In February 2019, I started Matched betting as a way to supplement my income and a way to use my free time outside of my marketing placement more productively.

I dabbled into matched betting initially as an experiment to see if I could make a few hundred pounds (as many had claimed you could) to supplement my savings, and have found it to be a great side hustle for me, which in less than 6 months has made me over £1000 profit from a £10 initial investment.

So, What is Matched Betting?

Matched betting is a legal and tax-free way to use the offers that bookmakers ('bookies) give to new and existing customers. These offers can then be turned into a guaranteed profit thanks to matched betting and the use of betting exchanges.

Matched betting isn't a new concept and has been around for years. You may have even seen it written about on The Guardian Online in 2010

The amount of money that people make from matched betting varies and you may find on forums and on youtube some people who have made £10,000's . My profit is much more modest, but has been a slow learning curve to ensure that I have been able to get the most from my £10 investment, without making any costly mistakes.

How much money you can make from Matched betting can depend on how much you are willing to put into your matched betting pot in the first place, how much time you have and how many new accounts you are able to create.

From February 2019, when I started with £10, I have focused on slowly building my 'bank' (the funds you have to play with for matched betting) sustainably.  Before I started Matched betting, I carried out my research. I was sceptical of the method, whether it would work and whether I'd end up losing my money and that's where TeamProfit was great at getting me accustomed to the methods and terminology.

Team Profit is a Free Matched Betting Service, complete with a comprehensive blog, youtube channel and facebook community that makes starting out with Matched Betting easy.

When you're starting out with Matched Betting, it's easier to make money quickly with a larger initial 'bank'. TeamProfit's guides indicate how starting with £10 can earn you £800 in 3 months, starting with £25 can earn you £1000 in 3 months and starting with £100 can earn you £1000 in 2 months. In essence, with more money, to begin with, you can work through the welcome offers quicker, without having to wait for your money to be withdrawn from your bookmaker accounts.

It's also worth noting that creating a separate bank account to complete your Matched betting transactions is, in my opinion, essential to keep track of your earnings and avoid affecting your existing bank accounts with multiple bookmaker and exchange transactions. 

For my Matched betting I set up a Monzo account. This was quick and easy to do and it means that my money earned from my matched betting does not get mixed up with my other transactions. 

Using TeamProfit not only taught me about matched betting, but their Facebook group and blog allowed me to keep me up to date with the best offers and boosts available.

After completing all of the suggested welcome offers featured on TeamProfit, I found myself at a lul in my earnings. It was at this point that I signed up for an OddsMonkey subscription.  I don't believe this to be necessary in your first few months of matched betting, TeamProfit will contain the resources you need to get started, but OddsMonkey has definitely assisted in allowing me to boost my profits and find offers more easily.

Unlike TeamProfit, OddsMonkey is a paid subscription service to aid you in making profit through your matched betting. The most valuable resources within OddsMonkey are the daily offers lists, Odds Matching tools (which saves you the time manually searching for them) which allows you to focus on making money!

Before you pay for a membership with OddsMonkey, you can sign up for a 10 day trial for £1, allowing you to test the platform, access its more complex matched betting guides and decide if you are willing to commit to the platform. For me, I found that the platform pays for itself in the time you save, but also assists in making the most profits from your free bets.

Once you've got your account set up on TeamProfit and have read and watched all of their Matched betting guides, you will have access to all beginner guides.

During the start-up plans, you may find yourself waiting around for cash withdrawals from the bookies, particularly if you only start with £10, but as you build your bank, this problem will become less of an issue over time.

Take your time whilst you work through them, once you're familiar with how Matched Betting works now, you'll be ready to complete Reload offers.

Reload Offers can be similar to the welcome offers, very different to the original offers you completed. However, if completed correctly, they will have the same outcome – making you money! OddsMonkey have hundreds of Reload Offers listed on their website. It's important to not be too picky when it comes to picking offers and not to dismiss the smaller value offers. All £2 , £5, £10 profits add up, so it's worth getting on as many as you can.

Give it a go...

I'd recommend finding the plan that works best for you, your time available and your financial commitments. Take your time going through the plan, and if you have any questions that are not answered within the plan, you can use the TeamProfit live chat feature and they will answer any questions. As I've already mentioned, I started with a £10 investment and managed to pull that back out within a couple of weeks. Having been Matched Betting for over 6 months now, I've managed to earn over £1100 as additional tax-free income.

Want to find out more about Matched Betting? 

Find helpful guides over at TeamProfit, OddsMonkey or alternatively leave any questions you have in the comments below.

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