Welcome to Mr Bonus Abuses’ Blog
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 28th March 2009
I am a bonus abuser/bagger/whore. Call it wall you will, the important thing is:
I make completely risk free money and lots of it!!!!
I take advantage of the bonuses and free bets offered by fixed odds bookmakers to attract new customers. I have been doing this for many years in my own name, relatives, friends and friends of friends etc.
This use of 'shadows' or accounts and names other than my own has to be done to give bookmakers the guise that this is a new account they have attracted and credit the bonus to the account.
I am not attached in any way to www.freebetheaven.com, they are just friends who run the site and they asked if I would consider doing a blog outlining what I do. As I hate bookmakers and love taking money of them I was more than happy to contribute and hopefully show a few readers how to do the same.
The aim of this blog is to walk you through the process, day by day outlining the bets I have placed and the profits made. Hopefully in about a month's time I will have netted about £1000 profit and be ready to start the process again.......
Matched betting
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 2nd April 2009
It's the first day of the Aintree Grand National meeting today. I am hoping for a couple of juicy bonuses for Ladbrokes and William Hill in the Racing Post. There were some belters for Cheltenham. Anyway I have spare hour this morning, so I am going to try and explain matched betting in layman's terms.
Matched betting is completely risk free and is split into 2 parts for each bookmaker, I will look at each part in turn:
1. A qualifying bet - This bet is placed so you qualify for the free bet. When making the qualifying bet you will usually make a very small loss due to the commission charged on winnings at Betfair and also the slight differences in price between the bookmaker and Betfair.
When placing the qualifying bet you should look for a selection which has low odds but ALWAYS above 2.0 (or evens) as this is the threshold qualifying price for the majority of bookmakers.
I frequently use football matches for this, and often find that the draw has a good match between prices at the bookmaker and Betfair. I look through all the games in a coupon to find the closest match between prices and use that game.
Once the qualifying bet is placed you will normally have to wait 24 hours for the free bet to be credited to the new account. Some companies such as Totesport, Skybet and Ladrokes credit the free bets immediately. Once the free bet is in the account you can do the second and final part of the process, which is where you make the free money.
2. The free bet - The process when using the free bet is similar to the qualifying bet, however the selection used should be higher odds. I tend to use a correct score in a football match or a horse. I like to use something which has odds which are greater than 5 or 6/1 but has similar odds to lay on Betfair.
When using the free bet it is important to not lay the same stake as the value of the free bet if you want to guarantee profit. For example: if you have a £25 free bet you should lay around £20 in Betfair.
Lets say you back use your £25 free bet on a horse at odds of 6/1, this bet would stand to win £150. In Betfair lay the horse at 7.0 (6/1 fractionally) for £20. You would have a liability of £120 in Betfair.
So the two scenarios are.
a) The horse wins. You make £150 with the bookmaker and pay out £120 on Betfair, so you make £30 overall.
b) The horse loses. You lose with the bookmaker but make £20 in Betfair, so you make £20 overall.
You can adjust the amount which you lay, or if you are feeling lucky or just want a bet, you can simply place the free bet on any selection you wish.
Betfair - Laying a bet
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 30th March 2009
The concept behind this whole process is called matched betting and has been made possible by the invention of betting exchanges. The best exchange and the one which I strongly recommend is www.betfair.com.
Traditionally with a bookmaker, you back a horse or football team to win. With betting exchanges you have the option to bet things to lose (or not to happen) this is called laying a bet. When laying you effectivily act as a bookmaker.
Bookmakers accept bets from punters who bet on things hoping they win. Therefore the bookmaker is cheering the punters selection to lose, so they make money. That is what you are doing when you are laying a bet. If you lay a horse you don't want it to win so that you make money.When betting on Betfair you are betting one on one against other punters, not against a bookmaker.
Betfair simply match punters with opposing opinions on an outcome, whether it be a football team winning a game, a horse winning a race or a correct score in a game happening. Throughout the whole process of matched betting, Betfair is only used to lay bets. Each time a bet is placed you will be cheering it to lose, that way all your money will end up in Betfair.
Throughout the whole process of matched betting, Betfair is only used to lay bets. Each time a bet is placed you will be cheering it to lose, that way all your money will end up in Betfair.
I treat Betfair as a sort of betting bank and aim to win all my bets here and lose with the bookmakers. It doesn’t matter if you win with a bookmaker, it just makes the process quicker and easy to keep track of, if you win in Betfair.
Discipline
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 31st March 2009
Although strictly speaking I would not call this gambling the same golden rule applies:
Maintain discipline!!
This is a guaranteed way to make money. Never be tempted to have a bet or not lay off. Stick to the method and by the time all the bookmakers have been 'abused' there will be a healthy profit.
The other aspect of this process which requires discapline is to keep track of all financial transactions, usernames and passwords. I make a simple spreadsheet to do this.
I record deposits, withdrawals, usernames and profits etc. Hopefully in a later post (when I have worked out how to include screen shots) I will attach the spreadsheet I use, along with my free betting calculator.
Day 1 - Admin Day
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 3rd April 2009
Today was admin day. I used the last couple of free bets from a card I am currently doing but got the admin done for this new card I have 'bought' off a friend. I have paid him £300 but I will make over £1000, so all’s good.
Firstly I opened up an email account. All bookmakers require an email address when you open an account and the amount of junk email each company send you is incredible! You wouldn’t want this going to your regular email. Some companies such as Bet365 also send the bonus offer codes by email.I try to mix up the provider of the email accounts and also the style of the address I use, to keep the bookies off the scent!
Next job was to wire the funds across to the new account. Thankfully my bank now offers same day fast transfers, what a change that has made to my gambling activities. I sent £1000 to the new bank account I am using which will be enough to maximise all the bonuses over the month, I can alway send more if needs be.
