Free Money

[generalbulldog]

For some reason the Nigerian scam popped into my head after reading through this thread.

Now carry on.

[0james0]

I think it's more of me being a poor teacher of it!

To be fair, I didn't get it for ages, but since it's clicked, I expect everyone to just understand! -obviously it doesn't work like that! -at me!

These guys explain it far better: READ HERE - Introductory Guide and FAQ - START HERE - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

You need to understand what a lay bet is, e.g (my bet earlier):

Liverpool vs Arsenal

I bet £20 with the bookie that it will finish 0-0

I bet £144.72 at Betfair that it won't finish 0-0 (so any score other than 0-0 is a winner)

These two bets cancel each other out, if one wins, the other loses. This means that I will break even (more or less).

Obviously breaking even isn't any good for making profit, but if you are breaking even and the bookie has given you a free bet, then you aren't breaking even, you are making profit.

There are two stages to each free bet, the qualifier (you lose a tiny bit) then the free bet where you will make around 80% of what ever the bet it.


The odds play a major role, you need the odds to be as close together as possible and for the free bet, you want the odds to be as high as you can afford, whilst still being close. Luckily there are free websites that do all of this for you

The hardest bit us understanding how it works and leaving your scepticism at the door of "if it looks too good to be true..........."


Take the time to read the guide in that link I gave you, if one of you gets it, everyone else will want to as you'll realise I'm not full of shit.

Like I said before, I'm not leading you down any affiliate links, I won't make any money if you do or don't do this, I just want to show people there is a way to beat the bookies risk free.

[0james0]

For some reason the Nigerian scam popped into my head after reading through this thread.

Now carry on.

When I first heard it I was convinced it was a scam, until a friend more or less forced me to learn, then I realised I was too sceptical for my own good and that had prevented me understanding it.

[0james0]

Read this article from the Guardian if you need help believing:

Free bets mean you can clean up as bookies meet their match | Money | The Guardian

I had never heard of matched betting until I read an article in Guardian Money headed Free World Cup bets offer chance to beat the bookies.

Initially it struck me as unlikely. I was a financial adviser for 10 years until I sold the business a year ago. I think I have a more critical and suspicious mind when it comes to money-making schemes, especially ones that purport to be risk free.

There is an old proverb that says: "In a bet there is a fool and a thief", and I'm not inclined to disagree. Could I really sit in front of my screen and make money from the bookies for nothing?

The answer, to my surprise, was yes. Over the past month I have researched and used every decent online free bet introductory offer from a bookie. I've taken up 31 offers so far – and I've made in the region of £770.

The money I have made has been absolutely risk free, it's not been about gambling but about playing the system – and it was inspired by Guardian Money. I don't even have to pay tax on my winnings.

That said, it has not been completely free. I have had to sit in front of my computer screen, spending an hour or so most days over the past five weeks, working through the offers. But even factoring that in, it works out at around £22 per hour tax free.

But whereas the original article suggested a couple of sports arbitrage websites for further reference this, in my opinion, was of no real practical help. During my research I found matched betting websites that told me which online offers to accept, and worked out all odds, types of bets, and amounts to place. They also gave the exact profit of each trade as well as offering cashback. This eliminated the risk of me getting my own betting figures wrong.

Any Google search will bring up matched betting sites, such as laymybet.co.uk and freebets4all.co.uk. They will pinpoint virtually every single free bet offer available. They also give you a list of the best qualifying bets related to the various bookmaker promotions. You are told how much to bet, which bookmaker to place the transaction with, how much to "lay" with Betfair, and what your overall profit will be. They will also let you know if your partner can access the free bets, too.

You might be wondering if I work for one of these sites – I don't. I don't really understand what their business model is, but they are a useful resource if you are going to try matched betting.

If you're not sure what matched betting is, you place a bookmaker bet on Team A to win (a "win" bet). You then bet via a betting exchange (such as Betfair) that Team A won't win (that is, loses or draws). This is called a "lay" bet.

Team A's eventual result is mainly irrelevant as you'll always have one bet that wins, and one bet that loses. If you follow correct guidelines you will make the same overall profit regardless of the betting result.

But are there risks that you might get it wrong?

First, it's important to understand that, even with matched betting, you will always lose a small percentage on every bet you make. Bookmakers always slightly load the odds in their favour, and Betfair will take a commission (generally 5%) from any winnings. However, by using the bookie's own money to wager with you can beat them at their own game.

My own experience confirmed that you can expect to convert around 60% of the free bet offered into take-home profit once the qualifying and follow-up free bets have settled.

Promotional deals differ from company to company, but I avoided anyone offering more than a free £50 wager (bigger deals generally have strings attached – such as rollover rules – which prevent you from immediately withdrawing winnings).

Don't ever gamble without having a counterbalancing lay bet. Otherwise this changes a statistical certainty into a basic punt.

Always check terms and conditions. Be wary of any rule preventing you from immediately withdrawing winnings. Make a simple spreadsheet with details of your betting history, and make a note of the user name and password for each bookmaker website you use.

And, crucially, once you have used up all the free bet deals, stop betting. This is a short term opportunity only! It will not make anybody rich. But there is still an easy, and guaranteed £500 or so available to anybody with a little time on their hands.

[0james0]

I did say I'd keep bloggin this to show my profit, haen't updated this for a while, but this is what I did last weekend:

edit: there is no easy way to post all ym bets up, you'll just have to take my word for it, made £140 last weekend.

I've already converted one person on here who now understands it and is making money