After starting to look into ways to earn money online you are more than likely to come across matched betting at some point. When I initially found out about it I was unconvinced. It looked like gambling to me and as far as I was concerned the only ones who won from betting were the bookmakers! However, I kept seeing stories from people who were making money from it. In the end I got curious and did a bit more research.

Isn’t matched betting just gambling?

It turned out matched betting wasn’t gambling at all. In fact it is a clever way to use bookmaker promotions to get tax free winnings. There is a bit of maths involved, but you can get access to calculators which do all of that part for you. It’s definitely worth giving matched betting a try as you can make risk-free winning bets by following the right instructions.

Is it legal?

Yes, in the UK matched betting is completely legal. You must meet the requirements for signing up with the bookmakers and exchanges though, and this requires you to be over the age of 18. Usually you will provide ID as part of the sign up process to prove this.

Will it affect my credit rating?

This was certainly a concern of mine initially. However, matched betting does not affect your credit rating so you do not need to worry about this. When you sign up to the bookmakers they may perform a soft search on your credit file to confirm your identity and to check you are not a money launderer. This will not show up on your file to future lenders, so won’t affect you getting credit. At the end of the day, the bookmakers and exchanges are not giving you credit, so they will never need to do a full search.

You may still have concerns, especially if you are due to make an application for something like a mortgage. To put your mind at rest, have a read of this excellent blog post from Emma Drew:

Matched betting and mortgages – what you need to know

How does it work then?

Stage 1: placing and matching the qualifying bet

The basic method is that for each promotion, you begin by placing a qualifying ‘back bet’ with the bookie. This is you betting that a horse/team/player will win. At the same time as placing your ‘back bet’ you place a ‘lay bet’ in a betting exchange. The ‘lay bet’ says that the opposite result will happen, i.e. the horse/team/player will lose.

After the event finishes, if you have won you will have winnings waiting for you at the bookmaker. If you have lost, your winnings will be in the exchange. At this stage, because you will have used your actual money, you will have made a small loss. You get this back (plus profit) at the second stage of the process.

Stage 2: placing and matching the free bet

After the event has finished the bookmaker will award you your free bet. You now go through the process again, using your free bet as the ‘back bet’ at the bookie. This time when the event finishes, the result is that you make a profit because you placed the bet with ‘free’ money. If you win, you cash out your winnings from the bookmaker. If you lose, you get them from the exchange instead. As you cover yourself both ways it makes the bet ‘risk-free’ provided you take care not to make mistakes.

There is a little more to it than what I have outlined above. You need to choose the right odds at the different stages in order to make a profit. There are various calculators and odds-matching sites to help with this, but it all looks complicated and overwhelming to a beginner. Fear not though; you can get help to learn how to get to grips with matched betting and make easy money from it.

Learn how to do matched betting successfully

The best place to get started is Profit Accumulator. This website makes learning matched betting super easy, and by signing up to their free trial you can earn £45 right out of the starting gate (see what I did there?). After the trial period, you pay a monthly subscription of £17.99 or an annual membership fee of £150. You should easily be able to pay for this with your profits. If you don’t make a profit in your first 30 days Profit Accumulator offer a 100% refund of your subscription fee.

How much money do I need to start matched betting?

You don’t need a lot. There are lots of promotions available so you can choose the lower value ones to help build up your pot of winnings. You need enough money to be able to cover the liability of your lay bet (the amount you must pay back the exchange if you lose the bet with them). The size of the liability changes depending on the odds of your bet. The bigger the size of your ‘bank’ the greater odds you can go for and the better your profit will be.

For me personally, I started out with a bank of £150. This was after I switched a current account over to another bank and they gave me the money as a gift. Within a few months I had converted this to over £1,000 through matched betting. You can, however, start matched betting with as little as £50. If this concerns you, don’t forget you will get your money back quickly, plus profit.

Setting up a matched betting bank account

I found it really useful to set up a separate bank account for matched betting. It made it so much easier to keep track of my deposits and withdrawals with the different bookies and exchanges. I also felt a lot safer using an entirely separate debit card to do the betting with in case I made a mistake. As I mentioned above, if you are clever you might just be able to get some free money to set up your matched betting starting bank!

Can I lose money?

Yes, you can. It is important you follow the instructions for each matched bet carefully. If you make a mistake and don’t match your bet properly you can lose your money. The best thing you can do while you are learning is stick to the smaller promotions to minimize your liability. If things do go wrong you will only lose a small amount as a result.

It’s a horrible feeling if you mess up. You won’t be alone though. If you are using Profit Accumulator they have a very helpful forum where you can get fast advice. They got me out of a couple of sticky spots.

What are the common problems?

