What is your average weekly profit?
Weekly average is £269 with a monthly of £1117. When I first started it was of course much less, recently I keep feeling like I will never earn over £1K per month but besides January (took a couple of weeks break) I have consistently done so since October last year. I completed the main sign up offers pretty quickly, although even the last week or two have found some more! Once I completed those I felt like where was the profit going to come from now, but of course, the reloads do help with that initial drop-off. Then I began to learn other techniques, EPs, 2up offers, sharbing etc. In fact, sharbing has been very good for me, with one particular bookie especially. I made around £4K just from them alone. During the world cup things got crazy and I practically lived in the shop! Just kidding, but I was there every day hammering the offers. In November and December combined, I took around £4.5K profit, with the vast majority coming from that one shop. I certainly don’t miss the smell of stale urine and people shouting out the TV screens when their 10th horse of the day doesn’t win! But it was most definitely worth it.
Does this include a partner’s profits as well? (household)
Yes , I started with my partners accounts around two months after starting. At one point had nearly two sets of accounts with every bookie. Best way to do so if you live together is to use a different device and connect to a different internet source (mobile hotspot will do) most bookies let you pass. 888 and Whill are two exceptions that spring to mind that declined accounts in my partners name.
What do you do with your matched betting profits?
Goes in the bank/savings and/or builds my exchange funds. Around Cheltenham time I had £15K to utilise to maximise my profits. Apparently, it wasn’t as profitable this year, but I made around £800, not bad for 4 days work!
I like to let the money make more money and have started to invest in other areas of the internet and will hopefully watch it grow with not too much work being put into it!
Any exciting purchases or stories to share?
My partner and I do house and pet sitting occasionally, if you haven’t heard of this, I’ll be happy to speak more about it if people are interested! Essentially you look after people’s homes and pets whilst they go away on holiday etc. There are sits all over the world and we stayed in Vienna for a week rent and bill free last July. Matched betting meant I could still earn money abroad (with a VPN). It also helped pay for flights and day trips. Building up to this trip I knew I was going to propose to my partner and so started to plan! I looked at various cities across Europe and fell in love with the idea of Budapest, especially seeing an amazing restaurant that overlooks the city and that cater specifically for proposals. Then with-it being Budapest, there are amazing spas so providing she said yes, we would have a midnight spa session with champagne to celebrate! She did say yes btw!
I also bought myself an iMac, which really makes matched betting so much easier having the big screen so that was a wise investment, although a tad extravagant, I am a sucker for Apple macs! During Cheltenham having all the tabs open for the most profitable EP races made it a breeze getting bets on fast.
For more amazing matched betting stories, check out our testimonials section!
What is your bankroll? How much did you start with?
I started with around £1K. Although due to being sceptical of matched betting at first, there was no way I was going to stick that into Smarkets to start with! I quickly learned that I would need to do so, but the profits were flowing in, so I happily obliged!
I now have around £8K sat in various exchanges and some spare ready to be chucked wherever it needs to go, although I will be withdrawing a lot that soon as I am looking to divert my attention into other ways of making money too.
How long have you been matched betting?
Started last April, so just over a year. I remember hearing about matched betting years ago but never looked into it. My only experience with ‘gambling’ was at the casino in my town when on Saturday night out I’d sometimes go for a couple more drinks with friends at 3am as it was the only place still serving! Would often get £20 on roulette, I remember having decent self-control and if I lost the £20 that was it, but sometimes I would walk out with £50/60 so pretty much paid for the night out!
How much time/hours in an average week do you spend matched betting?
When I first started it took a little while to get the hang of it and I was so afraid of making a mistake. Maths is not my strong point! Although I can now say it has improved because of matched betting. So not only is it good for your wallet, but your brain too! The OddsMonkey software is a gaming changer, especially the matched betting calculator. I also noticed my attention to detail and concentration has improved the more I have learnt about matched betting, which has then filtered into other areas of my life. I started with a few hours a day until I felt comfortable then moved onto more advanced strategies. Finding decent YouTube channels as well as picking the brains of various members and staff on here really cemented my learning too. I watched those around me doing other things like eating and working out, so I saved time by being able to do other tasks too.
I would say I spend around 10 hours a week currently. It does fluctuate depending on what is on. During the world cup and my sharbing spree, I probably spent much more time. During Cheltenham I had time off to fully immerse myself in the world of EPs. With the help of ProfitBoss I learnt how to make the most profit and following his live streams every day felt like a little community taking value from the bookies each day, a little army if you will! More recently, I try to limit my time to only the most profitable offers and 2Ups. I don’t really have the time for EPs at the moment. Although I would certainly advise trying to master them.
