To think that matched betting is not an easy way to make a bit of extra cash?

[SummerGems]

Not here to criticise those who do it, and I’m aware that moneysavingexpert and the like recommend it as a way to earn a bit of extra cash.

However,having looked through the process, it is clearly both incredibly complicated and involves a huge amount of work for ultimately a bit of return. Much like the surveys etc of old which were often suggested as a way to earn extra money.

I’ve done normal betting,spread betting etc, and matched betting is far far more complicated than either of those.

So although people clearly do make a bit of extra cash doing it, it also seems clear to me that they must spend hours and hours doing it in order for the small returns they make every month.

And obviously if it was that lucrative then everyone would be doing it and they’re not.

And yes, I count myself in among those as am desperate to make some extra income and due to health problems this isn’t currently possible..

Bearing in mind I couldn't even manage that delete type, I won't hold my breath

The first £2000 pounds is easily done if you are married - £1000 per person on the start up offers but after those you need to be either really disciplined not to spend the money you have made or be prepared to build up your pot again with £2-3 gains which is where I always struggled. I used MB to boost income i.e. for Christmas twice but because I had to use the earned money it would have taken me longer to earn the next £1000. I also found the starter offers were much easier than the reloads and other types of bets that had to be learned and my brain just doesn't work well with numbers to progress.

Actually moneysavingexpert don’t recommend it as a way to make money but have a page on it because so many people ask and it is very easy to get it wrong.
They are very clear that you are unlikely to be able to make a living out of it and you have to approach it with caution.
I’m sure some people do make money on it but you need to devote time and energy to it. It’s not the easy money it’s made out to be.

ilovealexa pm me and I'll give you a few pointers

Well I've just made a profit of £14 tonight, first attempt. Verdict, a bit of a fart but it does work.

Definitely worth it even if you just do the new customer offers. Made £1.5k with ease in a few months. I started with a float of £200 but was able to 'pay it back' to myself after a month and used my profit as float after that.

Didn't seem to get a lot of reload offers though so many my interest dwindled. Never did casino things either.

It's tedious but it works. I'm thinking how boring I find it hopefully means I won't be one who starts actual betting and loses my earnings.

I tried MB and did ok whilst able to use the calculator but just got confused longer i had to work it out myself. I only made about £60 in 3 weeks because i only had £10 to start with.
I'd love to get back into it because i desperately need the money, but don't know how to ... too many accounts on the go with too many email addresses i can't keep track of ...

You’re entirely wrong - it’s not complicated in the slightest.

You also don’t understand the casino offers if you think they’re not no-risk - some are completely risk-free. Some aren’t, but when you’ve built your bank you can decide what level of risk is worthwhile.

I made £270 off an entirely no-risk offer.

I started a month ago with £150 and I’m £1700 in profit. I don’t have time to spend all day on it, prob averages an hour a day. I still have about 40 sign up offers to do which are likely worth another £600 minimum.

You need to pay for a subscription to make it easy but it is and it’s entirely risk free if you understand what you’re doing.

You clearly don’t understand it if you think it’s complicared, or are unable to evaluate value for money effectively. I’m a member of the Team Profit FB group - there are people on there complaining it’s complicated but it’s very clear they don’t understand how it works or what they’re doing.

@emma765

I worried about that initially, but I realised I don’t get a thrill from it - it’s just transactional. I think if gambling excites [one] then matched betting is something to steer clear of.

Those saying it's risk free what about if the company decides to not pay out. If you look at betfair on trust pilot it basically says it keeps the money and has gone down hill.

If you could release the money easily I would have started but I couldn't see how logistically it was worth it and felt they could scam you. In this way it's difficult and I never started.

I’ve not had any trouble getting any money at all. I just won £580 today from a low risk casino offer and it’s alteady been approved for withdrawal.

You need to ensure you comply with ID checks and it’s easier if you’re on the electoral role.

I did it a few years ago on the run up to Christmas, I started with £50 as I couldn't afford any more and it was risk free. I had a profit of just over £600 in 4-6 weeks.

I used Odds Monkey which calculated everything for me and had videos explaining how it works and what to do, very helpful when you're a complete beginner!

I didn't continue as I used up all of the signup options and wasn't sure how to continue after that...

I want to try this but I don’t understand how you’re not losing money by having to place the lay bets?

I have never had any trouble withdrawing from any bookmaker. They don't like you winning big though, I won £2000 from a 20p spin earlier this year, they paid out ok but I an not able to do any more promotions with this certain bookmaker.

Also, those just starting out use topcashback as lots of the bookmakers are on there and you will still get your free bet and extra money back.

too many accounts on the go with too many email addresses i can't keep track of ...

That's just admin. One bank account for all, one email address for all, use same login and password and track everything in a spreadsheet, or a notebook.

Calculator apps can be downloaded for free, although I find the monthly subscription to one of the two main matching sites well worth it.

Marcie all the U.K. sites are licensed and members of one of the U.K. arbitration services. I've only known one casino go under (Dr Vegas) and I got my money out of them no problem although it did take a couple of weeks rather than a couple of days.

I can't see William Hill or Bet365 going bust anytime soon either!

Stubborn - you lay the qualifying bet so your qualifying loss is a few pence. But when you lay a free bet, you underlay (lay less than the free bet - say £7.50 instead of £10) so if the free bet wins your exchange loss is less than your winnings.

Does it affect your credit rating if you open loads of online bookmaker accounts? Does it affect things like mortgages/loans if they see you are getting money from bookermakers regularly into your bank account?

themoneytreeuk.blogspot.com/p/project-2.html?m=1

Explanation of matched betting here

Does it affect things like mortgages/loans if they see you are getting money from bookermakers regularly into your bank account?

Yes - so if you're about to get a mortgage, do not start MB!

@titchy - what about credit rating?

Also, one thing I have always wondered about MB - is it better to "lose" the bet on the side of the bookmaker and "win" the lay on Betfair (are Betfair more likely to give you your money back seeing as they are an exchange rather than typical bookmaker)?

Opening accounts with bookmakers does NOT affect your credit rating - taking out credit affects your credit rating.

Mortgage companies do not like perceived gambling transactions (obviously) but if you have a separate bank account that’s easily solved.

The searches bookies do are ‘soft’ and just confirm id - they cannot be viewed by lenders.

@cbdquestion

It’s better to lose to the exchange if you can, but if we knew how’s to do that with certainty then we wouldn’t need match betting!

@merryoldgoat, do you mean lose/lay the bet at the exchange so the money goes into your exchange account? The reason I ask is that I have heard that Bookmakers are more likely to not return money/wins if they think you are MB or winning too much but with Betfair they don't really care as they make money if you win or lose.

This is really interesting. There's no point having more money than the minimum bet to release the offer summed over all the bookies with offers is there?

So if you have what £400 quid you can do the lot in one go. Presumably you are best off statistically going for bets that are close to 50:50? I suppose if bookies are doing their jobs then it shouldn't matter which bets you place.

Do people go to the extra effort of working out which bets represent the most favourable combined odds across the two bookies, or is this mostly about getting the free offer money out?