The final task was to open the Betfair account. I opened that and funded it with £500. I placed £25 on random nag in a sprint race at Wolverhampton at 6.0 (5/1 in old money). It didn’t win, so I didn't win £125 to kick start things, but I will get the £25 credited straight back. No guaranteed profit at Betfair, but you can’t argue with a free punt can you? Next time it might get me off to a flyer if I can find a winner.
That’s my day done, I’ll start making money tomorrow........
Day 2 - Started making dosh
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 5th April 2009
I ended up taking yesterday off to watch the Grand National. I was convinced it was going to be Tony McCoy's year and I had a straight punt on Butlers Cabin......it trailed in down in seventh place I think. Hopefully 15th time lucky for Tony next year!
Today was a good day, I started to make money and eat into the £300 I have paid a mate for the card I am using. I always start with the easy companies who credit the bonuses immediately.
In the morning I opened the accounts so that I could focus on racing in the afternoon. Opening accounts is the time consuming and dull part of bonus abusing. Filling in the bloody sign-up forms, name, email address, phone number etc etc.
Acounts I opened were:
Blue Square - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
888Sport - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
Totesport - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
Centrebet - funded with £20, free £20 matched bet
I thought opening four accounts was enough and would give me enough work for the afternoon once racing started. I still had to tidy a bit of admin up from the card I was just finishing and have a night out tonight playing darts at the Tim Bobbin.
So that’s four accounts, four qualifying bets to be placed and four free bets to be used. I had a scan of the racing and found four reasonably short priced but competitive races. I did my qualifying bets on these races. The free bets can be used on any race that’s not as important.
My qualifying bets were:
888Sport - Sarah's Gift 14:40 Southwell - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £15 at 4.0 Layed £14.81 at 4.1 giving me a final position of -£0.93
Blue Square - Springfield Raki 14:30 Market Rasen - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 2.2 Layed £24.89 at 2.26 giving me a final position of -£1.36
Totesport - Nagam 15:00 Market Rasen- Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 5.0 Layed £24.27 at 5.2 giving me a final position of -£1.94
Centrebet - Risk 14:20 Hexham - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £20 at 3.25 Layed £19.70 at 3.35 giving me a final postion of -£1.29
My free bets were:
888Sport - The Shy Man 15:50 Hexham - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £15 at 6.0 Layed £11.81 at 6.4 giving me a final position of +£11.22
Blue Square - Korelo 16:50 Hexham - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 9.0 Layed £21.39 at 9.4 giving me a final postion of +£20.32
Totesport - Ours 16:00 Market Rasen - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 8.0 Layed £21.47 at 8.2 giving me a final position of +£20.40
Centrebet - Caramia 15:30 Market Rasen - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £20 at 9.0 Layed £16.08 at 10.0 giving me a final position of +£15.28
Today I have made £62.30. Total profit £62.30.
Day 3 - Three ponies
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 7th April 2009
It was cracking weather this morning so I went golfing and ended up having a couple of pints after. Got home at 3ish though had I had just enough time to check my emails and do a few qualifying bets for some new accounts. As I only had at best 8 races left in the day I decided to just open up 3 accounts all offering £25 matched free bets.
Accounts I opened were:
Stan James - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
VCBet - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
PaddyPower - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
All these companies are easy to 'abuse' but it is essential to click through an affiliate site such as www.freebetheaven.com to have the correct code to qualify for the free bet.
These companies do not credit the free bet automatically, they take about 24 hours from the time the market gets settled so I did the qualifyting bets today and will use the free bets tomorrow.
My qualifying bets were:
Stan James - Daraiym 15:40 Pontefract - Won (money in Stan James)
Backed £25 at 3.0 Layed £23.81 at 3.2 giving me a final position of -£2.38
VCBet - Shut The Bar 17:00 Fontwell - Won (money in VCBet)
Backed £25 at 3.5 Layed £24.65 at 3.6 giving me a final position of -£1.58
PaddyPower - Monfils Monfils 17:40 Pontefract - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 4.33 Layed £24.33 at 4.5 giving me a final position of -£1.89
Not the best day today having 2 winners, so I have money tied up with the auld enemy. Anyway I have got £75 of free bets heading my way tomorrow and then I will withdraw my winnings.
Today I have lost £5.85. Total profit £56.45
Day 4 - Quick profit
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 8th April 2009
I only had an hour or so to do the free betting today as I wanted to spend some time studying the form for the Masters, which starts tomorrow. I really can't be having Tiger at 9/4, Phil Mickelson looks like a shade of value at 10/1 each way. I'd love to see Padraig in the mix come Sunday, I'm sure he has the length and is one of the best putters on the circuit.
Anyway onto the free betting. All I did today was use the 3 free £25 bets I qualified for yesterday.
My free bets were:
VCBet - Impressible 15:00 Nottingham - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 8.0 Layed £20.96 at 8.4 giving me a final postion of £19.91
StanJames - Ten Pole Tudor Brighton - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 6.0 Layed £21.01 at 6.0 giving me a final position of £19.96
PaddyPower - White Moss Brighton - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 7.0 Layed £19.87 at 7.6 giving me a position of £18.87
All in all, a successful and quick day. I withdrew yesterday's winnings from StanJames and VCBet and spent the rest of the day getting ready for the golf tomorrow.
Today I have made £58.74. Total profit £115.19
Day 5 - £50 free bets
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 9th April 2009
I had a really lazy day today, started the Easter break early.....All I did was a couple of £50 free bet bookmakers. I made a bit of money and qualified for a £50 free bet which I will use next week as I'm away golfing at the weekend.
