How I made extra money with matched betting
Matched Betting is one of the best ways to make yourself extra money. It can be a tricky thing to get your head around at first. But, once you’ve got a bit of practice in, it’s really simple. I promise.
Are you ready?
First things first, let’s get the most important question you’re probably thinking out the way.
Can you really make £1,000 a month matched betting?
There are no guarantees about how much money you can make, all I can do is tell you that I have made a bit of extra money from it, and I know many others who have.
You’ll need around £60-£100 to start with, because when you go on an exchange site you’ll need to put money in there to lay the bet.
How to start matched betting
Now you know how much you could make from matched betting, let’s get onto how you can actually do it.
I will try and explain it as simply as possible. It’s very easy once you get your head around it.
1. Sign up to a betting site
Betting sites, such as William Hill, will normally offer you an incentive to sign up – such as £30 free bets.
2. Then sign up to a betting exchange site
You need betting exchange sites to place an opposite bet. Try sites like Smarkets.
3. Place a bet on the betting site.
Place a bet on William Hill (or whichever betting site you are working on). Let’s say for example you are betting on England to win their football match. You place your £30 free bets on this.
4. Place the opposite bet on the betting exchange site.
The next step that you do that makes it different to normal betting, is you then go onto the betting exchange site and you place the opposite bet – so you are betting for England to NOT win (meaning a draw or loss).
You are using your own money to place this bet (it’s called a ‘lay bet’). But don’t worry – you will be getting your money back.
It sounds like you it will just cancel each other out – which is correct – but because we are using the free bets on one of the sites, we will be getting this free bet money back – but in the form of real cash that you can withdraw from the site.
Does that all make sense?
So, here’s how to make money matched betting
How to find the best bets to do
All matched betting really takes is time, therefore it’s a good idea to use other tools to speed up the process.
This is where the website OutPlayed* come in – I couldn’t have done any matched betting without them.
They have instructional videos which guide you through each of the new betting sites which is unbelievably helpful when you are a newbie.
In addition to this, they will find the best bets for you to use and search through. This saves so much time – because when you are placing the bets on the 2 sites, you want the bets to be as close as possible in terms of odds so that they equal each other out.
Can anyone do matched betting?
Yes. I always suggest matched betting as a way to earn extra money, because it’s something that pretty much anyone can do. You don’t need any specific skills and you don’t need to be good at betting.
Here are some other reasons why anyone can do matched betting:
- You don’t need to be good at maths
- You don’t need to be good at betting/gambling (because that’s not actually what matched betting is)
- It is flexible – you can do it whenever you want
- You don’t need a huge amount of money behind you to start
- You can stop whenever you like
- The offers don’t dry up, so you can do it month after month
- You don’t pay any tax on the money that you get from it
Are there any risks to matched betting?
I don’t want to just sing the praises of matched betting – there are of course some cons as there are with everything. The only ones that I can think of currently though are:
If you do something wrong, there is a chance you will lose some money. This is only if you do it wrong though – if you do it correctly this will never happen.
It’s boring. This is the reason why I don’t always do it – it’s very repetitive, but I concentrate my money making efforts elsewhere, such as blogging and dog boarding.
Tips for Matched Betting
Now you understand more about how matched betting works, here are some top tips for when you get started:
1. There are only so many free bet offered on sign ups
Be aware that you will only be offered so many free bets when you sign up. However, there are a lot of reload offers from the betting sites, so this won’t ever dry up.
2. It’s worth doing some small real bets.
You don’t want gambling sites to become wise to your matched betting. If they do, they could stop giving you free offers – called ‘gubbing’.
3. You might come across a soft credit check
Some sites will run a soft credit check when you sign up. But, some don’t!
4. Set up a different account if applying for a mortgage
Apply for a mortgage? I’d recommend setting up a different bank account for your matched betting. Even though it is not gambling, it will look like it is to the bank when they see your statements.
I often get asked this question, but usually when I ask when they are planning on getting a mortgage it isn’t for a few years. Lenders typically ask for 3 months of bank statements, although they could on occasion ask for 6 months.
I’d recommend starting and pausing it before you get your mortgage. Our brain wants some excuses to not start something new, don’t let this be one of them!
5. Don’t pay tax on matched betting
Because matched betting is classified as gambling income, it is tax-free. So don’t feel you have to declare your income from it.
