I used to do matched betting as my main side hustle. In fact, this entire site was initially dedicated to the practice of rinsing bookmakers of free bets and free spin offers. But as time wore on, and bookie after bookie “gubbed” me or stake restricted me, it became increasingly difficult to make a consistent profit.
But it wasn’t just that. Even if I had my accounts, I would have quit anyway. Here’s why…
Matched Betting is No Longer a Viable Long Term Money Making Option
While the bookmakers have pretty much always known about matched betting, when it became an industry in its own right, they started to get more and more savvy about how to stop it.
The offers that matched bettors rely on for their profits have become fewer and further between, and the ones that are left are much harder to profit from. Standard “Bet X get Y” free bets have been replaced with accumulator-based free bets that are impossible to lay off at the exchange.
On the casino side, wagering requirements have increased, maximum bet sizes have been reduced, and some bookies have started excluding matched betting staple games like Starburst from bonus wagering altogether.
All of this has made matched betting much harder and less profitable than it used to be. Yes, there are still some people that make ridiculous sums from it every month. But they have access to several people’s accounts (multi-accounting) and they usually stray pretty heavily into the casino side of the business, which is not risk-free by any stretch of the imagination.
Yes, you can still sign up and rinse the bookmakers if you’re brand new to matched betting, but within six months, most of your accounts will be gone and then what? Back to square one.
Matched Betting is Boring
Another reason I’ve left matched betting behind is that it’s utterly tedious. The spreadsheets, the constant checking of odds, the looking for offers, and then the actual placing of bets.
It’s not fun, it’s not exciting, and it just becomes another job after a while. And I hate jobs. I much prefer to find ways to make money that are also enjoyable. I whiled away hours spinning online video slot games or live casino tables, and it was just so dull. Unless you have a spare laptop with auto-clicking software, I don’t know how people do it day-in and day-out.
To each their own, but matched betting is just not my cup of tea anymore.
Matched Betting Adds No Value to You or the World
This is probably the biggest one for me and is something former professional arber Sam Priestly has spoken a lot about. Matched betting adds no value to you or anyone else for that matter. It’s completely and utterly unfulfilling.
I didn’t want to define myself as someone who sits there looking at betting odds or an online slot game all day. I would find it embarrassing to talk about, and it’s one of the reasons I never told any of my friends and family about what I was doing.
When my freelance writing business took off, not only did it make me more money than matched betting ever could, but I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment too. I was creating something new each day, adding value to the world, and helping people in the process.
Today, every single day, there are people and businesses that depend on me and my services. That’s something matched betting could never give me.
Matched Betting is Unaccounted Income
Lastly, this isn’t actually a reason behind my stopping, but many people hit this stumbling block with matched betting, so I thought I would mention it. Basically, anything you earn is tax-free (yay!) but effectively unaccounted for – meaning it’s not income you can borrow against (think loan or mortgage).
We currently have a place to live, and although we do plan to move in the near future, this still isn’t really a concern of mine. That said, it’s another reason to not go back to it, as you can’t count that income towards any mortgage application.
I No Longer Do Matched Betting, But it Might be Worth a Try for You
So there you have it. Those are the reasons I no longer do matched betting. It was a great way to earn some extra cash when I was starting out on my making money online journey, but as my freelance writing business has grown, it’s no longer something I have time for or am interested in.
If you’re thinking of giving it a go, then by all means do, but don’t expect to earn fortunes (without multi-accounting or taking significant risks) – it’s just not that easy anymore.
If you want to learn more about matched betting and see whether it’s for you, then head over to the matched betting section of this site. You’ll find loads of information as well as the £500 to £5000 challenge, which should provide you with some useful reading material.