Matched betting is a great way to generate an additional income and can be done in your spare time or as a full-time job. Matched bettors use their matched betting profits for different things such as additional luxuries, family holidays, savings for their children and also to put towards saving for a house.
One common concern from matched bettors who are planning on buying a house is whether or not their matched betting activities will affect their mortgage application. This article will help clear up a few of your concerns should you be planning on applying for a mortgage in the near future.
First of all, not all mortgage applications are the same. Some lenders will ask for different documents to others and so try to find out what is required prior to applying. It’s common for mortgage lenders to ask for details of income and outgoings along with copies of bank statements for the past few months. This is the main worry for many matched bettors who are concerned about handing over statements containing multiple deposits and withdrawals from betting sites. So, will this have an impact on whether or not your mortgage application is approved? Keep reading to find out.
Matched Betting will not show up on credit checks
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will almost certainly perform a credit check. The better your credit score, the more likely you are to be approved for your mortgage. Thankfully, your matched betting activity will not be visible on your credit report. This is because bookmakers and casinos do not perform credit checks when you open an account. Instead, they carry out ‘soft searches’ which check for things such as anti-money laundering. Despite bookmakers and casino’s performing these searches which may be visible to you on your credit report, they are not visible to potential lenders. Therefore, simply having open and active bookmaker accounts should play no part in the decision to approve or decline your mortgage.
Full credit searches are only performed when applying for credit. As you fund your bookmaker accounts with your own money, no credit checks are carried out. Panic over!
Submitting Bank Statements
This is the main concern and results may differ between mortgage lenders.
If your mortgage lender is requesting copies of your bank statements, they’ll want to check your income and outgoings. Many believe that having multiple transactions from betting-related companies will have a negative effect on your mortgage application. This may possibly be the case with some mortgage lenders. If you don’t want to take the chance of matched betting affecting your mortgage application then there are a few suggestions below.
1. Take a break from matched betting
The most logical action to take would be simply to take a break from matched betting while your mortgage application goes through. Lenders may ask for 3 or more months of bank statements and so you’ll have to plan ahead for this to ensure that there are no, or few, transactions from betting companies recorded on your statements.
2. Use a different bank account for matched betting
Opening a separate bank account for your matched betting transactions is generally recommended whether you are applying for a mortgage or not. Having a dedicated bank account helps you keep track of your deposits, withdrawals and profits and separates them from your everyday expenses and bills. Then, when your mortgage lender asks for copies of your bank statements, you can provide them with those of your main bank account which exclude any betting-related transactions. Be aware that it is possible that mortgage lenders may ask for statements of all bank accounts which you currently hold.
3. Pre-fund your accounts
If you wish to continue to matched bet while you apply for a mortgage then a good idea would be to pre-fund your accounts. You’ll need to do this a few months in advance of applying for your mortgage so that all submitted statements are clear of betting transactions but it will mean that you will be able to continue to generate a profit during your application.
The downside of pre-funding your accounts is that you won’t be able to deposit or withdraw your funds until your mortgage application is complete or at least until you have submitted the requested statements. This means that you will need to have a large enough bank to fund your accounts and be able to get by for a number of months without access to those funds.
4. E-Wallet Transactions
By depositing and withdrawing using E-Wallets such as PayPal or Skrill, transactions won’t show up as betting-related but simply to and from the E-Wallet provider. Be aware that you may not qualify for some bookmaker promotions by making deposits via this method and so it’s important to check the terms of the offer prior to doing so. Also, although the transactions will not show up as from bookmakers, they may be looked upon as outgoings. If a lot of your bets win with the betting exchange, which you can’t withdraw due to them showing on your statement, you could find yourself with funds tied up and with a bank account showing many outgoings and few credits.
Declaring your income
One of the benefits of matched betting is that your profits are tax-free. This enables matched bettors to build their bank quicker than if they paid tax which applies to standard employment income. As matched betting income is tax-free, there is no need to declare it and you can simply set it aside for a rainy day or in many cases, to save for things such as a house.
For some matched bettors, the amount of additional income they bring in from matched betting is substantial and can be a huge help in saving. If you are using a separate bank account for your matched betting activities then you can simply transfer your balance into your regular bank account which will most likely look like you have transferred a sum from your savings to fund your house deposit. Although most mortgage lenders will not ask for proof of where your deposit came from, especially if your monthly income generally exceeds your monthly outgoings, some may. This is mainly for the purpose of anti-money laundering checks and so shouldn’t concern you too much.
Conclusion
If you are planning on applying for a mortgage in the coming months, think carefully about whether you wish to take a break from matched betting. Although matched betting can bring in a substantial profit each month that you would be missing out on, is it really worth being declined for your mortgage? Taking a break from matched betting is probably the best option for most people and you can always start again once your application is complete. The next best option would be to pre-fund your accounts a few months in advance of your application. If you decide to do this, make sure that you are able to get by without those funds until your mortgage application has been accepted.
If you’d like to learn more about matched betting, take a look at our matched betting guide.
