The simple answer to this question is yes. Matched betting is a risk free way to make a considerable amount of extra money, month after month.
However, a couple of people have been in touch with me recently to query this. They’ve been confused by references to casino wins and risky bets whilst researching what matched betting is.
I can understand their confusion. A quick google search will throw up lots of people sharing their big casino wins and how they won free bets.
So, to dispel the confusion, this post explains just what is and isn’t risky about matched betting.
MISTAKES – THE BIGGEST RISK
Matched betting involves you using your own money to place bets against each other. Whilst matched betting services like Profit Accumulator will tell you exactly what you need to do, there’s always scope for human error.
I made a few mistakes when I started out. I didn’t lose too much money. In fact, some of the mistakes actually made me money. However, it’s a gut wrenching feeling when you do make a mistake. So I compiled a guide to the most common types of mistakes you can make when doing matched betting. Make sure you read this to know what types of mistakes to look out for.
RISK FREE MATCHED BETTING
Matched betting works by placing bets against each other out. You don’t lose any money when placing any qualifying bets because you will always get your money back. And, as you also use free bets given to you by bookmakers, you end up being able to keep this money.
By far the majority of all matched betting offers follow this process. And they are therefore completely risk free.
This includes all of the bookmaker sign up offers. There are more than 50 introductory offers listed on Profit Accumulator, worth over £2000. So there’s a lot of risk-free money to be made simply by signing up to different bookies.
As you carry on matched betting, you’ll move on to reload offers. Most of these offers follow exactly the same process and are risk free too.
The Profit Accumulator forum has dedicated threads to help you make £1000 per month (£300 if you also work full-time) from the reload offers. These threads list only risk-free offers.
riskier matched betting reload offers
If you’ve seen my guide to reload offers, you’ll be aware there are lots of different types of ongoing matched betting offers.
Most of these are risk-free. However, there are some riskier offers.
These are offers where you place your qualifying bets (both at the bookmakers and the exchange) but the free bet is dependent on a certain outcome. If that outcome doesn’t materialise then you won’t receive a free bet. If this happens, then you will lose your qualifying loss. However, these losses tend only to be very small amounts of money (about 10% of the bet you place as a maximum).
If you want to participate in these offers you should consider what the qualifying loss is likely to be and whether it is worth taking the risk in losing this amount of money.
In many circumstances it is also possible to mitigate against any qualifying losses:
- if a free bet is dependent on a horse winning a race, you can overlay the amount of money you place at the betting exchange to ensure your qualifying losses are negligible. This means you will lose more initially if the horse wins but some of the free bet will cover this. If the horse loses, then you will lose nothing. Profit Accumulator’s calculator will help you select the amount you need to overlay when you put it into advanced mode.
- You can choose to lock in a profit on accumulator offers, regardless of whether there is only one loser.
- In some circumstances you can also lay against the refund event. For example, some football refunds might be dependent on a goalless draw. In these circumstances, you can often lay against the draw as well in order to guarantee you make money from these offers. This is known as locking in profit. You won’t make a great deal of money this way, but it ensures you will always make some money rather than leaving the refund to chance.
CASINO OFFERS
The other type of riskier offers are casino offers. Again, though, these aren’t always risky. In many instances, online casinos will give away free spins and bonuses. I’ve made a few hundred pounds this way.
But there are also some riskier offers, where you might have to wager through a certain amount of money in the casino in order to receive a free bet or bonus.
I’ve compiled a guide to help you get to grips with casino offers.
It’s important you decide how much you are willing to risk before attempting the riskier offers. I’m naturally more risk averse. So I only tend to risk a maximum of £20-£25 at any time. And, even then, I’ll only take the risk if I’m having a good month matched betting.
Many people are prepared to take bigger risks than me and will often make more money than me. They look at the whole picture and consider these small risks worth taking in the grander scheme of how much money they’ve made matched betting. I can understand this view point. However, I am reliant on the money I make matched betting each month. Hence my more cautious approach!
I hope you find this post useful. If you have any other questions about matched betting you can always take a look at my frequently asked questions. If there’s something you’re still unsure about then please do get in touch. You can email me (info@matchedbettingmum.com) or contact me via Twitter or Facebook.