Matched Betting Guide
What is Matched Betting?
How does matched betting work?
What’s a Betting Exchange?
What is Laying?
Choosing your free bet
Understanding decimal odds
The qualifying bet
The follow up Bet – Stake not returned (SNR) free bet
The follow up bet – Stake returned free bet
What Next
What is Matched Betting?
As online bookmakers compete for their share of the punters, practically all, at
some stage will offer free bets and bonuses to entice new members, or encourage
existing members to have a bet with them. You know the sort of thing ‘bet £25 &
get a £25 free bet’ when you open a new bookmaker account.
You may be familiar with
these free bet offers, having seen them advertised at large sporting events such
as the Grand National, Cheltenham festival, Champion’s League ect. Well the good
news for us, the punter, is using a technique called matched betting, it’s possible
to convert any of these free bet offers into guaranteed profit regardless of the
event outcome......
How does matched betting work?
Matched betting is a methodical process that allows individuals to obtain and convert
any free bet offer into guaranteed profit with no risk involved. Matched betting
can be broken down into two simple stages, the qualifying bet and the follow up
bet.
Stage 1 - Qualifying bet (Obtain a free bet)
To obtain the free bet at the lowest possible cost you will need to Back a selection
with the bookmaker (who is offering the free bet) and Lay (bet against) the same selection with a betting exchange
(see exchanges explained), this makes the bet risk free
Stage 2 - Follow up Bet (Convert free bet into guaranteed profit)
Now repeat stage one, but this time use the free bet or bonus as your stake to back
the selection in the bookmaker and again LAY (bet against) the same selection in
a Betting Exchange to make the bet risk free. Since you are not staking your own
money at the bookmaker you have now generated some risk free profit.
Withdraw your profit
Withdraw your profits and move onto the next free bet offer, there is currently
around £2000 in available free bets and with an expected return of at least 65%
of the free bet value that’s a potential profit of £1300.
What’s a Betting Exchange?
To begin matched betting you will need to open an account with a betting exchange,
we recommend Betfair. Unlike traditional bookmakers an exchange give you option
to Lay as well as back, and this makes it a crucial tool for matched betting. An
exchange is a market where ordinary punters can bet against each other. Unlike betting
with a bookmaker, punters are able to choose the price they want to bet at and not
the price they’re told they can have. Every bet placed on a betting exchange, involves
a backer and a layer, a backer thinks a particular outcome will happen, a layer
thinks that it won’t happen. The odds and amounts that you see on each market are
people asking for or offering bets, these are called unmatched bets. When someone
accepts one of these bets by either backing or laying the bet is on, it’s then called
a matched bet. Betting exchanges match punters opposing back and lay bets and deduct
a small commission from the winning side.
What is Laying?
On an exchange you can make money out of something losing, by laying a selection.
Laying a bet means you are betting on something not to happen – a match not to end
in a draw, a horse not to come in first, a rugby team not to win by over 7 points.
It might sound new, but you’ve probably been doing it unconsciously for years. Have
you ever had a bet with a mate, it might have been over a game of a pool, or a football
match on TV. Two opposing sides, two opposing opinions. He’s backing his team –
if they win, he wins. If they lose, you win – you’ve effectively layed his bet by
betting on something not to happen.
When you lay a bet you adopt the role of a bookmaker,
your stake is the amount you want to win and not the amount you want to risk, you
are now offering odds to a backer
Choosing your free bet
You will find over £2000 in free bets listed in our free bets section. To begin
with we recommend that you start with the smaller free bet offers to build your
matched betting confidence. Coral is ideal, they offer a £10 free bet when you deposit
£10 and is the featured bookmaker in our live working example.
When choosing your
free bet it is important to look at the terms and conditions of the offer. You will
need to make a note of the following; Is the free bet stake returned (SR) or is
the free bet stake not returned (SNR) and what are the minimum odds that the first
bet must be placed at in the bookie to qualify for the free bet. For instance in
Stan James you can only gain the free bet if your first bet selection is placed
at 1/1 or above. Generally the value of the FREE bet stake is NOT included in the
return of any winnings, as in the case at Stan James, this is referred to as a “Stake
Not Returned (SNR)” free bet (as opposed to a “Stake Returned (SR)” offer where
the free bet stake is included in any winnings) All of this free bet information
can be found in our free bets table.
