Matched betting glossary

B

Back bet

A bet that an outcome will happen, placed with a bookmaker or on an exchange. In matched betting it is the bookmaker side of the bet.

Back odds

The odds you get for your back bet. Matched betting calculators use decimal odds, so 5/2 becomes 3.5.

Betting exchange

A site where people bet against each other rather than against a bookmaker, so you can lay as well as back. The exchange charges commission on winnings instead of setting the odds.

Bookmaker

A company that sets odds and takes back bets. Bookmakers offer the promotions matched betting uses and set the terms for them.

C

Commission

The exchange's fee on net winnings in a market, as a percentage. Commission comes off winning lay bets, which is why most qualifying bets show a small loss.

Conversion rate (retention)

The share of a free bet's face value you keep as cash after laying it. A £10 SNR free bet that locks in £7.93 has a 79% conversion rate.

D

Decimal odds

Odds that include the stake: a £1 bet at 3.0 returns £3 in total if it wins. Convert fractional odds with decimal = 1 + numerator ÷ denominator.

F

Fractional odds

UK-style odds such as 5/2 or 7/4 that show profit relative to stake. 7/4 is 2.75 in decimal odds.

Free bet

A bet credited by a bookmaker, usually after a qualifying bet. You don't lose your own money if it loses. Most are stake not returned (SNR).

L

Lay bet

A bet that an outcome will not happen, placed on a betting exchange. You act as the bookmaker: you win the backer's stake if the outcome doesn't happen and pay the liability if it does.

Lay odds

The odds you lay at on the exchange. Lay odds are usually a little higher than back odds; the smaller the gap, the less a qualifying bet costs.

Lay stake

The amount you lay. Sized so the result is about the same whichever side wins: for a cash bet, lay stake = back stake × back odds ÷ (lay odds − commission). How to calculate a lay stake

Liability

What you pay the exchange if your lay bet loses: lay stake × (lay odds − 1). You need this much in your exchange account to place the lay.

Liquidity

How much money is available to match at a given price on an exchange. Low liquidity leads to partial matches.

M

Matched betting

Backing an outcome at a bookmaker and laying the same outcome on an exchange, with stakes sized so the result is about the same whatever happens. Used with bookmaker promotions, it turns free bets into a small, predictable profit. What is matched betting?

O

Overlay

Laying more than the balanced lay stake, so more of the result lands if the lay wins. Common with refund offers. It favours one outcome.

P

Partial match

When only part of your lay bet is matched on the exchange. The unmatched part leaves you partly unhedged until you lay the remainder. Partial lay matches

Q

Qualifying bet

A cash bet you place to earn a promotion, usually a free bet. It is backed and laid so you lose only a little whatever the result.

Qualifying loss

The small amount a qualifying bet costs once it is backed and laid, caused by the gap between back and lay odds and by commission. For example −£0.45 on £10 at 3.0, laid at 3.1.

R

Refund offer

A promotion that gives you a free bet (or occasionally cash) if your bet loses, or in some other stated case. It is laid with a smaller stake that accounts for the refund's expected value. Refund offers

S

Settlement

Recording how a bet ended — back won, lay won, void or exact amounts — so only cash you actually made counts as profit. Record keeping

Stake not returned (SNR)

A free bet that pays only the winnings, not the free bet stake. Laid with lay stake = free bet × (back odds − 1) ÷ (lay odds − commission). SNR vs SR free bets

Stake returned (SR)

A free bet that pays the winnings plus the free bet stake. Worth close to its face value and laid like a qualifying bet. SNR vs SR free bets

U

Underlay

Laying less than the balanced lay stake, so more of the result lands if the back wins. It lowers liability but favours one outcome.

V

Void

A bet that is cancelled and returns its stake, for example if a match is abandoned or a runner is withdrawn. Check how each side settles: bookmakers and exchanges can have different rules.

Put the terms to work in the free matched betting calculator, or start with what matched betting is.