Any particular days that you do more than others?
Saturdays of course are the big days with so much going on. Although Sundays seem to be my most profitable days and I have had a number of big wins then, probably due to having free bets build up during the week and more time to do other things too.
What type of offers do you focus on? Why?
2Ups are the best for me as you just bet and leave it and wait for the full turn around (FTA) to happen. Although I have at times cashed out at 2-1 if I judge the other team unlikely to score another. Not always right on that one though! There is a big debate as to whether you should just leave it or monitor the match waiting to cash out. It really depends on if you have the time or not and how much you need the money. I was proud of one the other night on the MLS which was an FTA, landing me £450ish profit in my sleep!
I used to love doing the 888sport and Betfred risk-free offers as I would always AP them and often hit good profits. Possibly one of the reasons they both gubbed me!
The racing matcher provides good offers for example sky and Unibet often do cash refunds if 2nd, 3rd etc. If you stick with 92/94%+ matches, then will most likely win more than you lose there.
I really love a nice random casino offer that lands in my email inbox too. E.g., wager £10 for 25 free spins. Especially if you can get on the Bloodsuckers slot. I’ve probably taken a good few £££ from that game alone!
Weekly bet clubs, especially now being able to use BetConnect to get £0 qualifying losses (QLs). I’ve consistently done them over each week and they net around £35-35 a week.
I noticed a bit of a trick with the Gamesys bookies, think virgin games, double bubble bingo, jackpot joy etc. There are six in total I believe. I hit them all in one day with my matched betting bank card, then waited for the withdrawals. Once they cleared, I hit them again with my partner’s card, then waited for the withdrawals. Then used a different card in my name to hit them again, I actually tried a 4th time, but they completely locked me out of all the accounts by this point. But I got all my money out and took £250ish off them! Maybe I got lucky and I certainly would not tell anyone to do this, it is at your own risk!
Tell us more about your background and how you came across matched betting.
I am a mature student at the moment, last April after finishing my first year of uni I had a lot of free time to look at ways to make money online. I came across a lady on YouTube called Pandaboss, one of the ways she made profit was matched betting. Using her code, I got a week of OM for free and that was that! I use the income to build profits elsewhere with investments. Now that I have more financial security with relatively low expenditure, I am exploring new side hustle ideas to make money online especially using AI which is an exciting field.
I’ll also add here being a student gave me access to a placement opportunity next year. Looking at the list of businesses and clients at the placement fare I came across guess who… Bet365! They were looking for software engineers, so I spoke to them about matched betting, just from a curious perspective. They made it clear it’s something the company works hard to stop but also admitted that they cannot catch everyone, which made me smile inside!
Can you give us a breakdown in % of where your profits come from? I.e. is it 10% boosts, 70% 2ups etc.
- 30% sharbing.
- 30% welcome offers and reloads.
- 20% Casino.
- 10% 2UPs.
- 5% EPs
- 5% boosts.
Do you do low-risk casino offers? If so, tell us more about that.
I do and really enjoy it! Although it can get a bit tedious if you have to do 2000 spins to wager £1600 on some offers… I found an auto clicker where you set the time between clicks (2.5 seconds usually) and then the number of clicks. Then it does the work for you. I always use the Expected Value Calculator to see if the offer is worth doing. And then triple-check the terms! Bookies love to confuse us into losing money so arm yourself with the information and don’t be afraid to ask them directly. Or probably much better to ask someone on here or OM staff.
Make friends with the Black Jack strategy on OM too. It is a lifesaver for wagering. I have actually used it on a couple of nights out with mates and I’ve been the only one walking out with money from the casino! I don’t advocate gambling, by the way, but if you are someone like me who has good self-control then you will be fine. If you find you just need one more spin or bet, then learn how to manage self-control or avoid it altogether. I make a point of on the last spin of an offer, no matter how good the winning streak may be, of saying out loud, “That’s it, well done”. And I stop, close the game, and withdraw immediately. Job done.
Do you have any advice or tips to offer to the members? (Advanced and newbie members)
Before starting matched betting, have a separate bank card ready. Do not use Monzo, Starling, Revolut or any online bank. They will eventually shut down your bank account without even giving you a reason other than that you broke their terms and conditions. You won’t lose any money as they give you two months to withdraw it, but speaking from first-hand experience it is a pain to change all your bank details on over 50 bookmakers! Just go for a regular high-street bank. Ideally with VISA direct, as you’ll get withdrawals within two hours from some bookies.
