Matched betting involves placing bets on different sporting events, so many people might wonder if matched betting is a form of gambling due to the need to place bets. However, since bettors have covered all outcomes and know the profit they will make by placing a successful matched bet, does this make it gambling? Here, we will look through whether matched betting is gambling, what gambling is and how other offers come into this debate.
What is Gambling?
When most people think of the word gambling, they will imagine sports betting and slot machines or brick-and-mortar casinos. However, it comes in many other ways that most people do not think about, such as the National Lottery, Bingo, Charity raffles, scratch cards and even casual wagers between friends. Whilst some of these forms are generally more accepted compared to sports betting, they still come under the umbrella of gambling.
The reason why these different topics are known as gambling is because they require a person to spend money in the chance of winning either more money or a prize without the prize being guaranteed. As the prize is not guaranteed, this makes it a gamble for players as they might be successful or unsuccessful.
What Makes Matched Betting Different To Gambling?
Matched Betting is known as a strategy that bettors can use to take advantage of bookmakers’ offers. When placing a matched bet, users will bet on both outcomes of the event, which are known as a back bet and a lay bet. If you want to learn more about lay bets, check out our lay bet guide.
As bettors will be placing stakes on both sides of the outcome through a bookmaker and a betting exchange, all of the outcomes will be covered, and the user will not lose money, no matter the outcome. For example, if there was a football game with Liverpool, users could bet on Liverpool winning at the bookmakers and Liverpool not winning at the betting exchange, meaning no matter what happens, the matched bet stake is successful. Matched betting is also applicable to other sports, such as Golf, Rugby, Cricket and more.
Matched betting also typically involves using offers, such as ‘Bet X Get X’ offers, which allow bettors to be awarded a free bet or a cash amount for betting or staking a certain amount. When using these, bettors are able to place matched bets with the free bet, making even more profit compared to using their own funds.
When comparing matched betting and gambling, matched betting has the same fundamentals as gambling, as bettors still must place bets at bookmakers and betting exchanges. However, there is no risk if users place their bets correctly. This means bettors are not gambling as they already know they cannot lose money.
Advanced Offers In Matched Betting
Once bettors become more and more experienced in the form of matched betting, they might begin to start moving on to the more advanced offers such as Extra Place offers and 2Up offers. These offers are not risk-free, as most of them do not lock in a profit and are simply better offers than what most bettors would be able to matched bet with.
Advanced offers work on the principle of expected value, which refers to the profit users can expect to make when taking advantage of these offers. This does not mean that this value will definitely be made, but it gives bettors the best chance of making this profit compared to simply placing random bets.
Even though matched betting is not gambling, it is important for bettors to remember that it still takes place in the gambling environment, meaning matched betting is not advised to those who have had gambling addictions in the past. There is plenty of help online that users can access if they are struggling to stay in control when betting.
Matched Betting At OddsMonkey
Despite not being a form of gambling, matched betting will only remove the chance of loss if it is done correctly. This is why using the tools at OddsMonkey is incredibly important, so make sure to use our matched betting calculator to ensure you are using the right odds and stakes to place matched bets correctly.
If bettors would like to delve deeper into the world of sports-matched betting, we have sport-specific guides like our football-matched betting guide, which offer brilliant insight into the world of matched betting!
