Matched Betting During Coronavirus: Does It Still Work?

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I often recommend matched betting as one of the best ways to make money online in the UK.

As I write, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many of us need extra cash more than ever.

But the catch is that all the sports are cancelled.

So matched betting is off the cards – right?

Well, with the football and other sports cancelled, matched betting has definitely slowed down a bit. But there are still profits to be made.

Whether you are already matched betting or thinking of getting started, here’s what you need to know about matched betting during Coronavirus.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. That means that if you sign up with any of the services mentioned in this post, I may earn a commission. Thanks for supporting my blog!

What is matched betting?

If you’ve never heard of matched betting, read this first. Otherwise, you can skip this section.

The first thing to say about matched betting is that it is not gambling! This is because it is based on calculations – not chance. When done correctly, you will not lose any money.

Matched betting is a way of exploiting the bookies’ free bet offers to make profit.

You use two different betting sites to cover all possible outcomes of a bet, then you can extract profit from the free bet offers.

For a full introduction to matched betting, see this post: How to Make Money Betting Online – WITHOUT Gambling

The other important thing to mention about matched betting is that it’s tax free!

This is because it counts as gambling/competition wins as far as HMRC are concerned, and these are not taxable.

You don’t need to register as self employed or declare your earnings from matched betting.

I am a member of this matched betting site that collects all the best deals and talks you through how to do it.

I strongly recommend using such a site, because it will save you time, and minimise your risk of making a mistake.

How can I do matched betting with no sports?

So, the football’s off. As is UK horse racing, and many other sports.

Can you still do matched betting during Covid-19?

While the options are definitely limited at the moment, you still have a few options. Here’s what’s still on in the matched betting world:

Casino offers

The main way to profit from matched betting with no sports is with the casino offers.

Most of the bookies have casino sections and they’re all still running their usual offers. It’s expected that they will increase the focus on casino offers with the sports off – hopefully with lots of new juicy offers!

Technically, the casino offers are not matched betting because you can’t apply the same calculations that you do with the odds on sports betting.

This means there is no guaranteed profit as with matched betting on sports. It’s more random and down to luck.

However, there are still lots of risk free and low risk casino offers you can do. These are mostly in the form of free spins on the slots.

And, because there are so many of these free spin offers, you stand a pretty good chance of hitting a big win.

Personally, I really enjoy doing the slots and I’ve had several bigger wins of between £200 and £700!

There are also offers such as free bingo cards and sometimes free chips to use on online casino games such as roulette. These are not always risk free though, so do check before signing up.

Outplayed.com (previously known as Profit Accumulator, the matched betting training site I use and recommend) has a list of all the casino sign up offers plus reload offers you can do under their ‘diamond membership’.

They are divided into risk free, low risk and medium risk offers. Outplayed also have training videos on best strategy and they are currently updating their casino section to make it even easier to use.

As always, although there are plenty of genuine risk-free offers, it is also possible to lose money if you do these wrong or if you don’t stop playing after using up the free offer credit. Please do not consider matched betting or casino offers if you have any history of addiction or gambling issues.

Bonus: free money from cashback sites!

If you sign up with any new casino/bookmaker sites, don’t forget to go through a cashback site for extra easy profit!

The main two cashback sites in the UK are

Both of these sites offer free cash when you sign up through their links.

Here’s a look at just some of the casino cashback offers currently available on TopCashback:

Please do look carefully at the T&Cs of each of these offers before taking part.

In some cases, although they offer a lot of cashback, you actually have to wager a certain amount of money before qualifying. So it’s not always a straightforward profit.

But in other cases, the cashback is bigger than the wagering requirement. So sometimes you can actually make some decent money just by signing up and taking part in the introductory offers.

International sports

Although the UK sports and European football are all off, there are still some sports going ahead.

At the time of writing, Irish and US horse racing is still going ahead. Plus, there are some foreign sports, such as the Turkish and Russian premier leagues, some South American football and Australian sports.

Of course, we don’t know how long these events will continue as the pandemic spreads around the world.

Also, I would not recommend betting on these sports if you are new to matched betting.

Firstly, I found horse racing offers are harder because the odds change quickly – not ideal when you’re learning the ropes!

Secondly, the more unusual sports can mark you out more easily as a matched bettor and increase your chance of getting gubbed (banned).

But if you have been doing matched betting for a while and your accounts are healthy, you can carry on as long as some kind of sport is taking place and the bookies are running offers!

E-sports

Some bookies offer e-sports and virtual sports. There are also some special offers you can use to make a profit with.

Personally I’ve never bet on e-sports so I can’t share my own experience. But my contact at Outplayed has said that e-sports are not affected at the moment.

And they predict an increase in offers, as bookmakers try to get their customers interested in these alternative sports!

So now seems like a good time to investigate the potential of making money with e-sports.

Is it matched betting still worth it right now?

At the end of the day, the bookies still want to make money and stay in operation. So, they’ll still be running whatever offers they can.

In fact, it’s likely they will increase their special offers, particularly on unusual/esports and on casinos/slots, to keep their customers engaged.

Of course, things can change daily at the moment. I will update this post if there are any major changes.

For now, here’s what I recommend:

If you are already matched betting:

If you are an Outplayed member, they are still updating their reloads section daily with the latest offers. You can also get great tips on the latest situation and offers in the forums.

Also, check this forum thread for chat specifically about coronavirus and matched betting (you have to be logged in to view).

Personally, if you are already matched betting, I would keep it up. There are fewer offers, but keep your eyes on the PA daily forum threads for the available offers as they come up. Try the casino sign ups if you haven’t already, and see what you think.

If you are new to matched betting:

If you are new to matched betting, you can start with the no risk casino sign up offers, combined with cashback sites, to make some quick profit. However, I would recommend holding off on sports matched betting at this time.

I always recommend going through Outplayed because they talk you through each offer and significantly reduce your risk. You also get free customer support from the Outplayed team directly and from other members in the forums.

You can always try going it alone, but in that case please be extra careful to read through all the small print and make sure you don’t get confused.

Other ways to make money online

If matched betting is not doing it for you at the moment, don’t worry – there are plenty of alternatives to matched betting to make money online!

Here are some ways to make extra cash from home:

OhMyDosh!

OhMyDosh! is a site where you can get paid to take part in special offers online. It pays very fast, especially if you concentrate on the ‘lightening payouts’ section.

Cashback

Cashback is similar to OhMyDosh but you have to complete 15 offers before cashing out. It can take a few weeks but you can expect to make around £150.

Survey sites

Paid online surveys are definitely not as high paying as matched betting, but they are a quick and easy way to start making money online that anyone can do. Here’s a roundup of the best paying survey sites.

…and more!

Take a look at these posts for lots more ideas:

Good luck out there and feel free to share experience with matched betting at this time.