Matched betting can be a great way of increasing your income and over the last few years, some matched betters have gone as far as turning what started out as a money making hobby into a full time job. However, when I talk about the benefits of matched betting, I’m often asked whether it can affect a person’s ability to get a mortgage.
If you’re planning to buy a house in the next few years, you may be worried that lenders will find out about your matched betting and reject your application. But can matched betting actually damage your chances of getting a mortgage? Let’s investigate…
7 Days Of Matched Betting: One Big Scam Or A Clever Side Hustle
Does matched betting affect my credit rating?
As far as I’m aware, matched betting won’t affect your credit rating or lower your score.
When you create an account with a bookmakers, often they’ll carry out an anti-money laundering check. These anti-money laundering checks are known as ‘soft searches’ and they will show up on your credit file. However, this doesn’t lower your score. Lenders also don’t see this information when assessing your credit rating and therefore it won’t affect their decision on whether to lend to your or not.
Will matched betting show up on my bank statements?
Yes. Any bank accounts you use to matched bet will show matched betting transactions on the statements. So if you put £20 into your Betfair account, this will of course show up on your statement. If you withdraw £50 winnings from Ladbrokes and deposit it in your account, this will show up on your statement.
Don’t worry - I explain further down the post why this doesn’t have to be a problem.
Will lenders reject my application if they see matched betting on my bank statements?
I haven’t heard of anyone’s mortgage application being rejected because of matched betting on their bank statements, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did happen.
There are lenders out there who are known for being extremely choosy. These choosy lenders will reject mortgage applicants for all sorts of reasons, whether you forgot to make a credit card payment two years ago or you’ve taken out a payday loan in the past. So it wouldn’t surprise me if a fussy lender did err on the side of caution and reject someone because of matched betting payments.
After all, the words ‘matched betting’ mean nothing to most people. If your lender sees a series of payments to bookies in a short space of time, they won’t think ‘matched betting’ they’ll think ‘gambling’, and if a lender suspects you have a gambling habit that’s out of control, this is likely to be a cause for concern.
But don’t panic! I managed to get a mortgage despite matched betting and I’m confident that lots of other people can too, providing you follow my next tip…
Should I create a separate bank account for matched betting?
100% YES. My #1 tip for getting a mortgage when you’re a matched bettor: Create a separate bank account for matched betting.
By using a different bank account for matched betting than you use for other expenses, you shouldn’t have to explain these transactions to potential lenders.
When I applied for a mortgage through Habito*, I had numbeous current accounts open at the time. I told my mortgage broker about this and, rather than demanding that I show him statements from each one, he just asked to see the last 3 months of bank statements for any accounts relating to regular spending and bills. He also wanted statements from any accounts that held my deposit.
Therefore, because I had a separate account for matched betting outgoings and income, I didn’t need to produce statements for this.
In fact, I’d recommend opening a separate bank account for matched betting even if you don’t plan on getting a mortgage.
Having your matched betting income and outgoings separate from your other income and expenses is just a sensible thing to do. It’ll make it so much easier to manage your matched betting money, avoid overspending, and track your progress.
If you’d like to use Habito as your mortgage broker, sign up with my refer a friend link and you’ll earn £100 cash on successful completion of your mortgage. I’ll earn £100 too for recommending them.
Is it dishonest to have a separate bank account for matched betting?
No. Don’t worry. This isn’t a dishonest thing to do.
The only way it’d be dishonest is if your lender or mortgage broker asked to see all of your bank accounts and you withheld that information.
Should I stop matched betting in the months before I apply for a mortgage?
As I’ve explained earlier, I’d been matched betting a few months before applying for my mortgage through the online mortgage broker, Habito, and I still managed to get a mortgage no problem.
However, if you want to be cautious, there’s no harm in stopping matched betting for a while and starting up again once you’ve moved into your new home.
To be extra careful, you could close down your specialist matched betting account and move any money you had within it into a different bank account. If you’ve already matched betted using your main account, it may be worth switching to another bank, getting a fresh start, and waiting 3 - 6 months before applying for a mortgage.
Does matched betting involve taking out credit?
Matched betting - or traditional gambling for that matter - doesn’t require you to take out any credit. After all, you’re depositing your own money into your bookie accounts and you aren’t borrowing any money. The only money you take away is money that you’ve won. As a result, bookmakers won’t carry out any formal credit checks on you.
Can I use the money I make from matched betting to get a bigger mortgage?
One downside is that you cannot use your matched betting income to get a bigger mortgage. For example, if you earn £1,500 a month through your full time job and you earn £500 a month from matched betting, your lender won’t take that £500 matched betting money into account when deciding how much to lend.
This also means that if you gave up your job to matched bet full time, securing a mortgage would be practically impossible - even if you earned £3,000 a month from it. This is because lenders don’t consider it to be a secure and reliable means of income.
Can I use matched betting money towards my deposit?
Although you can’t use consistent matched betting income to borrow more money, you can certainly use it to boost your deposit.
The only way I could see this being a problem is if your deposit was solely made up of matched betting money as opposed to money from your day job. Sometimes, lenders want to know where your deposit has come from for money laundering purposes. I guess you could be vague and say “I earned the money online” but I think they’d want more information.
This will be enough information for most mortgage brokers or lenders. I think they’d only push for more info if you said you’d saved a huge amount of money yourself in a short space of time despite having a low income.
How do I get started matched betting?
If you’d like to make money by matched betting but you’re absolutely clueless as to where to start, I highly recommend using Profit Accumulator. When I started matched betting back in 2017, I had no idea what I was doing, but with the help of Profit Accumulator’s free trial and step-by-step video guides - and lots of hand holding - I soon got the knack of it and managed to make more than £150 in my first week of matched betting alone. Please note that affiliate links are included within this post and this means that if you sign up to Profit Accumulator, I’ll earn a small commission for recommending you - at no extra cost to you.
Click here to earn up to £45 from Profit Accumulator’s free trial
Wondering if matched betting is for you? Read about my first week of making money through this ‘risk free’ method: 7 Days Of Matched Betting: One Big Scam Or A Clever Side Hustle
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