This article explains how to profit from matched betting slots. Online slots are part of casino offers, like blackjack and roulette, and can be very profitable. It’s a great way to supplement your sports betting income, especially during dry periods like summer.
[Post Updated: April 2020]
If you are a casual reader of this blog you can easily see why I like matched betting. If you don’t know what it is, here’s nice 3-min video from OddsMonkey explaining the concept.
Matched betting is my favourite side hustle which last year made me a nice £6,533 profit. I track and post my monthly profits on this page: How much can I make matched betting?
Enough bragging. Off to the cheeky slots. Why cheeky? Because slots are one of the most profitable and stable ways for bookmakers to make money.
Basically, here’s how it works. Every slot has a metric which is called RTP – Return To Player. This is not a secret and you can find out about each slot’s RTP on its page.
Usually, they range from 94% to 97%. An RTP of 95% means that on average, if you stake £1 for 100 times, then you will get back £95. Now, this is not happening every time that YOU play, but on average. Which is how the bookmakers (and the real world casinos) make money. Some people win, some people lose, but on average, people lose more than they win.
Understanding the Expected Value
To beat bookmakers at their own game you need to understand how the expected value concept works.
From the example above, a slot with RTP of 95% means that if you stake £1, 100 times, you will lose £5.00. In other words, your expected value (EV) is -£5.00. Depending on your stake, your expected value varies. So, if you only bet £50 on the same slot, your expected value will be -£2.50.
The same concept applies in every single casino offer, whether that’s blackjack, roulette etc. So if you understand what the expected value is, you can then determine how profitable an offer is.
Now in matched betting, we try to find value by hunting offers. You have probably seen the “Bet £20 get a free £10” sports bet. As you can imagine, there are plenty of “Wager £20 on selected slots, get £10 in free spins”.
These are the offers we are after which leave profit on the table.
A step-by-step example
Take this offer which I recently completed as found on OddsMonkey.
OddsMonkey is my preferred way to finding slot offers because they simply calculate the Expected Value for me so I know how profitable each offer is going to be. Although I like math, I like my free time better 🙂
But let’s calculate the expected value of this offer is, as an exercise:
Offer: You need to stake £20 on the Terminator slot. Then you will receive 25 free spins of £0.25 value each, that you need to wager once (1X). The terminator slot has 95.74% RTP.
- To unlock the 25 free spins we need to wager £20.00 which will leave us with £20 * 0.9574 RTP = £19.15. In other words, we sacrifice -£0.85.
- We’re now ready to play with our free spins. How much did the bookmaker give us in monetary value? 25 free spins of value £0.25 each for a total value of £25 * £0.25 = £6.25.
- Playing our £6.25 on the same slot will leave us with £6.25 * 0.9574 RTP = £5.98.
- Those winnings need to be wagered once as per the description. One wagering will leave us with £5.98 * 0.9574 RTP = £5.73 final profit.
Expected Value: £5.73 – £0.85 = £4.88
Which matches the EV that OddsMonkey had calculated for us.
Now, £4.88 is not a great deal of money but for a 10-minute job that’s a lot! Multiply that over time, and In other words, £4.88 per 10-minutes is equivalent to a £4,758 monthly salary! Try it yourself using this hourly wage calculator 🙂 Plus that’s tax-free money and thanks, I’ll take it.
Don’t be fooled by randomness
Of course, not every offer is going to return exactly the expected value. That’s because this is the average expectation.
Sometimes, you will earn much more than that, sometimes you may even lose money in slot offers. But given you start doing those offers, your profits at the end of the month/year will match the expected value more closely.
This is exactly how casinos and online bookmakers work. They expect some days to be more profitable than others. Occasionally they will lose a big chunk to some lucky gambler but they know that if people keep playing, having profits is a matter of time. Numbers never lie.
My Top 3 Tips for a Profitable Slot Strategy
Pro Tip #1: Trust the Expected Value. I know how it feels when you wager 20X and end up losing some money in the end. But that’s part of the game and the only way to make it profitable. Trust in the expected value, and the more you play the more profitable you will be if you follow the offers.
Pro Tip #2: Don’t fall into the “one more spin” trap. Slots are addictive. Once you start spinning, it’s easy to continue doing it with your own money once free spins are over. Especially if you didn’t win the “promised” amount. Be disciplined.
Pro Tip #3: Take advantage of OddsMonkey (£17.99 per month) or another matched betting service for finding matched betting slot offers. Don’t research on your own because time is money when matched betting. Here’s my matched betting software comparison review.
Also speaking with friends that have made hundreds of pounds matched betting slots, the best time to wager is after 23:00. Now that may be just a coincidence, but who knows if it’s just a myth.
I believe slots are a great way to make an extra £200 per month when matched betting. My favourite offers are the ones that need sports wagering and give away free spins in return. Like Coral’s Bet £10 on Premier League weekend and get as many free spins as the number of goals scored. I have made some great winnings this way.
Slots also help to distract bookmakers and avoid being gubbed on sports since casinos are usually a very profitable section for the bookmaker. Hope you liked this matched betting slots guide. Let me know your biggest win in the comments!
Also make sure you check out my post on how to make money from all casino offers.
Disclaimer: This is just a guide for educational purposes only and it does not guarantee any profits. I am not liable for any of your losses. As always, do your own research.