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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that match betting is still gambling

205 replies

Firstimer703 · 02/11/2019 11:46

Earlier on, I sat down with my husband and son for a family breakfast. A minute or so in, DH took his phone out and when I said about not having phones at the table (as I thought we agreed), he basis he had to put a bet on. I said I didn't think that was a good reason and he wouldn't be happy if I did it and I didn't think he'd let DS do it in the future. He completely kicked off, shouting at me in front of DS and being very aggressive.

He's been doing match betting which I've asked him not to do from the start. He told me today he's disappointed that I'm not interested and haven't listened when he's tried to explain. When he has to put a bet on during a 10 minute breakfast with his family and the reason is that he'll lose money if he doesn't, it looks like addiction to me! AIBU?

OP posts:

Scarfaceclaw21 · 02/11/2019 12:27

That vice article is funny. If you are shit at numbers and make mistakes you will lose money. Indeed. You could apply that to every single job on the planet. If you keep fucking it up you will get the sack.

Interestingly he happened to have a bet365 account he had forgotten about. So he was a gambler himself, then somehow forgot he used to gamble, to try matched betting. Absolute bollocks.

Rainycloudyday · 02/11/2019 12:27

OP you won’t get balanced views either way on something that is fact. Matched betting isn’t not gambling, end of. Many people have said that because it’s true. So you need to accept you’re wrong about that and focus on the actual issue which is how your relationship with your husband is.

ClientListQueen · 02/11/2019 12:28

Matched betting is not gambling. I do it daily and make a fair bit of money from it. It basically pays my mortgage every month

crustycrab · 02/11/2019 12:28

@FlashesOfRage that "article" you've linked from some randomers blog states that matched betting is indeed risk free. This lad clearly admits he made mistakes. That's because he was rushing. The mistakes he made were stupid and we haven't "all done it". I haven't ever laid a bet before checking that the back bet has placed. Why would I?

He spent around 30 hours in his first month on it and made the equivalent of £38,000 tax free.

I'd suggest you're the "incredibly naive" one who thinks you know what you're talking about because you've got a "gambling addict in the family". That's nice but it's got nothing to do with matched betting. There's no thrill and no gamble. As your linked article states it's actually "tedious"

WomensRightsAreContraversial · 02/11/2019 12:29

Matched betting isn't gambling. Loads of us on mumsnet do it! Martin Lewis of money saving expert has endorsed it for years.

He was being a dick though. That's not because of matched betting. There aren't many but there are a few matched bets that need to be done in a certain window, like during half time of a footy match. There were rugby offers like that this morning. Still doesn't excuse being rude. Most of us slink off to the loo for 2 minutes if we are with family but have to do something st a certain time

fromthefloorboardsup · 02/11/2019 12:35

My work hasn't been paying me on time consistently for the last six months. This month they've only paid me half my wage and DP hasn't had his at all (we work together). Starting match betting through mumsnet has been a lifesaver - we're not making our wage but it means we can pay a few bills.

CharityConundrum · 02/11/2019 12:41

It sounds like he's annoyed that you refuse to even try and understand matched betting and your complete refusal to listen to him leads to you making potentially unfounded accusations.

Whether he has a gambling problem or a lucrative side-line, your refusal to listen to him or discuss the issue is dismissive and unhelpful.

PuzzledObserver · 02/11/2019 12:43

Matched betting is not gambling.

Having researched this the last time my interest was piqued, I believe this to be true.

However.

Where do the bookies get there profits from, which all the matched betters are sniffling a share of?

That’s right - gamblers. A few of them make money. Most of them lose it.

crustycrab · 02/11/2019 12:51

@PuzzledObserver most of whom are not addicted or vulnerable in any way.

Op has refused to even try and understand the basic principles of matched betting. Now you want her to get into a debate about the morality of it

AlternativePerspective · 02/11/2019 12:52

Matched betting is only technically not gambling because you gamble one result against another which means you’re not going to lose. But it is still betting. It’s still putting money into a betting site and pressing send. Anyone who thinks that it’s not the same high as placing bets is naive. In fact I’d say it’s even more likely to be addictive because the person placing the bets knows that they are going to make money.

And those who are saying the OP is unreasonable for not wanting her DH to be doing this at the breakfast table, honestly, if he is so drawn to doing it that his every day life is being sacrificed for it then he has a problem, regardless of whether he is making money.

And for those who make money, the only reason why you make money is because others are losing money...

AlternativePerspective · 02/11/2019 12:55

If the DH was doing something else e.g. writing computer programmes or a job which is from home would it be ok to insist that that job come above everything else at all times? Even family meals?