Where do things go wrong exactly? Well, if you don’t put the right numbers in the calculator you can end up putting the wrong values into the bookmaker or exchange. Equally you could make a mistake with the value when placing your bet. Your bet may not get matched at the exchange because there is not enough money in the market. You might choose the wrong type of bet for your qualifier at the bookie, and so lose out on getting your qualifying bet. These are all easy mistakes you can make if you’re not careful.

Another difficulty is if the bookie decides to ‘gub’ you. This is where they stop you from making further bets with them. This is very unlikely to happen when you first sign up, but after you have used them for a while they may suspect you of matched betting and freeze your account. There are ways to prevent this which Profit Accumulator can guide you through.

Can I make a regular income from matched betting?

It is certainly possible to continue making an income from matched betting. A subscription to Profit Accumulator will certainly help you with this. To make money from it long term you will need to follow their advice on how to prevent yourself being gubbed. As part of your subscription they will also keep you up to date with all the latest offers. It is finding the offers that can be the main chore with matched betting and they do it all for you.

Matched betting can therefore be a great way to make extra money on a regular basis. Don’t just take it from me though! I’m finishing up this post with two interviews with real life matched betting mums. The first is from a beginner, Ar. You can find out more about her at her blog actualar.co.uk. The second is from Katykicker, who is an experienced long term matched better. You can follow her blog at katykicker.com.

Welcome to our beginner matched betting mum, Ar

How long have you been matched betting for?

So I’m only actually about a month into matched betting and to be honest I was so hesitant to begin with. I’ve never done any kind of gambling or betting in my life so initially I was really reluctant, but after feeling the pinch massively at home I decided to take a leap of faith and give it a go. It’s been a bit of a learning curve but following the step by step advice on The Money Shed and on Profit Accumulator has been really helpful and I now feel a lot more confident with it.

What are your favourite bet types?

My favourite events to bet on are horse races, purely because they’re over with a lot quicker than things like football! I’m not a risk-taking type of person so I hate waiting and watching to see what a final result will be – it’s too nerve-wracking. I quite like playing slots too but I’m still quite new to casino offers so haven’t really tested those out too much as of yet.

How much did you earn in your best month ever / your worst month ever?

As a total beginner I can’t believe the difference it’s made to just one month of income – bearing in mind I’m still only doing a lot of the starting offers I have managed to make around £800 in profit, if my maths is correct (which is often not the case!).

What are your average monthly earnings?

It really shocked me how quickly the money added up just by doing one or two bets every day – I still find a lot of it confusing and I might be adding things up wrongly here and there but in the space of four weeks I’ve made enough cash to buy the computer I’d been lusting after for the last two years, so I’m more than happy that my leap into the unknown seems to have paid off.

How do you fit it in around family life?

I try to do a little bit every day, usually on a morning so I can fit it around my little girl’s nursery routine.

Have you been gubbed by any bookies?

So far I’ve not been banned from anywhere but it is only month one so I have no idea if that’s on the cards soon!

How do you keep track of all your bets, profits and losses?

There’s a profit tracking software on Profit Accumulator that helps me keep tabs on what I’m doing so I think that I’m doing ok.

Do you have any tips for a new matched better?

My main tips would just be to give it a whirl and make sure you follow the advice step by step and slowly. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with and if you’re the kind of person who may find this addictive then get someone else to do it with you, such as a partner or family member. It’s risk-free as far as my experience goes, but like everything in life moderation is a good idea!

 

Welcome to our experienced matched betting mum, Katykicker

How long have you been matched betting for?

I have been betting for 3+ years now, and have been doing it regularly since my daughter was a small baby. I bet at least 3 times a week if I can find the time.

How do you find your matched bets, and what are your favourite bet types?

I personally use Profit Accumulator and love it. My favourite offers are the sportsbook or casino ones, as they are usually quite straightforward.

How much did you earn in your best month ever / your worst month ever?

Best month ever would be around too big to write in a message here… Think 5 figures and you’d be right! My worst month ever I lost money when I let my tiny baby hold my phone and she placed a bet for £400+ (all the money in my account pretty much). Whoops.

What are your average monthly earnings?

My average monthly earnings are around £600-700.

How do you fit it in around family life?

I try to do a few hours in the evenings, 3 nights a week. This works well for me. I do around 5-7 hours a week, nothing huge.

Have you been gubbed by any bookies?

I’ve been gubbed by a couple of people, and when I had a HUGE win the company SHUT my account afterwards. Given that it took me around 30 days to get my money I wasn’t planning on using them again anyway! I do lots of mug betting, as advised by PA.

How do you keep track of all your bets, profits and losses?

I have a simple spreadsheet. Easy enough.

Do you have any tips for a new matched better?

Try to make time to complete matched betting regularly. Make it part of your routine.

Thank you for reading!

I hope this post has helped you to see what matched betting is like and has answered your questions about it. Thank you to Ar and Katykicker for sharing your experiences! If there is anything else you would like to know please feel free to ask in the comments on my website. I would also love to hear about your own experiences with matched betting!

 

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