Accounts I opened were:
Betfred - funded with £50, free £50 matched bet
Bet365 - funded with £50, free £50 matched bet + £150 bet basket
Bet365 is a great bonus but there is more worked involved to maximise the £200 they offer. For every 5 real money bets of £50 or more they offer a £50 free bet and they do this 3 times. These bonuses are credited automatically via a bonus code in an email so I will spend 1 day just doing bet365 at a later date.
My qualifying bets were:
Betfred - Beherayn 15:00 Ludlow (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £50 at 3.75 Layed £48.70 at 3.9 giving me a final position of -£3.73
Bet365 - Very Cool 15:20 Wincanton (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £50 at 4.0 Layed £53.33 at 3.8 giving me a final postion of +£0.67
I had a real touch at Bet365, as they were slow updating their prices from Betfair. I ended up with an arb so a made profit on the qualifying bet! I used the free bet straight away on Bet365 and will use the free £50 bet from Betfred next week.
My free bet was:
Bet365 - Black Hills 16:00 Ludlow (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 7.0 Layed £39.74 at 7.6 giving me a final position of +£37.75
Thats my work done for a few days now, time to hit the golf course and spend some the free money at the bar!
Today I have made £34.69. Total profit £149.88
Day 6 - Bet365 free bet basket
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 14th April 2009
Back to work today after a weekend away golfing. Looking back this evening I feel as though I should have done a bit more free betting, but there was some good racing on and I ended up watching for quite a lot of the afternoon.
I used my free bet from Betfred today, which I qualified for on Thursday. It's always good to see the free bet has been credited automatically. It can be a bit of a pain having to email customer services to chase a free bet, but sometimes it does happen, so be prepared.
My free bet was:
Betfred - Approved Force 14:30 Market Rasen (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 9.0 Layed £42.33 at 9.5 giving me a final position of £40.21
That was another bookie ticked off my sheet and put my profit close to £200 so far for this card. I decided to do one of the free £50 bets from the Bet365 £200 free bet basket. Following on from the £50 free bet I qualified for and used on Thursday they offer a further £150 of free bets.
The Bet365 offer is fantastic and is split into three free £50 bets. To qualify for each £50 free bet, five real money £50 bets have to be placed. To get going I deposited £100 with aim of winning one of the first two bets which saves me having to make regular deposits and reduces the amount of capital I require and tie up. I have decided to only give a summary of the bets I placed today and will do the same for the subsequent days I do Bet365.
In the 5 qualifying bets I had two winners and three losers and by the time I had finished my qualifying bets I had just over £100 left in the account and had lost £12.31. After placing the fifth bet the free bet code was emailed to me and I placed my free bet.
My free bet was:
Bet365 - Lucky Dancer 4.30 Market Rasen (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 9.0 Layed £44.69 at 9.0 giving me a final position of £42.46
Today I have made £66.31. Total profit £220.24
Day 7 - Bet365 bonus completed
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 16th April 2009
Following a long lie in today and my lack of betting yesterday, I decided it was best to finish all the bonus at bet365 and get them knocked off my hit list.
I had a balance of just over £100 in the bet365 account to start the day and was hoping that I could get an early winner so that I didnt have to deposit again. As I explained in my in my last post the £200 free bet basket is split into 4 x £50 free bets. I had two of these free bets to qualify for and use so I placed 12 bets in total today.
In qualifying for my first free bet I lost £8.33 on the five, £50 bets. I was delighted with this, but it does help when the lazy odds compilers at bet365 are slow updating their prices from Betfair and offer juicy arbs! The problem is that if they spot you doing this on a few races they close your account before you can utilise the whole bonus, so it is often best to leave them alone........ the odd one doesn't hurt though and it's nice to get another one over on them!
My first two bets lost so I had to make another deposit but managed to find a winner with my third bet. As it turned out that was my last deposit to bet365.
My free bet was:
Bet365 - Rathcor 15:55 Cheltenham (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 8.0 Layed £41.42 at 8.5 giving me a final position of £39.95
The second free bet qualification was very frustrating. I had a balance of just under £120 when I started. I got a winner with my first bet which left my balance over £200, more than I needed for my last four bets. Ideally I like to completely empty the accounts I am 'abusing' and get all the money into Betfair.
I placed my second bet but, by the time I moved across to Betfair, the price had drifted (got bigger). This meant that I was making a bigger loss than anticipated when I placed the bet at bet365. Unfortunately the horse continued to drift and stupidly I didn't take the price quickly enough thinking it would drop to where it was.
The problem is that prices can just keep drifting and drifting and drifting as this nag did! The more the prices drifts the more it eats into my profit. Even after all the bonuses I have done I find myself saying "don't do it again, just get it layed". I'm sure I will do it again though!
Anyway my second,third and fourth bets lost so I was left with £72.50 in the account. I put this all on and layed the calculated amount in Betfair so that bet365 was empty if the horse lost, and thankfully it did. All up I lost £21.10, largly due to the drifting nag on my second bet!
My free bet was:
Bet365 - What's up Doc 18:45 Wolverhampton (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 6.0 Layed £43.48 at 5.8 giving me a final position of £41.30
I'm relieved to say I have finished bet365 and the account is empty. The Betfair account is looking very healthy now and after the weekend I will hopefully get some cash withdrawn so I can abuse some more bookies next week.
I am not betting tomorrow as it's a big weekend of sport with the Scottish National, FA Cup semi-finals and World snooker starts. I am hoping for some juicy free bets from the big boys, Ladbrokes, Will Hill and Coral in the Racing Post so that I can really see the profit grow!
Today I have made £51.82. Total profit £272.06
Day 8 - Big Bonus Saturday
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 18th April 2009
Today was the Scottish Grand National and the start of the World Snooker Championship from Sheffield. As I thought there were some nice big free bets in the the Racing Post. I must admit I was suprised to see that Coral's were only offering a £25 free bet so l left them alone for the time being, hopefully they will have something a bit better for the Guineas or the Derby later in the year.
