Matched betting is a great tax free side hustle that can earn you thousands of pounds. With this fantastic side hustle you might be wondered if you can do matched betting for a living. In this post I am going to share the pros, cons and things to think about before you turn to matched betting for a living.
What is matched betting?
Matched betting is a way to make some serious guaranteed profit by utilising the free bet offers that bookmakers offer to both new and existing customers. It has turned into one of my favourite side hustles because it is a tax free way to make money.
You can do matched betting in one of two ways – you can complete all of the matched betting offers in a month or two to make £1,000 – £2,000, say for a holiday, Christmas or anything else you are saving for, or you could look to do matched betting long term. There is no right or wrong, but whatever you choose, matched betting can be really lucrative and it is a great side hustle to consider.
How much money I have made from matched betting?
Matched betting has been a great side hustle for me! By completing matched betting offers I've made a fair amount of money.
How Much Cash Have I Made?
You can see all my previous matched betting income below. Please note that from January 2017 I have been focusing on growing my business with a provable income, with a lot less time to dedicate to it:- Month 1 earnings – £1,430
- Month 2 earnings – £1,619
- Month 3 earnings (including a Q&A) – £849
- October 2015 earnings – £1,105 (Remember that month 3 also overlaps into October 2015 as I switched to reporting it per calendar month.)
- November 2015 earnings– £915
- December 2015 earnings – £1,347
- January 2016 earnings – £777
- February 2016 earnings – £393 (on holiday for 2 weeks)
- March 2016 earnings – £701.64
- April 2016 earnings – £622.36
- May 2016 earnings – £1,019.16
- June 2016 earnings – £447.18 (away for a week)
- July 2016 earnings – £689.52
- August 2016 earnings – £491.86
- September 2016 earnings – £279.29
- October 2016 earnings – £691.85
- November 2016 earnings – £773.74
- December 2016 – £0.00 (took a break)
- January 2017 – £473.43
- February 2017 – £514.97
- March 2017 – £214.12
- April 2017 – £394.76
- May 2017 – £481.25
- June 2017 – £249.68
- July 2017 – £158.73
- August 2017 – £301.58
- September 2017 – £427.61
- October 2017 – £203.83 (away for 2 weeks)
- November 2017 – £45.84 (away for most of the month)
- December 2017 – £187.24
- January 2018 – £349.54
- February 2018 – £223.39
- March 2018 – £493.01
- April 2018 – £189.31
- May 2018 – took a break
- June 2018 – took a break
- July 2018 – £139.32
- August 2018 – £301.65
- September 2018 – £121.94 (on holiday)
- October 2018 – £328.51
- November 2018 – £459.31
- December 2018 – £258.45
- January 2019 – £148.37
- February 2019 – £199.84
- March 2019 – £579.54
- April onwards – paused for a mortgage application
How much time you need to spend doing matched betting to make a full time wage?
For the purpose of this blog post, let's classify a full time wage as £1,000 – £1,500 a month.
In order to earn that from matched betting you can expect to spend 2 – 3 hours per day matched betting.
Remember that because matched betting is tax free, £1,500 is equivalent to a salary of over £20,000 before tax.
The pros of doing Matched betting for a living
One of the biggest pros for doing matched betting, either as a side hustle or for a living is that your matched betting earnings are tax free. This is because the UK Government doesn't currently tax gambling winnings, and although matched betting isn't gambling, the money you make is seen as ‘gambling winnings' in the eyes of the tax man. This can also be a big downside for matched betting for a living which I will expand upon further below.
You can also earn a full time wage from matched betting just 2 – 3 hours a day, which means that you will free up a lot of time to do other things – whether it is other side hustles, looking after your children or relatives or dossing about watching Netflix.
There is also a great community of matched bettors who you can talk to and share tips with in the Outplayed.com (Previously Outplayed.com (Previously Profit Accumulator)) forums.
The cons of matched betting for a living
Although matched betting earnings are tax free, which is a massive pro, you also need to think about your longer term financial goals. For example, if you want to get a mortgage then your matched betting earnings won't count as income because you aren't completing an annual tax return and paying taxes on them. The income also doesn't count for other lines of credit. Although you can match a full time wage with matched betting earnings, not having that proof of income could derail your future financial plans.
Doing any work for yourself means it can be hard to motivate yourself, and because matched betting can be done in just 2 – 3 hours a day you might find yourself at a loss or procrastinating. I definitely procrastinate when I have a whole day ahead of me, whereas if I have to get work done in just a couple of hours I am extremely productive.
In order to do matched betting for a living you will need to place bets on the weekends. You can expect about 50% of your profit to come from the weekend offers, meaning it is important that you are able to find some time to do matched betting on the weekends. This might mean shuffling your weekend activities around in order to earn decent money from matched betting.
Things to think about
I am always a fan of diversifying my income, and matched betting it just one of the many things I do that make up my income. There are plenty of reasons to diversify, from boredom to clients or earning websites going bust.
The same applies to doing matched betting for a living. You need to consider what could happen in the future (for example, getting gubbed) and think about different ways you can make money.
When you are making decent money from matched betting then you might want to consider becoming an affiliate, so that you can diversify your income and earn money by telling others about matched betting.
Full time matched betting schedule
If you are thinking of doing full time matched betting then you need to have a set routine. Here is what I would suggest:
Mornings:
- Look at new daily offers
- Complete offers
- Set alarms for any in play offers you need to do
- Mug bets
- Update your spreadsheet
Related:
- If matched betting is so good, why isn't everyone doing it?
- Can you do matched betting long term?
- 3 bank accounts for matched betting.
Afternoons:
- Complete the available horse racing refund offers
- Complete available accumulators
- Complete some casino offers
- Update your spreadsheet
Evenings:
- Complete any in-play bets
- Lay the following day's accumulator matched
- Complete more casino offers if you have time
- Update your spreadsheet
You will also need to be around at the weekend because this is the most profitable time to do matched betting.
Remember that just 2 – 3 hours a day will allow you to earn a full time wage from matched betting.
Free Monthly Matched Betting Calendar
Download your free monthly matched betting calendar to keep up to date with all the high-profile sporting events happening in 2021/2022.
Around the time of these events reload offers will be more frequent so print off this calendar and keep it to hand to boost your matched betting profits.
Complete your name and email address below to get your free download.
Join my Matched Betting Facebook group
I am really excited to let you know that my matched betting Facebook group is open to new members again! This group has nearly 5,000 matched betting members who support each other.
It is somewhere to ask questions and even celebrate your matched betting success. We would love you to come and join in!
Click here to join the Facebook Group
