Matched betting at Betfair & Exchanges (2023)

Smart betting techniques like matched betting are not welcomed by the majority of bookmakers.

After being in this industry for long years, my personal opinion is that this behavior is not surprising. To be honest I’m not judging the bookies for this.

But Betfair is different in some ways. Keep reading and find out why is that.

Why most bookies are not allowing matched betting?

To understand the reason why most bookmakers are limiting matched bettors we have to dig deeper.

Their profit is generated by the profit margin on every market.

For example, they are offering an odd of 1.87 for over 2.5 goals on football. By giving an odd of 1.87 for under 2.5 too, if the stakes are equal on both sides, they are making 6.5% of profit from the whole amount of stakes.

This profit margin is making the average bettor lose in the long run. Every time they wager 100% of their money, 4% – 6% of it is lost.

So, if they are lucky enough, mathematically if the whole balance is wagered for enough times, it will slowly disappear.

With matched betting, on the other hand, you are looking for betting opportunities where this loss is close to 0 or even above it (arbitrage bets).

This fact by itself is increasing your chance of staying in profit. But because you are taking advantage of the bonus money, your only task is to complete the requirements for it with a minimal loss.

Matched bettors are following a smart strategy based on mathematics. They are not gamblers and this profit margin won’t affect them too much.

A matched bettor is placing the bare minimum of bets, that will allow him to withdraw the deposited money + bonus as soon as possible.

The bookie won’t have a chance to profit on these accounts in the long run.

As soon as a normal soft bookie figures out that you are betting only for bonuses it will limit your maximum stakes or you won’t get more bonus offers.

Is Betfair like the other bookmakers?

Betfair has two different kinds of sports betting platforms. The first one is similar to any other bookmaker. Offering a bonus and also odds to bet on.

Just like the other bookmakers on this platform they are making profits with the profit margin on every bet.

On the other hand, they are offering a betting exchange platform too. In the betting industry, they have become so well known because of this betting opportunity.

They made a platform where you can find almost the same matches and a lot of betting markets like at the other bookies.

But as you know, they made it possible for bettors to bet against each other. Every bettor can offer an odd and a maximum stake for it.

If someone else is accepting it, the bet will be settled.

No matter which player wins, Betfair will take a 5% – 6% commission from the winning side.

With this method, Betfair is making a profit without risking offering overpriced markets or wrong lines.

The only side that is taking risks are the bettors themselves.

The more people are using their platform the more profit they can generate.

With this strategy, they don’t have to be afraid of smart bettors.

Does Betfair allow matched betting?

Similar to other bookies Betfair is offering bonuses for new and existing customers too. But no matter how much you win, or you came for the bonus or not, your account won’t be limited.

You might think what is the reason they are accepting smart bettors. A lot of bonus hunters can come, take advantage of these bonuses and run with the profits.

Well, they are watching the big picture when offering these bonuses.

It is well known that Betfair is the basic bookmaker for matched bettors. The biggest reason is the peace of mind you get there.

An additional big sign for Betfair being matched betting friendly is that almost every software and blog is teaching new bettors to use them as the base bookie.

OddsMonkey Review: they are the best services in this industry of bonus hunting. Both of them are promoting Betfair as the best solution to hedge your bets.

Click on their names if you would like to read my reviews about them.

Reasons why Betfair allows matched betting:

1. Almost every matched bettor is using their services for hedging/covering the other outcomes

2. These bonus hunters are not opening accounts only for their bonus offers

It’s true that the bonus offer you can get at Betfair is not negligible. But the main reason for opening an exchange account is the possibility to cover any bet without caring about taking too high odds.

3. The more money a bettor wagers the more guaranteed profit the bookie can make

4. Having this smart bettors are welcomed mindset is attracting new customers

5. More smart bettor means more markets with enough liquidity (bettors to bet against with higher stakes)

6. Offering the peace of mind of not getting limited will result in returning clients

Only a few bookies like Pinnacle and Betfair are accepting any kind of betting strategy. The majority of bookmakers are limiting your accounts after some days or weeks if you are lucky enough.

This problem is slowing down or even making it impossible for the process to make a decent income from sports betting.

Knowing that no matter what kind of bets, leagues, markets you like to bet on, will make you come back every time you have hedged a bet safely.

7. Smart bettors like bonus hunters are keeping exchanges in the business

Conclusion:

Matched bettors are helping Betfair to grow, have enough liquidity on their markets. Besides, the players are generating profit for themselves and the exchange too. Accepting bonus hunters is a win-win situation for both sides.

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