After getting my Racing Post this morning and having a flick through I opened up the accounts I was going to 'abuse' today.
Accounts I opened were:
Ladbrokes - funded with £30, free £60 bet
Will Hill - funded with £20, free £50 bet
My qualifying bets were:
Ladbrokes - Imsingingtheblues 14:20 Ayr (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £30 at 2.5 Layed £30.12 at 2.54 giving me a final position of -£1.39
Will Hill - Sky Mack 14:40 Bangor (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £20 at 5.0 Layed £19.80 at 5.1 giving me a final position of -£1.19
The Ladbrokes free bet is credited immediately whilst the Will Hill one is credited overnight so I only had 1 free bet to use.
My free bet was:
Ladbrokes - Flawed Genius 14:30 Thirsk (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £60 at 6.0 Layed £52.17 at 5.8 giving me a final postion of £49.57
I spent the rest of the day mindlessly punting on racing and drinking with my flatmates, trying to get them to part with their bank cards for my use.
I was delighted to see Nigel Twiston-Davies win the Scottish National with Hello Bud. I'm not a big ante-post punter but I wouldn't mind a bit of the 50/1 about him winning the Aintree Grand National next April.
Today I have made £46.99. Total profit £319.05
Day 9 - Winnings in Will Hill
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 19th April 2009
I used my free £60 bet from Will Hill today. The only problem was that the bloody horse won and I've tied up a large portion of my funds for the time being. It looks like a few days enforced lay off from bonus abusing!
My free bet was:
Will Hill - Bedizen 17:00 Stratford-on-Avon (Won money in Will Hill)
Free £50 at 13.0 Layed £43.01 at 14.0 giving me a final position of £40.86
It was dissapointing to find a winner, but I suppose I was long overdue one. I have had a really good run so far using this card where most of the profit has ended up in Betfair.
Today has brought this to a stop, as I now have £600 in Will Hill. This bookmaker operates a 48 hour withdrawal system whereby the account has to be verified and any withdrawals can't take place until 48 hours after the initial deposit.
I will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to make the withdrawal. I decided it was a good time to take stock of everything at this point so I withdrew my remaining balance from Betfair.
This week I will make sure I am on top of all the transactions and have all the money I should have. Then I will get going again at the weekend, probably doing the Boylesports free bet which works in a similar way to the Bet365 free bet basket.
Today I made £40.86. Total profit £359.91
Day 10 - Betfair Challenges
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 25th April 2009
Today I checked all of the transactions I have made so far. I was hoping to find that I had about £1360 in the bank and I was relieved to say this was the case. It gets a little frustrating at times having to go through all the deposits and withdrawals hunting down missing money.
I began the Boylesports free bet basket, did the £5 free bet challenges from Betfair, which I found in an email from them and I opened a Jaxx account. I didn't place any bets with Jaxx as I couldn't find a suitable odds match so I will use it tomorrow.
To start the day I put £500 in Betfair and then did the challenges. To complete the first challenge I needed to have a bet in-play as I had already placed a back bet and a lay bet. I did this on the Rangers v St.Mirren game. I backed under 2.5 and immediately layed it back at the same price so i was level on the trade but my Betfair balance will increase by £5.
The next challenge was to play Betfair's other products. I had to play a hand of poker, have a crack on the casino and play an exchange game. I downloaded and played poker on a 5 cent table, I just played one hand and lost 55 cents. I then moved onto the casino which was offering a 100% matched deposit. I checked the T&C's and as the bonus had to be turned over 30 times I decided to just do £10. It took me a while to turn over the required amount and I was left with £13 by time I had reached the threshold. Not worth the effort at all, but better than losing!
Finally I went and played a hand of exchange poker. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on. I just played one hand putting £2 on a hand at 1.13 which won, making me 25p after commission.
Overall I made £12.90 from the Betfair challenges which helps and was worth an hours work and passed the time watching the dire Scottish football.
Once I had finished the Betfair challenges I opened the accounts I was going to abuse next.
The accounts I opened were:
Boylesports - funded with £50, free £200 bet basket
Jaxx - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
I was unable to find a suitable odds match between Jaxx and Betfair so I just did the qualifying bet for Boylesport. As Boylesport is a £50 matched bet initially they do offer a further £150 free bet basket, therefore it is not as essential to lose every bet with the bookmaker as I will need the funds for future bets.
My qualifying bet was:
Boylesport - Kalahari King 14:35 Sandown (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £50 at 2.25 layed £50.45 at 2.28 giving me a final postion of - £2.07
That was my work done for the day, I will use the free Boylesport bet tomorrow when it is credited and hopefully find a good odds match to do the qualifying bet with Jaxx.
Today I made £10.83. Total profit £370.74
Day 11 - Boylesports first free bet
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 26th April 2009
A quick day bonus abusing today, the free money from the Betfair challenges was credited to my account and I used the free bet from Boylesports and made the qualifying bet with Jaxx then called it a day. Sunday is really a day of rest, in fact I was so lazy today i just guessed how much I should be laying when placing my bets.
The first thing I did today was make the qualifying bet with Jaxx. It is important to note that for Jaxx both the qualifying and free bet must be used on sports betting. I made my qualifying bet on the Premier League game between Blackburn Rovers and Wigan. As explained I find the best odds match on the draw and this was the case again today. Thankfully Blackburn won 2-0 so the money ended up in Betfair, which always helps.
