You might be aware of what matched betting is. But you might also be looking for some mainstream media sources to back up the claims. I don’t think I would’ve started matched betting (back in 2017) if I hadn’t come across articles like these.

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Contents

Money Saving Expert
The Financial Times
The Guardian
The Telegraph
The Daily Mail

What Money Saving Expert Says About Matched Betting

Martin Lewis’ famous MoneySavingExpert.com mentions matched betting in a list article on ways to make money online. This article was updated in June 2019.

“It's all about taking advantage of the offers betting sites run to encourage new players, usually involving free bets (eg, "bet £30 and we give you a free £30 bet"), and the fact different bookmakers offer different odds.”

The article makes a couple of points very clearly. Firstly, that matched betting isn’t gambling. Matched betting is simply…

“manipulating gambling introductory loopholes”

And secondly that it’s possible to make £1,000 over the course of a year. In reality, if done correctly and consistently, the number can grow to quite a lot more than that.

What The Financial Times Says About Matched Betting

The Financial Times summarised Matched Betting in June 2018, the author summarises how matched betting works:

“Matched betting - otherwise known as arbitrage betting - is completely legal. It involves making a bet and then laying it off with another bookie, so you’re covered whatever the outcome.”

The author also points out that promotional offers, which matched bettors take advantage of, used to make bookmakers steady profits, by drawing in custom. But, increasingly, the cost of matched betting to bookmakers might be something bookmaker investors should think about carefully.

“Meanwhile, bookies’ investors might want to contemplate what effect all these promotional offers are having on the bottom line.”

What The Guardian Says About Matched Betting

There were 2 occasions in 2010 when the Guardian talked about matched betting. The Guardian’s first Matched Betting article (June 2010) talked about an increase in the generosity of free bet offers surrounding the 2010 World Cup.

“Free bets when you sign up online are the industry's primary method of attracting new customers. For major sporting events – such as the World Cup– these offers increase in generosity because regular folk, who rarely think about betting, fancy a punt.”

Matched bettors could take advantage of these offers and reap in the rewards. The article’s own author made £600 during the (still lucrative) Cheltenham Festival. The author went so far as to publish the article anonymously because, and I quote:

“Researching this article has been more lucrative than writing it. I am not using my own byline because I don't want bookmakers to turn me down or close my accounts.”

A 2nd Guardian article, published one month later in July 2010, was written by an ex-10-year-financial advisor. He was initially skeptical…

“Could I really sit in front of my screen and make money from the bookies for nothing?

Then, after one month, he was less so.

“Over the past month I have researched and used every decent online free bet introductory offer from a bookie. I've taken up 31 offers so far – and I've made in the region of £770.”

What The Telegraph Says About Matched Betting

I found 2 articles in the Telegraph talking about matched betting. The first Telegraph article, written in 2010, talks about the creation of one of the first matched betting websites which aimed to facilitate matched betting and open it up to a greater proportion of the public.

“The money is there, and could be a welcome boost to your Christmas spending, if you're willing to follow the instructions and put in the effort.”

A much more recent article by the Telegraph from August 2019 talks about the growing number of millennials using matched betting to top up their income. They provide a nice one sentence summation of matched betting:

Back bets are placed on traditional betting sites, while lay bets are made via a betting exchange, such as Betfair Exchange, that let individuals act as bookmakers. Where the odds are equal, the value of the free bets you’ve unlocked represent the profit.

What The Daily Mail Says About Matched Betting

The Daily Mail has written a few articles on matched betting, some following individuals who use matched betting as just one segment of a portfolio of online income sources.

The 1st Daily Mail article, written in October 2017, followed Emma Drew, who earned £550 in 4 days during the Cheltenham Festival.

“This trick involves making use of bookmaker’s free bets to get a guaranteed profit, tax free.”

The 2nd Daily Mail article written in March 2018, followed Ruth Hinds, who recognises that when you first come across it, the idea of matched betting tends to trigger the “too-good-to-be-true” rule.

It’s a technique you can use to create guaranteed, risk-free profits from free bets from online bookies, and though it sounds a bit dodgy at first, it’s completely legitimate and can be extremely profitable.