Matched Betting Explained – Complete Guide (2024 Update)

𓆉 Does matched betting really work? And how much money can you make doing it? Find out in our ultimate matched betting strategy guide.

Explore this page with our Table of Contents

ON THIS PAGE

1. 1 What is Matched Betting?
2. 2 Matched Betting, Hedge Betting and Arbing
3. 3 How Does Matched Betting Work?
4. 4 Matched Betting Formula
5. 5 Matched Betting Calculator
6. 6 Matched Betting Example
7. 7 How to Find Matched Betting Opportunities
8. 8 The Difficulties of Matched Betting
9. 9 Other Common Betting Terms
10. 10 ThePuntersPage Final Say
11. 11 Matched betting FAQs

What is Matched Betting?

Matched betting is a betting strategy that allows you to make money from the promotions offered by bookies. These are usually free bets🐬 or deposit bonuses. Instead of betting on who you think will win, you cover all potential outcomes of an event, so that you make profit no matter what. 

Matched Betting, Hedge Betting and Arbing

🎀 While matched betting is related to hedge betting and arbing, since all three involve betting on opposite outcomes, there are key differences.

How Does Matched Betting Work?

Matched betting involves placing two wagers: one with your bonus money, one with real money. Additionally, you often have to place a small wager in order to qualify for a free bet. Usually, you would place the second bet on a different site than the first, to ensure the bookie does not see you betting against yourself. Betting exchanges are ideal for this as they allow you to place lay bets.

The Two Parts of a Matched Bet

A matched bet consists of two parts: a back bet and a lay bet♛. Your matched bet means that winnings from your back bet will cover any loss from your lay bet.

Back Bet

ౠ Your back bet is a bet predicting that an event will happen; for example, a win by team A. Place this bet with your free bet. Make sure to place it at qualifying odds for your free bet to be valid, otherwise you will not be able to collect your free bet winnings and you may have to wager it again.

🎉 (Qualifying odds are usually 3/2 (1.50) or 2/1 (2.00), depending on which promotion or bookie you use.)

Lay Bet

Your lay bet is the opposite bet. Since your back bet was for A to win, your lay bet is for team A not to win. Place this bet with real money at a different bookie. Exchange betting sites like Smarkets or Betfair Exchangeꦓ are ideal for this, since they allow you to “sell” bets. Pay attention to how lay bets work, since you will have to pay out if the bet loses. Head to a betting exchange and place a lay bet on team A to win (this means you think team A will lose).

ಌ Alternatively, you could head to a regular bookie and place a double chance bet on Team B to win or Draw.

Bet on Two Possible Outcomes

Lay bets are ideal for sports like football, which have three possible outcomes. You could also choose a sport with only two possible outcomes, such as MMA or Tennis,ꦑ in order to simplify things. In that case, you can simply choose any bookie or exchange as long as the odds are high enough.

Matched Betting Formula

🌠 Of course, you are now asking yourself which odds you should choose and just how big your stake should be. You can use the formulas below to calculate your stakes.

If You Are Using Lay Odds at a Betting Exchange, Use These Formulas:

🐎 Profit = back stake × (back bet odds – 1) – [lay stake × (lay bet odds – 1)]

🌞 Profit = [lay stake × (1 – commission)] – back stake

𒁏 Lay stake = back odds × back stake ÷ (lay odds)

If You Are Using Regular Odds Instead of Lay Odds, the Calculation is Even Simpler

If your back bet wins:

🉐 Profit = Winnings from your back bet – lay stake

If your lay bet wins:

⛎ Profit = Winnings from your lay bet – lay stake

Matched Betting Calculator

ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Our matched betting calculator is coming soon!

Matched Betting Example

𝔉 Let us look at an example of this. A bookie is offering a £30 free bet if you stake £10. In order to turn this into profit, you will need to place at least two matched bets.

First Matched Bet

ꦺ In order to qualify for the £30 bet, you need to deposit and wager £10 first. This is the qualifying bet. To make sure that these £10 are not at risk, you will need to place a lay bet as well. You decide to place your wager on Liverpool to win at odds 2/1 (2.0).

💦 You also head to a betting exchange and place a lay bet on Liverpool to win. The exchange (for example, Betfair) is offering lay odds of 2.1 on England to win and charges 5% commission.

🍌 Using our matched betting calculator, you see that your need to wager £9.76 in order to match your first bet. This leaves your liability at £10.74.

🤪 In this step, you will make a small loss, regardless of the outcome.

🥃 If Liverpool wins, you can claim your back bet, winning £20. However, you will lose your lay bet, losing the £10.47 liability. This means you are down 47p.

ꦛ If does not win, you lose your back bet stake of £10, but win an extra £9.76 on your lay wager minus 5%. This means you are down 73p.

Second Matched Bet

🌌 Even though you have lost 47p or 73p, you now have a free bet worth £30.

𒊎 You now choose to wager it on horses. You wager it at the bookie at odds of 6.0 on horse A.

🤡 You now choose the betting exchange again and find lay odds of 6.1 for horse A to win, with 5% commission. Our calculations state that you need to stake £24.79, which will leave you with a liability of £126.43.

No Matter Who Wins the Race, You Will Make a Profit!

If horse A wins:

You will be returned £150 (£180 winnings – £30 stake; free bet stake is not returned for free bets). Your lay bet will lose, meaning you lose the £126.43 liability.

This leaves you with a net profit of £23.57.

If horse A does not win:

⛄ You win your lay bet. Your profit minus commission is £23.55. While you lose your back bet of £30, you do not lose any real money, since the free bet was not with your real money to begin with.

This means your net profit is £23.55.

Your overall profit is:

🔯 Your overall profit is thus (£23.55 or £23.57) – (47p or 73p), meaning you win between £22.92 and £23.10 for two simple bets.

How to Find Matched Betting Opportunities

ඣ If you are looking for matched betting opportunities, you will need to look for bookies with the best and biggest welcome offers. The best for this type of wagering are of course no deposit offers, though these are quite rare in sportsbooks these days.

🉐 Types of promos you can use for this include:

ꦚ If you want to ensure maximum profit, you can even use two different free bet offers from two different bookies and wager them on opposite outcomes.

The Difficulties of Matched Betting

Bookies are not stupid. While they offer free bets and other promos to get more players, they would of course rather not have to deal with losses matched betting. Because of this, some bookie’s free bet terms are quite complex, involving accas, placing wagering requirements on free bet winnings and more. These can make guaranteed profits impossible, or at least, more difficult. Still, it would be stupid not to take advantage of matched betting opportunities. Whenever a bookie offers you a free bet, head over to an exchange and place a suitable lay bet. You never know – it could just turn out to be your lucky day.

Other Common Betting Terms

What is an accumulator bet

Cash out betting sites

Place a bet online

What does draw no bet mean

ThePuntersPage Final Say

Finding matched betting opportunities is not that hard. Almost any free bet with simple wagering terms can be leveraged into a guaranteed profit. Of course, you will eventually run out of welcome offers from which to choose. At the same time, all-too-obvious matched betting or doing it too often at the same bookie can get you ‘gubbed', meaning you will be excluded from any further promos.🔴 Still, you could make a few hundred quid in a month’s time if you're smart, making it a valid betting strategy.