Is matched betting gambling?

Gambling involves uncertainty. When you place a bet on a horse race or a sports match, the outcome is unknown and chance determines whether you win or lose.

Matched betting works differently.

When you place a bet at a bookmaker and then place a matching bet on the opposite outcome at Betfair, every possible outcome is covered. You know exactly what your financial position will be before the event even starts. Chance plays no part in the result.

To be clear, we are not trying to predict who wins. We do not need to. When all outcomes are covered, the result is the same regardless of what happens on the field. The profit comes from the maths, not the match.

So no, matched betting is not gambling in any meaningful sense of the word.