[Solved] Making a bit of money on the side!

Hi

I've removed the link as we don't allow links to businesses on here.

I can't see how this can be a sustainable income, as it's relying on companies offering free bets and there are only a limited number of these, and you don't actually need a sbscription to do what they are offering as far as I can see, This is a way go get sucked into gambling, which is something I'd be very wary off.

Hello Hilts,

I agree with actd.

My opinion is that I would steer clear of this web site and what they are offering. I believe it is a way to entice people to part with their money to become members and the amount they speak of which can be "earned in a month" is merely to entice people into gambling and believing the money is readily available which it is not.

I happened to read the link you posted and their Terms and Conditions before the moderator removed it. I would not touch it with a barge pole and would suggest you don't either.

The three well known turf accountants in the country offer these free bets and their Terms and Conditions need to be read and understood. You do not need to pay a membership fee either.

I believe the firm that advertised to you is no more than an unnecessary intermediary when it comes to matched betting and it's purpose is to get money from the unsuspecting..

I sincerely hope you have no dealings with them.

After seeing your thread I have a quick search for info, as I've not heard of matched betting before, I'm not a gambler though so it's no surprise that I hadn't! There's quite a bit of information about it on the web and the most informative is on the money saving experts website, there's a forum section for it! If I were you do a search there and read through the advice given.

Thanks for the responses!

Very interesting to hear others opinions on this matter.

I did actually have a look at money saving expert and read a fair bit of additional information around matched betting.

My conclusion from what I read and experienced was that, it is indeed not enough to sustain you as your only source of income. But it certainly makes you some money, i can't deny that!

@Mojo There are free guides as to how to do matched betting out there as you say but personally i found myself with more questions than answers following these guides.

@MotherofaFather - I completely hear what you are saying, i too read the the T&Cs and was immediately suspicious. But their free trial did not require the entry of either a valid email address or card details, so it is hard to see what scam they are pulling here. Honestly, having gone on their forum and chatted to other members, it does not seem like they are up to no good. But maybe my vision is somewhat clouded from making £38 on the free trial ha!

Totally understand about the link being taken down! Apologies for breaking the rules on that one! But I was hoping someone else would try the free trial as well just so i had their perspective - not that i don't appreciate the input so far!

Don't take any of this as a defence of Heads&Heads, but i am a big believer of innocent until proving guilty (even when the internet is involved). So i've decided to become the Dad.info matched betting guinea pig! I'll let you know how it goes next week and if it all goes wrong @MotherofaFather you can say 'i told you so' haha!

Thanks again for the replies!

Hello Hilts,

I would never say "I told you so." Each to his own, I can well understand your interest.

Head&Heads isn't one I have heard of and the fact it appears internet based caused alarm bells to ring for me especially as Betfair is (I think the main one) and used when betting with Corals, a high street bookmaker which to me would be more preferable.

I wish you well but please be careful, if it was that successful an enterprise everyone would be doing it.

Good luck!

I only jest 🙂

You seem far too nice to say anything of the sort!

I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to the gambling industry, but Heads&Heads is definitely not a bookmaker or betting exchange. I did some more research on the company, and they have only been in existence for 3 months or so .

I am going to give it a go for a good couple of weeks, then come back and give a full honest write up on the experience. At worst it will fill up a few boring hours during the week ha!

IF I give you my blessing shall I be on commission? lol

Doesn't the whole thing depend on betting companies giving free bets? And once you've used that (and if they'll let you draw it out without using up the free bet as a bet - which is presumablyt where the opposing bets comes in), yuo have to move on to the next betting company, so making any money depends on a supply of new betting companies, which must be reasonably limited in number.

This Finance thread seems to be more about child support payments and legal aid, so hopefully this is the right place to start such a topic.

I have a question.....

The other day i received a leaflet through my door that talked about something called matched betting from a company called Heads&Heads. Now let me start by saying I was pretty tempted to ignore it because lets face it, 99% of the stuff that comes through your letter box is rubbish! However it was a slow day and they had a free trial, so i gave it a go.

Having given it a go, it appears to actually work as a method to make some cash on the side.......However, i am still not convinced. I'm tempted to sign up as a paid member, however it would put my mind at ease if i knew other people had tried matched betting or come across Heads&Heads.

Thoughts?

From working in finance [finance hat on] I am familiar with this type of thing.

Basically - it is a form of what is known as "arbitrage". And in its simplest form, (in markets financial or otherwise) it goes like this.

I find a seller of Product X who wishes to sell 10 units of X at £1 each. I then find another person who wishes to buy 10 units of product X at £1.05p (or some other number similar but higher than £1). Assuming that the seller certainly will sell 10 units of X at £1 each, and assuming the buyer will certainly purchase the 10 units at £1.05 - I then buy the products and immediately sell them to the buyer making 5p per unit. So I have made 50p for "arbitrating" 10 units of product. There is no risk (i.e. my money was never at risk of being lost) (**) because I was reassured the seller would sell at a certain price and the buyer would buy at a certain price. I had no interest in the product, or if it is a good investment or even if the price was "correct". I only care that there is a difference in prices that I could exploit quickly.

Matched betting is basically "arbitration" of betting odds between bookmakers and perhaps a betting exchange. You actually have no interest in the event being bet upon - just that book makers and betting exchanges offer "inconsistent" odds for related events (basically).

Like most arbitrage - the opportunities tend to dwindle over time as more people (and the book makers themselves) become aware of this - and take some of the "arbitration profit" for themselves by adjusting the odds. Also, you may have to actually "outlay" quite a bit to actually make any worthwhile gains. In my example my products were £1. and £1.05. I spent £10 and got back £10.50. So my "outlay" was £10 and my profit 50p. Once you factor in the cost or commission - it can lead to quite small "margins" requiring enormous "outlays" to make anything decent back.

But it is a real "thing". The real risk here is becoming hooked on gambling - or doing "things you would not normally do" to be able to place huge bets to profit from small margins. Other sources of risk are 1. prices (or odds) changing or being voided before you have completed your trade. 2 Not taking account of costs/commissions correctly could mean that you end up making losses and simply paying commission to the book/makers and exchanges,

As actd says, I'd also be wary of any platform that depends upon free bets offered by companies (other 3rd parties)!
hope helps

@Actd

I thought that would be the case to. But there are these things called Reload Offers, which bookmakers do every week to existing members.....one assumes to keep said members hooked.

This appears to be how Matched Betting holds some degree of longevity.

The guy that owns the site sends out weekly emails with all the latest and 'best' reload offers. Quite impressive really.....seems like a hideous amount of work on his part but people seem to be making the most of it.

From working in finance [finance hat on] I am familiar with this type of thing.

Pretty much yes haha!

Not going to lie, unless i had already been on Heads&Heads, i would have made no sense of what you posted! Once you get your head around it, it's actually quite simple.

I promised to be the dummy for this 3rd party site (Heads&Heads), and so far, things are going well. I am currently on £139 profit, and apart from the odd spelling mistake in some of the offer copy, it is all rather impressive.

I'll refrain from completely recommending it to anyone yet. Want to give it a bit more time, just in case there is something unsavory hidden under the surface....so far though, it all looks legit.