What is No-Risk Matched Betting?

What is matched betting?

The aim of a no risk matched betting strategy is to lock in profits from the various promotions offered by online betting sites. These promotions give you free bets, bonus funds and/or enhanced odds if you meet certain qualifying requirements.

A no risk matched betting strategy works by betting on a selection to win with a bookmaker (this is known as the back bet), and then using a betting exchange to bet against that outcome (known as laying the bet). So regardless of what happens in the market, you will have a winning bet in one place and a losing bet in the other.

Matched bets can be placed to either qualify for promotions (these are known as qualifying bets) or to guarantee a profit from your free bets and boosts.

Finding the most suitable no risk matched betting options requires an advanced mathematical equation that minimizes your qualifying losses and maximizes your free bet wins. To make life easier, matched betting sites provide calculators that do the hard work for you and find the very best betting options, as well as telling you exactly which stakes to use.

Matched betting: An example

If you are still wondering ‘what is matched betting?’, here is an example of how you can use matched betting to take advantage of a sports betting offer:

1. A welcome offer for a sports betting site states that you will receive a $50 free bet if you open an account, make a deposit and place a $20 bet on any sport.
2. The bookmaker has odds of +300 on Manchester United winning their game against Arsenal. Whilst a betting exchange is offering +304 against United winning.
3. You then deposit $20 at the bookmaker site and place the full amount on United winning. At the betting exchange, you place a lay bet on United using a stake of $19.74. If United win you will be liable for $40.27 at the exchange.
4. If Manchester United win, you will win $40 with the bookmaker. However, you will be $40.26 down at the exchange.
5. If Arsenal win you will be $20 down at the bookmaker's but make a profit of $19.74 at the exchange.
6. In both cases, you will have a qualifying loss of $0.26.
7. You are now eligible for the $50 free bet and can use a similar matched betting strategy to maximize your return.
8. In the same soccer game, Marcus Rashford is +1000 to score the first goal. This bet can be laid at an exchange at odds of +1100. To maximize your returns from this free bet, you need to place a lay stake of $40.90.
9. If you use your $50 free bet to back Rashford and he scores the first goal you will win $450 at the bookmakers, but lose $409.10 at the exchange. If anybody else scores the first goal or the game finishes 0-0 you will not make any money from your free bet at the bookmakers, but you will be $40.90 in profit at the exchange.

Regardless of whether Rashford scores first or not, you will have made a $40.90 profit from this matched betting football offer. Not bad for a few minutes' work!

Is matched betting possible in the United States?

Unfortunately, matched betting in the US is not a viable option. This is largely due to the Federal Wire Act of 1961, which makes it illegal for betting to take place across state lines. As such, any betting exchange would have to operate within a single state.

For example, somebody placing a bet in New Jersey would only be able to lay that bet in New Jersey. This creates the problem of a limited pool of potential players and low liquidity in the market. Consequently, a betting exchange would not have enough liquidity to be able to pay out on winning bets. For this reason, there are currently no legal betting exchanges in the United States, meaning that matched betting is not a viable option for gamblers.

Unfortunately, there are no current plans to amend or reverse the Federal Wire Act, so it is difficult to envisage matched betting being an option for US gamblers in the foreseeable future.

What is EV betting?

Whilst matched betting is not an available option for US sports bettors, there is an alternative that can also produce excellent returns - Expected Value (EV) betting. In this section, we will explore this option and explain how you can put together an EV betting strategy.

EV refers to the average amount you would expect to win if you placed the same bet at the same odds for an infinite number of times. Rather than looking at an individual bet, which can be subject to luck and other random occurrences, EV assesses the real long term value of a bet.

Positive EV means that if you place the same bet over and over again it will make a profit in the long term. However, negative EV indicates that a bet will lose in the long term. In both cases, short term outcomes may be different, but that does not mean that the EV is inaccurate.

You may be asking yourself if EV betting is profitable. The answer is yes, if you follow the rules and do it correctly. By using an EV betting calculator, you can discover which bets and promotions are the most profitable.

In the case of casino games, EV is fixed. For example, if you are dealt a hand of 20 in a game of blackjack, the positive EV can always be found by sticking. In a one-off game you can lose if the dealer is dealt blackjack, but over time sticking would give you an excellent profit.

How is value betting profitable?

When it comes to sports betting, EV is a lot more complicated to ascertain. Bookmakers are industry experts who consider a wide range of factors when putting together their odds. They also apply a ‘vig’ to the odds. This is a small commission that allows them to make a steady profit. This vig skews the odds in favor of the bookmakers and means that finding positive EV requires you to focus on free bets and enhanced odds.

Finding positive EV in sports betting markets requires a lot of work and sporting knowledge, but it is possible if you study markets and thoroughly research games. This research will enable you to discover which betting options have been priced at odds that give you a positive EV.

The next step is to work out the optimum stakes to place. This means you need to take into account the back odds, the likelihood of the selection winning and the amount you can bet. You also need to factor in the value of the free bet or odds boost - this gives you a much better chance of finding positive EV.

Clearly, this is a very difficult formula to equate and there are many factors to consider. However, there are EV betting experts and EV betting calculators that can find the best positive EV options for you and explain how to take advantage of them. So the answer to the question, is value betting profitable? is a resounding yes.

Conclusion - No risk matched betting

It is unfortunate that no risk matched betting is not available for US gamblers, as the strategy is an excellent way of locking in profits and ensuring a steady flow of wins.

That being said, an EV betting strategy can provide an excellent alternative to no risk matched betting and help you to land regular wins. Whilst it is not an entirely risk-free strategy it is eminently possible to regularly find positive EV betting options and make long term profits.

Although EV betting can be tricky to get your head around, there are specialist EV betting sites that can really help you enhance your EV betting experience and regularly find positive EV. Good luck!

1.877

Pick

898

Wins

21.5%

ROI

No risk matched betting FAQ