What Is Matched Betting?

WHAT IS MATCHED BETTING?

Matched betting is based on a stock exchange model that allows punters to match both sides of a bet on the Internet - not only to back a horse, football team or golfer to win in the traditional manner but also to offer or lay odds that the selection will lose.

For the first time punters have been able to lay horses or teams just like a bookie – and they don't need a license.

The Matched Betting firm makes its money by acting as broker and charging a commission on every winning bet.

Matched betting is so popular because people are betting anonymously against other people, the odds tend to be much more generous that from the high street bookmakers like William Hill and Ladbrokes.

WHO ARE BETFAIR?

Betfair is largest by far of the Matched Betting or Betting Exchange companies.

Betfair is the fastest growing and most profitable internet company in Britain.

Betfair started trading in June 2000 and now matches over £52 million in bets every week and last year was reported to have made £25 million profit. Considerably better figures than dot.com darling – lastminute.com

Three years after its launch in a London attic, Betfair has 290 employees and an 80% share of the online betting exchange market, with 30,000 regular customers and 110,000 registered clients, whose average wager is £35 pounds or three times the typical wager at a High Street betting shop.

[source - www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,61051,00.html]

WHY BUY THIS BOOK?

In 3 years matched betting has developed from an idea to a hugely profitable business. The rate of acceleration suggests that turnover, both in profits and client numbers will continue to shoot skywards, especially as more of the nations 10 million regular punters learn how to use the exchanges.

This book is there to help them. A how-to section and diary of actual trading shows them what to do and how to make money.

This book is in at the infancy of the business and will dominate for the next few years as the business grows. It can be seen as the guidebook and bible of matched betting and will have the full support of Betfair, who will actively promote it to their 110,000 clients

Chapter Details

1: BIG GAMBLING – a monthly diary of punting, winning and losing dramatic sums.

2: THE START OF BETFAIR – how did it come about / chapter with the inventor – Andrew Black.

3,4,5,6,7: rugby and tennis – demonstrating how to and not to bet on them via an exchange like Betfair, punctuated with real-life events from major sports occasions like the US Open Tennis and Test matches.

8: RACING – the biggest chunk of the market accounting for 70% of Betfair's turnover. How to and what to look for, how an exchange can change your betting on the horses. Real life situations and gambles won and lost.

9: SCANDAL: Hugely topical with the news at present and the News of the World expose of corruption in racing. A staple of the evening news bulletins at present and dominating both sports and news pages of all the national newspapers. What is the mechanics of the scandal? Who is doing it, how long for and for how much? Proper analysis of cheating in sport and of course, the role of exchanges throughout. Are they part of it or just a medium abused by a few that need policing?

10: One month (March) - disciplined diary of each day's betting, demonstrating how to WIN money.

11: CONCLUSION –Summation of role of exchanges and why every punter should be using them. They have revolutionized betting and are threatening the dominance of the famous high street bookmaking chains.