My Jaxx qualifying bet was:
Jaxx - Blackburn v Wigan - Draw 16:00 Ewood Park (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 3.3 Layed £23.5 at 3.45 giving me a final position of -£2.63
My free bet was:
Boylesports - Driven 16:55 Brighton (Won money in Boylesports)
Free £50 at 6.0 Layed £40 at 6.2 giving me a final position of £42.00
That was it for today, I'll be back tomorrow when I will be cracking on with the Boylesports free bet basket and using my Jaxx free bet if it has been credited. After winning my free bet with Boylesports today I have £250 in to get cracking with but less than £300 in the Betfair to lay. I hope thats enough, we shall see.
Today I made £39.37. Total profit £410.11
Day 12 - Jaxx finished, Boyles in progress
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 27th April 2009
There wasn't bad racing today, which makes a change for a Monday. As a result I only made six bonus abusing bets as I was punting but it keeps me ticking over. I used my free £25 bet from Jaxx on the Monday night Premier League game between Newcastle and Portsmouth and made five £50 bets to qualify for the second £50 free bet from Boylesports. This week will be largly used to hammer the Boylesports free bet basket, I may utilise another couple of bonuses along the way. We'll see how we go timewise.
In the afternoon I made my five £50 qualifying bets for Boylesports. I had four losers and one winner, with respect to Boylesports, so thankfully the funds gradually made their way into the Betfair account. I havn't listed all the Boylesports bet but overall I lost £8.76 which is acceptable.
Then I used the £25 free bet from Jaxx. As I stated yesterday this has to be be used on sports markets only, no horse racing! I used the free bet on the correct score in the Newcastle game. I backed 2-0 to Newcastle at 12.0 with Jaxx and layed at 14 on Betfair. Not the best odds match I have seen but it is difficult to find a close odds match in some cases and I just wanted to get it used. I was in a rush when I placed the bet and didn't use my arb calculator, hence I quickly layed £20 so didn't maximise the full potential of the free bet.
My free bet was:
Jaxx - Newcastle 2-0 20:00 St. James Park (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 12.00 Layed £20 at 14 giving me a final position of £19.00
Today I made £10.24. Total profit £420.35
Day 13 - Boylesports free bet basket
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 28th April 2009
A lovly rainy day in London today perfect indoor weather for bonus abusing. The racing wasn't too bad either and with some reasonably priced favourites I was able to rattle of the qualifying bets for the Boylesports third £50 free bet and use the £50 free bet I qualified for yesterday.
I used the free bet first, I backed Torrens at Boylesports and managed to lock in a profit of £39.03. The horse finshed third too so the free money has made it's way into my Betfair account. After I used the free bet I began to make the qualifying bets. The first bet lost with Boylesports so I had to make another deposit to them. In the next four bets I had two winners and two losers.
I now have a balance of just over £230 in Boylesports and almost £600 in Betfair. Tomorrow I will use the third free bet and make the qualifying bets for the fourth and final free bet from the Boylesports £200 free bet basket.
Overall in making the five qualifying bets today I lost £13.46. That is a bit more that I would expect but was due to Moonshine Creek in the 4.30 at Bath. I backed it at 9/4 at Boylesports but it drifted on Betfair by the time I layed it. I lost £5.13 on that race.
My free bet was:
Boylesports - Torrens 14:45 Bath (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 6.0 Layed £41 at 6.4 giving me a final position of £39.03
Today I made £25.57 Total profit £445.92
Day 14 - More qualifying bets with Boylesports
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 29th April 2009
Today was a pretty similar day to yesterday. I used my third free bet from Boylesports and placed the five qualifying bets to get the fourth and final £50 free bet. I began the day with just under £600 in Betfair and £230 in Boylesports.
I used the £50 free bet on Ordanance Row in the 3.20 at Ascot, it finshed third at 4/1 so again the free money made its way into my bulging Betfair account. Once the free bet was used I made the qualifying bets. It was all plain sailing today, I had no problems at all. I lost only £6.57 making the qualifying bets and had only one winner in Boylesports when Timocracy won the 5.15 at Pontefract.
I had £120 left in Boylesports and £720ish in Betfair at the end of the qualifying bets and have only have one free bet to use in Boylesports tomorrow then they are finshed. I enjoyed the evening racing have a few punts on the Punchestown festival althought my biggest bet on Imperial Commander was a disapointment in the Guinness Gold Cup.
Notre Pere was well backed and won the Gold Cup easily but I can't see him doing anything next season in the Cheltenham Gold Cup unless he gets an absolute paddy field to run in.
My free bet was:
Boylesports - Ordanance Row 15:20 Ascot (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 5.0 Layed £40 at 5.1 giving me a final position of £38.08
Today I made £31.51 Total profit £477.43
Day 15 - Over £500 profit
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 30th April 2009
A quick post today, I have been busy and only managed to use the free bet from Boylesports. I backed Fly By Nelly at 6/1 in the 4.30 at Folkstone which finished second (only just) so again I won in Betfair. I layed in on Betfair at the same price I backed it at which was great, so I locked in anpther £39.03 to get me over the £500 profit mark for this card. I withdrew £125 from Boylesports and called it a day.
I am having tomorrow off from betting so will be back over the weekend.
My free bet was:
Boylesports - Fly By Nelly 16:30 Folkstone (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at 7.0 Layed £41 at 7.0 giving me a final position of £39.03
Today I made £39.03 Total profit £516.46
Day 16 - Coral and Panbet free bets
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 2nd May 2009
I only managed to do two companies bonuses today but completed both which was satisfying. I did Corals and Panbet, a phone only operation. Both companies had offers in the Racing Post. Corals had a £50 matched bet and Panbet £25.
The trouble I had today, was demonstrating to a friend how to do the bonus abusing. Anyway after an hour or so working through it with him, he is off and running but it slowed me down as I was hoping to do four or five qualifying bets at least.
