How Wagering Works
10 mins
Warning: Please avoid any offers that have a wagering until you have a decent sized bank as you may have to wager larger amounts requiring funds to cover the liability.
In a nutshell, A bonus is a cash amount added to your account, either upon your first deposit or your first bet. However, you can only withdraw once you have wagered a certain amount, known as the 'wagering requirement'. To complete the wagering requirement, we place multiple trigger bets.
Once you have reached the wagering requirement, you can then withdraw your bonus and your winnings. If you withdraw before reaching the wagering requirements, you will lose the bonus and any winnings. So never withdraw until you have reached the wagering requirement!
Let’s break this down.
What does it mean when you get a bonus that says it needs to be wagered for example 3 times?
If you were given a bonus for £10 for example that has a 3 times wagering, this means that you need to bet through £30 to turn that £10 into profit. So, step 1-
Place a £10 bet at or above the minimum odds and the bet goes on to win at the exchange. You are then done with the wagering and can withdraw the cash from the exchange.
If, however, the bet goes on to win at the bookie, you will have to wager again. So now you would have your winnings sat in your bookie account. With this, you would wager another £20 to complete your wagering. If you have less than £20 in the bookie, then wager what you have. If you have more, you don’t need to wager more than £20. If the wagering is a higher number than this, you can break this down into smaller bets depending on your bankroll.
How do I wager? What calculator do I use?
For wagering, you would use the normal mode on the calculator just like you would with a trigger bet. This is because bonuses are treated as cash and are stake returned. You would use normal mode on the calculator which will show you a small loss. This is the amount taken away from the bonus amount during the wagering. You want to keep this loss as low as possible in order to retain as much as possible from the bonus while making sure to meet the minimum odds.
How is the profit calculated?
Your profit is calculated as the bonus amount and then deducting any losses from wagering. So for example from your £10 bonus, you would deduct any losses from your initial trigger bet to receive the bonus. You would also deduct any losses wagering the bonus. The remaining amount is then your profit. Remember that the bonus wasn't your cash to begin with so whatever is left from it is yours to keep as profit!
Can I bet my bonus at high odds and hope it loses so I don’t have to wager?
This is a common approach that members attempt. Let's say on Mansionbet, you have your £100 cash balance and have been given a £50 bonus. You now have £150 in your account. You could bet £150 on a high odds team (and lay on the Exchange) and hope it loses.
If the bookmaker bet loses, this means the bonus has effectively transferred from your bookmaker to the Exchange. As you don't have any wagering requirements in the exchange,you have now made an immediate cash profit! BUT...
There are two risks:
1 The bet wins! Ouch, you now have won a lot in the bookmaker and lost a lot in the exchange as the odds were high, whilst only wagering a small amount. So you need to ensure you can cover the remaining wagering.
2 Gubbing!You wouldn’t look like a mug punter if you bet your full balance on a high odds team. Therefore, you will be more likely to be gubbed (no longer entitled to future free bets). Having said this, for low bonus offers it would not look too unusual for a recreational punter to bet £40 or £60 on one team, whereas for higher bonus offers betting £150 on one team is a large sum for any recreational punter.
Additionally, some matched betters who have had their stake limits heavily restricted (e.g. to £5 per bet) during the wagering for betting very large amounts e.g. their entire cash+bonus balance. This is relatively rare but it’s important to mention this.
It’s best to clear the wagering with a variety of smaller stakes. For example, if you have a £100 bonus, place bets varying from £25 to £50 trigger bets on popular leagues. There hasn’t been any major issues with this approach and always made a healthy profit!
Tip: Underlaying
If you do decide to put your full balance on a team with higher odds, then it is best to underlay. *You can find this on the calculator under the advanced mode.
This means if your bookmaker bet wins, you don't have any trigger bet loss, whereas if your bookmaker bet loses, you have a higher trigger bet loss than usual but you now have transferred the bonus to the exchange for a very nice profit!
Please note you only underlay for a bet with your full bonus balance, if you are betting with less than your full bonus balance, then just lay as normal.
How does wagering work on casino offers?
Just like with the sports, wagering on casino offers works similarly. Wagering requirements are the number of times that you have to play through a bonus before it will become withdrawable cash. Until you complete the wagering requirements, you won’t be able to withdraw the bonus or any winnings.
For example, let’s say you get a £10 bonus with 10x wagering requirements. You would need to wager £100 before the bonus became real money that could be withdrawn. That's a £10 bonus with 10x wagering =£100 wagering requirement.
Let’s break this down.
If you have a £10 bonus given to you from a bookie, this would make the offer risk free as you won’t be losing anything as the £10 bonus isn’t your actual cash.
Now, you start to spin on a slot with this bonus. Each spin size counts towards the wagering. As you spin, you eat away at the wagering requirement. As you collect wins along the way, this will help you to keep working away at the wagering requirement. Then, either 2 things can happen.
1. You bust and run out of cash. At this point, you STOP! You do not use your own cash or deposit cash to continue wagering. You have effectively finished with the bonus and broke even and have nor lost nor gained.
2. You make decent wins along the way and complete the wagering. Great! Whatever is left is now yours as profit.
Final tip: Always read the terms in order to avoid anything unexpected. If you’re ever unsure, do post in the Facebook group!
If you're yet to try casino and are interested in giving it a go, we would definitely recommend completing some Team Casino Welcome Offers (100+ offers worth £900+ expected profit). It is just £1 trial for 10 days on Team Casino.
Happy profiting folks!
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Got Questions?
Be a part of our awesome Matched Betting community!
Join our Facebook group now, home to over 35,000 Matched Bettors!
It's the perfect place to ask questions and get help!
New To Matched Betting?
We can't wait to help you start making tax-free cash from Matched Betting!
Head over to our free Tutorials to get started!