Hi, I'm Jen! I'm a personal finance expert and money coach aiming to help you take control of your money. I went from being broke to a six-figure net worth and am now on track to be financially independent at age 40. Discover Jen's story
Matched betting is a profitable side hustle. However, there are many hidden tricks most matched bettors don’t know about. This means they are leaving money on the table.
I started matched betting with £10 and turned this into nearly £10,000 during my first year while having a full-time job. In this article, I share the secrets that were the key to my success.
🪧 Should you sign up through my affiliate links, I may receive a commission at no cost to you.
What Is Matched Betting?
Matched betting is an easy way to earn extra tax-free money from home. Despite its name, matched betting has nothing in common with gambling. It is legal in any country that allows sports betting. Matched bettors place sports bets that cancel each other out. They then profit from the associated promotion.
Matched betting is not risk free. You can lose money due to mistakes, accidental gambling, or other reasons.
Top Matched Betting Tips
1. Use a Separate Bank Account
Before you start matched betting, open a dedicated bank account. You don’t want hundreds of betting transactions on your current account statement. Your matched betting money will always move in and out of your account. You’ll get confused if you don’t have a separate account.
Another reason for a dedicated bank account is that many high-street banks block gambling transactions.
Monzo is the most popular bank account used for matched betting. It is the bank I used for matched betting when I started. (I later switched to Starling so I could use Monzo for budgeting.) I have been using Monzo since 2019. If you sign up to Monzo, you get a £5 cash bonus. Using Monzo is free.
2. Block/Freeze Your Card
When you are not matched betting, turn off your card. Reputable bookmakers keep your card details secure. However, if you make a mistake and sign up with a scam site, your money is at risk. Turning off your card when not using it prevents these sites from stealing your money.
With Monzo, you can toggle your card on and off. Tap on “Freeze” to turn it off and on “Defrost” to turn it back on. Read more in my Monzo review.
3. Get Expert Support
Trying to understand matched betting by yourself puts you at risk for mistakes. These mistakes can be costly. It’s better to pay for a matched betting subscription and learn properly. With Outplayed, you’ll get guides and calculators, and you can ask the support staff if you’re stuck. Read more in my Outplayed.com review or sign up for a free trial below.
4. Set up a New Email Address
You don’t want bookmaker offers mixed with your private emails. When doing matched betting, you’ll get around 50 emails daily. Opening a separate email account prevents chaos in your main inbox.
The key to time-efficient matched betting is learning which emails contain useful offers. Probably 90% of matched betting emails are junk offers or useless newsletters. If you are attentive, you will learn quickly how to tell good offers apart from junk.
5. Get Access to the Oddsmatcher
When doing matched betting, having access to an OddsMatcher is essential. You can perhaps make a few hundred pounds a month on your own. But if you want serious profits, you need an Oddsmatcher. Using the Oddsmatcher, you can find the best odds within seconds.
6. Use Multiple Matched Betting Exchanges
Most matched bettors start with Betfair’s exchange because it is the most intuitive. However, Betfair is not the best exchange due to its commission rate and odds. To make maximum profit, also sign up with:
- Smarkets
- Matchbook
- Betdaq
Having accounts with all exchanges gives you options for laying your bet.
7. Link Outplayed to Your Exchange
Outplayed allows you to link its Oddsmatcher directly to Smarkets (and Betfair). You can lay your bets with a single click. By doing so, you avoid mistakes, including:
- Laying the wrong market,
- Inputting the wrong amount
- Choosing poor odds
Additionally, linking Outplayed makes betting faster, allowing you to place more bets.
8. Take Advantage of the 0% Commission Offer
Normally, you need to pay a commission for placing lay bets. Betfair charges 5% (or 2%), and Smarkets and Matchbook charge 2%. This is how betting exchanges make a profit.
Paying commission eats into your matched betting profit. On Betfair, you would lose £5 for each £100 laid. If you lay £400 a month, this equals a £20 loss.
As an Outplayed member, you get 0% commission with Smarkets and Matchbook. Given that Outplayed costs £29.99 a month, the subscription pays for itself.
To activate the 0%-commission offer, link Outplayed
to Smarkets and place a bet via the integration.
9. Always Double-Check
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of double-checking everything. It is so easy to make a tiny mistake in matched betting, which can cost you a few hundred pounds. If you place large bets, you could lose thousands of pounds.
