Matched Betting — How does it work?

Here at Surebets.bet most people come to find tools for arbitrage betting. While arbitrage betting continues to be a highly profitable strategy in 2024, two trends are emerging:

  • Sports books are getting better at detecting arbitrage bettors. This means more account restrictions and limitations.
  • Sports books are awarding more bonuses than before, as competition for customers has intensified.

These trends means that Mathed Betting is the best long term strategy at the moment. For more see our in-depth analysis of The Differences Between Matched Betting and Arbitrage Betting.

What is Matched Betting?

Matched Betting is a simple method to earn money from sports book bonuses and free bets in a risk-free way.

We turn a risky bet with online bookmakers to a risk free combination by betting the other way with a betting exchange. This step by step guide shows you how and all you need to know about Matched Betting.

Getting started with Matched Betting – step by step.

  1. Create an account with a sportsbook
  2. Create an account with a betting exchange
  3. Deposit money in both accounts – your sportsbook account will be credited a bonus
  4. Place your back bets with the sportsbook, and lay bets at the exchange
  5. Your money ends up either with the sportsbook or with the exchange. Withdraw, and cash in the profit

Once you have finished your first bonus, repeat the process with another bookie. There are lots of them out there and they all want your business.

Under step 4, which you will repeat a lot of times, you need some tools to help you out. All the surebet tools listed on our site can help you find good bets for Matched Betting too. But the requirements are slightly different. When doing Matched Betting your primary way of making profit is the bonus. You bet in order to convert the bonus into cash you can withdraw. OddsJam has a perfect tool for finding these bets for US based bettors, the “low hold” tool which is recommended for Matched Betting. Recently launched ProfitDuel is another great alternative. It comes at a lower cost than OddsJam, but the product is just as good, especially for Matched Betting. If you are based in Europe, OddsMonkey is the best alternative.

 

FAQ

Where do I find the bonuses?

Generally, offers can be split into either “Sign-up” or “Reload” offers.

A “Sign-up” offer is when you are taking advantage of a free bet that is there to encourage people to register at the bookmaker. Most reputable bookies offer sign-up bonuses designed to encourage you to open an account on their website. Once you have registered an account and done the offer, you can’t do it again. It’s a one-time only deal!

“Reload” offers’ are different, they are offered to people who already have an account with the bookie.

To begin with, you will want to do all the best “Sign-up” offers, and then once you have a lot of bookie accounts you can start working on the “Reload” offers.

There are different bonuses available depending on where you are located. For example. The UK and US have different bookmaker bonuses for matched bettors compared to, for example, matched betting in Norway. You can do matched betting from virtually all over the world. All you need is a internet connection.

Can you lose money on matched betting?

There is no such thing as completely risk-free. But Matched Betting gets you close enough. The most significant risk is human error! If you make a mistake on a large lay and don’t get it fixed in time then it’s game over (potentially).

The other risk is that the bookie is refusing to pay you or goes broke. The likelihood of this is very small, but make sure you don’t have too much money deposited with any bookies just in case.

Is Matched Betting legal?

Matched betting is completely legal everywhere betting is legal. It takes advantage of the fact that different bookmakers have different odds on the same event. Neither of them loses because not backing or laying elsewhere has no influence on their result from your matched bet. Matched betting has been featured on many reputable websites and even appeared in The Guardian.

“There’s no illegal element [to match bet]. It’s a free bet and you can do what you like.” Source: The Telegraph

If it is so profitable for me – why do bookies allow Matched Betting?

The bookmakers are perfectly happy with us using their free bets and bonuses. They want to promote the company, entice more customers and ultimately get more people betting on their site. But they hope to get something back from you in the long run. So if you only bet with them when they give you a bonus, they will eventually stop awarding you bonuses and restrict your account and only allow small stakes. But there are ways to avoid this, for example by placing a few “low hold” bets when not cashing in a bonus. Anyhow, there are plenty of bookmakers to choose from.

SureBets.bet Matched Betting Page

Whether you’re an occasional bettor or a regular punter, SureBets.bet have something for everyone! We provide the latest odds, predictions, and analysis for all of our visitors. We also continue to ensure that all of our recommended bookmakers are safe, reputable and trustworthy.

Finally…

Matched Betting Books

This collection of 3 matched betting books into a single volume will give you all the detail you need to become an expert matched bettor. It contains over 50 strategies and real-life examples that will show you how to make money from sports betting throughout the year.

This book is not about gambling. It is dedicated to explaining how to cover all the possible options to lock in a guaranteed profit, no matter what the result.