Matched Betting Guide
Matched betting isn't too difficult at all, we'll look at how it works in a moment but first, the disclaimer: it is your responsibility to do your research and if things go wrong it's your fault, not mine or the site's!
Let's begin at the start
Ok first up gambling for beginners; when you place a bet at a bookmaker's you either win the bet or lose the bet, simple eh? With matched betting when you place a bet you either win the bet or lose the bet at the bookmakers but you either win the bet or lose the bet at the betting exchange. In other words, you can't lose....well unless you screw up but if you check, double check and triple check your bets then you'll be alright and if an accident does happen and you make a big boo boo, learn from it and most importantly don't make the same mistake twice!
Still there? Good,let's put into practice
For this example we are going to use a football match. Now, let's say you bet £10 at the bookmakers for Team A to win the game at odds of 2/1(decimal odds 3.0), if Team A won the match you would get £30 back, your initial stake plus the £20 profit. If Team A got beat, then you'd end up with nada, zilch, nothing.
Here's the clever part, at a betting exchange you become the bookmaker. So let's say at the betting exchange you offer odds of 2/1(decimal odds 3.0) for Team A to win and someone places a bet for £10. This is what's known as laying a bet.
What happens when the team wins
Now, let's imagine you have placed the bet at the bookies and also accepted the bet at a betting exchange. Firstly let's assume Team A have won the game, you would win £30 at the bookies site, your initial £10 bet and £20 profit but you'll also have to pay £20 back to the winning punter at the betting exchange so you end up with a zero profit.
£30 from the bookies - £10 you initially staked at the bookies - £20 winnings to the punter = £0
and here's what happens when the team loses
Now let's assume Team A have not won the match, i.e. they either drew the game or lost the game. You lose your £10 stake at the bookies but you also get to keep the punters' £10 stake from the betting exchange so you end up with a zero profit.
£10 profit by keeping the punters' stake at the betting exchange - £10 which is the money you staked, and lost, at the bookmakers = £0
So in both cases the bet and the lay cancel each other out and you end up with zero profit for all your hard work!
Obviously, this would be utterly pointless for regular betting, but where this technique really becomes useful is when you take advantage of the bookies sign up offers.
And now for the useful part
Let's say the fictional bookies, Betty's Betta Betting site is offering a signup deal whereby if you deposit, and place, a bet worth £10 they will give you a free bet worth £10.
Now let's say you bet and lay the exact same game with your free bet and Team A wins the match. You would get £30 from back from the bookies, your free bet of £10 plus the £20 profit. On the lay bet, you'd have to give the punter £20 winnings meaning you'd be left with a £10 profit.
And now we'll see what would happen if Team A draws, or loses, the game. You lose nothing at the bookies as the £10 bet was free, but you get to keep the punters stake from the exchange again giving you a profit of £10.
Surely it can be that simple??
That's the theory behind matched betting, but unfortunately it is never that clear cut. Usually the odds at the betting exchange and the bookies never match. Also there is a commission of between 1% and 5% payable on winning to the betting exchange. Despite this, it is still fairly easy, if a little time consuming, to find a suitable game to bet on.
On top of the commission and difference in odds, there is also the small matter of stake returned and stake not returned bets. Stake returned means you get the free bet value, in our example the free £10 bet, back along with any winnings. Stake not returned means you only get back any winnings and not the free £10 bet. To make it worth while it's best to look for odds above 2/1(decimal odds 3.0) but the higher, the better.
That's all folks!
Really that's about it, the key points to remember are always check that you are backing and laying the exact same outcome in a match. Secondly, be patient this isn't a get rich quick scheme but if you take your time and find good, close odds you will steadily build up a decent pot of money to spend how you like.
Good luck! And if you have any questions feel free to get in touch