My Coral qualifying bets were:
Coral - Mystery Star - 14:20 Goodwood (Won money in Coral)
Backed £50 at 2.75 Layed £49 at 2.8 giving me a final position of -£0.70
Panbet - Born Tobouggie - 14:55 Goodwood (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 3.0 Layed £24 at 3.0 giving me a final position of -£2.15
The Coral free bet was a little tricky to find / use. Eventually after a phone call to the helpdesk I was informed that I had to email my bet in. I don't like to do this as it means the bet will be placed at SP and thus I am unable to confirm what price I have exactly backed and layed at. The Panbet free bet had to be placed over the phone again so I ran through the list of horses with a chap on the phone until I found a suitable odds match.
My free bets were:
Coral - Rash Judgement 15:30 Goodwood (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £50 at SP (6.5) Layed £40 at 7 giving me a final position of £38.08
Panbet - Sea The Stars 15:10 Newmarket (Won money in Panbet)
Free £25 at 9.0 Layed £22 at 9.2 giving me a final position of £19.60
The free bet I used at Panbet on Sea The Stars was in the Stan James 2000 Guineas, Sea The Stars was simply awesome. I really think he could be something special. Shame I have ended up with money in a bookie as he won, but as Panbet are a phone operator they simply refund winnings at the close of business each day so it is very straight forward.
Today I have made £54.83. Total profit £571.29.
Darts with Bristow and Deller
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 3rd May 2009
No bonus abusing today although myself and five mates won a grand off Stan James in rather strange circumstances.....
Stan James had a superb CRM offer to go to the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. It was £20 a ticket which included entry, free drink, food and a £20 bet. This is certainly an offer to keep your eyes out for next year. As soon as we arrived the drink was flowing and to our complete amazement we had the chance to play darts with Eric Bristow and Keith Deller.
We all had a game with them and a couple of the group mananged to make it into the final. Unfortunately they didn't win the big prize mainly because Eric Bristow was so pissed / useless that he couldn't hit the board let alone a double in the pairs final. Oh well next year.......
Anyway on to the big win.....As I said we all had a £20 free bet, I was encouraging the lads to club together and back a few horses in one race and hope one of our selections won, then we could share the profit. The lads weren't up for it, they suggested we club together but put all the money on one horse.
That is what we did.......High Spice in the six runner, five furlong contest at 4.20. She was the 10/1 rank outsider selected by 'Biffy', a horse racing novice, who after a particularly spicy bite of a beef and mustard sandwich spotted the filly in the Racing Post. To our complete shock she won, leading from post to post. We relieved Stan James of £1000! It certainly added some 'spice' to an eventful day.
Thats it for today, I'll be back tomorrow, no doubt with a sore head trying to nick a few quid bonus abusing.
Day 17 - A different exchange!
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 4th May 2009
Nippy head as I thought today, but what a day. I am still livid with Big Eric after yesterday's darts performance......
I was a little lethargic today but managed to get through three companies bonuses. I did WBX an exchange which is a competitor of Betfair, Skybet who randomly had a free bet offer on the Sportinglife website and BetInternet which I opened through freebetheaven. It was a stress free day overall. I opened and funded the accounts in the morning as I watched other flatmates struggle to get to work, then relaxed before betting on the afternoon racing.
The accounts I opened were:
WBX - funded with £100 - bet £100 get £25 free bet
Skybet - funded with £30 - free £30 matched bet
BetInternet - funded with £50 - 50% deposit bonus, free £25 bet
I did all the qualifying bets initially. The most tricky was the WBX account as I wanted to find a very close odds match given the high stake required to qualify for the £25 free bet. I looked for an even money shot in the racing but ended up using Urban Poet which won at 5/4. That left money in WBX which was frustrating but the odds match was very close, it just means a withdrawal at a later date. Otherwise all the money made it's way into Betfair and it's time to make another withdrawal. That will give me the funds to complete the last dozen or so accounts on this card.
My qualifying bets were:
WBX - Urban Poet 15:40 Pontefract (Won money in WBX)
Backed £100 at 2.22 Layed £100 at 2.22 giving me a final position of -£5.00
Skybet - Dice 15:50 Warwick (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £30 at 2.4 Layed £30.20 at 2.44 giving me a final position of -£1.25
BetInternet - Libertino 15:20 Warwick (Lost money in Betfair)
Backed £50 at 3.5 Layed £48.50 at 3.6 giving me a final position of -£3.83
The Skybet account credited the free bet straight after my qualifying bet was settled so I used that immediately before calling it a day. I will use the free bets from BetInternet and WBX tomorrow and hopefully crack off another couple of accounts.
My free bet was:
Skybet- Star Links 16:10 Pontefract (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £30 at 5.5 Layed £25 at 5.6 giving me a final postion of £23.80
Today I have made £13.72. Total profit £585.01
Day 18 - Free bets used + Super Soccer
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 5th May 2009
Thankfully I was fully fit today, and got stuck into the bonus abusing good and proper. Firstly I used the free bets from BetInternet and WBX, which I qualified for yesterday, then I opened an account with Super Soccer, an obscure bookie who offers a £25 free bet by going direct to the website. I placed the free bets first then made the qualifying bet with Super Soccer.
My free bets were:
WBX - Whats up Doc 14:20 Fakenham (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 4.0 Layed £24 at 4.1 giving me a final postion of £22.85
BetInternet - Finnegans Rainbow 15:50 Fakenham (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 8.0 Layed £23 at 8.4 giving me a final postion of £21.90
I have to wait until I get a code in the post to withdraw from WBX so hopefully when that arrives I will get it from my mate so I can get at that cash. A little frustrating but these things happen when bonus abusing. Next on my hit list was Super Soccer....
My qualifying bet was:
Super Soccer - Care and Share 16:20 Fakenham (Won money in Super Soccer)
Backed £25 at 2.5 Layed £24 at 2.54 giving me a final position of -£0.54
Super Soccer also allowed me to place the free bet immediately, however it had to be done by email. I will place that tomorrow as I want to get out to the pub now and practice my arrers'!
