What Is No Risk Matched Betting?
In 2019, the global online gambling industry was worth more than $50 billion. In fact, according to research collated by The Casino Wizard, sports betting represents 42.5% of all online gambling activities, even more than standard online casino gambling.
Bookmakers make a huge amount of money out of the bets that people place. Wouldn't it be nice to take a little of that back, risk-free?
Well, the good news is that you can. Matched betting is a method of earning money from betting that is completely risk-free because it doesn't matter what the outcome is of the sport or event you're betting on.
If this has piqued your interest, read on to learn more.
What is Matched Betting?
Matched betting is a way of making guaranteed money from the free bets that betting sites often use as incentives to get people to sign up, or to place more bets.
By placing bets both for and against a particular outcome, you are guaranteed to make a risk-free profit, since some of the money you are betting will the free bet offered by the bookmaker.
Here's how it works.
The Principles of Matched Betting
Matched betting is most often down with sports betting but the principle works for any type of bet, provided you have a free bet you can use.
There are two main parts to matched betting.
Backing a Bet
This is a typical bet, just like you place with any bookmaker.
You stake a certain amount of money on an outcome. For example, you might place $20 on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with odds of 2.0 to win the Superbowl. If they do, you win the bet and get your stake back, plus your winnings which in this case would be an additional $20. If you lose, your original $20 goes to the bookmaker.
Laying a Bet
This is like being the bookmaker yourself. Using betting sites that allow this type of betting, you put up a stake saying that an event won't happen. For example, you could lay $20 against Tampa Bay winning the Superbowl. Someone else using the site will take that bet.
If Tampa Bay don't win, then you do! You get to keep the $20 that the other party bet. That's the case even if it's a draw, as you are only laying the win, so you only pay out if Tampa Bay win. If they do win, then you must pay the other party their $20 winnings.
Don't panic. You won't ever be out of pocket. Here's how.
Covering Both Options
It's simple: you back and lay the same outcome.
If you back Tampa Bay at odds of 2.0 and lay Tampa Bay at odds of 2.0, then no matter the outcome, you will break even. If Tampa Bay win, you win $20 from your back bet but owe $20 from your lay bet. If Tampa Bay lose, you lose $20 from your back bet, but win $20 from your lay bet. No matter the outcome, you lose nothing.
In reality, there will be a small loss. That's because sites that let you lay bets will usually take a small commission to allow you to do so (it's how they make their money) so you will lose a small amount overall. This is known as a qualifying loss, but it is usually very small, and always much smaller than the amount that you will earn using your free bets.
How You Make Money
Where is your risk free money then?
Well, the trick lies in using some of the bookmaker's own money to place your bets. If you use a promotional free bet to place your back bet on Tampa Bay, and use your own money to lay that same outcome, then if Tampa Bay wins, you win $20 on your back bet, but lose $20 on your lay bet.
However, if Tampa Bay lose, you lose nothing on your back bet, since you were using a free bet, but you win $20 on your lay bet. You're now $20 up!
This isn't ideal, since you only make money if Tampa Bay lose. However, by using a matched betting calculator, you can work out the exact amounts to back and lay in order to make the same profit no matter what the results. In this case, you would place your $20 free bet on Tampa Bay to win, and lay $10 on the same outcome.
If Tampa Bay win you get $20 from your free bet, but lose $10 on your lay bet, so you are $10 up. If Tampa Bay win, you lose nothing, but make $10 from your lay bet. Whatever the outcome, you will always make $10, risk-free. All from placing a couple of bets.
Types of Matched Betting Offers
There are multiple types of matched betting offers that online sportsbooks. Bear in mind that if you play in an online casino that also has a sportsbook, chances are that the casino will make you choose between a sports bonus and a casino bonus when you open your account.
To take full advantage of matched betting offers, you need to select the sports bonus when registering at the casino or at any given point at which you’re allowed to claim bonus rewards.
How do you get free bets to use for matched betting? There are a number of options.
Sign Up Bonuses
This is a great way to start your matched betting journey. Most online bookmakers will offer your free bets when you sign up. You can turn these free bets into guaranteed profit. In fact, this entire tutorial is designed around the idea of using sign-up bonuses to turn your free bets into real cash – regardless of the outcome of your bets.
Free Bet After a Qualifying Bet
Once your sign-up bonuses are gone, most bookies will have offers that give you a free bet if you place a qualifying bet.
For example, an offer might be along the lines of "place $20 on the Lakers and get $10 in free bets". These types of offers are quite common.
Refund On Loss
Another common promotion bookmakers run is to give you a risk-free bet. In other words, you get to bet up to the specified amount, and if the bet doesn't win, they will refund your stake.
Deposit Bonuses
There are also bonuses on offer for depositing a certain amount into your account. Some of these offers have turnover stipulations. For example, if you deposit $50 you might need to place four times that amount in bets in order to earn your bonus.
The good news is that now you know how to place $200 with only small losses, which should be more than covered by your bonus winnings.
This means that you will be able to turn most sports betting bonuses into real money without ever having to risk a single cent out of your own pocket – and it works for all sorts of competitive team sports.
What to Consider Before No Risk Betting
Although no-risk betting is the best way to turn bonuses into real cash, there are some aspects that you may want to consider before you incur in it. Since this is a very common practice in North America, where the sports betting sector is the fastest-growing gambling sector in the online betting industry, many casinos have decided to put in place practice to reduce the impact of no-risk betting and to prevent players from turning bonuses into free money too easily.
As such, whenever you decide to sign up for an online sportsbook and claim its bonuses, it’s important that you follow these steps:
- Check the bonus terms of the promotion that you wish to claim. Do this before making a deposit on the casino, just after creating your account;
- Look for any potential restrictions imposed upon no-risk betting. Ensure that the bonus allows you to use the money in the way we’ve explained in this article;
- If the bonus terms aren’t against it, proceed just as explained;
- If the bonus terms forbid players from no-risk betting, you may want to look for another casino offer. Inquiring in such practice in the casino will most likely result in the full removal of all bonus funds, as well as winnings, earned with the casino bonus in question.
Are You Ready to Give Matched Betting a Try?
If you're ready to give matched betting a try then we wish you the best of luck (not that you need it as you make many no matter the outcome!)
Remember that you're using real money, and although the process itself is risk-free, it's still possible to make mistakes when placing or laying your bets which can end up costing you money. It's always best to use a small pot of money at first and grow your matched betting bank with your winnings.
If you're looking for more useful content, then be sure to check out the rest of the site.