Betdirect

This should really have appeared bfore the last sure bet because my Betdirect account was funded and qualifying and free bets placed first.

I had a Betdirect account for some time, but never funded it. I got correspondence from their customer service saying that my free bet was still available if I funded and bet according to the free bet Ts and Cs. I deposited £25 and bet on Arsenal to beat Fenerbahce at 2.0 - the lay with Betdaq was £24.27 at 2.08 (£26.21 liability). The free bet would be credited after the qualifying bet was settled.
A stroll in the Turkish park for Arsenal means that I am £1.21 down.

My free bet became available soon after the Arsenal result, so I bet my £25 free bet on another Champions League game, namely Bordeaux v Cfr Cluj-Napoca - the away team to win at odds of 5.0, the necessary lay was £19.69 at 5.1 (£80.73 liability).
1 : 0 to Bordeaux, and a £19.30 profit.

Bet	Betdirect	Betdaq	Difference
Qualifying	£50	-£26.21	-£1.21
Free	£0	£19.30	£19.30
Total			£18.09
Overall Profit			£405.16

Sure bet #8

A quick one, because I had available funds in both bookmakers. A cup game in Finland between Honka Espoo and Tampere Utd. The bet, under 2.5 goals with Betdirect £49.61 at 2.2 and over 2.5 goals with Unibet £59 at 1.85.
The game ended 0 : 0, so my Betdirect account returned £109.14, a £0.53 profit overall.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Betdirect	£49.61	£109.14	£59.53
Unibet	£59	£0	-£59
Total	£108.61	£109.14	£0.53
Overall Profit			£387.07

Sure bet #7

A decent sure bet this one, with profit a little shy of 4%. Asian handicap Porto -0.5/-1.0 £100 @ 2.05 with Skybet against Dynamo Kiev +0.5/+1.0 £97.16 @ 2.11 with Canbet.
Kiev won 1 : 0, so my Canbet account won £107.85.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Skybet	£100	£0	-£100
Canbet	£97.16	£205.01	£107.85
Total	£197.16	£205.01	£7.85
Overall Profit			£386.54

Winunited

I joined Winunited for no particularly good reason other than they were offering a 50% bonus. They deal entirely in euros on the site, so it's a little confusing knowing exactly how much you are wagering for the comparison with Betdaq. I used a currency converter, but there's no guarantee that I will get the rate quoted. It's a bit 'finger in the air' this one. I also suspect I may get stung by my bank account when I use the debit card to deposit.

I deposited 90 euros. This appeared in my statement as £47.78 plus a £1.50 service charge.

I bet the full 90 euros on Manchester City to beat Newcastle United at 2.45. The lay with Betdaq was £61.91 at 2.41, so a good ratio.

Update: I was really hoping that Manchester City would slip up, so I wasn't best pleased when Newcastle contrived to go a man and a goal down in the first 15 minutes. Credit to them, they turned the game around and actually lead going into the last 5 minutes. The game ended 2 : 2, and my Winunited association ended. My Betdaq account improved by £60.67.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Winunited	£49.28	£0	-£49.28
Betdaq	£0	£60.67	£60.67
Total	£49.28	£60.67	£11.39
Overall Profit			£378.69

Sure bet #6

I spotted a free bet involving Unibet, and I had £200 spare cash in my account. I used £100 of it on the end of the first half result between Liverpool and Wigan. £100 at 1.83 with Unibet, £63.10 at 2.9 with VCBet and £16.64 at 11 with 888sport.
Update: Wigan were actually leading at half time, the ref got involved in the second half, so the ended up losing, but by then my 888sport bet had already won.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Unibet	£100	£0	-£100
VCBet	£63.10	£0	-£63.10
888sport	£16.64	£183.04	£166.40
Total	£179.74	£183.04	£3.30
Overall Profit			£367.30

Sure bet #5

I now had a spare £70.25 in my Ladbrokes account. Ice hockey yet again, the country this time is Denmark, the teams Frederikshavn White Hawks and Totempo HVIK. This time I bet on the Asian handicap, £47.77 on Frederikshavn -1.5 at 2.5 with Paddy Power and £70.25 on Totempo +1.5 at 1.7 with Ladbrokes.
Update: My Ladbrokes bet won, so it increases to £119.43.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Ladbrokes	£70.25	£119.43	£49.18
Paddy Power	£47.77	£0	-£47.77
Total	£118.02	£119.43	£1.41
Overall Profit			£364

Sure bet #4

I now had a spare £51.52 in my Ladbrokes account. Ice hockey again, the country this time is Germany, the teams Kolner Haie and Fuchse Duisburg. I again bet on the final result, so there was only two possibilities. I bet the full £51.52 with Ladbrokes on Kolner Haie at odds of 1.36 and £17.52 with bet365 on Fuchse Duisburg at odds of 4.0.
Update: Kolner Haie won, so my Ladbrokes account received the winnings.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Ladbrokes	£51.52	£70.25	£18.73
Bet365	£17.52	£0	-£17.52
Total	£69.04	£70.25	£1.21
Overall Profit			£362.59

Getting the third Boylesport free bet

So, the search for the next five £50 qualifying bets begins. I will have half an eye on sure bet opportunities and the other half on closely matched bet-lay combinations.

