The Truth About Match Betting – Is it Right for You?
Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, November 21, 2023
If you’re a sports betting enthusiast, the chances are that you’ll have heard the term ‘matched betting’ used commonly within the vertical. This is a widely used wagering strategy that seeks to generate consistent profits through sports betting, while it’s most commonly deployed in disciplines such as football, boxing and horse racing.
Built on the principles of ‘back’ and ‘lay’ betting, matched wagering essentially enables you to cover more than one potential outcome in a specific match or race. As a result, it can minimise the risk of loss considerably, without necessarily requiring you to increase your stake or wager an amount you cannot afford to lose.
In this article, we’ll explore the concept of matched betting further, as well as the core principles and wager types that underpin it. Then, we’ll ask whether this strategy is right for you, and precisely what you’ll need to succeed when engaging in match betting on your favourite sports!
Understanding Back and Lay Betting
Before we take a closer look at matched betting, we’re going to explore the underlying concepts of ‘back’ and ‘lay’ wagers. Back betting is the best-known practice of the two, as this simply requires you to place a traditional wager on a specific event to occur (such as a football team to win a particular game or a horse to win a race).
Whenever you back a team or runner to win, you’ll effectively place a back bet on the predicted outcome occurring. In this instance, your chosen sportsbook automatically ‘lays’ the same wager at the same published odds, which means that they’re backing the relevant outcome not occurring.
In this case, if your back bet is successful, the bookmaker will pay out at the odds specified when you confirmed your wager. However, if the outcome you’ve predicted doesn’t occur and the sportsbook’s lay bet comes to pass, you’ll lose your stake amount in full and the wager will be removed from your bet slip.
Introducing Matched Betting
Both of these wager types are central to matched betting, which requires you to place opposing wagers that cover multiple outcomes in a bid to guarantee a profit. More specifically, you’ll place a ‘back’ bet backing one particular outcome to occur through your chosen sportsbook, before laying this wager at a dedicated betting exchange and simultaneously performing the usual role of bookie.
For example, let’s say that you want to back India to beat New Zealand in the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup semi-final. If you think India will win and choose to engage in matched betting, you’ll lay a back bet on this outcome at a price of 1.36 with your chosen sportsbook. Then, you’ll head to a betting exchange and lay this wager at the exact same price, covering both potential outcomes and guaranteeing a payout.
The question that remains, of course, is how can you ensure that this payout translates into a viable profit? Well, the key here is to utilise free bet offers and promotions, which may be offered to new customers as part of welcome offers or existing players who already have an account with a particular bookie.
How to Make Matched Betting Work
The last point is key, as attempting to engage in successful match betting is much easier said than done. Certainly, there are key elements to your strategy that will need to be given careful consideration, otherwise you’ll run the risk of missing out or failing to bank any kind of viable profit! Let’s take a closer look at the main elements to matched betting!
#1. The Qualifying Bet: Here, you’ll place your initial back wager, which may either be a free bet that you’ve accrued previously or a qualifying bet in instances where you intend to operate solely through an exchange. If it’s a qualifying back bet, you’ll need to ensure that you review the terms and conditions in full, including the minimum odds requirements. Once you’ve ensured that these conditions have been met, you can execute the qualifying wager and complete the first part of your matched betting strategy.
#2. The Lay Bet: Next, you’ll need to place the lay bet, which should be executed at the same odds as the qualifying back wager and through a reputable betting exchange. In most cases, this will be a free bet that has been earned and added to your account, while it’s crucial that you check the odds before you confirm. So long as you get this element of the execution right and also carry out various calculations with regards to your stake and liability, this should guarantee some level of return your total investment.
#3. Understanding Calculations and Liability: The single most important calculation here is your liability, which refers to the precise amount you stand to lose in the worst-case scenario. You should strive to minimise or eliminate this where possible, through the use of one or more free bets, carefully calculated stake amounts and the identification of highly competitive odds. This process also enables you to estimate your potential return, which is effectively your stake amount (minus the commission charged by the betting exchange).
Is Matched Betting Right for You?
If matched betting is done correctly, it can deliver risk-free and incremental profits that are scalable across multiple markets and wagers. Scalability is certainly one of the best and most striking advantages of matched betting, as you can start small and strategically leverage free bets to minimise your cumulative stakes and pursue optimal profitability over time.
But is matched betting right for you? Well, much depends on your knowledge of the practice and confidence to execute well, alongside your level of experience in the sports betting vertical. While matched betting certainly isn’t exclusive to seasoned punters, such individuals have a clear competitive advantage and more likely to execute their wagers successfully!