Matched betting software in Australia is a set of tools for three jobs: finding a bookmaker price close to the exchange lay price, working out the lay stake, and tracking offers and results. Odds matchers do the first, calculators the second, and promo and bet trackers the third. Some tools also place the bookmaker bet automatically. None can make a bookmaker send you offers, and none can place a bookmaker bet and an exchange lay as one bet, so a price can move between the two.
Australia changes what the software is for. Under the National Consumer Protection Framework, no credit, voucher, reward or other benefit may be offered to open an account, a ban in place since 26 May 2019 (26 November 2019 in NSW). A tool built around offers for new accounts has nothing to work on here. What Australian accounts receive are refunds, bonus bets and boosts from bookmakers they already use, the shapes betting promotions in Australia maps. Matched betting in Australia explains the method itself.
What matched betting tools do
| Tool | What it does | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Odds matcher | Lists bookmaker back prices beside exchange lay prices, ranked by a rating | Place either bet, or promise the lay is still there when you reach it |
| Back-lay calculator | Works out the lay stake and liability for a cash qualifying bet | Know anything you do not type in |
| Bonus bet converter | Works out the lay for a stake-not-returned bonus bet and what it keeps | Allow for a lay that matches only in part |
| Promo tracker | Lists the offers on your accounts with their expiry dates | Create an offer, or decide whether a bet qualifies |
| Bet and profit tracker | Records both legs, settles them and reports your results | Record a bet nobody entered |
| Bookmaker-side automation | Logs in to your bookmaker account and places the back bet on rules you set | Change what the bookmaker's terms allow |
| Exchange-side automation | Places lays through the exchange's own API | Place a bet anywhere but that exchange |
The arithmetic itself is free: the back lay calculator and the bonus bet converter run it without an account. Paid matched betting tools differ in the things below: how fresh their prices are, what they cover and how they keep records.
How an odds matcher works, and how to read its rating
An odds matcher puts each bookmaker's back price beside the exchange's lay price for the same selection and ranks the pairs by a match rating: rating = back odds / lay odds x 100. The closer to 100%, the smaller the gap, and match rating covers how commission changes the real figure.
With illustrative prices and commission at an illustrative 5%, here are three pairs for a $60 qualifying bet:
| Selection | Back / lay | Rating | Lay stake: 60 x back / (lay - 0.05) | Loss if it loses (much the same if it wins) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $2.30 / $2.36 | 2.30 / 2.36 = 97.5% | 138 / 2.31 = $59.74 | 60 - 59.74 x 0.95 = $3.25 |
| B | $4.40 / $4.60 | 4.40 / 4.60 = 95.7% | 264 / 4.55 = $58.02 | 60 - 58.02 x 0.95 = $4.88 |
| C | $8.50 / $9.40 | 8.50 / 9.40 = 90.4% | 510 / 9.35 = $54.55 | 60 - 54.55 x 0.95 = $8.18 |
For a cash qualifying bet the rating ranks these pairs correctly: A costs least. For a stake-not-returned bonus bet the order turns over, because a bonus bet keeps more of its value at longer prices, as the guide to the best way to use bonus bets shows. Lay stake = bonus x (back odds - 1) / (lay odds - commission), on a $60 bonus bet:
| Selection | Lay stake | Kept if it loses: lay stake x 0.95 | Share of face value | Liability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 60 x 1.30 / 2.31 = $33.77 | $32.08 | 53.5% | 33.77 x 1.36 = $45.93 |
| B | 60 x 3.40 / 4.55 = $44.84 | $42.60 | 71.0% | 44.84 x 3.60 = $161.42 |
| C | 60 x 7.50 / 9.35 = $48.13 | $45.72 | 76.2% | 48.13 x 8.40 = $404.29 |
The lowest-rated pair keeps the most of a bonus bet, but needs $404.29 of liability and $48.13 of backers' money waiting at $9.40 to match the lay. Some odds matchers rank by a separate stake-not-returned figure; if yours shows only the plain rating, re-sort by conversion before you use a bonus bet.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A rating describes two prices at the moment they were read: by the time you bet, either can have moved, a lay can go unmatched, and a bonus bet left unhedged that loses pays nothing. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Automating the bookmaker side vs the exchange side
A matched bet is two bets, with two operators, in two accounts, placed one after the other. Software can speed up either side, but it cannot join them into one bet.