Qualifying Bet #1:
World Cup qualifier between Bolivia and Uruguay. Bet £50 on Bolivia at 2.5 and lay £48.64 with Betdaq at 2.59.
Update: The match ended in a 2 : 2 draw, so my Betdaq account bulges by £47.67 - a £2.33 loss.

Qualifying Bet #2:
World Cup again, this time Slovakia against Poland. Bet £50 on Slovakia at 2.63 and lay £49.07 with Betdaq at 2.7.
Update: 2 : 1 to Slovakia means the Boylesports account gets the winnings.

Qualifying Bet #3:
All the games with money on, and therefore close odds with Betdaq, seem to be the World Gup group games. As is the case with the next bet. Austria v Serbia, betting £50 on a draw at 3.25 and laying £48.80 at 3.35.
Update: Austria lost 1 : 3, so my Betdaq account increases.

Boylesports has suddenly changed. As of Thursday, 16 October, I can't place any £50 bets on anything over 2.0. I keep getting re-offers at a much lower stake or am told that the bet cannot be placed at all as it poses too big a risk to the bookmaker. I contacted their online support. They told me to place the bet by phone to get the full stake, so I phoned up only to be told that the best they could offer is £10. That's no good if I'm to get a £50 free bet. Fortunately, I also received confirmation from them that any odds count as a qualifying bet, so I don't have to look for over 2.0, and also don't have to stress my Betdaq account too much.

Qualifying Bet #4:
Tennis. Andy Murray against Monfils. £50 accepted for Murray to win at 1.4. The lay is £48.60 at part 1.45 and part 1.46.
Update: Murray won easily, so my Boylesports account increases by £20 and my Betdaq decreases by £22.09.

Qualifying Bet #5:
Back to football, and probably the most predictable game of the premiership weekend - Manchester United versus West Brom. £50 qualifying bet on Man Utd at 1.2, with a lay of £50 at 1.22 (£11 liability).
Update: Almost a foregone conclusion, it finished 4 : 0 after a goalless first half. Boylesports win, Betdaq loses.

Spending the free bet was going to be hard work if I couldn't get a decent stake at decent odds, and so it proved. There were to be 14 bets in all required to work through the £50.
1. West Ham to beat Hull City, £5.40 at 3.0; lay £3.45 at 3.15
Lay wins £3.38
2. Middlesbrough to draw with Chelsea, £4.55 at 3.75; lay £3.27 at 3.85
Lay wins £3.20
3. Everton to beat Arsenal, £1.35 at 9.0; lay £1.03 at 10.5
Lay wins £1.01
4. Liverpool to draw with Wigan, £3.55 at 4.5; lay £2.65 at 4.7
Lay wins £2.60
5. Aston Villa to draw with Portsmouth, £4.55 at 3.4; lay £2.93 at 3.75
Bet wins £10.92, lay loses £8.02, profit £2.18
6. Fulham to draw with Sunderland, £4.75 at 3.3; lay £3.09 at 3.55
Bet wins £10.92, lay loses £7.88, profit £3.04
7. Boltom to draw with Blackburn, £4.75 at 3.25; lay £3.18 at 3.45
Bet wins £10.91, lay loses £7.79, profit £3.12
8. Ipswich to draw with Swansea, £2.60 at 3.4; lay £1.77 at 3.55
Bet wins £6.24, lay loses £4.51, profit £1.73
9. Hamilton to draw with St Mirren, £2.75 at 3.25; lay £1.80 at 3.45
Lay wins £1.76
10. Kilmarnock to draw with Motherwell, £2.75 at 3.25; lay £1.80 at 3.45
Lay wins £1.76
11. Hearts to beat Hiberniam, £3.10 at 3.0; lay £1.98 at 3.15
Lay wins £1.94
12. Stoke to draw with Tottenham, £5.20 at 3.4; lay £3.49 at 3.6
Lay wins £3.42
13. Sheffield Wednesday to draw with Sheffield United, £3.85 at 3.2; lay £2.40 at 3.55
Lay wins £2.35
14. Barcelona to beat Athletic Bilbao £0.75 at 1.57; no lay - can't lay less than 50p
Bet wins £0.43, no lay loss, profit £0.43

That was hard work.

