FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions – Matched Betting
Wondering what matched betting is about, below are some of common questions – if you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, just drop us an email at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to assist.
Well, first of all, welcome to the world of matched betting and thanks for choosing OddsMonkey! We’ve put together over 100 step-by-step guides and video tutorials to help you learn and earn as quickly as possible. Start your free trial today and our introductory offer will give you a full walkthrough, showing you how to make a profit in just minutes.
That’s completely up to you. The Oddsmatcher brings you events in football, horse racing, tennis and cricket but we recommend sticking to higher profile events where possible to avoid your bookmaker accounts being restricted.
Yes, 100%. In the UK, winnings from gambling are tax free. Although we are not technically gambling when we do matched bets the money still comes from placing bets so there is no tax to pay.
Your free trial of OddsMonkey will show you how to profit from three different welcome offers. And once you get into Premium there are more than 70 to take advantage of. You’ll also find the latest ongoing offers in our Daily Offer Calendar.
Yes! Absolutely you can. You won’t be able to take advantage of the sign up offer with that bookmaker but you can start doing all the other free bet offers and bonuses they offer straight away.
The sign up offers are great and a fantastic way to get started on matched betting but the profit doesn’t stop once they’re done. Most bookmakers are doing new offers every day that we can take advantage of.
It’s also really unlikely that you have all the bookmaker accounts available to you. There are dozens of them, some of them you might not have even heard of. We have guides on all the bookmakers sign up offers inside our premium area.
A betting exchange allows us to bet against an outcome. For example betting that Arsenal won’t win. So if Arsenal lose the game or it ends in a draw we win the bet. If they do win the match though we have lost the bet. This kind of bet is known as a lay bet.
We can use both the bookie and the exchange to place 2 bets to cover all outcomes of an event by backing it to happen at the bookie and betting it won’t happen at the exchange.
You can find out more about lay bets here: https://www.oddsmonkey.com/matched-betting/lay-betting-explained-beginners-guide/
A bookie such as Ladbrokes or William Hill is where we place our back bets. We are betting on an outcome to happen. For example betting on Arsenal to beat Manchester United. If Arsenal win, then we win our bet but if they lose or the match ends in a draw we have lost the bet.
A betting exchange allows us to bet against an outcome. For example betting that Arsenal won’t win. So if Arsenal lose the game or it ends in a draw we win the bet. If they do win the match though we have lost the bet. This kind of bet is known as a lay bet.
We can use both the bookie and the exchange to place 2 bets to cover all outcomes of an event by backing it to happen at the bookie and betting it won’t happen at the exchange.
A back bet is placed with a bookmaker on something to happen. A lay bet is the opposing bet made on something not to happen and is placed with a betting exchange.
The big bookmakers like Bet365, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Betfred and Coral all offer best odds guaranteed. As do many others. Some of the more obscure bookies don’t though. To find out you can check the promotions page of each bookmaker.
Laying our bets is what makes matched betting risk free. If we didn’t lay our bets we would be gambling and putting ourselves at risk of losing money. When we get a free bet from a bookmaker we still lay the bet as this allows us to lock in a profit from every free bet no matter the outcome.
No, unfortunately you can’t. The money will be classed as winnings from gambling and not a source of income. You can’t prove that it is a regular and stable source of income.
Also, if you’re applying for a mortgage you might want to open another bank account for matched betting. It is unclear how it will affect your application but if your mortgage lender sees there are dozens of deposits to bookmakers they may think you have a gambling problem which could affect your application. If you have an account purely for matched betting then you can keep that separate from your regular bank transactions.
Quite often, bookmakers won’t honour sign up offers if you make your first deposit with Skrill so watch out for that. Once you have all your accounts established though it is a great way to get money out of a bookmaker and back to your exchange account ready for the next matched betting opportunity.
An understanding is good, but you don’t have to be Rain Man. Our clever little calculator does all the maths for you: calculating the exact amounts you’ll need to back and lay on normal and free bets, as well as your potential winnings.
Many bookmakers won’t honour sign up bonuses when you make your first deposit with Neteller so it’s best to use a debit card to start with. Once your accounts are established though you can use Neteller or Skrill to more quickly get our money back to the exchange ready for the next offer.
It depends on the country you are planning to do it from. Most of the time you will be fine but some countries do have strict gambling laws so it would be best to check. OddsMonkey has customers from many different countries and our software includes many overseas bookmakers for our international customers.
However, our guides are mainly geared towards UK bookmakers so you would have to check with the bookmaker that they accept customers from your location before you sign up with them.
