Matched betting is a popular and lucrative method of making risk-free profits from promotions offered by Sportsbooks and Casinos. It’s a technique that has gained immense popularity among individuals looking to boost their income without any gambling risk.
Here at Sports Betting Prophet we are traders, and gambling is never a part of a sound trading plan. We open and close positions quickly, never leaving positions open to chance. In fact, we rarely open positions that we can’t verifiably profit from instantly.
Matched betting is helping people from all walks of life in all corners of the earth create an incredibly lucrative income stream, and for some it’s just the beginning of an exciting sports trading career. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the world of matched betting, explaining what it is, how it works, and how you can get started.
Table of Contents:
- What is Matched Betting?
- How Does Matched Betting Work?
- Benefits of Matched Betting
- Getting Started with Matched Betting
- Common Terms in Matched Betting
- Matched Betting Tools and Resources
- Advanced Matched Betting Strategies
- Common Misconceptions and Risks
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
1. What is Matched Betting?
Matched betting is a strategy used to make guaranteed profit from sportsbooks free bets, promotions and miss priced odds. It involves placing two opposite bets on the same event – one to back an outcome (buying odds) using a sportsbook, and the other to lay (bet against/selling odds) using a betting exchange. This way, when coupled with a promotion or value odds, you cover all possible outcomes and ensure that you profit no matter what.
2. How Does Matched Betting Works?
Here’s an example of your first application of the technique:
- You sign up with a sportsbook that offers a free bet to new customers when they place their first bet.
- You place a bet using your own money on a particular outcome, qualifying you for their free bet promotion.
- Simultaneously, you place a lay bet on the same outcome at a betting exchange.
- The lay bet ensures that if your back bet loses, you’ll win on the exchange incurring no loss overall (assuming a perfect odds match)
- After the event concludes, you’ll receive your free bet
- You repeat the process, this time using the free bet to guarantee a profit.
- Unlike betting with your own money, the free bet stake is not included in your winnings and so using higher odds ensures you retain a greater percentage of the free bet. Usually around 80%.
- This means where we see an offer such as bet $1000 get $1000 in free bets, we can grantee $800 profit.
3. Getting Started with Matched Betting
- Start your free trail with ProfitDuel
- The free trail walks you through opening your first exchange and sportsbook account.
- You will be shown how to find an appropriate back bet using an incredibly simple piece of odds scanning software.
- You will be shown how to calculate your lay stake using the appropriate calculator.
- Once the event concludes and your free bet is in your account, you will be guided once again on the placing and laying off this bet.
- Using their built in trackers is a great way of staying organised. TRACK EVERYTHING!
- Once you have made your first $200 risk free cash you will no doubt purchase the premium membership and repeat the process with the many other sportsbooks and casinos offering this type of new customer promotion.
- Sign up bonuses are just the beginning. The low hanging fruit if you will. This isn’t a hit and run, we do intend on being customers for as long as they’ll have us (find out what we mean by this here ………..)
- We recommend that you do not spend the profit from the sign up bonuses and instead allow these to build your bankroll.
4. Why you need a bankroll
- You can start matched betting with as little as a few hundred dollars for your 1st offer, but in order to complete more than 1 offer per day, its useful to have a bankroll. The more cash in the bank (or more importantly your exchange account) the more offers you can do simultaneously.
- Our advice is to start with a small bankroll, just enough to convert a decent percentage of your 1st bonus, and allow the profits from each offer to build your bankroll for you.
- The sign up offers are some of the biggest ROI’s you will get using the matched betting technique, so you’ll be grateful you saved it up for when volume becomes your goal later.
- By the time you have completed all the signup offers available to you, you will have built a healthy bankroll.
- This will vary state by state and other factors such as your willingness to travel and work with other people, but we would expect you to achieve a $20k bankroll within your 1st month if you are completing at least one offer each day, building up to 2 and 3 as your bankroll grows.
- At that point many chose to start investing further profits into other thinks, but protect your bankroll at all costs. This is your seed money. You money to make money in the sports betting markets.
5. Common Terms in Matched Betting
- Back Bet: Placing a bet on an outcome to win.
- Lay Bet: Betting against an outcome to win. This is what sportsbooks are doing when they take your bets
- Qualifying Bet: The initial bet you place to trigger a free bet.
- Free Bet: A promotional bet offered by sportsbooks.
- Betting Exchange: A peer to peer trading platform where you can bet against an outcome by taking other peoples bets.
- Liability: The amount you could lose on the lay bet if the back bet wins. You have to have the amount you would win at the sportsbook in your exchange account to pay out the bet you matched. But of course you get that same amount back at the sports book. You will always win on one platform and lose on the other and the difference will be $0 when qualifying and you profit when using free bets.
6. Matched Betting Tools and Resources
- Matched betting calculators.
- Oddsmatching software.
- Matched betting forums and communities.
- Detailed guides and video tutorials.
7. Advanced Matched Betting Strategies
- There are many. Look out for upcoming articles. If you don’t yet have accounts with all the operators available to you, we would recommend capitalising on this low hanging fruit first.
- 8. Common Misconceptions and Risks
- It’s not gambling, but it’s not entirely risk-free. In theory it is but there is always the chance you can make a mistake. Double check your staking the right amount on the correct selection every time.
- Mistakes in calculations can lead to losses.
- ProfitDuel helps to mitigate this with its tools but as it is the only risk it should be made very clear.
9. Frequently Asked Questions
- How much can I make with matched betting?
- You can make 5 figures THIS month by completing the sign up bonuses available to you, and then it really is up to you how far you want to take it.
- Is it difficult to learn?
- We laugh when we hear this one. No. It’s super easy to learn the basics and make a chuck of cash. Learning to make consistent profits for years to come is another thing, but we have lots in the pipeline to help with that.
- Is matched betting legal?
- Yes. Wherever sports betting is legal, matched betting is happening. You are just placing bets with different operators and actually profiting.
- Can I get banned from bookmakers?
- Banned is a term they try to avoid, it doesn’t fit in with the message that people can win big at the casino. But they don’t like customers with an actual edge and will eventually take measures to limit your activity. We do our best to spread our action across as many books as possible to help look like a causal punter from the perspective of the individual sportsbook. This is an artform which we will also be looking at more deeply soon.
10. Conclusion
Matched betting is a legitimate and profitable way to earn extra income or even replace a lost job. With the right knowledge, tools, and discipline, you can consistently make money from bookmakers’ promotions while minimizing risks. Start your matched betting journey today and discover a new source of income that’s accessible to everyone.