Matched Betting Calculator
Price the qualifying bet and what a free bet really extracts.
| Bet type | Locked result |
|---|---|
| If the bookmaker wins | −1.72 ₽ |
| If the exchange wins | −1.72 ₽ |
How it works
Matched betting has two halves. The qualifying bet is placed with your own money and laid off on an exchange, which costs a little; that small loss is the price of unlocking the offer. The free bet it releases is laid off the same way, and whatever the lay returns is yours to keep.
The rating is what makes offers comparable: a qualifying bet rated −4% costs 4% of the stake to place, while an SNR free bet rated 78% turns a 50-unit token into 39 units of cash. An SNR token lays off its profit only, which is why long odds suit it, whereas a stake-returned token behaves almost like cash.
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How the Matched Betting Calculator works
Matched betting extracts the cash value of a bookmaker's free bet by covering it on an exchange, so the result of the match stops mattering. This free matched betting calculator prices both halves of an offer — the qualifying bet you place with your own money and the free bet it unlocks — and rates each one as a percentage of its face value.
The qualifying bet
Most offers ask you to place and settle a real bet first. Back it at the bookmaker, lay the same selection on an exchange for a matching amount, and the two positions cancel: whichever side wins, you finish close to where you started. Close, but not exactly — the bookmaker's price is always a little shorter than the exchange's, and the exchange charges commission on winnings.
That gap is the qualifying loss, and it is the real cost of the offer. A rating of −3% means unlocking the free bet costs three units in every hundred staked. Set that against what the free bet is worth and you know whether the offer is worth doing at all.
SNR and SR free bets
A stake-not-returned (SNR) token pays the profit only: 50 at odds of 6.00 returns 250, not 300. Laying it therefore needs a smaller lay stake than a cash bet would, and the extraction rate climbs with the odds — which is why SNR tokens belong on long prices.
A stake-returned (SR) token behaves like cash and lays off at close to face value, so short odds are fine. The free-bet calculator covers that half on its own; here it sits beside the qualifying bet so you can add the two ratings together and read the offer's net value.
What to check before you stake
The liability, not the lay stake, is the money the exchange holds. At long odds a small lay ties up a large balance, and that is what limits how many offers you can run at once.
Prices move. If the bookmaker drifts after you have backed, the two sides no longer cancel and the calculator shows a gap between the outcomes — reprice the lay before placing it. Offers built on a rollover rather than a free bet are a different animal and belong in the bonus calculator, where the wagering requirement and the game's house edge do the damage.
FAQ
Is matched betting risk-free?expand_more
The arithmetic is, when both bets go on at the prices shown. The real risks are practical: a mistyped stake, a price that moves between the two legs, an offer that settles differently from how you read the terms, and accounts being limited or closed.
What is a good free-bet rating?expand_more
For an SNR token, 70–80% is normal and anything above 80% is strong. Qualifying bets usually cost 1–5% of the stake, so an offer returning 75% of a 50 free bet for a 2% qualifying loss nets roughly 36 units.
Why does the lay price need to be close to the back price?expand_more
The gap between the two is exactly what the position costs. A lay 5% above the back price eats most of what a good offer pays, so the tighter the gap, the better the rating.
Do I need a betting exchange?expand_more
For this method, yes: only an exchange lets you take the other side of a selection. Some bettors instead cover the remaining outcomes at a second bookmaker, which works but usually costs more.
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