Tracy Pedersen had never placed a bet in her life before she gave the practice – where free bets and offers are used to offset the risk of other wagers – a go in August 2021. It came after she looked for alternative revenue streams to help clear her £10,000 credit card debt and give her two children – Imogen, six, and Oliver, two – a better quality of life.

Since taking it up, the mother-of-two has become debt free and even managed to pay for £3,500 holiday to Ibiza for her children and husband John, 43, last summer.

“We were living off credit cards because after all our bills were paid, we were left with £150-a-month for a family of four to live off for a month,” she explained. 

“So we had no choice because mine and my husband’s earnings don’t stretch enough. 

“Plus having been on maternity leave in 2020 and 2021, we’d built up a lot of debt just trying to get by while I was on maternity pay.

“We were using credit cards to get essentials and things the children needed. We weren’t wasting it on unnecessary items or living a luxurious lifestyle.

“We didn’t have any savings because we weren’t able to physically save. 

“And with everything going up, we would have ended up owing a lot more than £10,000 by now.

“So I can honestly say that it has changed our lives.”

Tracy – an admin officer who lives in Halesowen, West Midlands – initially looked for other revenue streams when she realised that she couldn’t make ends meet.

After doing surveys and other questionnaires and even trying to start her own craft business which failed miserably, a friend suggested matched betting – saying she had tried it and made a few thousand pounds.

Tracy – who had “no interest” in gambling and had never bet on anything before – thought it sounded like a scam but decided to investigate further because she knew she needed to do something as she didn’t even have money for Christmas presents which was only a few months away.

She signed up to Outplayed.com, which suggested a series of accounts and bets to place and earned back her £180 annual fee within a month.

She has continued and spends around 10 to 12 hours a week placing bets which will rise when there are big events like Cheltenham Festival.

To make the most of the offers, she has a float of at least £1,500 which allows her to earn around £800-£1,000 a month.

This compliments her three-day-a-week job which earns her around £20,000-a-year and her husband’s full-time admin job.

“I use it as a top-up,” she explained. 

“What I earn is not quite enough to keep us afloat. The top-up gets us stuff the kids need, like new shoes and clothes, pays for days out and has helped us do a few things around the house. 

“We recently upgraded my daughter’s bedroom which was paid for by matched betting. 

“Both my husband and I are not massively well paid. We’re not well off, and obviously, with the cost of everything going up, it is a struggle. 

“Having two young children and one in nursery – which alone costs just over £500-a-month – is not cheap.

“So it is a real help and if I hadn’t had it, we would have continued to get into debt.

“I’ve also used it to pay for day trips such as to Alton Towers and Twycross Zoo and even saved up £3,500 for an all-inclusive trip to Ibiza which was the first time my son had been abroad.

“The way we were going, we would have been in a lot more debt and we wouldn’t have been able to pay all our bills.

“It was a vicious circle that would have got worse. We could have ended up falling behind on mortgage payments which would have meant we risked losing the house.

“It hasn’t made us rich, but we are not counting the pennies to get by like we were.”

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