Understanding decimal odds
All prices quoted on a Betting exchange are in 'Decimal' Odds. Decimal Odds differ
from the Odds traditionally quoted by UK bookmakers in that they include your stake
as part of your total return. If you place a bet of £10 at Decimal Odds of 4.0 and
win, then your total return (including stake) is £40. In a traditional bookmaker
this would be quoted as 3/1, returning to you winnings of £30 plus your original
stake of £10.
The qualifying bet
This is stage one of the matched betting process, the first bet that you must place
to obtain your free bet. Normally a small calculated loss is incurred at this stage
(around 2 - 5% of the free bet value), and you will be aware of this before you
place the bet. This loss is made acceptable by the free bet obtained, and all losses
incurred at this point are offset significantly by the profit earned on the follow
up bet (at least 65% of the free bet value)
Show Example Bet
The Example Match -
Liverpool v Chelsea (Figures quoted from
automatcher)
Place a £25 bet at Totesport
to qualify for a £25 free bet, and lay (bet against) the same selection with a
betting exchange (Betfair) to make the bet risk free.
Deposit £25 in Tote
sport to qualify for a £25
free bet
Deposit £26.83 in Betfair to
cover the bet
In Totesport stake £25
backing Liverpool to win at
odds of 2.00
In Betfair stake £24.39
laying Liverpool NOT to win at odds of 2.10, your liability will be £26.83 (What
you must payout if your Lay bet loses)
Remember when laying you
essentially act as a bookmaker, your lay bet is accepted by an opposing backer
on the site. Your £24.39 Lay stake is what you stand to win, and the liability
£26.83 is what you stand to payout.
If
Liverpool win you will make
£25 profit in Totesport and lose
the
£26.83 liability in Betfair = -£1.83
If it’s a
Draw
or
Chelsea win you will make
£23.17 profit in Betfair (the £24.39
lay stake minus 5% commission) and lose the £25 deposit in Totesport = -£1.83
That’s it, all
the event outcomes have now
been covered, we’ve gained
a £25 free bet from Totesport for a small loss of just £1.83. Now
we just need to cash the free bet out for a guaranteed profit
The follow up Bet – Stake not returned (SNR) free bet
Generally the value of the FREE bet stake is NOT included in the return of any winnings,
as in the case at Totesport; this is referred to as a “Stake Not Returned (SNR)”
free bet. When cashing out an SNR offer, it’s unwise to place the free bet on let’s
say a 1/100 favourite if you will only make a return of just 25p. Instead we need
to look for higher closely matching back and lay odds, at least 3/1 or above, to
maximise your return from the offer.
Show Example Bet
The Example Match –
Liverpool v Fulham
(Figures quoted from
automatcher)
Place a bet with Totesport
using the £25 FREE bet as your stake and LAY this selection on a betting
exchange to ensure a risk free profit whatever the outcome.
Since you are using “FREE”
stake money to back the selection and will lay the bet off in a manner that
guarantees the same overall return whatever the outcome, you have now generated
some risk free profit.
£25 free bet in Totesport
Deposit £65.92 in Betfair to
cover the bet
In Totesport
stake the £25 free bet backing Fulham to win at odds of 4.33
In Betfair
stake £18.31 Laying Fulham NOT to win, your liability will be £65.92 (what you
have to payout if your Lay bet loses)
- If
Fulham win you will make
£83.33 profit in
Totesport covering the
£65.92 liability lost
in Betfair. Profit = £17.39
- If
it’s a
Draw or
Liverpool win you will make
£17.39 profit in
Betfair (your £18.31 lay stake minus 5% commission) and lose nothing in
Totesport as it was a free bet. Profit = £17.39
That’s it; all event outcomes
have been covered, we
will make
£17.41 profit from the £25.00 free bet. That’s just over a 69% return from the
£25 free bet and even after we account for the £1.83 loss to obtain it, that’s
an overall profit of £15.58, still over a 62% return on investment!
