Matched betting is a type of wagering where you stake a certain amount of money on the outcome of an event with the aim of earning back what you stake plus some profit. While it can be pretty lucrative, you need to make sure that you are doing it legally and safely.
Legal Compliance
The first and most pressing step to take before getting started with any type of matched betting is to make sure that you are fully aware of and comply with all the legal requirements and restrictions imposed by the government, bookmakers, and participating sites.
The UK Gambling Commission enforces the laws that apply to online gambling. What this means is that, as an operator, you must adhere to a strict code of conduct and ensure that your websites follow the regulations governing gambling in the UK (and the countries where you operate).
Further to this, you must ensure that your services comply with all the gambling laws in the countries where you operate. This is typically a legal requirement but also a good idea from an operational standpoint as it helps prevent problems and minimises risks.
Security Compliance
Matched betting relies heavily on the security of an individual’s financial information. As such, an important step before getting involved in any type of matched betting scheme is to make sure that you have adopted and implemented appropriate security measures.
These include things such as strong passwords and two-factor authentication. In addition, you should ensure that your websites are protected by SSLs (secure sockets layers), up to date virus scanning software, and a firewall.
A significant number of cybercriminals target gambling websites because they believe that they can cleanse their wallets of the money that they’ve stashed away by illegally accessing these websites. In line with this, it’s vital that you do whatever you can to prevent unauthorised access to your accounts.
Technical Compliance
While it’s not necessary to have the most technologically up-to-date platform to operate a sports betting website, it is important to ensure that it’s compatible with all the various devices (e.g. desktop, tablet, and mobile) that the majority of your users will be accessing your site from.
This means that you need to test and make sure that the website responds appropriately across a range of devices. Otherwise, you could find that you’re not presenting your users with the best possible experience because your laptop’s screen is acting as a mirror to someone on their mobile device (e.g. tablet).
Outsourcing web design and devlopment to independent contractors is one way of ensuring that your sites are accessible from a range of devices. Doing this will not only improve the user experience but it will also help reduce the load and overhead that you have when building and maintaining your websites.
Health Compliance
Another essential step before getting involved in any type of matched betting is to make sure that you are completely fit and healthy. This means that you need to ensure that you are eating properly, sleeping enough, and that you are not abusing alcohol or other drugs. Not only is it likely that you will experience various health problems as you get older (e.g. obesity, insomnia, and liver disorders), but it’s also not good for your mental health to be constantly investing your money in uncertain ventures.
Taking these steps will not only reduce the chances of you experiencing problems later on, but it will also have a bearing on how successful you will be in your venture.
Research
As a rule of thumb, you should only get involved in a lucrative and potentially profitable matched betting scheme if you are confident that you can make significant profits from it. Simply put, if you are not sure how much you can make, then there’s no point in risking your own money in a vain attempt to find out.
To put it simply, you need to do your research before starting any type of business venture. This means that you have to scour the internet for material that can help you form an idea of how much money you can expect to make from your chosen sport or event. This can be anything from simple arithmetic to figuring out which bookmakers have the most generous cashback offers to statistical analysis of past games’ results.
What is crucial is that you find material that relates to your niche market. For example, if you are running a dog racing website, then you should look for material relating to dog racing, not bison slaughtering or car collecting. The more you know, the more you can play it safe and succeed.
Getting Started
Having covered the basics of legal compliance, security compliance, and technical compliance, let’s now dive into how to get started with matched betting in the first place. The first step is to identify the sports and/or events that you are interested in following. It is important to note here that you will not be able to make any kind of profit from sports or events that are banned in your country. (e.g. boxing, darts, and poker in the UK).
Having established which sports and/or events you are interested in following, the next step is to decide how much you are willing to risk on any given bet. Many online sportsbooks have generous limits when it comes to backing the home team in each of their fixtures. Meaning that if the home team wins, you could end up losing some or all of your initial stake.
Finally, once you have staked a certain amount of money, the last step is to make your selection. It is advisable to keep a close eye on the matches that you have chosen as they progress. Doing this will not only give you the opportunity to place more accurate bets, but it will also allow you to get a better feel for how each game is progressing. (e.g. If you are watching cricket, you can get a sense of how each test is going by monitoring the scores of the matches that you have chosen to follow).
In case you are wondering, yes, it is possible to make a passive income stream from sports betting. Simply accumulate enough money to get started on an offline business, and then use your resources to make money online. Doing this will not only allow you to diversify your portfolio, but it will also reduce the financial risk that you take on when betting online. For more information, check out this article from the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission.