Matched betting - who's done it and who's good at it? (No Referrals)

[knowlton]

For those seasoned enough to remember Donglemouse's diary on Money Saving Expert's website, matched betting has been a way which geeks have been making money online.

In short, matched betting is a loophole whereby you take advantage of free bets offered by bookmakers and turn them into real cash that you can spend. It's not a 'system' but rather a nifty trick which makes use of the fact that the free bet, is well free.

A nice example can be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matched_betting

It's well known, however it's renowned as being time consuming and sometimes complicated since you have to do research, match the odds, calculate, etc.

However, now you can do it with ease through a website, https://www.fixtheodds.com that I discovered in the Daily Telegraph before Christmas: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...tips/8185280/Is-this-a-bet-you-cant-lose.html

*I do NOT endorse the website, just stating it as a matter of fact*

Since that piece, I have made just over £300 by doing it on and off since Christmas time. The website claims that you can make over £1k, and whilst I'm aware that I have a number of offers that I have yet to do, I was wondering if anyone else has tried matched betting (either manually or automatically) and how much people are making!?

***Reminder of the rules - no requesting, or posting of, referrals***

 

[knowlton]

There was a huge thread here a while ago. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17753529

edit: actually that link is over 4 years old

Ahh - I did have a search to see if there was one...

I was posting on another thread and it seems that quite a few people here know what they're talking about so I thought I'd set one up.

Let's see if this takes off - maybe we'll emulate the success of the Moneysavingexpert one!

 

[knowlton]

How many hours did it take you to earn that £300?

That's difficult to estimate - for each offer, I probably spend about 10 - 15 minutes in total. Each offer can make a varying amount in profit. For example, if it's a £25 offer, than I might make £22, whereas a more complicated £200 offer might make me £160.

When I first started, I must admit, it did take me about 30 - 40 minutes to follow the instructions (yes, I was slow and I was double/triple checking). However after that, it's uber-easy as you get accustomed to the process.

 

[knowlton]

Wow £500!! Nice - how long has that taken you? Interesting site - kind sits in-between doing it manually via spreadsheets and automated websites.

Seems pretty good as a calculator, although you do have to find the matches yourself and have some understanding on what the terms mean - I can see someone opting 'Stake Not Return' and making a nasty mistake, which is the problem of amateurs doing it manually.

 

[knowlton]

As said in the other thread about making money online the other day, if you spend some time and effort with some coding, you can automate this.

I think that's what fixtheodds have done

 

[knowlton]

I've made about £500 on and off over the last few months. Haven't really had much time to concentrate on it, will do after exams.

By the way, using sites like FixTheOdds probably limits the amount you make, you can do it manually and try to maximise the amount you get out of each offer.

Agreed - I had a look at the MSE forum and people were making marginally better profits doing it manually. I guess it's a trade off - spending more time and doing it manually, or spending less time doing it automatically.

To be honest, I'm only doing it automatically (knowing the clumsy me) because of the guarantee that if the site's instructions are wrong, they will refund me the value of the bet.

 

[knowlton]

You can lose money if you make mistakes, which is probably quite easy when you are just starting. Backing and Laying different selections, laying wrong amounts, not reading T&Cs - that sort of thing. First few I did I properly triple checked and was certain it was fine before placing the bets. As long as you are sure you know whats happening and read up on it, should be fine. Also start with low liabilities so if you do make a mistake you only lose a little bit.

Also a risk of bets getting voided, palped, but that's very rare and generally shouldn't have a problem. There are ways to correct errors and minimise loss if you come across one. So far I have not made a mistake that has lost me money, touch wood.

Some very good advice, regardless of whether you're doing it manually or via an automatic website.

 

[knowlton]

What happens when you've done all the offers once, is that it? Or do they bring out new offers? Do you then need to register a gain with a different account for each offer?

The answer is...

Yes, once you have done the introductory offers - that's it. So I wouldn't give up your day job with this!

But they do bring out new offers for existing customers - usually to try and entice you to 'come back to them' like with any other retailer. You can also turn those into cash.

You can apparently (haven't tried this yet) do Euro-based offers to make more money. Personally, I'm trying to convince my parents to hand me over their details so I can so it on behalf of them - so hopefully double the profits!

