Matched betting is a process that has been around for decades and many of those who started in the early 2000’s are still making money today.
It’s important to realise that over time, it’s likely that the strategies that you use to generate a profit will change and many are often forced to learn new money-making methods due to various reasons such as being gubbed, a lack of offers or simply looking for a better return for the time that they put in.
Matched Betting For Beginners
When you first start matched betting, you’ll have dozens of welcome offers to work through. These are offers given to new customers at online bookmakers and are usually in the form of free bets which are awarded in return for registering an account and placing your first bet.
In the early days of matched betting, sign up offers were extremely generous and large profits could be made from them. Today, there is still a lot of profit to be made but beginners will need to look out for certain terms and conditions which are often applied to promotions.
For example…
- Does the free bet or bonus have wagering requirements?
- Is there a cap on the free bet/bonus winnings?
- Does the free bet have to be used on a specific sport or market?
These questions can be quite daunting for newbies which is why joining a matched betting service such as OddsMonkey is essential as they provide step-by-step guides which show you exactly what you need to look out for and how to profit from each bookmaker sign up offer.
So, can you still make money from bookmaker free bet offers in 2022?
Absolutely!
In fact, even though the value of welcome offers have decreased slightly over the years, there are more bookmakers online now than there’s ever been which means that there are considerably more offers to take advantage of.
You can expect to make in the region of £1,000 profit from completing UK bookmaker sign up offers when matched betting correctly.
Reload Offers in 2022
Unfortunately, there are only so many online betting sites that you can register with in order to claim their welcome offers.
So how do you make money once you’ve exhausted all of your options?
Making £1,000 or so profit is nice but how do people make money from matched betting on a long-term basis?
The answer is with reload offers.
Welcome offers are given to entice new customers to sign up with a bookie. The bookmaker is happy as they’ve gained a new customer and you’re happy as you get a free bet or bonus for doing so.
However, bookmakers don’t just want to get your through the door. They want to keep you as a regular customer so that you place bets with them rather than their competitors.
One one of retaining customers is to offer them reload offers which can come in various forms such as:
- Bet £X Get £X free bet
- Price boosts
- Money back specials
- Extra Places
It’s possible to make a profit from all of the offer types above and the great news is that they’re often available on a daily basis!
Now for the bad part…
There aren’t as many of these offers available as there were maybe 10-15 years ago and they’re generally not as generous as they once were.
The online betting industry has grown to be extremely competitive. As mentioned earlier, there are A LOT more bookmakers online than there used to be and they’re all competing against each other.
As there are more bookies, customers are more spread out between them which has caused them to reduce their outgoings to maintain their profits.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t make a profit from reload offers anymore. There is still plenty of money to be made – just a little less than there used to be.
Savvy Bookies
Matched betting has become an increasingly popular way for average folk to make money online in their spare time. This is partly thanks to the matched betting services such as OddsMonkey and Profit Accumulator who make it easy for people to understand how it works and who provide tools such as a matched betting calculator to make the process as simple and as quick as possible.
However, as matched betting became more mainstream, bookies became more savvy and they now restrict more customers who they believe are using their services for matched betting purposes.
If a bookmaker suspects that you are matched betting, it’s likely that your account will be restricted in some way. This is known as a ‘gubbing’ or ‘being gubbed’.
Restrictions may include:
- Being restricted to placing very small stakes
- Being ineligible for offers & promotions
- Having your account closed
If you having your betting account restricted, it makes it very hard to make a profit. You may still be eligible for offers such as Extra Places and Best Odds Guaranteed which can still be profitable but the easy offers such as free bets and money back specials will likely be gone for that particular brand.
Adapt
There are actions that you can take to avoid your accounts being restricted and this is something that is important to learn from an early stage.
After all, for each bookmaker account you lose, you’ll lose profit every single week, month or year.
All of the top matched betting services provide guides on how to avoid being gubbed which is another reason to become a member, at least until you learn all the ins and outs of matched betting.
Another bit of advice is to learn more advanced matched betting strategies so that you are prepared should you be ineligible for free bets and other offers.
Betfair trading and arbitrage betting are two examples of advanced strategies which can be very profitable. They do take some learning but so does matched betting initially and so it’s worth expanding your knowledge on the various techniques and strategies that are widely used by the most successful matched bettors.
You’ll find that the forums and communities at sites such as OddsMonkey and Profit Accumulator can be extremely helpful in learning new strategies as members who are experienced in these areas are often more than happy to help others.
Summary
Matched betting has changed over the years. Betting offers may have a lower average value but they are still profitable in most cases.
Here are some top tips if you are considering getting started with matched betting in 2022:
- Join a matched betting service such as OddsMonkey, Profit Accumulator or Profit Maximiser
- Learn, learn & learn before placing your first bet so that you are prepared
- Apply anti-gubbing techniques from the very start
- Continue to learn new strategies to increase your profits