Learn these and the whole website opens up
Matched betting glossary
Twenty-six terms, defined in plain language and in the context you will actually meet them. No copied dictionary entries. Start typing to filter.
26 terms
Arb
An arbitrage: odds so favourable that you profit whichever way the event goes, even without a bonus. Rare, and bookmakers watch for them.
Back bet
A normal bet on something happening, placed at a bookmaker. Arsenal to win is a back bet.
Bound deposit
An offer where your own deposit is locked to the wagering requirement along with the bonus. The most dangerous offer type in the country. If you cannot finish the window, you can lose your own money.
Cash drop
A bonus structure that pays a fixed amount per chunk of settled wagering, for example R1,500 for every R7,500 settled. Effectively ten small offers in one.
Cash-check
My three-line reconciliation at the close of every offer: cash in, cash out, exchange profit and loss. If it does not reconcile, my tracking is wrong and I fix it before moving on.
Commission
The exchange's cut on a lay that pays out, 5% at BetMatch. On a R20,268 winning lay that is R1,013. It is already built into the calculator.
Exchange
A platform where you bet against other people instead of a bookmaker. BetMatch is South Africa's exchange.
Extraction rate
The percentage of a bonus's face value you actually keep. Extracting a R5,000 free bet at 74% means R3,700 in your pocket.
FICA
South Africa's verification requirements: identity and proof of address, under three months old. Every bookmaker requires it before you can withdraw. Do it before you deposit, not after.
Free bet (SNR)
Stake Not Returned. The bookmaker gives you a stake but does not return it. If you win a R50 free bet at 3.50 you receive R125 in winnings and the R50 stake disappears. Free bet modes in the calculator handle this.
Free bet (SR)
Stake Returned. The stake comes back to you as well as the winnings. Much better value, and rarer. Treat an SR free bet as cash.
Gubbing
Industry slang for a bookmaker restricting or closing your account, or removing your promotional access. Not the end of the world. There are plenty of bookmakers.
Lay bet
A bet on something not happening, placed on an exchange. Laying Arsenal means you win if Arsenal draw or lose.
Lay stake
The amount you are laying. It is not the same as the liability. The calculator gives you the lay stake, and the exchange works out the liability from it.
Liability
The amount the exchange holds to cover your lay bet if it pays out. This is the number that frightens beginners. A R20,000 lay at 3.10 needs about R42,000 held.
Match (as a verb)
To place the two sides against each other. When a lay is fully matched, the exchange has accepted your entire lay stake.
Mug bet
A small, ordinary bet placed at normal odds with no bonus attached, to keep your account looking like a regular punter's. Usually a low-stakes football bet.
Oddsmatcher
Software that scans bookmaker prices against exchange prices and ranks the closest matches. It removes hours of manual searching, and it is the tool that makes the spread visible.
One-shot extraction
Betting your whole balance in a single matched bet so the bookmaker balance goes to zero. The rollover requirement becomes irrelevant because there is nothing left to roll over. Fastest route through a heavy cash-bonus rollover.
Partial match
Only part of your lay stake gets taken. If you lay R10,000 and only R5,803 is matched, the rest of your position is unhedged. This is why I place the lay side first when liquidity is thin.
Qualifying bet
The real-money bet you place at the bookmaker to unlock its bonus. It comes with a small cost, and that cost is the price of entry.
Qualifying cost
The small amount the qualifying bet costs you once both sides settle. R3 to R100 depending on stake and spread. The all-in qualifying-cost total is still being reconciled against the full tracker, so no verified total or per-rand ratio is published yet.
Reload offer
A promotion for existing customers rather than new ones. Smaller than a welcome offer, but they keep coming, and they require no new signup or FICA.
Retention
The percentage of your stake the qualifying bet keeps, expressed as a number near 100%. A 96% retention means the qualifying bet costs 4% of your stake. I do not take anything under 95%.
Rollover / wagering
The amount you must bet before a bonus becomes withdrawable. 5x on a R1,000 bonus means R5,000 of qualifying bets before the bonus unlocks.
The spread
The gap between the bookmaker's back odds and the exchange's lay odds. Tight spread, cheap qualifying cost. Wide spread, expensive. This single number decides whether an offer is worth doing.
The six that trip everyone up first
If you only learn six words, learn these
Lay
A bet on something not happening. The half that makes matched betting work, and the half nobody has encountered before. Placed on the exchange, not at a bookmaker.
Liability
What the exchange holds in case your lay wins. This number frightens beginners and it should not. It is held, not spent, and it comes back when the bet settles.
Retention
How much of your stake survives the round trip, as a percentage. My floor is 95%. Below that I close the tab and come back tomorrow.
Qualifying cost
The small amount your first bet costs you. A few rand, known before you place it. The price of unlocking the bonus, not a loss.
SNR
Stake not returned. The most common free bet type. Your stake disappears if you win, so the odds you choose matter enormously. Aim for 5.0 or above.
Rollover
The amount you must bet before a bonus unlocks. Read carefully whether it applies to the bonus, your deposit, or both. That one line can quadruple the workload.
Terms are easier once you have seen them in action
Ten minutes of watching a real offer go through teaches more than an hour of definitions. Come to a live session and hear the words used in context, live.
Free. And yes, there are no stupid questions, that phrase is doing real work on this site.