Recovery of stake not returned free bets
As a guide, we aim to make at least a 70% return of any stake not returned free
bet offer. If desired it’s possible to make higher returns, using higher more closely
matched back and lay odds. Remember though, the higher the lay odds, the higher
the liability in Betfair and although the money is never at risk, it may be tied
up for a few days before the bet is settled so please find a level you are comfortable
with. As a guide, with equal back and lay odds, the % return for a non returned
stake offer will be approximately, assuming the back and lay odds are the same.
- 50% at odds of 2
- 60% at odds of 2.63
- 70% at odds of 3.7
- 80% at odds of 6
- 90% at odds of 20
- 94% at odds of 100
We recommend that you use our matched betting calculator to see this for yourself. Have a play around with the back and lay odds to view the various outlays / return and check out how much the free bet will cost you. You will soon find a level that you are comfortable with in terms of outlay and profit margin.
The follow up bet – Stake returned free bet
If the value of the free bet stake is returned along with your winnings, as in the
case at coral, this is referred to as a stake returned (SR) free bet. In this instance,
the free bet can be placed at any odds and it has little effect on the return, with
(SR) offers this is normally around 95% of the free bet value. Coral’s free bet
offer is ideal for demonstrating this and the free bet is credited instantly upon
placing your first bet.
Show Example Bet
The Match –
Man U v Birmingham
(Figures quoted
from
automatcher)
Deposit £10 in Coral to qualify for a £10 free bet
Deposit £4.66 in Betfair to
cover the bet
In Coral
stake the £10 Backing
Manchester
United
to win odds of 1.22
In Betfair
stake £10.36 laying Manchester United
NOT to win,
your liability will be £4.66 (what you have to payout if the bet loses)
If
Manchester United
wins you will
make
£4.50 profit in
Coral to cover the
£4.66 liability lost
in Betfair. Loss = 16p
If it’s a
Draw or
Birmingham win you will make
£9.84 profit in
Betfair (your £10.36 lay stake minus 5% commission) to cover the £10 deposit lost in Coral. Loss = 16p.
That’s it; all event outcomes
have been covered, you have gained a £10 free bet
from Coral for a small loss of 16p.
The £10 free bet is instantly credited with this particular offer and will appear in your balance as soon as you place your first bet. Since the free bet is stake returned, the £10 free bet can be bet at any odds and you will still make a decent profit, so place exactly the same bet again, but this time use the free bet as your stake money to back in Coral.
The Match –
Man
United v Birmingham
(Figures quoted
from
automatcher)
£10 Free Bet in Coral
Deposit £4.66 in Betfair to
cover the bet
In Coral
stake the £10 free bet Backing
Manchester
United
to win odds of 1.22
In Betfair
stake £10.36 laying Manchester United
NOT to win,
your liability will be £4.66 (what you have to payout if the bet loses)
If
Manchester United
wins you will
make
£14.50 profit in
Coral (the returned £10 free bet stake plus £4.50 winnings) covering the
£4.66 liability lost
in Betfair. Profit = £9.84
If it’s a
Draw or
Birmingham win you will make
£9.84 profit in
Betfair (your £10.36 lay stake minus 5% commission) and lose nothing in Coral as
it was a free bet. Profit = £9.84
That’s it; all event outcomes
have been covered, we have made £9.84 profit
from the £10.00 free bet. That’s just over a 98% return from the £10 free bet
and even after we account for the £0.16 loss to obtain it, that’s an overall
profit of £9.68, still over a 96% return on investment!
What Next
There is currently over 40 free bet offers that can be used for matched betting,
providing plenty of opportunities to grow your matched betting bank. We recommend
starting with the smaller £10 free bet offers to begin with and build your way up
to the larger free £20, £25 and £50’s. A full list of free bet offers can be found
here along with all the necessary terms and conditions. We recommend that try out
our live working example to begin with enabling you to earn why you learn, the featured
bookmaker is currently coral and the matched bet information is updated automatically.
You will have access to live screen shots of the betting screens for both coral
and Betfair and all the necessary information is there to follow.
Plus try our pioneering automatcher software, the first and most technologically advanced of its kind. The automatcher does all the hard work for you, finding calculated matched bets for your chosen bookmaker at the click of a button. We have access to realtime, live odds from all the leading online bookmakers and betting exchanges, matched betting really couldn’t have got any easier.