Using the Free Bet Calculator

The free bet calculator is very straight forward to use once you understand the principle of matched betting, the layout of the calculator is shown below:

1. Here you enter how much the free bet is worth
2. Here you enter the odds of the back bet (the bookmaker bet)
3. Here you enter the odds of the lay bet (the exchange side of the bet)

Entering this figures into the calculator then shows how much you need to bet on the exchange to make your bet completely risk-free (so no money is lost regardless of the outcome). In the example above we would see the numbers below returned:

1. The stake amount entered for your exchange lay bet
2. The amount you will need in your betting exchange account
3. The total cash profit you will be guaranteed (regardless of the outcome of the bet)

That's great and everything but how does that even work? Below is a breakdown of how we will be guaranteed £15.97 of profit:

Outcome 1 - bookmaker bet wins: We will win a bet of odds at 6.0 (5/1) after staking a £20 free bet, returning £100 of winnings. But we will lose the exchange lay bet, losing us £84.05...£15.95 of overall profit.

Outcome 2 - bookmaker bet loses: We will lose our £20 free bet. But we will win our exchange lay bet of £15.97. And because it was a free bet and didn't lose any of our own money...£15.97 of overall profit.

If you want to learn more about the concept of matched betting and how to get bookmaker free bets in the first place with absolute no risk of losing money at all then you should check out our full matched betting guide section here: