When you are a member of a premium matched betting site, you will have access to a full list of promotions that you will be able to turn into guaranteed profit through matched betting. On our betting sites comparison page, you can drag and drop each website in order to compare by different factors, such as price and what tools are on offer to see which is the best option for you. The vast majority of these sites will list not only free bet offers, but also offers that provide a bonus in cash.
What are Bonus Offers?
These are offers that provide you with a bonus rather than a free bet. The way you qualify for offers like this can vary, as in some cases the bonus is credited to you after you have deposited a certain amount but some of the offers require you to deposit the cash and wager it once before the bonus will be given.
The main difference between a free bet and a bonus is that when using a free bet, the stake is not returned but when using a bonus, the stake is returned. So, when placing a free bet and the selection wins, you are credited with the winnings but the stake will not be included. When placing a bet with a bonus, the bonus stake is returned as well as the winnings.
The aim of bonus offers is essentially to lose as little of the bonus as possible before you are able to withdraw. The extra issue comes when you consider the rollover requirements that are often needed to play through before you can withdraw funds.
What are Rollover requirements?
A rollover requirement, sometimes known as a wagering requirement, is the number of times a deposit or bonus has to be wagered before you are able to withdraw the funds from your betting account. The rollover requirements will always be outlined clearly in the terms and conditions of any offer. For example, if the offer was deposit and bet £100 to get a £100 bonus with rollover requirements of 3x the deposit and bonus, you would have to place £600 worth of bets with the bookmaker before you would be able to withdraw the funds.
The rollover will be done once you have met the wagering requirements or once you have lost all of your bookmaker funds into your exchange account, whichever comes first.
How to complete Bonus Rollover offers
Before you begin a bonus offer you will need:
- A debit card to deposit funds
- A betting exchange account (Betfair, Smarkets)
- ID in order to verify your bookmaker account
- A matched betting calculator
An automatic odds matching tool such as those on offer on the free OddsMonkey trial and at Matched Bets will be very helpful, but you can still complete these offers without them.
Firstly, you need to make sure you have read through the terms and conditions of the relevant offer extremely thoroughly before you attempt to do anything. If you skip this step, it could be extremely costly for you. For example, you may have needed to input a promo code in order to qualify for the bonus, but if you have not read the terms and missed this then you will miss out on the bonus completely. It is even more important to read the terms for bonus offers than it is for free bet offers, as the knowing the rollover requirements before starting an offer is absolutely crucial.
When reading the terms, you will find out what the exact rollover requirements are for that offer. Another key point to consider is how much money you start with. You will need to make sure that your bank is large enough to complete the offer all the way through just in case your bets with the bookmaker keep winning. If you run out of funds part way through an offer then you may lose the bonus entirely and all of the wagering you have done will be lost. This is due to the fact that the bookies often give a time frame that the wagering needs to be complete by. It goes without saying that this mistake could cost you an awful lot of money.
You also need to be wary of the minimum odds. If you place a bet that is lower than the minimum odds listed in the terms of the offer, it will not count towards the wagering requirements. Most of the bonus offers available allow you to place all of your wagering bets on single selections, but again you must read the terms fully as in some cases they may specify that you have to place your rollover bets on multiple selections. In some cases you may find that there is a maximum stake for your rollover bets too.
Should you go for low odds or high odds?
The answer to this is dependant on a few factors. Going for low odds for your wagering has its plus points but so does going for high odds. For example if you go for low odds, you should be able to retain a greater amount of your bonus. However, lower odds mean an increased chance of the bookmaker bets winning, so you may have to complete the whole rollover. High odds on the other hand give you a better chance of losing the bonus straight away, giving you a profit into your exchange account. On the negative side, it may mean that you retain a smaller amount of the bonus when the offer is complete.
A Bonus Rollover example
Lets take a look at the Bet365 welcome offer as an example. This is an extremely lucrative promotion that can be turned into around £160 in profit through matched betting techniques. The bookmaker will give you a bonus of £200 when you register for and account an deposit £200. Please note that this is for new customers of Bet365 only. The wagering requirements state that 3x the deposit and bonus amount must be rolled over before a withdrawal can be made, therefore £1200 in bets will need to be placed if the full wagering is required.
Before you place your qualifying bet, you must enter a promotional code which will be sent to you by email. This has to be done within seven days of making your first deposit. Once you have done this, you can then move on to placing your qualifying bet. This must be done as the terms indicate that you must wager the deposit amount once before receiving the bonus amount. In order to find the best match for your qualifying bet, you can use an automatic odds matching tool if you have access to one. If not, try to find a match between the odds on Bet365 and those on the exchange that have a difference of 0.05 or less. This means that they are above a 95% match.
Then, using a matched betting calculator on normal or qualifying mode, enter the relevant details such as the back odds for the selection, the back stake, the lay odds and commission percentage. The calculator will then automatically work out the ideal lay stake that you will need to place on the betting exchange in order to keep any losses to a minimum and maximise profits in the end. It is also crucial to check that the liability shown does not exceed the amount you currently have in your exchange account. If it does, either deposit more funds into the exchange or look for a selection with a lower liability.
As with any offer, make sure that there is enough liquidity (the amount of money available to lay) in the market on the exchange. Always place your bet with the bookie first, and then confirm your lay bet at the exchange. You will make a small loss from the qualifier, but it should be no more than £5. If the bet loses then you will have the £200 bonus amount in your Bet365 account which we will the hope to lose as quickly as we can. If the bet wins, you will need to attempt the first bet of the wagering before withdrawing.
The wagering must then be complete within 90 days otherwise all bonus funds will be lost. For the first of the wagering bets, you will need to use the normal option on a matched betting calculator and once a selection has been found simply input all the required details. If the qualifying bet and first of the wagering bets both lost, you will have made your profit on the exchange and will be done with the offer. If each of the bets wins with Bet365, you will have to either place another £800 worth of bets to complete the wagering or lose the balance, whichever is first.
Choosing the closest match possible to the minimum odds of 1.5 will help minimise your losses, but it will make it more likely that your bookmaker bets win, forcing you to complete the wagering.
Key points to Bonus offers
- Always read the terms and conditions thoroughly
- Use a matched betting calculator
- Decide whether you wish to use lower or higher odds
- Make sure you have a large enough bank to cover the potential wagering