Is Matched Betting Gambling?

The short answer is: no, Matched Betting is not gambling.

But what makes it different from gambling? After all, the word ‘betting’ is in the name - it seems obvious that it’s got something to do with gambling.

It’s very common for people to be sceptical when they first hear about Matched Betting, and it’s a sensible instinct. Scams are everywhere these days, so it’s very wise to approach anything you see online with the mantra of, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’.

Matched Betting, however, is the exception that proves the rule. It’s been covered by reliable publications including The Guardian, The Telegraph and VICE, which should help to reassure you that it’s definitely not a scam.

When done correctly, it really is risk free, and can be used to give your income a significant boost each month, making it one of the best side hustles out there.

If you’ve vaguely heard of Matched Betting but don’t really understand what it is, we’d recommend reading our complete guide to Matched Betting.

If you’re thinking about taking up Matched Betting but you’re concerned that it sounds like gambling, read on to find out how and why it differs from traditional gambling.

What Is Gambling?

By definition, gambling is: ‘the practice of risking money or other stakes in a game or bet’.

Source: Merriam Webster

For an activity to be considered gambling, it must involve three elements: the ‘consideration’ (the amount staked or wagered), risk (or chance), and a prize or return.

There has been gambling in some form for pretty much the entirety of human history.

Types of gambling

We may think of gambling mostly in terms of betting on sports or slot machines, but it actually encompasses an extremely wide range of activities. All of the following are forms of gambling:

• The National Lottery (and any other sort of lottery)

• Bingo

• Charity raffles or tombolas

• Poker nights

• Scratch cards

• Pay-to-enter competitions

• A casual wager between friends

We may consider some of these activities to be more harmless than others - very few people would frown on getting a raffle ticket at a village fete - but they nonetheless fall under the umbrella of ‘gambling’.

What Is Matched Betting?

Matched Betting, meanwhile, is a strategy that allows you to take advantage of the many offers bookmakers make to the public to encourage them to bet using their services.

‘Matching’ a bet means that you bet both for and against the outcome of an event. For example, you might bet that Liverpool win their next match, placing this as a ‘back’ bet with a bookmaker. You would then match that bet by also betting that Liverpool don’t win their next match, placing this as a ‘lay’ (against) bet with a betting exchange, such as BetFair.

This covers all possible outcomes of that event (because a draw would also count as Liverpool not winning the match), and ensures that you don’t lose any money.

Bookies are constantly advertising extremely generous offers to new customers who sign up to their services, which is how we can use this technique to make money. A bookie might offer you a £20 free bet if you sign up with them and place a £10 bet with your own money, for example. By matching your first bet, you break even - and you can then match the second (free) bet as well, and make your profit.

It sounds complicated to begin with, and if you’re not a person with a head for maths you might find it tricky to understand exactly how it works. The software works everything out for you, though, so all you need to do is place the amounts it tells you to, and the Outplayed free trial takes you step by step through every offer, allowing you to gain confidence as you go.

Common Types of Matched Betting

• ‘Bet and Get’ offers. This is the most common sort of offer you’ll see - a bookie will give you a reward of some sort if you make a qualifying bet first. These can be very straightforward - for example, bet £10 and get a £10 free bet - but you’ll also see more complex bet and get offers. For example, you might get a free bet only if your initial bet loses, or you might have to place your bet on a particular sport.

• Price boosts. These are offers where the bookie is offering better odds than normal for a particular event. If those odds are higher than the lay odds at the exchange, you can make an immediate profit from a single bet.

• Horse racing refunds. These are offers where you receive either a cash refund or a free bet in the event of your horse coming in a particular place, usually 2nd, or 2nd or 3rd. For more information about how to take advantage of these offers, check out our guide to racing refunds.

What’s The Difference Between Gambling And Matched Betting?

As we learnt above, gambling requires three elements: the consideration, the risk, and the prize or return.

When Matched Betting, we only hit two out of three - the consideration (our stake, when placing our matched bet), and the return (our eventual profit), but not the risk.

Gambling, by definition, involves risk - and the whole point of Matched Betting is to avoid it. By using our handy calculator, you’ll know in advance exactly how much you’ll make from each of your bets, so that no matter what the outcome is, you’ll have profited.

Luck and chance are an inherent part of gambling - but they don’t have any place in Matched Betting. You might be placing bets on gambling websites, but you’re cutting out any element of risk, which is what stops Matched Betting from being classifiable as gambling.

Despite that, though, Matched Betting does still come under ‘gambling’ for tax purposes, meaning that all your Matched Betting profits are completely tax free.

What About Advanced Offers?

As you become more experienced as a matched bettor, you may decide to move on to ‘advanced’ offers, which aren’t necessarily risk-free. Extra Place offers and 2UP offers, for example, allow you to make extremely large profits in the event of one particular outcome, but a small loss otherwise. Unlike the simpler beginner offers, a profit is not guaranteed - though in the long run, these offers can be highly profitable.

As risk does enter the equation, some of the more advanced offers can be considered gambling - however, as a matched bettor, you’d be operating on much sounder principles than simply hoping to get lucky.

Advanced offers work on the principle of ‘expected value’, which refers to the amount of profit you can expect to make, on average, from a particular bet. When you place bets of this kind in sufficient numbers, you can make statistically reliable profits of around the ‘expected value’ of a bet, resulting in good profits in the long term.

However, there can be much more variance in your success with these offers, and if you’re uncomfortable with any level of risk there’s no need to try your hand at them. You can comfortably make £300 - £1000 a month from regular Matched Betting, without any element of gambling at all.

Should You Try Matched Betting If You’ve Had A Gambling Addiction In The Past?

No, we strongly recommend that you do not take up Matched Betting if you’ve ever had problems with gambling addiction. Matched Betting may not be a form of gambling itself, but it requires you to place bets on bookmakers’ sites, exposing you to a gambling environment.

If you do find yourself struggling with gambling problems having started Matched Betting, get help. GamStop allows you to self-exclude from gambling sites and services, and GambleAware can provide you with support and advice.

Summary

Matched Betting is not inherently a form of gambling, even though it does involve betting and using bookmakers. If you stick to standard sign up and reload offers, you’ll always know exactly how much profit you stand to make no matter the outcome, with no element of risk.

Some more advanced types of Matched Betting can include a degree of risk and so, despite their relying more on mathematics than luck, can be considered a form of gambling. However, plenty of people never try these more advanced offers at all, and are still able to make substantial profits from Matched Betting without them.