The Number 1 Best Bank Account for Matched Betting 2024

This post tells you which bank account is best for matched betting. Having a separate bank account for your betting activity is crucial. If you don’t have one, your bank may block your card when you least expect it. You’ll also have messy bank statements, making budgeting impossible.

I have been doing matched betting since 2019 and have made over £15,000 profit. I tried a few bank accounts, but I struggled with banks blocking transactions due to gambling activity. Until I finally found Monzo. After switching, I never looked back.

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You Need a Separate Bank Account for Matched Betting

1. Avoid a Negative Impact on Your Daily Life

As a matched bettor, you constantly have money flowing out and into your bank account. Ideally, your money always cycles between your bookmaker accounts, exchanges, and bank accounts.

Moving large sums of money can impact your daily life. For example, you may deposit money you need for rent or bills into a bookmaker account.

2. Keep Track of Your Profit

If your normal money and your matched betting bankroll are in the same account, separating the two is difficult. You can’t see if your matched betting bankroll has increased or decreased. Thus, you won’t know if you’ve made a profit or if money is missing.

3. Grow Your Matched Betting Bankroll

If all your matched betting profits land in your normal bank account, you may be more inclined to spend that money. However, as a beginner, leaving your profits in your matched betting pot is important. You need to grow your bankroll to make more money.

4. Prevent Blocked Gambling Transactions

Matched betting is not gambling. Still, banks classify bookmaker transactions as gambling. Many banks block gambling transactions. Sometimes, they may freeze your account. This could leave you without access to your money.

5. Protect Your Reputation

Bank employees can access your statements if they have a reason. Thus, they can see all your supposed gambling deposits. Many people look down on punters. And as a matched bettor, you look worse than an ordinary punter.

In an ideal world, the bank would treat you like any other customer. However, they may give you worse treatment because of your bank statements.

6. Stay Eligible for Loans and Mortgages

As mentioned above, a history of gambling transactions doesn’t look great on your statement. Mortgage lenders or loan providers may hesitate to approve you because of these transactions. If you get a loan, your interest rate will likely be higher.

Monzo for Matched Betting

1. Monzo Doesn’t Block Your Card

Monzo is an app-based online bank located in the UK. Unlike traditional banks, Monzo has no physical banks and no website-based online banking. Monzo doesn’t block gambling transactions. It also doesn’t freeze your account.

2. Freeze Your Card Easily

Monzo lets you block or freeze your card with a single tap. Freezing your card is useful when you are not using it. You’ll enter your bank details into over 100 bookmaker and online casino accounts. This increases the risk of scammers getting your card details. But if you freeze your card, they can’t use it, even if they have your details.

3. Great Reviews

Monzo is also popular with other users. It has an average Trustpilot score of 4.1 out of 5.0. Overall, 85% rated the app as great or excellent. The negative reviews relate to customer support and changes since a recent update.

4. My Experience

I’ve been with Monzo since July 2018. I started matched betting in 2019 and used Monzo as my main betting account. I never had any issues. Read more in my Monzo review.

Alternatives to Monzo

1. Starling Bank

Startling is another UK-based challenger bank. It has similar functions to Monzo, although fewer features, and you can use it for matched betting without problems. Starling allows betting transactions, and you can block your card as you can with Monzo.

Starling wouldn’t be my first choice, but it works.

2. High-street Bank Accounts

Some matched bettors use high-street banks such as Barclays, Nationwide, or Lloyds. However, these are not the best bank accounts for matched betting because they:

• Are more likely to block gambling transactions.
• Suspend your account if you have too many gambling transactions.

I strongly advise against using high-street bank accounts for matched betting.

3. PayPal

I don’t recommend PayPal for matched betting. You can complete most existing customer (reload) offers. However, you won’t qualify for new account (welcome) offers if you make your first deposit with PayPal.

Another consideration when using PayPal is that it is not equivalent to a bank account. PayPal doesn’t have Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection. If issues arise, you might not get your money back.

PayPal states that it is “a technology enabler that can give people access to financial services, and not necessarily a provider of those services.”

4. Skrill

Skrill is another eWallet provider similar to PayPal. Thus, the same rules that apply to PayPal also apply to Skrill. There is no FSCS protection, and you won’t get welcome offers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that bookmakers ban Skrill users quicker than other customers.

Read about other matched betting mistakes to avoid.

Best Bank Accounts for Matched Betting Summary

When you are starting matched betting, it is important to open a new bank account. This enables you to:

• Keep your matched betting bankroll separate
• Keep track of your profit
• Grow your bankroll
• Prevent blocked gambling transactions
• Protect your reputations
• Stay eligible for loans and mortgages

For these reasons, I recommend opening a Monzo account. When you create an account, you will also receive £5 free cash.

Read more matched betting tips.

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