Qualifying bets and free-bet conversion explained

A qualifying bet and a free-bet conversion are two different jobs. First, you use cash to meet an offer's conditions, usually accepting a small qualifying loss. Then, if the bookmaker awards a stake-not-returned free bet, you use SNR calculator mode to turn its winnings into withdrawable cash. The useful number is the result of both stages together.

Outplayed's calculator separates normal qualifying bets, stake-not-returned free bets and stake-returned free bets because each needs different arithmetic.[1] Treating the free bet like cash is the classic mistake: it produces too large a lay stake and a result you never intended.

The short answer

Read the live offer terms before depositing or betting. For the qualifying stage, choose normal calculator mode, enter the cash back stake, accepted bookmaker odds, current lay odds and your actual exchange commission. Place the matching lay and confirm that it is fully accepted.

Once the qualifying bet has settled, check that the reward has arrived and read its own restrictions. If it is a normal stake-not-returned token, switch to Free Bet SNR mode. Find an eligible back and lay pair, recalculate with current prices, place both bets and confirm them. Finally, subtract the qualifying loss from the cash converted from the free bet. That is the net offer result.

Why the offer has two stages

A qualifying bet is the cash bet that unlocks a reward.[2] You are not trying to win that first bet in the ordinary sense. You are using the bookmaker back bet and exchange lay bet to keep the cost of qualifying small whichever side wins.

The reward is a separate asset with separate rules. A £20 free bet is not £20 of withdrawable cash. With an SNR reward, the bookmaker returns only the winnings if the selection wins, not the free stake. OddsMonkey describes the same difference between Normal and Free Bet SNR calculator modes.[4]

Smarkets also sets matched betting out as a qualifying stage followed by a free-bet stage.[3] Keeping those stages apart makes the records much easier to audit. It also stops an attractive conversion figure from hiding a poor qualifying bet.

Check the offer before you calculate anything

The headline is not the instruction manual. Open the current terms in your own account and record:

• whether you must opt in before betting;
• the qualifying stake and minimum odds;
• eligible sports, markets and bet types;
• whether the bet must settle, and whether voided or cashed-out bets count;
• excluded payment methods or customer groups;
• when the reward should arrive, its value and whether it comes in several tokens;
• the reward's minimum odds, eligible markets, expiry and SNR or SR status.

These are not fussy details. CAP's current guidance lists eligibility, deposit or wagering requirements, time limits, minimum odds and bet types among conditions that may need prominent disclosure.[5] The same guidance says an advert should make clear when a so-called free bet requires a qualifying bet.[5]

Do not copy terms from a comparison page and assume they still apply. Save or note the version shown when you take the offer. If the wording is unclear, ask the operator before committing money.

Stage one: place the qualifying bet in Normal mode

This hypothetical offer is "Bet £10, get a £20 free bet". Its terms permit a cash single at decimal odds of 2.00. You find the same selection available to lay at 2.04 and your exchange commission is 2%.

Normal mode is correct because the bookmaker stake is your own £10. Smarkets gives the normal lay formula as back odds multiplied by back stake, divided by lay odds minus commission.[3] With the figures above, the rounded lay stake is £9.90 and the liability is £10.30.

The thirty pence is the qualifying loss. It is the cost of unlocking the reward, provided every offer condition was met. Check the exchange's matched stake and accepted odds rather than trusting the values you typed. A submitted lay that remains unmatched has not covered the bookmaker bet.

Wait for the reward and inspect it

Do not start stage two because an email says the offer is complete. Open the bookmaker's rewards area and confirm what was actually credited. Outplayed notes that some rewards arrive after placement, while many are issued only after the qualifying bet settles.[2]

Check the token amount, expiry and eligible markets again. Free bets can have short use windows, and the exact deadline belongs to the live offer rather than a general rule.[2] If the promised reward is missing, do not place another qualifying bet. Recheck opt-in, stake, odds, market, settlement and account messages, then ask support to confirm eligibility.

Stage two: convert the £20 SNR free bet

The credited token is marked stake not returned. You find an eligible bookmaker selection at 5.00 and can lay the same market and outcome at 5.10. Switch the calculator to Free Bet SNR, keep the commission at 2%, and enter £20 as the free-bet stake.

SNR arithmetic removes the free stake from the bookmaker return. Smarkets expresses the lay formula as free-bet stake multiplied by back odds minus one, divided by lay odds minus commission.[3] The rounded lay stake is £15.75 and the liability is £64.58.

The bookmaker line is £80, not £100, because the £20 token is not returned. The one-penny difference between outcomes comes from rounding the lay stake to a penny. A calculator should show both outcomes before you place anything. Outplayed says its calculator reports the lay stake, liability and either free-bet profit or qualifying loss.[1]

The whole offer made about £15.13

The free bet converted to £15.43 or £15.44. Subtract the qualifying loss of about £0.30 and the full offer produced about £15.13 or £15.14, depending on which rounded outcome occurred. Every figure here was checked with Decimal arithmetic rather than binary floating point.

Record four lines in your tracker: qualifying loss, reward face value, free-bet conversion, and net offer result. Keep exchange liability separate because it is money temporarily reserved to cover a possible lay loss, not another cost when the matched position settles correctly.

Conversion percentage can help compare candidate bets, but it is not the final profit. This example converted about 77.1% of the £20 token before the qualifying loss. A slightly lower conversion with far less liability may be the sensible choice for a small bankroll.

SEE OUTPLAYED'S MATCHED-BETTING TOOLS ↗

Six mistakes that spoil the calculation

• Using SNR mode for the qualifying bet: your cash stake is returned with winnings, so use Normal mode.
• Using Normal mode for an SNR token: the calculator then assumes a stake return that the bookmaker will not pay.
• Counting the headline reward as profit: a £20 token becomes whatever cash the conversion produces.
• Ignoring changed odds: recalculate from the prices available immediately before each bet.
• Forgetting liability: make sure the exchange balance can fund it before placing the bookmaker side.
• Missing the terms: an ineligible qualifying bet or expired token can turn a planned small loss into an ordinary bet.

There is no prize for completing an offer in a hurry. If the market, terms or reward status is unclear, stop and resolve that one point first.

Useful next guides

Use the free matched-betting calculator guide to practise Normal, SNR and SR modes. If exchange stakes and liability are new, read how to lay a bet. For working-capital planning across both stages, see the matched betting bankroll guide.