Sports betting
What is matched betting?
Matched betting is covering both outcomes of a market, one at a bookmaker and the other at an exchange, so the result does not matter. Done with a free bet, it turns a promotion into cash minus a small known cost.
It is arithmetic rather than prediction, and it stops working the moment the promotions stop.
The mechanic
Back an outcome at the book with the qualifying bet. Lay the same outcome at an exchange for a stake that makes both results equal. You lose a little on the qualifier, usually a few percent, because the two prices are not identical.
Then use the free bet the same way. The free bet stake does not come back to you when it wins, so the lay stake is smaller, and what you keep is typically 70% to 80% of the free bet's face value as actual cash.
What it needs
An exchange account with money in it, a bookmaker account with a promotion attached, and enough float to hold both sides at once. That float is the real barrier: covering a C$50 free bet ties up more than C$50.
It also needs care. A mistyped lay stake or a market that settles differently at the two ends turns a locked position into a real bet very quickly.
What happens after
Operators watch for it and manage accounts that only ever appear when a promotion does. Limits on stake size and exclusion from future offers are the normal outcome.
Nothing about it is dishonest and none of it is free money either. It is a part-time job with a spreadsheet, priced accordingly.