Your First Matched Bet
What you'll learn:
- A complete step-by-step walkthrough with real numbers
- How qualifying bets and free bets work in practice
- Exactly how much profit to expect from a typical offer
This walkthrough takes you through a typical sign-up offer step by step. We'll use a common example: “Bet £10, get £30 in free bets”. By the end, you'll understand exactly how matched betting works in practice.
Find a sign-up offer
Choose a bookmaker with a sign-up offer. For this example, the offer is: “Sign up and bet £10 to receive £30 in free bets.”
Place the qualifying bet (back)
Find an event with odds that are available on both the bookmaker and the exchange. Football matches with clear favourites often work well.
At the bookmaker, place a £10 back bet on your chosen outcome — say, “Arsenal to win” at odds of 3.0.
Place the qualifying bet (lay)
At the exchange, place a lay bet against the same outcome (“Arsenal NOT to win”) at similar odds. This covers you regardless of the result.
Because the odds are almost identical, you'll lose a very small amount on this qualifying bet — typically £0.50 to £1. This is the cost of unlocking the free bet.
Wait for the result
It doesn't matter who wins. One of your bets wins and the other loses by roughly the same amount. After the event settles, you'll have your free bet credited to your bookmaker account.
Convert the free bet into cash
Now repeat the same back/lay process, but this time use the £30 free bet at the bookmaker instead of your own money.
The key difference: with a free bet, you only receive the profit (not the stake back). At odds of 5.0, a £30 free bet returns £120 profit if it wins (£150 minus the £30 stake you don't get back).
By laying at the exchange, you lock in roughly 70–80% of the free bet value as guaranteed profit. On a £30 free bet, that's around £21–£24 profit.
Withdraw your profit
Once the bets have settled, withdraw your money from both the bookmaker and the exchange. Congratulations — you've completed your first matched bet!
Quick summary
| Step | What you do | Approx. result |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying bet | Back £10 at bookmaker, lay at exchange | -£0.50 small loss |
| Free bet | Back £30 free bet at bookmaker, lay at exchange | +£22 profit |
| Total | ~£21.50 profit |
What next?
Once you've completed your first offer, move on to the next bookmaker and repeat the process. Each sign-up offer typically yields £15–£30 in profit, and there are dozens of bookmakers with offers to work through.
Key takeaways
- A typical 'Bet £10, get £30' offer yields ~£21.50 profit
- The qualifying loss (~£0.50) is the cost of unlocking the free bet
- It doesn't matter who wins — all outcomes are covered
- Repeat the process with each bookmaker's sign-up offer