I recently did a post for Thrifty Mum telling her readers how you could make an extra £1500 in time for Christmas. It was very popular so I thought I owed it to all my readers to write something similar here.

It’s officially less than 10 weeks until Christmas! I make no apologies that I love this time of year. Now that I have children I can fully indulge in the pre-season countdown which kicks off with Halloween in just over a week’s time.

I appreciate the countdown to Christmas also strikes the fear of god into many people. There’s a whole host of reasons why. And money, or lack of money, often features. I must admit the hefty bills that accompany Christmas certainly take the edge of it. We’re hosting all the family this year so there’s added expense making sure we’ve got far too many sweets, biscuits and snacks. There’ll be a few extra large buffets to prepare and don’t forget the booze we’ll need too! As much as I try to plan and spread out my spending, come January there will no doubt be a rather large credit card bill landing on the doormat.

This year, however, the blow of that bill will be softened. That’s because a few months ago I discovered something very simple called matched betting which allows me to take extra money from home, working around my kids. Since I started four months ago, I’ve earned more than £3000. And if you start now, you too can easily make at least £1500 – if not more – before Christmas. Don’t tell me that extra money wouldn’t come in handy?

Matched Betting?

Sounds far too good to be true doesn’t it? I can assure you it’s not a scam. It’s been tried and tested by journalists at The Telegraph and Huffington Post. And here’s what The Guardian has to say about it:

With bookmakers offering ‘free bets’ to tempt new customers, you can play the system and pocket hundreds of pounds – with little risk to your own cash” (The Guardian, June 2010)

Despite its name, matched betting doesn’t involve you betting or gambling in the traditional sense. Instead, you can take advantage of the free bets bookmakers give out as incentives for you to sign up with them. Instead of leaving it to chance, by following a set process you can make at least 70% of the value of those free bets every time.

How does matched betting work?

It is actually very simple to play the system and make money from free bet offers. But it does take time to get your head around how and why it works.

• Sign up to an online bookmaker which is offering a free bet for new customers.
• Sign up to a betting exchange website. These sites let you bet against the outcome of a particular game or match.
• Place a qualifying bet. You don’t just choose a random bet which could win or lose. Instead, you need to place 2 bets – 1 for and 1 against the same outcome. This means backing a bet with a bookmaker and also laying against that outcome with a betting exchange. By doing this, all the outcomes are covered. This means that when the match or game finishes you will get your money back.
• You will then be awarded a free bet from the bookmaker.
• You repeat the same process with the free bet. You need to place 2 bets, one for and one against the same outcome. Once again, you’ll get your money back. But as this was free money given to you by the bookmaker in the first place you actually make the value of the free bet so will be in profit.

As you always back and lay against the same outcome there’s never a chance for your money to be lost. This makes it a RISK FREE way of making extra money. What’s more, it’s all TAX FREE. To learn more about how it works this video tutorial about matched betting is really helpful. I also give a detailed worked example here on the website.

By following this simple method, you can always make at least 70% of the value of the free bets offered by bookmakers. There are more than 50 bookmakers in the UK with introductory offers worth well over £2000. This means there’s at least £1500 to be made simply by signing up to them. This can easily be achieved in your spare time in the run up to Christmas.

The great thing about matched betting is that the bookmakers want you to continue betting with them once you’ve signed up so there are ongoing offers all the time. If you want, you can carry on making between £500-£1000 a month if you can spare 1-2 hours a day.

How do I get started?

It’s completely possible for you to research all of the offers that are available, analyse their terms and conditions, and look manually for bets where the back and lay odds are the same or very close. But this takes an awful lot of time!

If you’re anything like me, the whole matched betting world can also seem very complicated and a little daunting. Before I started matched betting, my experience of bookmakers was very limited, apart from an annual visit to place a bet on the National (which other customers or the cashier helped me work out how to do). Not to mention that as a mum of a 1 and 4-year-old, I really don’t have much spare time to do all this on my own.

Instead, I found Profit Accumulator. This site spoon feeds me all of the information I need. It tells me what offers are available, helps me find suitable bets, talks me through placing the back and lay bets and does all the calculations for me. They offer a free trial where you get access to the training and tutorials for 2 offers, from which you will easily make £35-£40. I’ve also done a full review of the service they provide.

After the free trial you need to pay either a monthly fee of £22.99 or buy the annual package for £150. If you simply want to make some quick money in time for Christmas, then I’d recommend you buy the monthly package. Three months’ membership will only cost £68.97 and, in return, you’ll be more than £1500 better off.