Today I have made £42.60. Total profit £627.61
Day 19 - Super Soccer free bet
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 6th May 2009
I got side tracked for much of today and I am heading out this evening, so only did the free bet from Super Soccer which I qualified for yesterday. I forgot to say, when signing up for the Super Soccer free bet, use the Promo code SS25 to qualify for the free £25 bet.
My free bet was:
Super Soccer - Compton Rose 16:50 Bath (Lost money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 9.0 Layed £22 at 9.5 giving me a final postion of £20.94
As the free bet has to be placed by email, it is slightly tricky as you cannot be guaranteed what price you have backed a selection at. As soon as I send the email I lay on Betfair and make sure I get an email back confirming my bet has been placed. Apologies for the short post today, back tomorrow with more free betting news....
Today I have made £22.94. Total profit £650.55
Day 20 - New bonuses on offer
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 8th May 2009
I had a busy afternoon today. I opened three new accounts with Chronicles, Panbet and Jennings. I havn't used Chronicle before but the latter two are regulars of mine, but on the phones. It makes it easier to do the bonus abusing on the internet, once you get past the IP issue!
My qualifying bets were:
Jennings bet - Mister Hardy 13:45 Chester - Won (money in Jennings bet)
Backed £30 at 4.5 Layed £31 at 4.4 giving me a final position of -£0.40
Panbet - Miss Tango Hotel 16:00 Chester - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 3.5 Layed £24 at 3.65 giving me a final position of -£2.15
Chronicle - Enpowered 16:35 Chester - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 2.0 Layed £24.50 at 2.02 giving me a final position of -£1.68
The free bet from Jennings bets was credited immediately so I used it on the big race of the day a derby trial. It turned out to be the biggest farce of a race I have ever seen with the three runners crawling for the first mile before a three furlong dash ensued. I am not suprised there was booing from the crowd as the short price favourite, Frozen Fire was beaten.
My free bet was:
Jennings bet - Scintillo 14:45 Chester - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £30 at 7.0 Layed £24 at 7.2 giving me a final position of £22.85
The free bets from Panbet and Chronicle will be credited tomorrow so I will use them over the weekend. I also aim to open and abuse Unibet, Betway and Extrabet as I need to use football for those qualifying and free bets.
Today I have made £18.62. Total profit £669.17.
Day 21 - Chronicle free bet complete
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 9th May 2009
I didn't do as much as I had planned to do today. I got a call early in the morning to see if I fancied a trip to Ascot. I couldn't refuse but with racing starting at five past one it was a bit of a rush to get to Waterloo and get the train out to Ascot. I took it easy on the drink and managed to do the free bets I qualified for yesterday on the evening racing at Warwick and Thirsk.
The free bet was credited to the Chronicle account without any issue but the Panbet website was appauling. I couldn't find the free bet registered anywhere, so I had to ring them up. It's quite amusing calling the betting companies as I have to get all the details of the person's card I am using and make sure I don't slip up. Giving them my real DOB for example!
My free bets were:
Chronicle Bet - 19:25 Warwick - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 5.0 Layed £20 at 5.2 giving me a final position of £19
Panbet - Bere Davis 19:40 Thirsk - Won (money in Panbet)
Free £25 at 7.0 Layed £21 at 7.0 giving me a final postion of £24
That was my work finished for today. I withdrew from Panbet immediately and took out the money in Super Soccer I made on the qualifying bet earlier in the week. I have now got 6/7 accounts to so and will hopefully have this card finished by this time next week.
Today I have made £43.00. Total profit £712.17
Missing and reduced Bonuses
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 10th May 2009
As I said yesterday I have now got six or seven bookmakers bonuses left to abuse. I have made a reasonable profit on this card and should make almost £900 when I have finished.
I must say that I have been dissappointed that several companies have reduced the size of the bonuses recently and this has caused me not to make as much as normal. Another thing which has been notable over the last month or so, is that companies such as BG Bet and Sunderlands have stopped offering free bets all together. I have also seen very few new bookmakers coming into the market, usually new bookies with adventurous offers are popping up all the time.
I think all of the points raised above are a result of the current financial climate. Hopefully by the time I get onto my next round of bonus abuse on a new card the big bonuses ahould be back in action and there may be some new bookmakers to take advantage of!
Back tomorrow, on the bonus hunt.....
Day 22 - Deposit bonuses
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 11th May 2009
A quiet Monday on the betting front today but I managed to do a couple of the trickier deposit bonuses. The companies I did today were Unibet, who offer a 100% deposit bonus and Bet24 who offer a 50% deposit bonus. The trouble with both of these bookmakers is that they don't offer horse racing betting so the bets must be placed on football or tennis which are not as frequent.
I opened both the accounts in the afternoon and placed bets on the North East derby between Newcastle and Middlesbrough tonight. Unibet offer and immediate 100% bonus up to £20. I used the £40 in one bet. Bet24 is a 50% deposit bonus up £30 but a £60 wager must be placed before the bonus is credited.
Todays bets:
Unibet - Draw - Newcastle v Middlesbrough
Backed £40 at 3.5 Layed £41 at 3.65 - Result to follow....
Bet24 - Draw - Under 2.5 goals - Newcastle v Middlesbrough
Backed £60 at 2.0 Layed £63 at 2.04 - Result to follow....
I will post the results of the bets and the new P/L tomorrow.
Day 23 - More money in Betfair
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 12th May 2009
Short post today, just to report the results from last night's game. Newcastle managed to beat Middlesbrough 3-1 so all the money from the qualifying bet at Bet24 (over 2.5 goals) made it's way in to Betfair along with the qualifying part and the profit from Unibet (the draw).