6. Double check everything before placing your bets
Make sure that you double check everything before placing your bets. The only way that you can lose money on matched betting is by following the steps wrong.
7. Don’t take part if you’ve had a problem with gambling in the past
If you have had a problem with gambling in the past, please do not go on any betting sites.
Other common matched betting questions
Still have questions? I hope I can answer some more of them for you here.
How much money do I need to put on the lay bet?
This is where you need to be careful with the bets that you choose. When you are on a betting exchange site, the money that you will see is money that other people have put in – real human people!
So when you are placing your lay bet, you need to check that there is enough money in there to cover you.
This is where OutPlayed* will come in handy.
How much money can you make on OutPlayed?
OutPlayed* is a highly effective match catcher tool.
There are a lot out of match catchers out there so I’ve done the leg work for you to recommend the best one!
OutPlayed* also has a free trial whereby they help you complete 2 bets and then you can cancel it if you wish.
Can you make a living off matched betting?
I wouldn’t advise you to try and make a living from Matched Betting, imagine it more as a side hustle to make you extra money.
The amount you can earn is endless and it’s so easy, so you could double your household income all from your living room!
Can you get banned from matched betting?
In theory no. It’s a legal thing to do. It’s just using a mathematical equation to get the free bets.
However, the bookies obviously won’t want you doing matched betting, because in an ideal world for them you will be gambling tons of money every day – not being sensible and smart with it instead.
When you start earning extra money, an immediate concern can be the additional tax that you will have to pay – but that’s the beauty of matched betting – you don’t have to pay any tax on it.
Is matched betting still worth it in 2022?
Yes, it most definitely is. Even during a pandemic. People are still betting – if anything they may be betting more with extra time on their hands at home.
As long as people are on betting exchange sites, then matched betting is still a sure way to earn extra money every single month.
Are you ready to make some extra cash?
You might be in the yes or you might be in the maybe camp. If you’re in the latter, then it’s completely understandable. It sounds too good to be true, right?
Why not sign up to a website like OutPlayed*, as you can do the free trial, and just cancel if you don’t get on with it.
Just make sure that you double check everything before you place your bets and lay bets and you will be fine 🙂
Sounds like a good way, but I am in Denmark. May this work for me?
Yes 🙂
Hi, this is something I’m interested in but so scared to try! I understand you may lose money but can I ask (and it’s probably a silly question!) when you say you can lose money ~ is it just money in your kitty/pot on the matched betting site? I’m terrified in case it means they’d take money from bank accounts.
I really want to give it a try to make a bit of money but all the videos, jargon etc, it just seems so complicated.
Thanks.
Yes, the money that you put on the betting site. They wouldn’t be allowed to take any out of your bank account don’t worry! If you sign up to PA they have step by step videos to guide you. You could always try doing something else first to get your confidence up?
Thanks ever so much for replying and answering my question. I’ll have a good think about whether I dare give it a go! But I’ll definitely look on the site you recommend. Thanks again.
Hi, I have started doing matched betting (eek!) but I’m still at the very early stages ~ I’ve only joined a couple of bookmakers and I’m working through welcome offers. I just wondered how long, roughly, it took you to make any sort of profit where you could withdraw it, rather than have it in exchanges/bookmakers? I didn’t have much to start with that I could use for this so I know it’ll take time. And I am making little bits of profit but just can’t see when it’ll equate to even a couple of hundred a month that I can use. I’m deliberately taking it slow to get my head around it but would love to know when I’ll start to make a decent profit. I do get too that it’s a bit like how longs a piece of string but would appreciate any advice!
Thanks.
Well, it depends. If for example you are doing ones where you will get approx £10 in profit, then 10 bets x £10 = £100. Or if you have some £50 ones, then 2 bets x £50 = £100 and so on. It really does depend on the offers, which change all of the time. You may want to write it out to keep track of it
Hi, thanks for this post. How much time do you need to dedicate to this a day tp earn £1000 a month? Thank you 🙂
There’s no specific amount as it depends on the bets. Maybe a couple of hours
Thank you for replying 🙂 really helpful post.
This is a great guide, I have tried matched betting a few times and just haven’t managed to get to grips with it so thanks for the tips, gonna give it a go.. Wish me luck!
Good luck!