Many bookmakers won’t honour sign up bonuses when you make your first deposit with Neteller so it’s best to use a debit card to start with. Once your accounts are established though you can use Neteller or Skrill to more quickly get our money back to the exchange ready for the next offer.
This depends on the offer and the individual bookmaker T&Cs. Some will let you withdraw immediately whereas others can take a few working days.
However, our guides are mainly geared towards UK bookmakers so you would have to check with the bookmaker that they accept customers from your location before you sign up with them.
Many bookmakers won’t honour sign up bonuses when you make your first deposit with Neteller so it’s best to use a debit card to start with. Once your accounts are established though you can use Neteller or Skrill to more quickly get our money back to the exchange ready for the next offer.
Yes, but you’ll have to source all the offers yourself and look for favourable odds which can take a lot of time. Thousands of people choose to use OddsMonkey as our tools can help you complete offers in a fraction of the time it would take to do manually.
However, our guides are mainly geared towards UK bookmakers so you would have to check with the bookmaker that they accept customers from your location before you sign up with them.
Many bookmakers won’t honour sign up bonuses when you make your first deposit with Neteller so it’s best to use a debit card to start with. Once your accounts are established though you can use Neteller or Skrill to more quickly get our money back to the exchange ready for the next offer.
Once a bet is placed with a bookmaker, it can’t technically be cancelled. Instead, there are a couple of ways you’ll be able to cancel out the mistake. Some bookmakers offer a cash out option, where you can get some of your stake back. Alternatively, you can offset the bet by laying in a betting exchange, such as Betfair, using one of Oddsmonkey’s handy calculators.
Known as “gubbing”, certain bookmakers will bar you from any further promotional offers or impose a maximum stake limit if they feel you’ve been taking advantage of them. If this happens you won’t lose any money but will no longer be able profit from any future offers.
Getting gubbed is something you’ll experience from time to time no matter how cautious you are. But we want to minimise our chances of getting gubbed and keep our accounts healthy so we can continue to profit long term.
Luckily, there are a few ways we can look to keep the bookies from gubbing us:
Mug Betting
This is the process of placing a bet with the bookie that has no offer attached. Usually it’s a good idea to bet on high profile football matches or other high profile events. This will make us look like a typical punter and not someone who is purely interested in extracting bonuses. Of course we are matched bettors so we don’t want to lose any money, so we always lay these bets off at the exchange in the same way we would a qualifying bet.
Pick a team
Betting on your favourite team every week is something a mug punter would be doing so you should do that too. Choose a team and bet on them to win every week, again laying the bet.
Deposit more than needed
Quite often, an opening offer will require a qualifying bet of £10 so instead of depositing exactly £10, deposit £20 or a different amount. This makes the bookie think you are there for more than just their opening offer.
Mix it up
Don’t go for the full refund every time. On the horses for example, there are often money back offers for coming second. They are usually capped at £25. Instead of betting £25 why not bet £20 or even go higher and bet £30. We still qualify for the offer but it makes it less obvious we are just after the refund.
No, you really shouldn’t do this. This is known as multi accounting or gnoming. While it may be possible to do it on occasion the bookies have systems in place to detect this activity and if they catch you they will close your accounts and seize your funds. From a legal point of view you may be breaking the law by doing this as well so we highly recommend avoiding the temptation to do this.
Best Odds Guaranteed is a promotion offered by most major bookmakers that means when you take an early price or a fixed odds price and your selection wins at higher odds, you will be paid out at the higher price. This is great for matched bettors, as when it happens we get all the extra money as profit.
The big bookmakers like Bet365, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Betfred and Coral all offer best odds guaranteed. As do many others. Some of the more obscure bookies don’t though. To find out you can check the promotions page of each bookmaker.
Skrill is a bit like PayPal. It’s an E-wallet that is accepted by most bookmakers. It is useful as it allows us to quickly move money around between our accounts and the exchange without having to wait for the lengthy process of a bank withdrawal.
Quite often, bookmakers won’t honour sign up offers if you make your first deposit with Skrill so watch out for that. Once you have all your accounts established though it is a great way to get money out of a bookmaker and back to your exchange account ready for the next matched betting opportunity.
Neteller is an e-wallet a lot like PayPal. Many bookmakers will accept Neteller payments. Like Skrill, it is a great way to move your money around between bookmaker and exchange accounts and avoid the slow process of a bank withdrawal.
Many bookmakers won’t honour sign up bonuses when you make your first deposit with Neteller so it’s best to use a debit card to start with. Once your accounts are established though you can use Neteller or Skrill to more quickly get our money back to the exchange ready for the next offer.