 

[knowlton]

Hmmm, I don't know......

You don't know the process or whether it works?

On another note, I'm set to make another £57 this weekend so fingers crossed!

 

[knowlton]

Agreed - football seems to be more stable and why it is the preferred method in matched betting. To be honest, football happens across the world (yes, football is played outside the UK!) so there is always a steady stream of relevant bets on the market.

The other day Fixtheodds suggested that I placed bets on 'Oberhausen' out of everything!

 

[knowlton]

How do you know? Do you work there?

I think he means that he didn't receive the email confirmation and now he has

 

[knowlton]

Which sites are offering genuine free bets, rather than bet £x and we'll match it?

Yeah, it doesn't work that way with most bookmakers...

That's the whole point of matched betting - you guarantee a profit by using the loophole of getting a betting exchange involved..

Therefore in the first step, you make a minimal loss and then in the second step, you maximise your profit as it's a free bet. Have a look at some of the earlier posts, which I think better explains how it works!

 

[knowlton]

How do you have a years worth of offers? At the moment I've done three offers on Fixtheodds and they will be done by the start of next week - I can see me finishing all the offers in a month

You have to remember that..

a) Fixtheodds add (and remove) offers on a constant basis as bookmakers add more - they publicise this on their Twitter page

b) Bookmakers will sometimes send you 'reload' offers just for you. You can do those as well (you would just email their support to get it set up)

c) Once you've done UK offers, you can do offers in Euros

Again, don't give up your day job with this - but it's certainly something that can give you a lot of extra cash!

 

[knowlton]

Can someone post a truthful account of how much time per pound is at play here? I'm sorry to be such a stubborn **** but I simply don't believe some of the claims of "yeah I made a few grand on this over the years". Post your evidence, spread sheets etc. If it takes half an hour a day to make say £20 a week, I'm out. Would be better paid doing overtime at work or getting a second job.

Well I spend an average of 15-20 minutes on each offer..

The return could be as low as £8 for some offers and £160 for others. Just taking those examples - you're taking about £24 to £480!

The first offer will always take the longest if you've never done it before. It must have taken me 30 - 40 minutes to begin with as I was double, triple checking - all for £8 (I went for the lowest offer to test the water).

Again, you're not going to be able to retire early on this - for example, I only do it in my spare time when I have a moment, but it's still extra money which you've never had before!

 

[knowlton]

I'm about 99% sure that game sites don't affect your credit score.

I'm sure too - you deposit your money anyway - nothing is on credit.

Nevertheless, tip from none other than Martin Lewis: Credit ratings don't black list you or label you as a risk - they simply show how profitable you are to them.

See: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

 

[knowlton]

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - Been busy moving house!

Quick update: Made £32 profit last weekend with two £25 offers. The football season seems to be winding down, so the selection of matches seem to be limited - though there are still matches out there (mainly in Europe).

On another note, has anyone actually received any 'reload offers' recently? If so, from which bookmakers? I often get some from bookies, however they're often specific to matches, for example Man U vs Chelsea... Hence, they're very limited as betting exchanges might have unfavourable odds...

 

[knowlton]

I would keep trying - it's not unusual.

Sadly this is what happens as it's not footie season. During footie season they give you dozens of markets (for obvious reasons).

You could also email their support (they're pretty good for a free site) and see what they say?

 

[knowlton]

Sorry everybody - I was temporarily suspended after unintentionally posting a link to a competitor's product (an external cooling fan for laptops) - even though I'm pretty sure OC doesn't sell it anyway!!

Anyway, I've only made £17 in the past few days - FTO seems to indicate that the markets are sparse, which I suppose is expected as it's not football season as well as being seriously busy...

With regard to Betfair / HSBC - I'm surprised as I'm with HSBC too - which went through without any hindrance!! Were they asking for validation?

 

[knowlton]

Update: Haven't been doing matched betting over the weekend - Been spending my profits with a city break to Paris!

My strategy has always to 're-invest' my profits, however given the trip, I'm going to withdraw from Betfair and come back to this once my credit card bill has been paid off!

 

[knowlton]

did this back in 2007 along with a casino black jack bot that was well worth the £90 out lay, cleared 5k credit card debts. Just moved house and am looking to get back into all be it with the girlfriends details

Is that matched betting or another system?