Advanced options
The lay stake balances the outcome so the result is (almost) the same whichever way the event goes: a small qualifying loss on real-money bets, a locked-in profit on free bets. Liability is what the exchange holds from your balance. You must be 18+ and bookmakers restrict accounts that do this successfully.
What The Matched Betting Calculator Works Out
- Lay stake: for a qualifying bet, back stake x back odds / (lay odds - commission); for a stake-not-returned free bet, back stake x (back odds - 1) / (lay odds - commission). Laying the same outcome at an exchange covers both results so the gamble is removed.
- Liability: lay stake x (lay odds - 1), the amount the exchange holds from your balance. Never leave a lay unmatched: an unmatched lay is how a risk-free bet becomes a real one.
- If the back bet wins / if the lay bet wins: the net position across both accounts. A qualifying bet resolves to a small known loss set by the gap between back and lay odds plus commission (about 45p on GBP 10 at 3.0 / 3.1 with 2% commission); a free bet converts to guaranteed cash, typically 70% to 80% of its face value at odds of 4.0 or higher.
- Lay approach (advanced): underlaying sets liability equal to the back winnings so the result is zero if the selection wins and the whole gain or loss lands if it loses; overlaying does the reverse. Useful for refund offers that only pay when the back bet loses.
- Free bet awarded (advanced): enter the free bet the promotion gives you plus the odds you expect to back and lay it at. Higher back odds retain more of a stake-not-returned free bet, which is why free bets are placed at 4.0 to 8.0 rather than short prices.
- Round the lay stake (advanced): exchanges accept pennies, but rounding to 10p or GBP 1 unbalances the two results slightly; the cards show the real figures after rounding.
- Match rating (advanced): the oddsmatcher quality score: the share of each pound you keep. 95% on a qualifying bet means a 5p loss per pound staked; 78% on a free bet means GBP 7.80 locked in per GBP 10 free bet.
- Overall profit from the offer (advanced): the guaranteed result of this bet plus the free bet profit, which is the figure that decides whether the promotion is worth doing. Profits are outside UK income tax, but bookmakers restrict ("gub") accounts that bet too shrewdly, so the introductory-offer well is finite.
- Outcome table (advanced): the bookmaker and exchange results for each outcome side by side. Errors (wrong odds format, laying the wrong market, in-play odds moving) are the real risk of loss, so check both lines before placing.
- 18+ only; please gamble responsibly. Matched betting shares its apps and adrenaline with real gambling; keep rigid records, never bet unmatched, and walk away if the line blurs.
Support: BeGambleAware.