What the activity is is irrelevant, the fact here is that the family sit down to breakfast and he feels that what he’s doing takes priority. It doesn’t. Any kind of “job” which takes over your life so much is unhealthy.

crustycrab · 02/11/2019 12:59

Feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall here 😂 I know that I'm not getting a "high" from my second income thank you very much. It only "distracts" from my life in the same way going to work would and it takes infinitely less time.

And believe me, the betting industry will be there whether people matched bet or not. They managed perfectly fine before we were here.

Most normal punters are not addicts, just like most drinkers are not alcoholics.

crustycrab · 02/11/2019 13:00

Yeah you're right. It's "unhealthy" that I won't get to have a family meal this evening. I'll tell my boss

Many offers this morning were time sensitive due to the rugby. That's not the norm

mysticpizza · 02/11/2019 13:01

Where do the bookies get there profits from, which all the matched betters are sniffling a share of? That’s right - gamblers. A few of them make money. Most of them lose it

Quite. And why do bookies not clamp down extensively on matched betting?

Because it allows them to aggressively market their profitable casino games and slots for the peanuts it costs them in payouts (see their obscene profits) and draw in new gamblers who are going to keep their coffers bulging.

crustycrab · 02/11/2019 13:04

@mysticpizza bookies do stop matched betting if they spot it.

Matched betting doesn't "allow" then it "enable" them to do anything. It loses them money. They hate it.

You clearly don't understand it either. The bookies were perfectly fine pre-2000. They had offers back then when matched betting didn't exist. The same people that gambled then are the same people that gamble now.

Bugger all to do with matched bettors

woodchuck99 · 02/11/2019 13:06

Matched betting isn't gambling in the sense that you aren't risking money. Obviously the gambling industry are hoping to suck people in with it but that doesn't mean your DH has been sucked in. Whether or not about £20 is worth interrupting breakfast for is a matter of opinion but yours isn't any more valid than your DH's. I can see why he is annoyed about the fact that you keep telling him he is gambling even though you obviously haven't looked into it. You sound rather bossy.

woodchuck99 · 02/11/2019 13:08

Quite. And why do bookies not clamp down extensively on matched betting?

They do if they notice it!

safariboot · 02/11/2019 13:10

What matched betting is or isn't is irrelevant. What matters is:

He completely kicked off, shouting at me in front of DS and being very aggressive.

This is nasty behaviour by 'D'H whatever the supposed reason.

He's been doing match betting which I've asked him not to do from the start

On the one hand, if he's using his discretionary spending for matched betting then I think that's his business. If he's using joint money then that's another matter.

On the other hand, his money making scheme or side hustle or whatever you want to call it is now impacting on your family life. That's not something that should go undiscussed.

woodchuck99 · 02/11/2019 13:12

So a job that means your breakfast or another meal is very occasionally interrupted is unhealthy? I think that many people have unhealthy jobs then. I certainly sometimes have to postpone my meal by half an hour or so for work.

MotorwayDiva · 02/11/2019 13:12

Red flag on the aggressiveness. Whilst matched betting may not technically be gambling, it is free bets by a company wanting to make money from gambling.... So it's not gambling in the same way that eating a free chocolate sample is dieting...

woodchuck99 · 02/11/2019 13:14

On the other hand, his money making scheme or side hustle or whatever you want to call it is now impacting on your family life. That's not something that should go undiscussed.

If OP had said that every meal time is interrupted with this then I might see you point. However, making a big deal out of one breakfast being interrupted is ridiculous.

crustycrab · 02/11/2019 13:17

"So it's not gambling in the same way that eating a free chocolate sample is dieting..."

eh? That makes no sense.

No @MotorwayDiva it's not just "free bets". It is utilising those using maths to guarantee profits.

mysticpizza · 02/11/2019 13:24

bookies do stop matched betting if they spot it

Only if they think the account is making too much. At least one major bookie has indicated they don't have a problem with it in moderation and they won't be alone. The amount most people make is easily offset with the exposure to other forms of betting that comes with a bookmakers account.

woodchuck99 · 02/11/2019 13:30

From what I have read, they do stop people. Great if the don't though as far as I'm concerned (I have been looking into it but haven't got around to doing it yet). It's something to avoid if you are the sort of person that could become addicted but I am definitely not and wouldn't appreciate it if my spouse kept trying to stop me doing something that made money.

Freshprincess · 02/11/2019 13:31

It's not gambling but if it's not for you if you have an addictive personality. I've read many stories of people who get carried away, don't bother to lay £5 bets, just a couple more spins etc and find themselves in a hole. These are the people the bookies are making money off.

I havent done it in a year or so as the time sentivity of it was conflicting with familiy life. I can't say we'll be ten minutes late for the DCs swimming lesson because I have to get an in play bet on.

I would be a bit annoyed if I was trying to make money for the family and a partner shut me down. However the way he spoke to you is appalling.

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