Most of the world’s top online sports bookmakers compete for new customers by offering free bets based on some matching percentage of the player’s first real cash bet. While that sounds great, the free bet amount only has value if the bettor wins that fleeting first bet. Otherwise, they get a free bet while already in the hole.

There’s a revolutionary new strategy for capturing bonuses without having to take a significant risk with the first bet requirement. The strategy is called “bonus bagging.” Unibet sign up offers a standard matched betting strategy, the bettor can earn the right to the bonus amount with little to no risk.

Using Matched Betting to Secure Bonuses

The matched betting concept requires that the punter opens two separate wagering accounts for two very different purposes. A traditional wagering account is needed with the targeted bookmaker (the one offering the bonus) to make back bets (backing a team or side) while a betting exchange account is needed to post lay bets (acting as the bookmaker and posting odds).

Using these two accounts, the punter will eventually end up with bets on both sides of the same bet, meaning the same team in the same game or event. As long as the back and lay bets are close to equal in value, the punter stands to come close to breaking even. However, they also fulfill the first real cash bet requirement on the traditional wagering account, which earns them the bonus with close to no risk, maybe even a small profit.

A Practical Example

Let’s say a top online bookmaker has posted an offer of up to £100 in free bets if the bettor makes a real cash bet of equal value. Here’s how the bettor can earn that £100 in free bets with little to no risk.

The targeted Premier League match will be the one between Liverpool and Manchester City. The odds look like this:

Liverpool +3.00

Tie +1.20

Manchester City +1.00 (even money)

The bettor chooses to focus on Liverpool for both the back and lay bets. They place the required bet of £100 on Liverpool for a possible net profit of +£300.

They immediately go to their betting exchange account and post a lay bet at +290, hoping to get around £100 of action. They succeed and the matched bet is set. Here are the possible results:

Liverpool wins – the player collects +£300 in the traditional wagering account, pays out the -£290 in the betting exchange account, gross profit of +£10. They also gain access to £100 in free bets for a net profit of +£110.

If the game ties or Liverpool loses – the player loses -£100 in the traditional wagering account, collects +£100 in the betting exchange account, pays the betting exchange commission of 5% or -£5, gross loss of -£5. However, they gain access to £100 in free bets for a net profit of +£95.

If a bettor does that across 20 different online bookmakers, that provides a pretty good boost to the old bankroll, especially if the punter is able to clear all wagering requirements. If the wagering requirement is only 1X, the same matched bet concept could be used to turn the bonus money into real cash.