Now this isn't a call to gambling addicts, if you have a problem then please contact Game Care immediately and talk to a friend or relative about it.
What I'm talking about is those of you who have had a couple of flutters on the World Cup, maybe an acca or two, maybe some larger bets on England being less than shockingly bad (which of course would've lost unless you have massively low expectations and thought the losses and draw were solid results!).
If you did have a bet, and you did lose, then almost certainly you're doing something wrong (no offence). Following tipsters is a sure fire way of losing money, if they were that good at tipping they'd have no need to tell people, they'd be the richest people in the world already. Likewise accumulators are a recipe for losing money as well, the return may look tantalising, but it's more often than not unreachable, and as the bet the bookies love the most why would you take it?
So what can you do to actually start making money, rather than losing it? For starters look at where you are placing bets. If you're using the same bookmaker for all your bets then you're never going to get the best available odds. There are hundreds of bookmakers that will take a bet from you, and the majority of them will offer a free bet when you sign up (and if you go to The Gambling Times you can also get cashback if you leave a review). You should be a bookmaker whore and get all of the free money available.
Now just because you're getting a free bet doesn't mean you're going to make money. Free bets and bonuses normally come with some form of wagering requirement which locks you in to placing more bets. The more you place the more likely you are to lose one and bust out.
The only sure way of making money from the free bets is through matched betting. The basic principal is that you back and lay to release free bets, and then do the same again with the free bet to guarantee a profit. You won't make a fortune, but there's a good few thousand pounds to be made through this. It's also remarkably simple, all you need is a basic understanding of maths (I'm talking sub GCSE) and you can do it.
At this point you might not be convinced, well that's fair enough, you might even say that you bet to add some excitement and that it's not about always winning. Well if that's you at the very least open a new bookmaker account for your next bet and do a risk free one, the worst that could happen is you get two chances to win some money, so potentially twice the excitement. Try BetBright or UniBet, actually do both, it's £50 of risk free bets! And if you're still not winning, come back to the Matched Betting Blog and start your matched betting education, there's always money to be made.