Matched betting is generally thought of as extracting a cash profit from free bets and bonuses given by bookmakers. That’s how it’s sold to you, right? Well, that’s just one part of matched betting and if you’ve been matched betting for a while, you will have probably come across a number of casino offers listed on matched betting sites. This would especially be the case if you are a member of Profit Squad as we not only list every profitable sports offer that we find but every casino offer also, giving us one of the comprehensive offers lists available.
With free bets, we’re able to lock in a profit regardless of the result due to covering all outcomes by backing and laying our bets. Casino offers work slightly different to this as you generally won’t be able to guarantee a profit from them but if there is some kind of bonus or free spins involved, it’s likely that you will have the edge over the casino and so will be able to make a profit over time and it is these offers that you should be taking full advantage of.
There are hundreds of reputable online casinos just like there are online bookmakers and the vast majority of these give customers incentives to play at them. Where bookmakers offer customers free bets, casinos offer customers incentives such as bonuses and free spins.
Let’s take a look at a few of the incentives online casinos offer players on a regular basis.
Casino Bonuses
Bonuses are probably the most common promotion you’ll find at online casinos and you generally have to either make a deposit or wager a certain amount to receive the bonus.
Casino bonuses cannot be withdrawn and like free bets, you have to use them first. Although you can’t withdraw your casino bonus straight away, you can use it to hopefully win money which you can withdraw.
Casino bonuses always come with ‘wagering requirements’. It’s important to understand what these are, as they can ultimately determine whether or not a casino bonus is worth accepting or not. The wagering requirement of a bonus is how much you have to wager in order for the bonus and any winnings from the bonus to be able to be withdrawn as cash. Casino bonuses generally have wagering requirements of anywhere between x1 and x50.
Example:
You are offered a £10 casino bonus with a x5 wagering requirement.
This means that you must place £50 worth of bets (£10 x 5) before the bonus and any winnings accumulated whilst playing with the bonus, can be withdrawn. Once you have wagered £50, the bonus and winnings will turn from bonus funds into cash funds.
The higher the wagering requirement, the less attractive the bonus is as you have to place more bets before it is turned into cash.
Free Spins
Free spins are another common incentive given to players to encourage them to play more. Like casino bonuses, you generally have to either make a deposit or wager a certain amount to receive the free spins. Sometimes, casinos will give you free spins for free. This is to get you back playing at the casino with the hope that you will continue to play with your own money and lose.
Free spins can also come with wagering requirements which are based on the winnings after playing them. For example, if you received 20 free spins with a x3 wagering requirement and won £10 from those spins, you would need to wager an additional £30 before your free spin winnings were converted to withdrawable cash.
You’ll find that some free spins come with no wagering requirements. With these, you simply play your free spins and any winnings will be added to your cash balance.
Knowing which casino offers to do
Not all casino offers are profitable and if you don’t have much experience with them, it can be difficult to know which ones to do and the expected value of each one. Thankfully, Profit Squad do all of this work for you and only provide profitable offers which are +EV.
- EV stands for ‘Expected Value’ and is how much you can expect to make from an offer if you played it an infinite number of times. You won’t make the EV amount every time from the offer but it is the average profit based on the probability of the outcomes.
You can use a casino calculator to determine the value of a casino offer. Profit Squad provide once of the most advanced casino calculators available which is able to determine the EV of almost any casino offer based on a number of variables such as wagering requirements, bonus type, stake size, number of free spins and much more.
You should only do casino offers which have a positive expected value. With these offers, you, the player, have the edge over the casino and are more likely to make a profit. Playing casino offers which have a negative expected value is gambling and not recommended.
Wagering your casino bonus
With some bonuses and free spins, you are limited to what games you can play. This is most common when given free spins which are usually available on a selected slot. However, the majority of bonuses give you the freedom to complete your wagering on a game of choice. The question is, which casino game do you choose?
You may be tempted to play on the most attractive game or one that you know well. However, we play casino offers to make money, not for entertainment value and so you should carefully select which game to play based on the probability of winning as much as possible.
You should choose a game which has a low house edge. Blackjack is generally a great choice as it has a house edge of just 0.5% when played correctly. See our Blackjack Strategy guide for more information on how to play perfect blackjack.
Game Weightings
One thing to look out for before playing a casino bonus is game weightings. Some casinos put restrictions on specific games which don’t contribute fully to the wagering. This is common for games such as blackjack which have a low house edge.
For example, blackjack may only contribute 50% towards the wagering requirements and so if you have to wager £100 before the bonus is turned into cash, if you wager your bonus on blackjack, you would have to wager £200.
Sometimes it is still better value to use blackjack for wagering even if you have to wager twice the amount. However, you will need to recalculate the EV based on the increased wagering to determine if this is a good choice.
If you can’t wager on blackjack, then slots are usually the next choice as they generally contribute 100% towards wagering requirements. All slots are not the same however as they also have different payouts know as the RTP (Return to Player). A typical online slot has an RTP of around 90% – 98% with the higher % paying out more to the player. If a slot has an RTP of 98%, on average it will return £98 of every £100 to the player. Obviously, slots are very volatile and you won’t receive £98 for every £100 you wager every time but that is the average payout.
Bonus Terms
Another thing to check is the terms and conditions of the bonus. You should check the terms of every offer you do whether it be sports or casino but as casino bonuses can be slightly more complex than sports bonuses, it’s even more important to read and understand them. Here are a few things to look out for:
- Maximum winnings – Some casino offers will limit the amount that you can win from using your bonus. This can have an effect on the EV of the offer. Use a casino calculator to determine the EV if max winnings are set in the terms.
- Maximum bet size – Many casinos will set a bet size limit which counts towards wagering requirements. Anything over the maximum bet size will not contribute towards wagering and so it’s worth checking if it is in the terms. If you don’t and bet over the max bet size, you could end up having to wager more than required.
- Bonus Types – There are many different types of casino bonuses which work in different ways. For example, sticky bonuses cannot be withdrawn and are usually credited immediately after a deposit, need to be wagered and are non-cashable.
Managing your bankroll
Unlike free bets, you can’t predict how much profit you will make from casino offers. You are able to get a long-term idea based on the EV, but it’s extremely likely that you won’t make the EV amount on every offer. Sometimes you will win more, sometimes less and sometimes you will lose money. As it’s possible to lose money in the short-term with casino offers, you need to manage your bankroll efficiently. It’s possible that you may complete several casino offers before making a profit and so you need to make sure that you have the bankroll to deal with these occurrences.
High Risk vs Low-Risk Offers
When starting out with casino offers, it is advisable that you start with low-risk offers. These are offers which require a small deposit or wager in order to receive a bonus or free spins which have low wagering requirements. There are many low-risk casino offers available on a daily basis which can be very profitable over time. There are also many risk-free offers which you can take advantage of. These generally come in the form of free spins or no deposit bonuses and are a great opportunity to make some profit without risking your own money. Many no-deposit bonuses come with max win caps but as you are receiving the bonus for free, they have a positive expected value and so worth doing.
High-risk casino offers should only be attempted by players with experience in casino offers and those with a large bankroll. The rewards can be extremely high but the risk can be also. There are various advanced strategies when it comes to playing high-risk casino offers which can help you increase the overall EV of the offer. Profit Squad provides members with these strategies along with tools and guides to extract the most profit from these offers.
Conclusion
Casino offers can be a great way to give your matched betting profits a boost. They can be done alongside sports offers with most not requiring too much of your time. As there is some risk to your own money when playing casino offers, be sure that you understand how they work and the terms of each offer you participate in.
