In 2023, Matched Betting remains an extremely lucrative side hustle, and can still generate £1000+ per month if done correctly, without relying on any sign up offers.
Autumn 2023 Update: Best Strategies
1. 2UPs
Also known as the early payout offer, this strategy is available to use at any bookmaker that offers the early payout offer. Namely, PaddyPower, Bet365, and SkyBet in some occasions.
In summary, if the team in question goes 2 goals ahead (2up), the bet will be settled as a winner immediately. If they go on to draw or lose the game, your bet remains a winner.
Can we use betting exchanges too?
2up opportunities are more common on betting exchanges. The bookmaker odds must be a close match with the odds for the same bet on an exchange. 2 bets must be placed to profit from a 2up offer. See the following example to illustrate:
Australia to win - 1.4 at Bet365
Australia to win - Lay price 1.43 at Smarkets
If Australia go 2 goals ahead, your Bet365 bet will settle as a winner. If they go on to draw or lose, the Lay bet also wins.
It is not always necessary to let the exchange bet play out. If your team goes 2 goals ahead, you can consider exiting your exchange position for profit. Always wait for the bookmaker to payout before exiting your exchange position.
For a further guide into betting exchanges see here.
2. Extra Places
Matched betting with 'extra places' can be a confusing concept. Extra places refers to betting each-way on horse racing, taking advantage of a bookmaker who is paying out on an extra place when compared to other bookmakers.
Step 1:
Find a bookmaker offering an extra place. For example, Bet365 are paying 4 places; everywhere else is paying only 3. Place a back bet on Bet365, making sure to tick the box for each-way. An Each Way bet essentially places half of your stake on a horse to win, and the other half on the horse to place.
Step 2:
On a betting exchange, lay the horse for 3 places.
Step 3:
On a betting exchange, lay the horse to win outright.
It can be difficult to spot how all possible outcomes are covered. In summary:
If the horse wins, our Bet365 bet wins
If the horse finishes top 3, Bet365 pays out each-way, Exchange Win loses, exchange place lay wins.
If the horse finishes 4th, Bet365 pays out each way, Exchange Win Lay wins, Exchange Place Lay wins.
If the horse finishes outside the top 4, Exchange Win Lay wins, Exchange Place Lay wins.
To ensure the maximum profit (and minimum potential loss) we need very specific stakes on the exchange. Luckily we have our own extra places calculator to do this for you. See here.
3. Best Odds Guaranteed
A best odds guaranteed offer is a bookmaker price guarantee. They won't be beaten on their odds and will match the highest odds offered by any bookmaker at the event commencement.
For example, if Bet365 offered odds of 10.00 on a horse to win, but just before the race another bookmaker offered 12.00, Bet365 would match this and pay out at 12.00.
This example shows a scenario where the odds increased - if the odds had decreased, your bet would be valid at the original odds (when you placed the bet) and would not be affected by odds movements at other bookmakers. This gives us an opportunity to profit.
Firstly, we lay the original bet on an exchange for no loss. If the odds go up, the bookmaker will payout the original bet at higher odds, and the exchange bet will still be valid at the original odds. If the bookmaker bet wins, we can make a risk free profit.
For example, suppose we backed a horse, Moonhorse, to win at 10.00 with Bet365. At the same time we layed Moonhorse on an exchange at 10.00 for no loss with a liability of £90. Suppose that Moonhorse ended up drifting to 12.00 before the race began:
| Win Odds | Stake | Payout |
Moonhorse (initial odds) | 10.00 | £10 | £100 |
Moonhorse (new odds) | 12.00 | £10 | £120 |
The Bet365 payout has increased. Therefore if Moonhorse went on to win, the breakdown is as follows:
Profit £110 from the Bet365 (£120-£10 stake)
Payout out a £90 liability on an exchange
We lock in an easy £20 profit.
4. Exchange Arbitrage
Want to maximise your arbitrage profit ceiling? Using betting exchanges is essential. Arbitrage betting is a method of trading on exchanges that guarantees a profit by taking advantage of price disparities in markets.
Bookmaker boosts often offer great value, as they are higher than the true price. The betting exchange will still find equilibrium at the fair price, lower than the bookmaker is offering. This creates an arbitrage opportunity that can be exploited.
Grosvenor Sport offered a boost for Joe Root to be England's top batsman in the 1st innings.
We can lay this to not happen on Smarkets.
Creating a risk free shot at £8.
5. Arbitrage With Bookmakers
The concept of arbitrage betting is exploiting disparities in odds for the same event between bookmakers. We can then bet on all possible outcomes, to ensure one will always win. This will lock in a net profit. For example:
Stoliarenko to win - 2.75 at SkyBet
McCann to win - 2.0 at PaddyPower
A total of £16 stake returns £16.50 or £20, profiting 40p or £4 from a small outlay of £16.
To read more about Arbitrage Betting with bookmakers, read here.
However, most opportunities are not so straightforward. Arbitrage opportunities that do not involve boosts can be extremely difficult to spot. That's why we have recommended multiple arbitrage betting services dedicated to finding profitable opportunities to customers. At the bottom of our home page, you are able to find out recommended services.
6. Sign Up Offers - Casino and Sports book
Our 'Offers' pages outline all Casino and Sports offers available in Autumn 2023, with step by step walk throughs.
Profit from casino offers can vary greatly due to the nature of Expected Value (EV).
This means some accounts profit much higher than others, however the risk is incredibly low.
Some offers are risk free, others low risk, and finally some medium risk with a high ceiling for profit.
Head over to our pages to get started now.