Esports betting can be fun and exciting, but the journey won’t last for long if you don’t know what you’re doing or if you approach it the wrong way. As a newbie bettor, there’s a lot to learn before placing your first bet, from learning how to read esports betting odds to understanding how odds work and knowing how to avoid the biggest mistakes new and other bettors who are less experienced make.
There are even betting strategies that can help you, yet none can guarantee you will make a profit… or is there? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what no risk matched esports betting is, how you can use it, and how anyone can enjoy online gambling without risking anything.
Making money without risking anything might sound too good to be true, but bear with us. There is a way.
What Is No Risk Matched Betting
Matched betting is a unique betting strategy that can be used for esports and sports betting that will mathematically generate a profit without risking any money of your own. That might sound too good to be true, but while matched betting really works, there’s an asterisk to it, as you can’t expect to be able to use it continuously since it relies on the availability of betting bonuses and promotions.
Moreover, if you want to take advantage of matched betting, you’ll have to have access to a betting exchange, which will play an important role in this strategy. But before we go too deep into the finer details, you first need to understand how matched betting works, and what role betting exchanges play in the process of making more money for free.
How Does Matched Betting Work?
If you want to use matched betting to make some extra money on your esports betting journey, you first need to be familiar with the basics of how betting works and the terminology which we’ll use to explain the process. But as far as understanding betting terminology goes, there are only two terms you need to understand – what is a back and a lay bet.
A Back Bet
A “back” bet is a term any bettor is familiar with and is essentially a word that describes placing a bet. But if we’re more specific, a “back” bet is betting FOR a certain outcome to occur.
For example, Team Liquid to defeat TSM is a backing bet, where you’re predicting Team Liquid to win against TSM. If Liquid defeat their opponents, you win the bet and collect the winnings, whereas if TSM win, your bet will lose.
You can place a “back” bet on any bookmaker you desire – Bet365, Midnite, Rivalry, William Hill and other esports bookmakers.
A Lay Bet
A “lay” bet is a term only people who use betting exchanges are familiar with, while it might be a new word for casual bettors. As we’ve established a “back” bet is a bet on a certain event to occur; meanwhile, a “lay” bet is a bet against a certain outcome to be true.
For example, Team Liquid not to win against TSM is a lay bet. In contrast to a “back” bet, where you’re predicting which team will win, a lay bet allows you to bet against the team. So if a draw in a match between Team Liquid and TSM is possible, you’ll win your (lay) bet if Liquid either win or draw.
Now that you understand the two types of bets you can place, matched betting will make a lot more sense. Matched betting is a strategy which allows you to cancel out the risk on the “back” bet you make at online bookmakers by betting against yourself with a “lay” bet with the same esports betting odds on betting exchanges. This, in other words, means you’ve “matched” your bet.
How To Do Matched Betting?
Learning how matched betting works isn’t that difficult, but it can be much faster with an example, so here we’ll look at a step-by-step guide to how you can start with matched betting.
- You first need to open an account with a betting exchange and a bookmaker, so let’s say you open an account with Betfair (exchange) and William Hill. Betting exchanges will rarely give out any bonuses or a free bet, whereas the best esports bookmakers like William Hill will – in this example, William Hill offered €30 free bets for new users after you bet €10.
- Once you’ve set your accounts up, it’s time to find a match you want to bet on and make sure that the odds on Betfair (lay bet) and William Hill (back bet) are as close as they can get.
- Let’s say William Hill is offering 2.15 on G2 Esports to defeat Fnatic in the next League of Legends match, while the betting exchange has a lay offer at the same odds.
- Once you’ve located a match suited for matched betting, all you have to do is place a bet on G2 Esports with William Hill, and then go to a betting exchange and place a lay bet on the same team.
- After you’ve placed the bets, all you have to do is wait for the game to play out. You don’t even have to worry about the outcome, as it won’t matter if it’s G2 or the other team that wins since the sole purpose of this bet was to activate William Hill’s 30€ bonus.
