Your first matched bet: a walkthrough of the classic “bet £10, get £10 free bet” offer

Guide reviewed 5 November 2026. The figures below are illustrative examples only, not a live bookmaker offer.

Matched betting pairs a bet at a bookmaker with an opposing bet on a betting exchange. Done carefully, the two sides largely cancel each other out, and you can keep most of the free bet’s value. It still involves real bets, real money and real risks. Odds can move, mistakes cost cash, and bookmakers can restrict accounts.

This walkthrough covers a typical beginner offer: place a £10 qualifying bet and receive a £10 free bet. The numbers below are illustrative examples only. Odds change, commission rates differ, and your results will vary. Put your own figures into the free calculator before you place anything. That calculator prices one lay for the whole bet. It does not price an extra lay after part of a lay has already matched.

Before you start

What you need

• Two accounts: one with a bookmaker (called Bookmaker A here) and one with a betting exchange (Exchange B).
• ID to hand: both sites may ask you to verify your identity, sometimes before you can withdraw.
• Funds in both places: £10 at Bookmaker A for the qualifying bet, plus enough at Exchange B to cover the liability. For this example, about £35 at the exchange covers either step comfortably.
• A debit card. Check the offer terms for which payment methods qualify.
• Decimal odds switched on at the bookmaker, so you can compare its odds directly with the exchange’s.

Back and lay in one line each

• Back bet: you bet that something will happen, as you would at any bookmaker.
• Lay bet: you bet that it will not happen. You act as the bookmaker, so if the selection wins you pay out. That payout is your liability.

Back a team at Bookmaker A, lay it on Exchange B, and every result is covered.

1. Read the T&Cs

Before you deposit, open the offer terms and check:

• Minimum odds. Many offers require odds of 1.50, 2.00 or similar. Bet below that and you may not get the free bet.
• Qualifying bet rules. Note any sports restrictions, whether each-way bets count, and any settlement deadline.
• Free bet expiry. Free bets often expire after seven days. Use yours while it is still live.
• SNR (stake not returned). Most UK free bets pay out only the winnings, not the stake. That changes how you lay them (see section 3).
• Payment method exclusions. Some offers exclude certain cards, e-wallets or prepaid methods. Use an allowed method, or the offer may be void.

If anything is unclear, stop and reread it.

2. Qualifying back and lay

The qualifying bet unlocks the free bet. You back a selection at the bookmaker and lay the same selection on the exchange, so a win on one side largely covers the loss on the other.

Pick a popular football match at odds just above the offer’s minimum. Popular markets tend to have close odds and plenty of money waiting on the exchange. The closer the two odds, the smaller your loss.

Example (qualifying bet)

Using the standard formula (lay stake = back stake × back odds ÷ (lay odds − commission)), the lay stake comes out at about £9.90. Your liability, which is what you lose on the exchange if the selection wins, is about £10.30.

Whichever side wins, the result of this step on its own is about −£0.30. That small loss is the usual cost of unlocking the free bet.

Placing it, in order

1. Check that the exchange has enough money available at your lay odds to match your full stake.
2. Place the back bet at Bookmaker A first.
3. Lay straight away on Exchange B, using the same selection and market.
4. Before you confirm, check that the liability the exchange shows matches the calculator.

If the odds move before any lay is matched

If none of the lay has matched, you can cancel that unmatched request. Put the new lay odds into the calculator and read the stake it gives for the whole back bet. Lay that stake only when nothing has matched yet. The calculator has no box for a stake already matched at an old price.

If some of the lay is already matched

Cancelling the unmatched remainder does not cancel the part that has already matched. That matched stake stays on, at the odds it matched at. Do not put the full back bet into the ordinary calculator and lay the stake it shows as an extra bet on top. That figure is the lay for the whole bet as if nothing had matched. It is not the additional lay.

Illustrative arithmetic only: a £10 cash back at 2.00, with £5 already matched at 2.04, and a new lay price of 2.10 at 2% commission. Given the full £10 and the new price of 2.10, the calculator shows a lay of about £9.62. That £9.62 is not the additional lay. The further stake that accounts for the £5 already matched is about £4.76, and both outcomes are then about −£0.44. Do not add £9.62 on top of the £5 already matched.

Match Sterling does not calculate that residual stake, and this is not a promise that a later lay will match or that the two sides will finish level. Account for every pound already matched with a partial-match method that uses the matched stake and its price, or leave the position and accept the exposure.

3. Free bet SNR lay

The free bet usually arrives once the qualifying bet settles, often within a day, although some bookmakers credit it straight away. If it has not appeared within the time the terms give, contact the bookmaker’s support team. Once it arrives, note the expiry date.

Because most free bets are SNR (stake not returned), you only receive the winnings if the back bet wins, so the lay stake is smaller than for a normal bet.

Example (SNR free bet)

SNR formula: lay stake = free bet × (back odds − 1) ÷ (lay odds − commission). That gives a lay stake of about £7.72 and a liability of about £32.42.

Outcomes for this step on its own:

• If the bookmaker bet wins: about +£7.58
• If the exchange bet wins: about +£7.57

Across both steps (the qualifying loss plus the free-bet result), the net is about £7.27. Higher free-bet odds usually mean a bit more profit, and lower odds a bit less. Higher odds also mean a higher liability, so check your exchange balance first. Recheck with the calculator.

4. Tracking results

Write everything down as you go:

• Offer name and expiry
• Back stake, odds and selection at Bookmaker A
• Lay stake, odds, liability and commission at Exchange B
• Qualifying result (usually a small loss)
• Free-bet stake, odds, lay details and final result

After settlement, compare your result with the calculator’s estimate. A difference of a penny or two is just rounding.

5. Common mistakes

Most beginner losses come from avoidable errors.

1. Badly matched odds. Backing at 2.00 and laying at much higher odds leaves a large gap between the two sides. Aim for close odds on both.
2. Laying the wrong stake. Normal bets and SNR free bets use different formulas.
3. Forgetting commission. Exchange commission reduces what you keep when the lay wins. Build it into the lay stake every time.
4. Odds moving. If the market moves before any lay is matched, lay the recalculated whole-bet stake straight away, or do not lay. If some of the lay is already matched, do not add the calculator’s full-bet stake on top.
5. Missing the T&Cs. Odds below the minimum, an excluded sport or the wrong payment method can void the free bet after you have already taken the qualifying loss.
6. Not enough at the exchange. If you cannot cover the liability, your back bet is left unprotected. Fund the exchange first.
7. Gubbing (account restrictions). Heavy or purely bonus-led activity can lead bookmakers to limit your stakes or stop sending you offers.

Matching your bets does not make any of these risks go away. Work slowly, double-check with the calculator, and only raise stakes once the process feels routine.

Next steps

• Withdraw what you do not need. Withdrawals usually go back to the method you paid in with.
• One offer at a time. Start the next offer only once this one is settled and recorded.
• Know when to stop. If you stop working carefully and checking the numbers, take a break.
• Try the £10 practice simulation before you use your own prices.

Use the calculator again on your next offer.

18+ | BeGambleAware.org | GamStop