Multi account set up

Matchtime – there is definitely an argument for that!

Whilst I agree that’s the idea, there’s always some element of “gamble” in what I’ve done – a qualifying loss in the hope of a free bet, the millisecond delay between backing and laying that can catch you out if the odds move quickly, waiting to lay the place in a bad each-way race etc etc…

None of us* make enough money for it ever to be tested!

*except perhaps the secret seven

Betman – agree with you re the advice on those links – total nonsense. Tax can only be levied on the nature of the activity. The amount you make from that activity is completely irrelevant.

Crispy – fair point. Every transaction has some scope for a loss, so that may be arguable as being akin to gambling. But I can’t imagine anyone doing this would draw up accurate accounts showing a loss. When you look at it in the round, matched betting is conducted in such a way that profits are guaranteed (maybe less so on more advanced strategies).

I think it is an interesting debate – far less clear cut than it is widely positioned to be…

Hmrc specifically refers to bookmakers ‘an organised activity to make profits out of the gambling public will normally amount to trading. An example of this is the bookmaker’.
Then refers to organisation of the activity as well as being systematic and having odds in your favour.

Even if you were trading as a market maker i’m not sure you’d get labelled as organising the activity (the exchange would) or making profits out of the gambing public (again the exchange would)………… they would be ‘mere bets’ and the fact a man may do this day in day out would just say “he is addicted to betting” to quote from HMRC.

Can see arguments for and against there, Betman. I agree that a matched bettor isn’t organising the activity in the sense of creating the market.

I think the arguement would be that the individual is organising his own activities in a systematic way, with the odds firmly in His favour. Making bets is the mechanism, but are they more than ‘mere bets’ when viewed in context of the activity.

I think the ambiguity comes in that historically no-one envisaged the possibility of a punter being able to organise his affairs to make money out of the bookmaking community without it amounting to pure gambling, no matter how sharp the punter is, or how systematic the approach. It leaves matched betting in a real grey area, to my mind

Perhaps the analysis needs to go a bit deeper than just ‘matched betting’ as that covers such a wide range of slightly different ways to make money. Some are guaranteed money makers, hence they are listed as having a guaranteed return on the blog page. No gambling involved there. If you take the blog examples of the bet on this (on a market that can’t be laid) and get a free bet (that can be laid) then you are looking at implied value by significantly decreasing the odds. So, in reality it will be profitable in the long run, but theoretically you could place every qualifying bet on a losing outcome, meaning you lose money overall. That certainly still involves a definite gamble, albeit one that offers substantial value.

Perhaps that’s where the answer lies. Maybe when you look at the activities overall, there is enough ‘gamble’ involved to fall outside of being taxable. I still think a very strong argument could be made for and against though,

I haven’t used Skrill for years but, using one Skrill(/paypal/bank) account to fund accounts in different names is a very bad idea.

Why don’t you use Paypal – there is no fee to send money from one Paypal account to another.

Skrill is crap, there is a fee to load up your account and most bookies ban Skrill from most promotions. Paypal is ok but you need a separate account for each “person”, multiple email addresses on the same account is not enough. Can be a pain in the arse if you hit their limits and had to verify with bank accounts etc..

As to the legallity of multi-accounting my tuppence worth is that although it is a grey area as long as you are not using others names without their knowledge it is not fraud (much the same as it’s not fraud if my Mrs orders a pair of shoes with my card on my Amazon account).

The most the big UK sites will ever do to you would be give you your money back and shut you down. Personnally I stay away from the small offshore companies as I have lost a couple of grand in the past (from a poker site*) and if they want to steal your money there is not much you can do about it.

* I had signed myself up as an affiliate then created an account under it for Rakeback. They closed my account when I “dumped” a couple of thousand from one account to the another at a 2 person table.