Placing your bets quickly before the odds change is important. But speed matters little when you are losing money through a mistake. In particular, you should check for every bet:
- The offer’s terms and conditions
- The event you’re betting on
- The bookmaker’s odds
- Liquidity at the exchange
- The lay odds
- Your back and lay stake
When looking at the betting site’s terms, look for the following details:
- Eligible matches
- Promotion period
- Deposit, if needed
- Betting amount
- Special conditions (e.g. do not bet on the SP favourite if your horse has to be second)
- Minimum odds
- Wagering requirement for casino offers
- Date you get the free bet
10. Track Your Bets
Tracking your bets is important to stay organised. If you don’t track your bets, you may miss out on free bets, double qualify for offers, and get in a mess. I have up to 50 open bets on busy days and would be lost without tracking.
Outplayed has a profit tracker. However, most matched bettors I know prefer Google Sheets or Excel spreadsheets. They have custom sheets specific to their needs.
Tracking bets is simple, but cleaning the mess if you do not track your bets is not.
11. Be Consistent
Being consistent is one of the most crucial aspects of matched betting. Many offers, e.g., 2ups, horse refunds, and low-risk casino offers, do not guarantee a profit.
However, they still have a positive expected value (EV). You may lose money in the short term but will likely profit in the long term.
12. Diversify (Create Multiple Bookmaker Accounts)
Many matched bettors find a few offers they are comfortable with and limit themselves solely to these. This behaviour is dangerous as bookmakers discontinue offers frequently, cease to trade, or ban you. The matched betting world is constantly changing. You have to change and adapt to stay successful.
Diversifying is also a key way to increase your profit. You can only make so much money from one type of offer. By adding more offers to your repertoire, you will make more money.
Many matched bettors struggle to diversify. However, it’s easy. Outplayed’s daily offer list has all offers. Go through this list to find new offer types. I recommend learning each offer one by one to make sure you understand it.
13. Use a Casino Service for Casino Offers
Outplayed or comparable matched betting services help you profit from sports betting offers. But you need an additional subscription to increase your income. Upgrade to Outplayed Diamond if you want to complete low-risk casino offers.
14. Join a Matched Betting Community
When I was a newbie matched bettor, I joined matched betting Facebook groups. And I learned a lot in these groups! Firstly, matched betting communities are amazing when you have questions or messed up a bet. Other matched bettors’ opinions help you understand that a problem can have different solutions.
Secondly, matched betting communities teach you to solve a problem before you face it. People post their issues, and you can learn from the answers. Just reading the answers has given me a deeper understanding of matched betting.
15. Grow Your Bankroll
Shopping or booking a holiday may be tempting when the profits roll in. However, by spending your profits, you are stunting your growth. In matched betting, you can make more money with a bigger bankroll.
Your money constantly moves between your bank account, bookmaker account, and the exchanges. Some money is always in transfer, meaning you cannot use it for betting.
Therefore, you need a decently sized bankroll. Depending on how much money you want to make, you should have £500-£2000 in your matched betting bank.
16. Take Care of Your Accounts (Mug Betting)
You can make money with restricted (gubbed) accounts. However, having working accounts is better than gubbed ones. Having a long-term mindset and taking care of your bookmaker accounts is important.
Avoid arbitrages (arbs), don’t overdo price boosts, and don’t contact live chat more often than necessary. Occasionally placing mug bets can also help, although the evidence isn’t strong. Read the terms and conditions and consider betting more than the minimum amount required.
17. Follow a Strategy
When matched betting, it is easy to get overwhelmed by offers and bookmakers. You’ll need a solid strategy to prioritise time sensitive and profitable offers.
Have a look at my full-time matched betting strategy. It helped me to make over £15,000 from matched betting. It will help you prioritise offers, capture every offer, and build a good routine.
18. Never Gamble
Whatever you do, never gamble. You are in gambling territory when you place a not laid bet (and does not classify as advantage play).
Gambling can be a way to quick riches, but it is mostly a way to quick debts. You can lose all your profit in one day of gambling. If you are tempted to gamble, matched betting is not the right side hustle for you. Don’t worry; there are plenty of other ways to make money!
19. Don’t Rely on Your Matched Betting Income
Never take your matched betting income for granted. Offers could stop coming, or you may lose your accounts. You may be without an income if you’re relying on matched betting. I recommend keeping your regular job or having a backup option to avoid this situation.
Best Matched Betting Tips Summary
Matched betting is more profitable with my matched betting tips, including:
- Set up a matched betting bank account
- Block/freeze your cards
- Get expert support as soon as you can
- Set up a matched betting email address
- Get access to the Oddsmatcher
- Use multiple matched betting exchanges
- Link Outplayed to your exchange
- Take advantage of the 0% commission offer
- Always double check
- Track your bets
- Be consistent
- Diversify
- Join a casino service
- Join a matched betting community
- Grow your bankroll
- Take care of your accounts
- Follow a strategy
- Never gamble
- Don’t rely on your matched betting income
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