Matched Betting Terminology

Get to grips with matched betting terminology. This glossary of terms related to matched betting, bookmakers, betting exchanges and casinos will help you on your way to regular monthly profits.

• Back Bet

  • Betting exchange term for betting on an outcome to win

• Bet

  • A transaction between bookmaker and customer. By placing a bet the customer risks a cash stake to predict the outcome of an event. If the prediction is successful, the bookmaker returns the stake plus winnings, if unsuccessful the bookmaker keeps the stake.

• Betting Exchange

  • A platform that allows customers to bet with each other. Betting Exchanges include Smarkets, Betfair, Matchbook, Betdaq and Bet Connect. Members can be a bookie by offering odds to any liability they are prepared to lose or the traditional punter requesting odds to any stake they are prepared to lose.

• Bonus

  • Funds added to an account which can be used to place bets. Similar to free bets but in some instances the stake is also returned on winning bets.

• Deposit

• An amount of money placed with a bookmaker or betting exchange which can be used to place bets.

• Commission

  • A fee paid to the betting exchange, typically on the winning side of a bet but it can be levied on the winner and loser.

• Decimal Odds

  • The decimal equivalent of bookmakers’ fractional odds. The decimal value includes the returned stake on winning bets. Eg 3.00 is the decimal equivalent of 2/1. To calculate decimal from fractional simply divide the 1st and second number of the fraction, and add 1. EG- 2/1 = 2, + 1 = 3.0. 15/2=7.5, +1 = 8.5.

• Free Bet

  • A free bet awarded by a bookmaker allows a bet to be placed without paying the stake. The customer receives full winnings if the bet wins but in most instances the stake is not included as none was placed in making the bet. Betting for free is how to make profit.

• Gubbed/Gubbing

  • A term used when bookmakers either restrict a betting account from taking part in offers and promotions or close the account for being unprofitable.

• Lay Bet

  • Betting exchange term of betting on an outcome not to win.

• Liability

  • The amount of money at risk if laying an outcome to lose or betting an outcome to win

• Liquidity

  • The amount of money available on a betting exchange to back or lay on a market

• Market

  • Selection of odds available on the outcome of an event. Eg ‘Match Result’ is a market on a football match, Home, Draw and Away are the selections available on the market. There are hundreds of markets to do matched betting on.

• Matched Betting

  • The term used for the system of betting used to use a bookmaker like William Hill against a betting Exchange like Betfair, and the term used on betting exchanges when all of the stake has been accepted. Variations on this term include match betting, matching bets, bet matching, online match betting, match bets, and more.

• Mug Bet

  • A standard bet placed with a bookmaker that is not related to an offer. Recommended to make match betting accounts appear normal and thus protect the account from being excluded from offers. Using high street bookmakers like Ladbrokes with your Grid card also helps preserve your account.

• Neteller

  • An online payment method, or ‘internet wallet’. Accepted by all major bookmakers and casinos it brings all payments details into one place and allows almost instantaneous transfer of funds from bank accounts and cards. Recommended for reloading accounts but sign up offers are not available to customers using Neteller to make their first deposit.

• Odds

  • The ratio between the bet stake and the potential winnings, traditionally given in the form of a fraction in the UK. Eg, 2/1 odds will give winnings of 2 times the stake or £2 for every £1 staked. Odds are often set to Fractional when you joun, you can change it to Decimal in Settings.

• Overlay

  • A standard bet and lay match will leave an equal profit or loss with both bookmaker and exchange. An overlay is staking a larger lay stake in order to lose less/win more on the exchange than with the bookmaker

• Qualifying Bet

  • A real money bet which must be placed before receiving a free bet or bonus.

• Rollover

  • The number of times a deposit and/or free bet/bonus amount must be wagered in order to qualify for a bonus or before making a cash withdrawal from the betting account.

• Skrill

  • An online payment method, or ‘internet wallet’. Accepted by all major bookmakers and casinos it brings all payments details into one place and allows almost instantaneous transfer of funds from bank accounts and cards. Recommended for reloading accounts but sign up offers are not available to customers using Neteller to make their first deposit..

• Stake

  • The amount of money placed on a bet.

• Stake Returned (SR)

  • Refers to instances when the stake on risk free bets or bonuses is returned to the customer along with winnings.

  Stake Not Returned (SNR)

  • Refers to instances when the stake on free bets or bonuses is not returned with winnings.

• Underlay

  • An underlay is staking a smaller than standard lay in order to lose less/win more with the bookmaker than the exchange, dependent on the result. Underlaid Qualfying winning bets can mean zero Qualifying Loss, or a higher one if it loses. An underlaid Free Bet that wins can extract 100% of the Free Bet Value.

• Unmatched Bet

  • The term used on betting exchanges when the stake has not been accepted. This may be if another player’s stake was accepted first or the player has submitted an offer yet to be accepted in some instances the stake may be partially matched leaving a portion still to be accepted, which can be corrected using Oddsmonkey's "Partial Lay" Calculator.

• Wagering Requirement

  • A condition placed on qualifying bets and/or free bets and bonuses. May include minimum odds and/or rollover requirement

• CASINO TERMINOLOGY

• Bust Out

  • Term for losing the bonus before meeting the wagering requirement

• Estimated Value (EV)

  • Based on probability theory, the average value of playing a bonus at a given RTP over an extended number of times.

• Return To Player (RTP)

  • The percentage of money bet on casino game that is returned to players over time.

• Variance

  • This describes the spread of payouts on casino games to a given RTP. eg a low variance game might return 95% of money wagered by frequently paying relatively small wins while a high variance game might return the same 95% RTP paying larger wins but on a less frequent basis.

• See our Casino Guide for full explanations on Variance, RTP and EV