Matched betting on the England Premier League can be very lucrative. Many of the “bet and get” and advantage play offers involve trying to scoop free bets in the range of £5 to £25, which of course add up to a nice profit at the end of the month. However, there are two football offers providing matched bettors with big rewards and have to be considered as ‘must play’ once you’ve earned a large betting bank.
William Hill 4 Means More promotion gives 15% winnings boost on live Premier League games, and other selected games throughout the season, if 4 or more goals are scored in the game. The offer applies to bets placed on any of three match markets; 90 minutes match betting (Home, Draw, Away), Both Teams to Score and Match Result & Both Teams To Score. Bets must be placed on selections at 1.5 odds or bigger and customers can receive an extra 15% on top of their winnings, paid in free bets up to £50 maximum.
The matched betting strategy for this offer is simply to place a bet on any of the qualifying markets, lay the selection on a betting exchange and hope the bet wins with four or more goals scored. You don’t have to be an avid follower of football to notice the number of high scoring games in the Premier League with Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool obliging on a regular basis.
2Up is a popular promotion offered on Paddy Power and a similar offer is available to selected bet365 customers who receive an invitation by email. With this offer, customers are paid straight away if their team leads by 2 goals at any stage of the game. It doesn’t matter if the team goes on to draw or lose the game, bets will be settled as winners.
This not a traditional free bet offer, winnings are paid in cash and there are two strategies that can be used to exploit the offer.
The first is simply to find a very close match on one of the teams to win the game and lay against the selection on a betting exchange. If the team goes two up, payment will be made soon after so hope the other side fight back for a draw or victory which means you’ll win both bets for a massive profit. It doesn’t happen a lot, but the rewards when it occurs make this an excellent money spinner.
The alternative method is to back and lay the selection as above but lock in a smaller profit if your team goes 2 up. Once the bookmaker pays out, you are effectively left with an unmatched lay bet on the exchange. You can bet your team again, this will reduce the exchange liability on the game to leave an overall profit whatever the result. Betfair and Smarkets have Cash Out and Trade Out options respectively which save having to calculate the ideal bet stake.
As with William Hill 4 Means More, the number of high scoring games in the Premier League means here are lots of opportunities to profit from 2Up offers. The key points to consider, it necessary to get very close or perfect matches to keep qualifying losses affordable. This is not normally an issue due the offers being available on high profile games where the betting margins are often very tight. Also, a large bank is required to maximise the offers. Expect to bet in hundreds or over one thousand sometime which makes these offers most suitable for experienced matched bettors.