Reload and extra-place offers explained
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This page explains two kinds of offer in plain terms. Reload offers are promotions for existing customers. Extra-place offers are each-way offers where a bookmaker pays out on more places than the exchange.
Match Sterling does not list live offers. There is no live offer database on this site, and no paid bookmaker referral links are active. Every figure below is illustrative. Bookmaker A and Exchange B are made-up names. Every example uses 2% exchange commission (the fee an exchange takes from net winnings).
If the words are new, start with the beginner guide and the glossary.
Reload offers
A reload offer is a promotion for a customer who already has an account. A welcome offer is for new customers. A reload offer comes later.
Reload offers are often specific to your account. Check two things before you start:
- Are you eligible? The offer may only show on your own account.
- Is the extra betting worth it? Each qualifying bet usually costs a little, so add up the qualifying costs before you start.
Illustrative reload example. These are placeholder figures. Assumptions: you place one £10 qualifying bet and receive a £5 SNR free bet. SNR means "stake not returned". If the free bet wins, you get the winnings only.
Qualifying bet: back £10 at 2.00 with Bookmaker A, lay at 2.04 on Exchange B.
- Lay stake = 10 × 2.00 ÷ (2.04 − 0.02) = 20 ÷ 2.02, about £9.90
- Liability = 9.90 × (2.04 − 1), about £10.30. Liability is what you lose on the exchange if the selection wins.
- Result either way: about −£0.30
Free bet: a £5 SNR free bet at 5.00 with Bookmaker A, laid at 5.20 on Exchange B.
- Lay stake = 5 × (5.00 − 1) ÷ (5.20 − 0.02) = 20 ÷ 5.18, about £3.86
- Liability = 3.86 × (5.20 − 1), about £16.21
- If the selection wins: +£20.00 − £16.21, about +£3.79
- If the selection loses: £3.86 × 0.98, about +£3.78
Across both steps, the net is about £3.48 to £3.49 at these prices. A smaller reward with the same qualifying cost keeps less overall. The SNR vs SR guide explains the two free-bet types in more detail.
Extra-place offers
An each-way bet is two bets of the same size. One is on the selection to win. The other is on it to place, which means finish in one of the paid places. The place part pays at a fraction of the win odds.
An extra-place offer is when the bookmaker pays one or more extra places. The exchange place market usually pays its own number of places. If your selection finishes in a place that the bookmaker pays but the exchange does not, your bookmaker place bet wins and your exchange place lay also wins. This page calls that a bookmaker-only place. The offer terms set how many places the bookmaker pays. Read them before you bet.
The each-way calculator works out the lay stakes and all four outcomes from prices you type. It does not load odds from anywhere.
Illustrative each-way example
These are illustrative prices, not a live offer. Assumptions: a cash each-way bet, place terms of 1/5 of the win odds, one flat commission rate of 2% and both lays fully matched at these prices. The bookmaker pays one more place than the exchange.
You place a £10 each-way bet at 5.00 with Bookmaker A. That is £10 on the win and £10 on the place, so the total stake is £20.
Place odds = 1 + (5.00 − 1) × 1/5 = 1.80.
You lay the win at 5.20 and the place at 1.90 on Exchange B.
- Win lay stake = 10 × 5.00 ÷ (5.20 − 0.02) = 50 ÷ 5.18, about £9.65
- Win liability = 9.65 × (5.20 − 1), about £40.53
- Place lay stake = 10 × 1.80 ÷ (1.90 − 0.02) = 18 ÷ 1.88, about £9.57
- Place liability = 9.57 × (1.90 − 1), about £8.61
- Cash for both sides = £20 + £40.53 + £8.61, about £69.14
Outcomes:
| Result | Working | About |
|---|---|---|
| Selection wins | +40.00 + 8.00 − 40.53 − 8.61 | −£1.14 |
| Places on both sites | −10.00 + 8.00 + 9.46 − 8.61 | −£1.15 |
| Does not place | −20.00 + 9.46 + 9.38 | −£1.16 |
| Bookmaker-only place | −10.00 + 8.00 + 9.46 + 9.38 | +£16.84 |
The first three rows are the cost of the bet. Every result is covered in those rows. The last row only happens if the selection finishes in the extra place. You cannot count on that.
What the each-way calculator does not handle
The each-way calculator does not handle:
- Dead heats
- Non-runners
- Rule 4 deductions
- Place terms that change when runners drop out
- Premium or tiered commission
- Exchange minimum stakes
- Free-bet each-way bets (stake not returned or stake returned)
- Underlay or overlay
If one of these applies, do not treat the result as a settlement. For a single back and lay, use the main calculator.
Risks that remain
Odds can move between your back and your lay. Lays can be part-matched, which means only part of your lay is taken on the exchange. Bookmakers and exchanges can settle results differently. Bookmakers can restrict accounts. Read lay liability before you fund the exchange, and record settled results in the profit log.
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