Yesterdays bets:
Unibet - Draw - Newcastle v Middlesbrough - Lost money in Betfair
Backed £40 at 3.5 Layed £41 at 3.65 - Giving me a profit of £18.99. (£41 minus commission in Betfair less the £20 I deposited to Unibet)
Bet24 - Draw - Under 2.5 goals - Newcastle v Middlesbrough - Lost money in Betfair
Backed £60 at 2.0 Layed £63 at 2.04 giving me a final position of -£0.09
I will be using the free bet from Bet24 tomorrow along with Extrabet and a couple of other outstanding bookmakers I have on my list!
Today I have made £18.09. Total profit £731.07
Day 24 - Almost finished
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 14th May 2009
I was planning to bet yesterday but ended up wasting the day away in London. Today I was busy though, I opened and placed the qualifying bets with Sportingbet and BetUK in addition to using the free bet from Bet24. All in all it was a sucessful day, apart from making a winning bet with Sportingbet. In view of the progress I have made today, completion by the end of the weekend looks realistic.
Accounts I opened were:
Sportingbet - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet (I don't bother with the remainder of the bonus, it's too much hassle)
BetUK - funded with £50, free 50% deposit bonus upto £25
Sportingbet are very wary of bonus abusers like myself, be very careful if you are opening multiple accounts, I have been known to open the account from a friends IP address to avoid getting detected in that way!
My free bets was:
Bet24 - Leeds v Millwall 0-0 correct score (money in Betfair)
Free £30 at 10.0 Layed £23 at 12.0 giving me a final position of £21.87
My qualifying bets were:
Sportingbet - Eddie Dowling 15:35 Perth - Won (money in Sportingbet)
Backed £25 at 2.2 Layed £25.2 at 2.24 giving me a final position of -£1.25
BetUK - Beethoven 16:20 York - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £50 at 3.25 Layed £50 at 3.2 giving me a final position of -£2.40
Today I have made £18.14. Total profit £759.21
Day 25 - Chasing free bets!
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 15th May 2009
Today was somewhat frustrating, both Sportingbet and BetUK had not credited my account with the free bets. I usually suspect that the compnaies have tracked the multiple accounts from the same IP or identified a bonus abuser using fake accounts. Anyway, I emailed the customer services at both bookies and hopefully tomorrow the free bets will be available.
Once I got the emails fired off I opened an extrabet account who offer a £20 free matched bet. This free bet is slightly different in that they double the stake on the initial bet. Their odds are reasonably competitive and it makes the odds matching with Betfair easy.
Account I opened was:
Extrabet - funded with £20, free £20 matched bet
My bet was:
Extrabet - Veracity - Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £20 at 6.2 Layed £35 at 6.4 giving me a final position of £13.32
I am hoping tomorrow to open a Betway account, the final bookie on my list, I will also use the last couple of free bets. By Sunday I should be all finished and ready to start the process over again. See you again tomorrow.....
Today I have made £13.32. Total profit £762.23
Day 26 - Betway, the final account
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 16th May 2009
I am pleased to say the free bets from Sportingbet and BetUK were credited to the accounts so I used those today aswell as opening a Betway account and placing the qualifying bet.
The account I opened was:
Betway - funded with £25, free £25 matched bet
My qualifying bet was:
Betway - Man Utd v Arsenal - over 2.5 goals Lost (money in Betfair)
Backed £25 at 2.1 Layed £24.50 at 2.16 giving me a final position of -£1.68
It also cost me 43p to deposit the £25 at Betway (I even factor that into the P/L). I have now opened all the accounts I am going to do on this card. Once the qualifying bet was placed for Betway I used the free bets which were credited to the accounts yesterday.
My free bets were:
Sportingbet - Ice Bucket 15:20 Bangor - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 10.0 Layed £22 at 10.5 giving me a final position of £20.94
BetUK - Holyrood 15:10 Newbury - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 7.0 Layed £20 at 7.8 giving me a final postion of £19.04
I will use my free bet from Betway tomorrow and that will be the bonus abusing completed. I have now made over £800 which isn't bad for free!!!! I'll be back tomorrow with a longer post / summary of the last month or so bonus abusing....
Today I have made £38.30. Total profit £800.83
Day 27 - The last free bet used
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 17th May 2009
A quiet and relaxing Sunday today, all I did betting-wise was place my free bet from Betway. I backed a 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Blackburn which was on Sky. I backed with Betway at 12.0 and layed at 14.0, not the best match but I wanted to get the bonus abusing finished. Once the bets were placed I headed out to the Tim Bobbin to watch the game and throw some darts. I was glad to see Chelsea win 2-0 so the funds went to Betfair and the bonusing is finished.
My free bet was:
Betway - Cheslea v Blackburn 1-1 - Lost (money in Betfair)
Free £25 at 12.0 Layed £20 at 14 giving me a final position of £19.04
Today I have made £19.04. Total profit £819.87
£819.87 profit bonus abusing!
Written by Mr Bonus Abuse: 18th May 2009
Well I am relieved to say I have come to the final post in this blog. It has been harder than I thought keeping upto date. I think all the calculations add up and hopefully it makes sense?? It has been hard work keeping track of all the bets for my records as well as note them down to write on here. I finished with a profit of £819.87 which is not bad, particularly with the current climate, with decreased free bets and companies removing offers all together.
I have withdrawn the funds from Betfair, there was just over a thousand in the account when I emptied it today. I also took the money out of Sportingbet, which I won last week. I almost forgot about that! In three or four days I will get hold of my mate to transfer the money back to me along with my initial deposit. The next challenge is to find another non-betting friend whose card I can use.
So that's it, all that remains to be said is happy bonus abusing and keep taking some money of those evil bookies!
Total profit £819.87