Is Matched Betting Dying?
Matched betting has risen hugely in popularity over the last five years, rising from obscurity to a much more common pursuit.
There is little doubt that most bookmarks are now fully aware of the practice, with an estimated 40-80,000 people matched betting in the UK. It won’t surprise bookmakers that their welcome offers and promotions get exploited.
The quick answer to the question being looked at here is no! Matched betting does not appear to be dying, nor is matched betting dead 2022! Similarly to online poker, which is continually predicted to end, it runs on and remains highly profitable to many.
But how long will matched betting last, and is it a guaranteed source of income for a would-be side hustler?
See our guide to getting started matched betting.
The End of the Road?
How Long will Matched Betting Last?
There does seem to be some anecdotal information to suggest that matched betting may be slowing down.
Matched betting in 2022 remains a lucrative way of earning extra income and an excellent choice for many.
It’s worth looking at the different aspects at play and why this topic brings about so much discussion.
Matched betting Dead 2022? Account Health & Being 'Gubbed'
To be gubbed is to have your bookmaker account restricted due to suspicions around your betting activity. For the matched bettor, this happens when a bookie works out that you have taken more value than an average punter (or ‘mug’), i.e. you have benefited too much from the promotions being offered alone or have acted in a way they think looks different.
Gubbing and trying to avoid gubbing understandably receives a lot of attention in the community. Still, it is just an unavoidable part of matched betting, and you will get banned from a bookmaker at some point (often after the first six months). Though never good news, it’s best to continue with your other accounts and not let it get you down.
So, how long will matched betting last if bookmakers get wise to the activity and ban more customers as a result?
There seems to be little evidence that there are now more gubbings. Still, at the very least, the nature of promotions offered is ever-changing, and this creates a real challenge to the matched bettor around ensuring guaranteed and sustainable profit.
All this is why being signed up to a matched betting service such as Profit Accumulator and OddsMonkey remains essential, as the service keeps you up to speed with the offers, so you don’t have to do it yourself (see the full OddsMonkey review and Oddsmonkey Review for further info). They also help you avoid common pitfalls and help keep your accounts as healthy as possible.
Many other sites and community members believe that bookmakers are getting better at identifying the people exploiting them and that more gubbings are occurring as a result. Still, there does not appear to be massive evidence for this.
Gubbing has always been a part of matched betting. Despite the various techniques to try and avoid them, it’s always been an eventual endpoint that only those multi-accounting seem to circumvent (the site suggests you shouldn’t consider doing anything outside of the terms and conditions for a site you sign up to). Personal experience alone has shown that most of your accounts can stay with you for many years with care.
Will there be an end to the bookmaker promotions to result in a risk of matched betting dying?
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Is Matched Betting Dying Due to an End to Promotions?
In 2017, there was publicity around the promotions offered by bookmakers and on the state of matched betting, multiple accounting and the future.
As detailed in the Guardian, this led to increased chatter about the eventual end of matched betting.
It tells how little impact there was from this. Despite the efforts (as referred to in the article) from Geoff Banks bookmakers who (in an open letter to the Gambling Commission) reflected upon how free bets and bonuses induced people to gamble.
It was pretty light on legitimate issues and seemed to merely show how one person in the industry / one small bookmaker was at odds with promotions and their use for matched betting.
Now years later, there appears to be little evidence of an end in sight for these promotions that continue to earn hundreds and thousands of pounds for matched bettors. If promotions continue, then it is hard to see how matched betting is at risk.
Matched betting is not dying, and there is little barrier to entry given you can start with as little as £50 and earn hundreds of pounds in your first month through welcome offers alone.
Matched betting is entirely legal in the UK, so for Bookmakers to effectively end matched betting, the only real way they could do this across the board would be to stop offering promotions. There seems no evidence that this will happen.
It’s simply way too competitive out there for bookmakers to stop trying to induce new starters to use their business. It is undoubtedly not feasible to see them forming together to try and stop the promotions that include part of their same strategy to try and get new customers to join them instead of their rivals.
For some bookmakers, matched bettors will always be small fry, and there doesn’t seem to be any concern about it, such as with bet 365 (a massively profitable company).
Matched bettors are earning huge profits at horse racing festivals.
Is Matched Betting Dying or is it still as Profitable in 2022?
In the community, when discussion on is matched betting dying takes place, there is undoubtedly a lot of talk about matched betting being not quite as profitable as it used to be.
Guesstimates currently state that new starters are perhaps earning approximately £500-£1,000 each month instead of £800-£2,000.
It may very well be that for those throwing everything at matched betting, the amount they earn is effectively capped at a reduced rate now and that the days of earning £3,000+ each month are firmly in the past.
Success and amount of profit with matched betting is all, of course, dependent upon your level of commitment and knowledge, especially of more advanced techniques, as well as the multi-accounting, which there is little doubt many full time matched bettors do.
On average, perhaps, profits may be dropping, and maybe that has been true for several years, but do expect profits remain sufficient for the average newcomer? Yes absolutely!
If at least £500 a month for a few hours a week seems reasonable, then it’s perfectly achievable in 2022.
Any thought of matched betting ‘dying’ appears for now at least to be massively premature, with little evidence to back up the suggestion.
There may be some anecdotal evidence for a reduction in the value of sports offers, such as more common £10-£20 free bets for new customers as opposed to the perhaps previously more common £50-£100 offers.
Bookmakers such as William Hill, Ladbrokes, Betfred, Sky, and bet 365 continue to offer generous sign-up offers.
Sky Bet also offer a great welcome deal (complete guidance here on this £24 profit), and Coral also, gives yet more evidence that matched betting is not dead in 2022.
Final Thoughts - Matched Betting is NOT Dying in 2022
Bookmakers are well aware of the value of their promotions and the competition they face from rival companies, resulting in a lower limit for free bet values, which reduces the risk that matched betting will massively reduce profitability.
For bookmakers to successfully entice new customers, they need to offer competitive rewards. So with no end to free bets, there should be no end to matched betting!
For profit after welcome offers, bet clubs also try to keep customers active, so it’s still in the minds of bookmakers to incentivise betting!
So, is matched betting dead 2022? Although, yes, matched betting may be becoming slightly less profitable, and bookmakers are well aware more alive to matched betting, and you may even be more likely to be gubbed, new bookmakers start up all the time!
Services such as Profit Accumulator and OddsMonkey consistently help you identify the promotions and matched betting opportunities you need to take in profit over and over, (see our overview of the best matched betting sites) both for welcome offers, reloads and daily offers, as well as more advanced strategies such as Early Payout 2ups, Extra Places. and Beaten by a Length.
Matched betting is not dying, or at least there are no real signs of that happening any time soon.
Matched betting is certainly not dead in 2022, and there is a lot of money to be made!