Bet	Boylesports	Betdaq	Difference
1	-£50	£47.67	-£2.33
2	£81.50	-£83.42	-£1.92
3	-£50	£47.82	-£2.18
4	£20	-£22.09	-£2.09
5	£10	-£11	-£1
Free	£39.42	-£6.78	£32.64
Total			£23.12
Overall Profit			£361.38

Sure bet #3

This one was placed because I had a spare £20.90 in my bet365 account, and it used another UK-based bookmaker in a 'two possible results' scenario. The sport was ice hockey, the country Sweden, the teams Brynas and Sodertalje. Ice hockey has to have a result - they go to penalties if it's a draw. I bet £30 with Ladbrokes on Brynas at odds of 1.7 and £20.40 with bet365 on Sodertalje at odds of 2.5. This is a £0.60 win whatever happens.
Update: Brynas won 1 : 0, so my Ladbrokes account received the winnings.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Ladbrokes	£30	£51	£21
Bet365	£20.40	£0	-£20.40
Total	£50.40	£51	£0.60
Overall Profit			£338.26

Unibet

I followed an affiliate link to Unibet rather than going to the site directly and discovered that they were offering a 50% deposit up to 30 EUR. I didn't know how this converted to GBP, so I deposited £50 and got a £23.62 bonus.

I identified a sure bet between Paddy Power and Unibet in the ATP Stockholm tournament. The game between Hernandez and Minar had unusually high odds of 3.9 on Unibe, meaning that a bet of £29.64 on Hernandez and a bet on his opponent Minar on Paddy Power of £84.77 at odds of 1.36 is a guaranteed return of £115.60 and a profit of £1.19.
The Paddy Power bet lost, so I made my money with Unibet. I will give the final reckoning in a table at the end of this entry - it's complicated.

This left £43.98 in the Unibet account. I identified a qualifying bet in the American Football fixtures between Pittsburgh and Jacksonville: A £43.98 bet on Pittsburgh at 2.90 with a corresponding lay of £42.80 with Betdaq at 3.0. The actual amounts were £43.97 and £42.66 due to Unibet not allowing me to bet my entire account due to 'insufficient funds' and Betdaq not laying the entire amount.
Pittsburgh upset the form book with a 26 : 21 victory and I won £83.54 with the bookmaker and lost £85.32 with the exchange, an overall loss of £1.78.

I then received an email entitled the 'Friday Freebie' telling me to log on to PartyBets to claim a 20% bonus. Sure enough, when I logged on, the bonus was waiting for me - I got the maximum possible (£25) by depositing £125. I then thought that I may as well use the generous Unibet odds again. to bet through the bonus on PartyBets. Now, for some reason, I was unable to bet the entire amount necessary on Unibet in one single transaction - the bets needed approval - whatever that means. However, all the bets were approved and were broken down into £4.15, £38.16 and £8.46 bets on Hernandez at 3.90. I bet the full £150 on Minar at odds of 1.32.
Against all the odds (well, the 3.90 odds) Hernandez upset Minar in straight sets. My Unibet bets all win. I win £16.19, £148.82 and £32.99 with Unibet and lose £125 (£150 less £25 bonus) with PartyBets.

I received a response to my email question from Unibet support regarding the outstanding bet through amount still to be wagered. They obviously have different bonus programs depending on which affiliate link you follow, because my requirement was still £159. This works out at approximately 12 times the bonus. Fortunately, I was able to identify a sure bet that involved Unibet and allowed me to bet the full amount in one go. The sport was basketball, the bet was Buducnost £160 to win at 1.48. The other two necessary bets were both placed with Ladbrokes. The draw £11.28 at 21.0 and the win for Split CO £59.20 at 4.0. This is an overall investment of £230.48 to win from £236.80 to £236.88, about a £6.40 profit, or 2.77%.
Update: Buducnost won 85 : 68, so my Unibet bet wins AGAIN - they must think I'm psychic.

Company	Money In	Money Out	Profit
Unibet	£50	£467.15	£417.15
Paddy Power	£84.77	£0	-£84.77
PartyBets	£125	£0	-£125
Betdaq	£85.32	£0	-£85.32
Ladbrokes	£70.48	£0	-£70.48
Total	£415.57	£467.15	£51.58
Overall Profit			£337.66