Is Matched Betting Gambling?

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Matched Betting, often called Match Betting or Double Betting, is a process to guarantee profit from bookmaker free bets and promotions.

There are tens of thousands of people that use Matched Betting to make money online, but we have been asked is Matched Betting Gambling?

This is a fair question, as people that are new to Matched Betting may be wondering how you can place bets without any risk, but you need to read on.

If you are short on tine, I will advise you that Matched Betting is completely risk free, and it’s not gambling.

How can it not be gambling, if we are placing bets?

What Risks are involved with Matched Betting?

Yes, you are placing bets, I will admit that. However, your profits aren’t dependant on a result going your way… you will make profit regardless of the outcome. 

This means that whilst you are placing bets, you aren’t gambling.

I often called Matched Betting Risk free, which is 100% correct. You can only earn money from following the guides & backing and laying results.

However, there are certain risks involved with the variables around Matched Betting.

For example, if you were to back and lay the incorrect teams, that would leave you in a vulnerable position. You’re supposed to Back Liverpool and Lay Liverpool, but you may have backed Liverpool and laid Crystal Palace.

If Crystal Palace were to win, both of the above lose.

Also, In another scenario, you could back Liverpool and the odds could shift, meaning you don’t make as much profit from the free bet. (You’re still profiting, none the less).

So, whilst the process of Matched Betting is risk free on paper, there are rare circumstances which could cause risk to play a factor.

Is Matched Betting Gambling?

Matched Betting isn’t gambling. It’s probably the hardest thing to understand when starting out, and I actually waited 2 weeks before I could fully understand what I was doing.

Gambling is placing a bet and needing that result to win, in order to make a profit.

Matched Betting is placing two bets, on the same team TO win and NOT TO win. Regardless of the outcome, there is no scenario where you can’t profit.

The confusion is because we are signing up at bookmakers and placing bets, which is what alerts some people.

I have tried to explain Matched Betting so many times to family, but they still believe that Matched Betting is just original ‘betting’.

Maybe it would be better if Matched Betting was called something else, such as Matched Profits? 

Gateway to Gambling

I can understand that some people may be concerned with Matched Betting becoming a gateway to a gambling problem.

I certainly wouldn’t recommend Matched Betting to someone who has faced gambling issues in the past, or has a tendency of losing self-control.

It’s very easy to spend your free bets on punts. Why would you lock in £45 from a £50 free bet, when you can place a 10/1 accumulator bet, with the chance at winning big?

Self control is a must when Matched betting, you certainly need to look at the bigger picture.

Matched Betting offers have also got bigger recently, at my highest I was placing £3,000 bets on the 2up offers. It’s quite an odd feeling to bet £3,000 but feel like it’s just numbers on a screen.

Ok, there was no thrill, because I wasn’t actually gambling it, but even towards the end of my Matched Betting journey, I’d be more likely to punt the £20 Free bets on accumulators.