- Let’s say G2 Esports win the game – meaning your bet on the exchange has lost, but your wager on William Hill has hi, returning you 21.5€ + 30€ in free bets (as a part of the promotion). This now leaves you with 51.3€ in wagering cash on William Hill and -10€ on Betfair.
Since no betting site will allow you to directly withdraw the bonus credits, you’ll be forced to bet with the 30€ you’ve been grated as a part of the promotion. But you can simply repeat the process as many times as needed to complete the rollover requirement.
Things To Know About Matched Betting
As we’ve learned, matched betting allows you to “match” your bet by first betting on a team to win with an online bookmaker and then betting against yourself with a “lay” bet on a betting exchange at the same odds. Yet there is one important thing to know, and that is that matched betting esports is only possible and effective if you have a free bet available.
The whole idea of matched betting is to put yourself in a position where no matter the result of the match, you’ll always make a profit, and that is only possible if a bookmaker gives you free money to bet with.
The problem with matched betting is that sooner or later, you’ll run out of free bet opportunities, so this definitely isn’t a strategy you can use to make long-term profits. Still, it’s a great way to bring in some short-term profit and gain some experience in how a free bet offer and betting exchanges work.
Earning 30€ for a few minutes of work isn’t much, but it sure beats stacking the shelves.
How Much Money Can I Make From Matched Betting
The amount of money you’ll earn with matched betting will depend solely on the accessibility of a free bet betting promotion and its size. The more esports betting sites you have access to and the better their free bet betting promotion is, the more money you can expect to earn.
Admittedly, you can’t expect to make a fortune with matched betting and this definitely isn’t an approach you can use to wager on esports long-term. But it’s a great way to make some extra cash with little work and no risk.
Alternative Esports Betting Strategies
Since matched betting is more of a short-term strategy that you can use for a while but then look for other ways to bet on esports, it’s fair to know which other betting options and strategies are there. And two of the most common strategies punters use to wager on esports teams and are readily available on any betting site are arbitrage betting and accumulators.
Arbitrage Betting
Arbitrage online betting or “arbing”, is a form of betting where you place multiple bets on the same esports events (such as LoL Worlds) or matches. Effectively you’re placing two bets on the same League of Legends game on some or all potential outcomes in order to make a profit.
Arbing is only possible because betting sites offer different odds on the same games, and sometimes, the betting lines and odds are so skewed that it creates a situation where you can place bets on all outcomes and guarantee profit.
Accumulators
Accumulators are far more common among esports fans and bettors and also far less complicated online betting strategy. Accumulators are essentially bets that combine multiple bets into one betting slip to increase the potential payout in contrast to single-match betting.
For example, instead of betting on three matches separately, you can combine the bets into an accumulator, which can net you a much higher return. One drawback of accumulator bets is that you need to accurately predict all selections for it to hit, but on a more positive note, you can use accumulators on any betting site you wish, and you don’t need to look for price gaps or free bet promotions or have access to a betting exchange.
Conclusion
Matched betting is an interesting innovation in the online gambling world that goes against everything we know about how you can’t bet without losing any cash. However, while it indeed allows you to earn extra cash without risking anything, it’s, unfortunately, not something you can do long-term.
You are free to do it to earn some extra cash, but long-term, you’ll have to bet on esport the same way as anyone else. Nevertheless, it’s definitely something all new esports bettors should try – especially if you still have available bets promotions available.
FAQ
Is matched betting worth doing?
Yes, matched betting is worth doing since it can earn you some extra cash with little work and without any risk. Unfortunately, this is not an approach that will work long-term but it’s a great way to get started.
Is Betting on esports illegal?
No, betting on esports is completely legal and nowadays accepted across most of the world. Moreover, esports betting is available on most online bookmakers, including esports bookies and traditional sportsbooks, making it very accessible. Some of the most popular esports include League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Is matched betting safe?
Matched betting is one of the safest betting options and ways to earn an additional free income online. It’s essentially wagering without any risk, and while the returns aren’t extremely high, it’s a good approach for earning extra cash quickly.
