Matched betting: A risk free way of making easy money at uni

Matched betting involves placing bets to cover all outcomes of an event, making a profit regardless of the result.

There’s no risk involved because the first bet is covered by the second. Issues only tend to arise through human error, like typos and miscalculations (more on this later).

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Before we start, let’s look at the basics:

Matched betting takes advantage of bonuses that bookmakers offer to customers when they join, and again when they bet on particular sporting events. The clever bit involves locking in a guaranteed profit, instead of just gambling bonuses away.

There are two types of bet involved in matched betting.

A back bet is when cash is placed on a certain outcome being true (e.g. putting money on England to win).

To place a back bet, go to the website of a bookmaker like Coral or Paddy Power.

A lay bet is the opposite. With a lay bet, cash is placed on the alternative outcome (e.g. putting money on England not to win – to lose or to draw).

Placing a lay bet is easy and can be done with a betting exchange like Betfair.

While on the surface betting exchanges offer the same opportunities as a bookmaker, they differ in a few ways. Exchanges make money in different ways to bookmakers.

Exchanges match people together that want to bet against each other. So for example if you don’t think England will win in their match, you could take someone’s bet on it. If England do win, you would pay out just as a bookmaker would, if England lose or draw you would keep the stake that someone bet.

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How to unlock profits in matched betting

The first thing to do is sign up to a bookmaker such as Coral and a betting exchange like Betfair. Just deposit £5 at Coral and around £40 at Betfair.

Next, make two bets (a back and a lay bet). These are known as qualifying bets and will unlock a free bet from the bookmaker. You’ll likely make a very small loss from this (around £0.20), but by doing so, £20 in free bets from Coral will be unlocked.

Place another two bets in exactly the same way as the last time. The difference this time is that the bets at Coral are using the bookmaker’s money and not your own.

From that £20 in free bets from Coral you can expect to make between £10 – £15 in profit with no risk of losing.

The key to making money is to repeat the process over and over at different bookmakers, using the initial free bet rather than your own money.

Promotional offers like “bet £10 and receive a £10 free bet” are everywhere. These are the ones to look out for.

While it’s tempting to dive straight into mid-week Serie-B football to make some cash, initially it’s best to stick with what’s comfortable, betting on top flight football is often the easiest and most straightforward

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• A large community offering tips and advice whenever you need it

• Live support, handy if you ever get stuck

• A track record in the industry. Check out their reviews

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Be responsible. Visit www.gambleaware.co.uk for more information.