Matched Betting Explained

Traditional betting is a concept which relies on a bettor’s ability to successfully predict and outcome of a sporting event in order to make money on given odds from bookmakers.

A classic punter will use his knowledge, experience and ultimate his gut feeling to wager on a selection he feels has the best chance to win, while at the same time taking a look at the odds, making sure there is a value in his bet.

This way the bettor is taking a chance against the law of probability, ultimately taking an unnecessary risk which is being eliminated through the betting form called Matched Betting.

What is Matched Betting?

A betting practice which revolves around mathematical equations, matched betting is intended to guarantee profit by eliminating the angle of probability and chance by making it work in your favour.

Matched betting involves employing different offers – such as welcome bonus, promo offers and free bets – from various bookmakers and matching them on a betting exchange to cover all the angles and possible results but in a systematic fashion that will provide you with a guaranteed win.

Contrary to traditional betting forms, matched betting relies solely on numbers and does not involve any bias or emotional thinking which can significantly blur your vision when betting on sport in a universally accepted manner. The outcome of a game or an event you bet on does not interest a matched bettor as you will be covering all possible outcomes of the game to get you guaranteed money.

And here is how it works in practice:

Sign up with a bookmaker – preferably with bookies such as Bet365 or Coral – on a free bet for El Clasico in example. Coral will see you grab a £20 bonus on your £5 deposit which you can activate after the qualifying bet. You then back Barcelona to win with that same bookmaker. The reason we chose Barcelona is because bookmakers are not going to let you use your free bets on odds lower than 1.50 o 2.00 in general. 

Now you move on to a betting exchange to remove the risk of your bet by laying Barcelona to either draw or lose the match. Do note that betting exchange – preferably Betfair’s – will take a commission, so we need to do a little match in order to select the stake for both bets to cover all angles.

Backing Barcelona with Coral at odds of 2.25, whereas you also lay the same bet on Betfair with the odds of 2.36 will give you only a 0.11 difference in odds, which means you will have an acceptable loss of 37p on the qualifying bet.

If Barcelona lose, your layer’s stake will end up at Betfair on a £4.87 profit - £4.63 after commission, whereas you will have lost that bet at Coral. Since you have placed the qualifying £5 bet to claim the free bet with Coral in the first place, you now have the £20 free bet there and that profit at the exchange you can further use on a different game in a similar fashion.

So what Matched Betting does is basically giving you a guaranteed profit between the two bets, minus the small loss you will have expected in the first place.