When you first start out, triple-check everything. Sounds silly, but make sure you are on the right event! I have seen people bet on the same teams, but a different fixture. Ensure both teams match up to the bookie and exchange. If in doubt also check the time and date. Next, ensure you have the calculator in the correct mode, normal, SNR, etc. Whether you are using the Odds Converter tool or any other betting calculator, this aspect is essential! Then ensure the odds match what you have entered in the calculator. It helps to have a split-screen so you can see both pages at once. Finally, ensure the liabilities and stakes align with the calculator and the bet slips on the bookies and exchange. It sounds really basic, but you’ll be surprised how sometimes you catch yourself making a mistake. Better to do so before betting. Although you can correct this using the accidental lay, the bookie may not let you cancel your bet once placed and cash out may not be available. I had a bet on for £30 during the WC for Messi and Mbappe to combine for 1.5 shots on target. I thought I had laid this with Matchbook, but once I reread the lay bet, it did not actually match up… Luckily, I managed to cash out there but Partycasino would not cancel my bet or let me cash out… So, I let it ride. I got lucky and literally Messi got his 2nd SoT during the last few moments of normal time, and I took £165 profit. But it could easily have been £30 down the drain. So always read the bets carefully, some bookies like to deliberately word things weirdly, yes, I’m looking at you William Hill!
Always check places like Unibet and Grosvenor who give you £1 chip to use on live casino once or twice a week, usually for roulette (red or black is 50/50 chance). Then if you double up, consider betting your winnings each time you win. I usually stop at either £4 or £8. You can also switch to Black Jack which I do a few times.
Consider punting the risk-free offers, e.g. 888sport, bet X and if it loses get X free bet. Over the long run, if you bet wisely, you will most likely win more than you lose. Winning at odds of 5.0 or over will also net you a £5 free bet from 888 too.
Don’t get suckered into the casino. Just because you won £200 on one spin does not mean that will happen again, or that this particular slot game is your lucky game. Do not kid yourself, it is just a random chance. One thing I read in the OM matched betting blog is that essentially all slots are the same. They look different with graphics and sounds, etc., but underneath they are just random number generators. Remember they are not your friend, and they don’t care if you win or lose, but they will let you spend all your money on them.
Sometimes I got lucky with casino offers. For example, bookies made mistakes by giving me extra offers when clearly it was against their terms to do so. One time, I managed to do the Coral bingo offer 3 times over 2 sets of accounts and made £665.
Use the 2Up Matcher and set it to your desired % and odds. Personally, I do 97%+ at odds of over 1.7. But I know some who go down to 96%. Then get alerts sent to your email address when matches become available.
For EPs I use this calculation: take the number of runners in the race, divide by the number of extra places being paid, multiply by 1.5 and add 1. This tells you if by looking at the implied odds of a horse, it is worth getting on. For example, in a 15-horse race with 4th and 5th being paid as extra places, we would do: 15/2 = 7.5 x 1.5 = 11.25 + 1 = 12.25. If you see implied odds of over 12.25 on the EP matcher, then it is good value to get on that horse. There are other calculations that may work for other people. Personally, I have only tried this one and it has worked well for me.
Do not be afraid to fight your corner. Bookies are money-grabbing leeches and will do everything they can to keep your money. Some are much worse than others and some are somewhat nice. Even for a bookie! If they try to tell you that you are wrong and you know you are not, make sure you have evidence to back it up, e.g., screenshots, photos. Threaten to take them to the IBAS and they usually back down. In fact, I learned to be sneaky and use this to my advantage with one bookie. They offered a weekly bet club, my partner’s account was gubbed, but my own was eligible. When the email came through with the offer each week, I took a screenshot and did the qualifying bets on the gubbed account. When it came to being credited, I would get on live chat and send them the screenshot asking why I had not been credited yet. Usually, they would say it had not been credited because the account was gubbed. I would then say how I could have made the qualifying bets if the account was gubbed? They would then credit my account. Free money!
If you have been gubbed and are wondering what to do, check out our I’ve been gubbed! Now what? blog article for our expert’s advice.
Always check your emails. Often, there are little gems hiding in there, especially from the likes of William Hill and Paddy Power. William Hill recently gave away a free £1 bet every day for a month on any sport!
Finally, try to master one offer type before moving on to another. You will then become an expert at that offer and can churn out profits much faster.
