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Matched Betting Calculator

Work out the lay stake and liability for a qualifying bet or a free bet, with exchange commission.

Odds in decimal, fractional or American. Commission as charged by your exchange.

Lay stake
£0.00
Liability
£0.00
OutcomeBookmakerExchangeTotal
Back bet wins---
Lay bet wins---
Results are for guidance. Your bookmaker's settlement and terms always apply.

How matched betting works

You back a selection with a bookmaker and lay the same selection on a betting exchange, so whatever happens the two bets roughly cancel out. A small loss on the qualifying bet unlocks a free bet, and laying the free bet turns most of its value into cash.

  • Qualifying bet: lay stake = back stake x back odds / (lay odds - commission).
  • Free bet, stake not returned (SNR): lay stake = free bet x (back odds - 1) / (lay odds - commission).
  • Free bet, stake returned (SR): lay stake = free bet x back odds / (lay odds - commission).

Liability is lay stake x (lay odds - 1): the money the exchange holds in case your lay loses. Make sure you have it in the exchange account before you lay. New to exchanges? Start with our guide to lay betting and how an exchange works, or work out a single lay on its own with the lay bet calculator.

Commission

Exchanges charge commission on net winnings. Type the rate for your exchange as a percentage. The calculator uses it to balance the lay so the result is the same whichever way the event goes.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, in small amounts by design (qualifying bets usually lose a little) and in larger amounts through mistakes: laying the wrong selection, the wrong stake, odds moving before you lay, or a bet being void at one side only. Check every stake before you place it.

For many people it is a steady side income while the sign-up offers last, but it takes time and care, and bookmakers can restrict accounts that only take offers. It is a way to extract offer value, not a way to beat the odds.

It depends on how many offers you can still take, how much time you put in and the size of your bank. The sign-up offers are finite, so earnings usually fall after the first months.

Stake not returned: when a free bet wins, you get the winnings but not the free bet stake itself. Most UK free bets work this way.

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