Matched Betting in Ireland

Many people have tried betting on sports over the years. Few of them remain profitable enough to turn betting into a full-time job. That’s because the traditional way of betting on sports is highly risky and carries the risk of losing money even if you’re an experienced punter.

Sports, unless fixed, can be pretty unpredictable. Teams on a winning streak can lose to struggling teams. Players known to score every week can have a bad day in the office. What’s more, injuries can happen and affect a team’s performance.

In other words, there’s no guarantee of making money through sports betting. Or is there? Discover how you could lock profits through matched betting regardless of what happens in a sports match, more so, if you like to bet on Irish football.

What is Matched Betting?

Matched betting is a legal way of gambling on sports that assures you of making a profit whether a team wins or loses. It works through back and lay bets—the unique betting method invented and popularized by Betfair.

Put simply, a back bet is a wager predicting a team, player or horse to win a competition. Let’s say you back Ireland to beat Scotland in a football match. If Ireland wins, you win cash. If it loses, you lose your bet.

A lay bet, by comparison, is a wager predicting a team not to win a match. For example, you can lay a bet for Ireland not to win against Scotland. If the match ends in a draw or a loss for Ireland, then your bet wins.

How to Make Money Through Matched Betting

Back and Lay betting has been around since the early 2000s. That means the concept of matched betting isn’t new either. It’s just getting popular. Matched betting works where free bets and bonuses are involved.

Let’s say you get a free bet from one of the betting sites listed at www.betinireland.ie/guide/type-of-bets/matched-betting/.  All the sportsbooks accept players from Ireland. They’re licensed and safe.

With your bonus, you can place a bet backing a specific team to win. Then you can deposit money on Betfair and lay a bet on the same team. Even if your bookmaker charges a small commission on your profit, you’ll still make money whether the team wins or loses.

Can you Lose Money Through Matched Betting?

Theoretically, all matched betting bets should help you make a profit. But sometimes you can make a mistake that leads a loss. This can happen in many occasions. For example, let’s say you choose a team whose back and lay odds are incredibly different.

You might win the match. But you could make a loss because the cost of laying the bet couldn’t produce enough money to cover your loss on the back bet. Another way you can lose money is claiming a bonus with too many wagering requirements.

Wagering requirements dictate the number of times you need to playthrough a bonus. If you have to spend a lot of cash to withdraw you bonus profits, you might end up losing more cash to a bookmaker than you withdraw.

How to Place Matched Betting Profitably

Except in rare occasions, you need two betting websites to complete a profitable matched bet. First, you need a sportsbook that supports both back and lay bets—Betfair is the most recommended option. Then you need a regular betting website to find bonuses and free bets. 

Traditional bookmakers like Williamhill, Bet365 and Betway allow you to back bets. But they don’t support lay betting. In other words, not only do you need one of these betting sites to get a bonus but you also need them to place your back bets.

As mentioned, a good matched bet involves a team with close odds for both back and lay betting. You can use a free odds matching tool to help you find the best games for matched betting.

That said, claim your free bet and use it to back a bet. In some betting websites, you must use your real money deposit before you can use the free bet. That’s alright. This gives you a chance to place two or more matched bets.

What’s a Qualifying Loss?

As mentioned, many betting websites have a rule that you must use your cash deposit before you can unlock their bonus. According to experts, matched betting using your deposit amount tends to attract a small loss called a qualifying loss.

Let’s say you use your deposit of €10 to back Liverpool to beat Manchester United in a game. On Betfair, you need to lay the bet with €10.75. With this example, you stand to lose 75 cents whether Liverpool wins or loses.

With that in mind, a qualifying loss is just a small risk you have to take to make money through matched betting. That’s because even if you lose 75 cents in the first round, you’ll have your bonus money and the remaining cash balance to help you lock a profit.

How Long Does It Take to Place a Matched Bet?

One of the best qualities of matched betting is that it is time saving. You don’t have to spend hours analyzing games. Instead, you only need to use a calculator to find great games for matches betting.

In Ireland, horse racing and football are the best sports for matched betting. However, you can also use the technique for rugby and hockey betting. All the same, the process of choosing games take less than 30 minutes.

Calculating your potential profits is also quick even when using more than one betting website. Find a matched betting calculator to do the math for you. Then you’ll know how much you’ll lose in the qualifying loss and how much profit to make through your bonus money.

Your Turn

Matched betting can help you make profits in sports betting. It works in many sports. But it’s particularly popular among football and horse race bettors. So, find a betting bonus and join Betfair to try it out. With some practice, it could become a viable additional way of making money. And since when did that become a bad thing?