FAQ
Surely this can't be true you can't get money for nothing?
What do "back" and "lay" mean?
How do I know which bookies to open accounts at?
So do I need any money to start off?
What is SR and SNR and how do I know which type my Free Bet is?
What if the odds change after I have bet?
I know nothing about gambling or sport does this matter?
Surely this can't be true you can't get money for nothing?Well let us assure you it is true. It isn't money for nothing because you have to have a bit of cash to start off with and you have to put some effort into opening accounts and finding bets. But once you have done that then it is pretty much a risk free way of adding some extra cash to your bank account yes. Because you are both backing and laying the same bet you are in effect placing 2 bets that cancel each other out leaving you with a neutral position. The fact that one of these bets is a Free Bet means that there is a profit in your favour.
The very first thing you should do it to read and then reread our guide to familiarise yourself with the concept. It can take some time to understand but once you have grasped it then it will become second nature. Then, and only then, you should open up an account at one of the betting exchanges. We would suggest Betfair initially because of the sheer volume of money available to lay which often opens up new markets to you. Then you can start opening bookie accounts and begin the process. Start with the small SR bets and as your bank builds and your confidence grows then move onto the bigger bets and SNR bets.
What do "back" and "lay" mean?
A "back" bet is the bet you are familiar with, it is the traditional type of bet you have with a bookie when you "back" your selection. A "lay" bet is exactly the opposite. You are acting as the bookie and taking someone else's "back" bet. This is the fundamental principle of Matched Betting, you "back" a selection at the bookies and then you "lay" exactly the same selection at the betting exchange leaving you in a neutral position.
Always, no hang on that is not clear enough ALWAYS (that is better) back first. Why? Well you are going to be making selections at even money or above, often well above so your liability on the lay bet can be quite high. If you were to lay this bet first and then could not get the back bet on (bookie limits you, computer crashes, technical error with bookie site etc.) then you are potentially left with a very big liability (£50 lay at 8.0 is a liability of £350). If you back first and then can't get your lay bet on your exposure will be limited to the value of your back bet, which half the time will be a Free Bet anyway.
How do I know which bookies to open accounts at?
You will get plenty of advice on that subject from this site. Take a look at our freebets page and find the bookies which have offers on matching your current criteria. Then simply follow the links to find out more detail about a specific bookie and offer. If you are happy with the offer open an account. You should always aim to maximise any offer so always take into account the size of bet you will need to lay off when choosing a bookie. We have opened up accounts with all the bookies we list on this site and you can rest assured that we only advise the ones where we believe you should open an account. If you are serious about Matched Betting you will open an account at all the bookmakers we list.
What can I expect to win?That all depends upon the type of Free Bet you have on offer. If it is a SR (stake returned) bet then 95% of the Free Bet should be the minimum you ought to be aiming at as profit. If it is SNR (stake not returned) then 80 - 85% would be a more reasonable target. If you always look to match bets at the same odds and select odds of 8.0 or above for SNR Free Bets then these targets are comfortably achievable.
So do I need any money to start off?Normally you do yes. Sometimes you may find a bookie who has an offer on of a totally Free Bet but this is very rare and generally you will need to deposit some cash and make a bet before most bookies will give you a free bet. You do not need a huge bank though you can start off with £100 or less and concentrate on the smaller offers first in order to build your bank for the bigger ones. Our advice would be to always do offers that are less than 10% of your bank. That way you can select the higher odds needed to enable greater profit. Try to do SR bets first as they carry a greater percentage profit and will allow you to build your bank quicker.
What is SR and SNR and how do I know which type my Free Bet is?
SR means "stake returned". This means that if if your Free Bet wins then your winnings will include the Free Bet stake. so if a Free Bet was £10 and the odds 6.0 (5/1) you would return £60. SNR means "stake not returned". Fairly obviously this means that the Free Bet stake is not returned back to you if you win so your £10 bet at 6.0 would return £50.
The T&Cs of an offer will clearly state if the stake is not returned. If it does not mention it then you can assume it is an SR bet. Also, our list of free bets highlights which are SR and which are SNR.
What if the odds change after I have bet?
Don't worry, if you follow our advice then when you bet you will be locking yourself into a specific price so if the odds fluctuate then it will have no effect on your back or lay bets at all. Actually this is not entirely true. Due to the competition between bookies some allow you to select a price when you bet and if the starting price is longer than your selected price they pay you out at the longer SP. It is rare and we certainly do not advise you take it into consideration. Just class it as a nice bonus if it breaks in your favour.
I know nothing about gambling or sport does this matter?
Not at all. You can start off with no knowledge of either and be just as successful as the world's most savvy sports gambler. Why? well because all you are looking for is a situation where a back and a lay bet are available at the same or very similar odds. You are not looking for who might win or lose, you don't care. You will probably pick knowledge up as you go along which will help you understand betting a bit more but it is not a problem if you don't. As for sporting knowledge, absolutely none required. Look at the example in the section on Qualifying Bets in our guide. It is from a game between Willem II and AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch football league. Are we experts in Dutch football do you think? Of course we aren't. This bet could have been on basketball, handball, baseball, curling, in fact any sport at all where the back and lay price were the same or similar.