Gambling?
Gambling in its traditional form is not recommended by PTS. From the National Lottery to horse racing to casinos, the odds are stacked in favour of the bookmaker or house. The longer you gamble the more you are likely to lose. It is analogous to swimming against the tide. You may be able swim out a little way but ultimately that tide will drag you back to the shore - and beyond. This is in stark contrast to 'gambling' on shares. Stock markets fall, sometimes plummet, but always go on to new highs, and nothing beats stocks as an asset class over the long term. Investing in the stock market is analogous to swimming with the tide.
But returning to gambling, Matched Betting and Casino Bagging are two genuine ways to make low-risk gains out of the Bookie and the House respectively by exploiting loopholes - and gambling gains are tax-free. This page covers Matched Betting. For Casino Bagging go here.
Potential Annual Earnings
£3000 tax-free
Matched Betting - the what
Matched betting extracts free bets or cashback offers from bookmakers at very low risk. In order to attract new customers many bookmakers offer free bets, or cashback offers through the likes of Quidco or rpoints. With free bet offers a free bet will be provided after signing up and wagering an amount. The free bet is usually to the value of the initial wager up to a maximum limit. Other bookmakers will pay a commission for every new signup that wagers above a set amount. So signing up to bookies through Quidco or rpoints will earn you a commission, then matched betting will earn you bonuses. Once you've exhausted the Quidco/rpoints options there are many more bookies to exploit for bonuses only. The matched betting technique is to back an outcome at a bookmaker and lay the same outcome at a betting exchange such as Betfair. By both backing and laying the same outcome either the back will win or the lay, but they effectively cancel each other out, allowing the player to qualify for the free credit. Matched betting the free credit then releases the funds and secures a profit. Betting exchanges charge commission (5% at Betfair) and the odds at the betting exchange will usually be slighly higher than at the bookmaker. Both these factors mean that in practice the matched bet outcome will usually be a small loss, so the profit made will be slightly less than the amount of the free credit. Using a spreadsheet helps determine the value of the lay stake and calculate the outcome of a bet. Bookies continually put out new offers, so matched betting can be an on-going earner.
Pre-requisites: a) About £500 cash to play with - to extract the maximum from stake-not-returned bonuses you need to bet and lay on odds over 7 which means can mean playing £400+ in one go; b) Acceptance of a certain level of risk - the risk in Matched Betting is that you get the administration wrong with placing your bets, which on a £400 play can be costly - match your bets correctly though and there is no gambling risk; c) Analytical skills - you'll need to digest sometimes complex terms and conditions and you'll need to study and compare odds at length - you'll get help on both though from the forums.
Matched Betting - the how
1. First read the more comprehensive guides to Matched Betting here at MoneySavingExpert, here at FundMyDegree and here at BonusBaggers, to ensure you fully understand the process and all that is involved.
2. Next get yourself an email address specifically for Matched Betting. This is because you'll need to say yes to the marketing to ensure you get new bonus offers in your inbox so you're in for a lot of mail. Get a free email address through Yahoo, Gmail or set one up through your Microsoft Office Live Basics free domain.
3. Open an account with Quidco. Quidco is a cashback website. Sign up for on-line bookies through here and earn cashback. Quidco take an annual £5 out of your earnings. Before clicking through the links delete your old cookies and ensure cookies are enabled. Cashback will typically show up 1-2 months later.
4. Sign up to Rpoints. Rpoints is a cashback website like Quidco but also a gambling loopholes forum. Sign up for on-line bookies through here and earn points which can be traded for cash or vouchers. Register with rpoints to view the Beat The Bookie thread on the forum, otherwise it won't show.
5. Join the Moneysavingexpert forum for a Gambling Loopholes forum dedicated to Matched Betting. Very useful Stickies, tips and chat. Got a question to ask or want to check something? They'll help you out here.
6. Now download a matched betting spreadsheet which will do the calculations for you. You may prefer a simple one or an all-singing all-dancing one.
7. Use the Quidco link to click through to Betfair and then create an account. Deposit most of your available funds at Betfair.
8. Now sign up to your first bookie through Quidco, and deposit as per their bonus terms and conditions. Do your qualifier matched bet then your bonus matched bet, withdraw (if the winnings aren't at Betfair) and move on. Do all the bookies through Quidco as these give you both cashback AND the bonus. Here is a list of the best 20 bookies to start with - reliable, easy and most profitable (with thanks to Fella on MSE):
Exchanges:
Betfair (matching & signup bonus / aff bonus / referral bonus / regular offers)
Betdaq (signup bonus / aff bonus)
Betmate (matching)
WBX (matching, signup bonus & regular freebet offers)
Bookies: (All of these offer a signup bonus plus more)
Partybets (regular refund offers plus other one-off risk-free casino/gaming offers)
Gamebookers (regular refund offers)
ITVBets (regular refund offers)
Expekt (regular refund offers)
Winunited (regular double your winnings offers)
Bet24 (regular freebie offers)
Coral (occasional freebie / games offers)
Eurobet (occasional freebie / games offers)
Skybet (regular freebet & freechips offers)
Betfred (some WhatIf offers, occasional freebet / mobile offers)
Bet365 (4/1 offer, occasional loyalty offers / games offers)
Jenningsbet (CH4 freebet offer, occasional other offers)
PaddyPower (regular WhatIf refund offers / games offers)
VCBet (regular WhatIf offers, BeatVictor / some games offers)
BlueSQ (regular freebet / mobile offers)
Interwetten (reload offers & good for dutching)
9. Once you have exhausted these there are plenty more to be found in this comprehensive list. This list also states which are partner-friendly, meaning where you can open an account in your partner's name - some prevent you from opening a second account from the same household, IP address etc.
