of above evens. Avoid free bets that have minimum wagering requirements because these are prohibitive. And products like Profit Maximiser and Profit Accumulator include details of ongoing offers you can take advantage of once you have rolled through all the introductory offers.