10. For listings of where the latest welcome free bet bonuses can be found, do a google search for "free bets uk" or visit Betrescue's website.
Tips
1. Bet on the football. On a Saturday there are a wealth of selections to peruse to find the best matched bet odds. Plus other sports, such as Tennis, have complications when it comes to matches not completing.
2. Place your bets a couple of hours before the action, as the odds will improve as more money is put on. Be aware that even then you may not find well matched odds and may have to settle for holding off until the mid-week games. Don't place bets if you are half-cut or exhausted, as you will be more prone to make an administration error, which could be costly. And do it in the peace and quiet so you can easily concentrate. If you are unsure about a pair of bets or anything related, post on the forums to sound out more experienced players' judgements, before executing.
3. For stake-returned bets low odds are OK, though some bookies' terms and conditions will state minimum qualifying odds so read carefully. For stake-not-returned bets the bonus extraction can only be maximised with odds over 7. For the best chance of finding odds over 7, look at the 'correct score' odds which are available on the big football games.
4. Where the terms and conditions state a wager-through requirement of say 3 times, you should be looking to lose at the bookie and win at Betfair on the first bet-through, to save the watering-down effect on your gains from wagering through more times. You can improve your chances of this by going for longer odds.
5. Sometimes you can find odds at Betfair that are less than at the Bookie - this is called an Arb. If it is by greater than 5% then you can make a profit on a matched bet, without any free bet bonus being involved at all. If you choose to pursue arbs, then you can maximise your chances of finding them by using betting shops on your high street, where odds are set several days ahead of the weekend (therefore they do not have the flexibility to ajust odds unlike on-line). You can get these odds by email from the Mabels-Tables yahoo group - join up here. You then lay on-line at Betfair as usual. Expect to be dashing between bookie shop and your home PC. More on Arbs below.
6. To sustain matched betting beyond the intial round of common open account offers: some bookies have reload offers where you can deposit a certain amount each week for a bonus; for large sporting events, most bookies will have special offers for existing account holders; move on to arbitrage betting and matched spreadbetting (see MSE forum for details); also new bookies appear as old ones close down. Good luck.
Arbs
Sports betting arbitraging - or arbs - is where betting market odds differ due to either bookies' different opinions on event outcomes or because of simple errors. Either by betting on all possible outcomes between the bookies or by buying and selling the same outcome (bet/lay) you are guaranteed a profit. You can only lose if one of the bookies refuses to honour the bet - which usually occurs where the stated odds is a clear error (so steer clear of 'too good to be true' odds that are obvious mistakes).
Betting on all possible outcomes means, for example, betting on a win in a singles tennis match for Nadal at one bookie and a win in the same match for Federer at another bookie, when the quoted odds differ significantly so that this results in a net profit to you. The Surebets section at Betbrain is a scraper for these opportunities.
Betting and laying the same outcome means using a betting exchange such as Betfair. There you can lay a bet, e.g. bet that Liverpool will beat Arsenal at a regular bookie and bet that that won't happen at the betting exchange. It is the mirror bet and if the odds at the betting exchange are less than the odds at the bookie you have an arb. Arbfinder is a scraper site for these opportunities. To extend your opportunities in this field, consider also betting shop arbs. High street betting shops publish fixed prices for the weekend or midweek sporting fixtures, which don't change - unlike on-line bookie prices which are dynamic. You can find out the full set of the major betting shop price lists by joining Yahoo group Mabels Tables - join up here to have them emailed to you. You then need to run your own checks against the on-line betting exchanges, find the arbs and then go place a bet at the betting shop before dashing home to place your lay at the on-line betting exchange.
If you are looking for bet/lay arbs then be aware that the betting exchanges charge 1-5% commission, so the arb has to be at least 5% to make a profit. A quick glance at the best current arbs on Arbfinder can reveal arbs of up to 30% - however you will notice that typically these are for correct scores on obscure matches - markets that will quickly highlight you as an arb-er to the bookies. Bookies will typically limit you if they suspect that is your pursuit so that you can no longer bet anything but with the tiniest amount of cash. So, aim for the arbs that are between 5-10% and that are on more popular markets. To do this, you will need to regularly check in on Arbfinder or Betbrain. However, even then, because these arbs are published for all to see, bookies can pick up on a rush of bets on the same small market and potentially mark you as an arber again. A more long-term solution then is to find your own arbs, but that takes time and patience. Establish which bookies tend to be a bit generous on certain sports and also understand that some events are likely to throw up arbs such as the early rounds of the UEFA cup and Champions League, or the FA and League cups when some clubs field reserve teams. If you choose to find your own arbs, then your time will be spent more profitably searching the Mables Tables enabled betting shop arbs.
Finally, be aware that a typical arb will earn a profit of say 2%. To make this lucrative you need to be making large bets so need to be well funded. Furthermore, you need to have cash available at a range of bookies, so that you can pounce on an arb wherever it appears.
Gambling scams
Either you are invited to buy a piece of software which promises to help you to beat the bookies, or you pay a fee to join an exclusive gambling syndicate which provides you with umpteen 'winning' tips each month. Having to pay out up front should set alarm bells ringing. There genuine ways to beat the bookie and beat the house are on this site and available for free.