- The bookmaker side: software logs in to your bookmaker account with the details you give it and places the back bet, or the bonus bet, on rules you set. Many bookmakers restrict or prohibit automated betting and third-party access to accounts in their terms, and can cut stakes, void bets or close an account.
- The exchange side: an exchange's own API places bets on that exchange only, under the exchange's terms, so a tool that places lays normally works through it.
- The gap between them: whichever side goes first, for a moment one bet stands without the other. If the back is accepted and the lay never matches, or the lay matches and the bookmaker refuses the back, you hold an ordinary bet you did not plan.
Between manual and automatic sit tools that open the bookmaker's bet slip with the selection filled in, leaving you to type the stake and confirm. Where any of these tools runs, and who holds your bookmaker logins, matters as much as what it automates; giving betting software your login covers those questions.
What to check before you pay
| Check | Why it matters | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| Price freshness | A stale lay price changes the sum: if B's lay is now $4.90, not $4.60, the lay stake is 264 / 4.85 = $54.43 and the $60 bet loses 60 - 54.43 x 0.95 = $8.29, not $4.88 | Look for a time on every price, and compare a few with the exchange yourself |
| Bookmaker coverage | A tool that misses the bookmakers you hold accounts with has nothing to match | Compare its list with your accounts, and check it carries win and place markets for racing as well as sports |
| Exchange depth | A good rating on $10 of waiting money is no help when selection C's lay needs $48.13 matched at $9.40 | Check it shows the money available at each lay price |
| Record keeping | Your real result needs both legs recorded and settled | Check it records both legs, settles from the bookmaker's results and exports, then compare it with your bookmaker's statement |
Under the national framework, bookmakers must send active accounts a monthly activity statement and keep transaction records available for at least seven years, which gives you something to check any tracker against. For the questions every betting tool should answer, such as where it runs and what it costs per bet, use the betting software buyer's checklist.
Be wary of any tool sold on income. Scamwatch, run by the ACCC, warns that sports betting and arbitrage schemes sold as investments are just another form of gambling and often scams, with reports of software that was never delivered or did not work (checked October 2026).
Costs, and what account restrictions do to them
A tool's fee comes out of the same offers it helps convert, so price it against what your accounts actually receive. With illustrative figures, four $25 bonus bets in a month, converted at about 71% as selection B was, keep 4 x $25 x 0.71 = $71 on paper. A $35 monthly fee takes about half of that, before any qualifying losses, and a month with no offers converts nothing. Count every charge: the subscription, any per-bet usage charge, and the exchange's commission, which the exchange sets and charges on net winnings.
Bookmakers can cut stakes, stop sending offers or close an account under their own terms, and an account that bets only when an offer is on is the pattern matched betting creates. No tool prevents that. Where a bookmaker licensed in the Northern Territory restricts an account, the NT Wagering Commission says it cannot investigate account restrictions, including restrictions on promotions or on how much a customer can bet (checked October 2026). Why bookmakers restrict accounts covers the triggers and your options. Use only accounts in your own name: bookmakers verify the account holder's identity before the first bet, and B337's Terms require every account you connect to be yours.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A tool's figures assume the offers keep coming and every lay is matched, and once an account is restricted its offers, and the tool's value on it, can stop. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Choosing matched betting software for your accounts
There is no single best matched betting software, because the tools do different jobs. Match the tool to what your accounts actually get:
- A few bonus bets a month: free calculators and a spreadsheet do the arithmetic.
- Mostly racing refunds: you need bookmaker win and place prices beside exchange prices, each with the time it was read.
- Offers spread across the accounts you already hold: a promo tracker with expiry dates matters more than a faster matcher.
- Bookmaker-side automation: read each bookmaker's terms first, and remember the lay stays yours unless the tool also works in your exchange account.
- A tool sold with an income figure: walk away.
Where B337 fits: the bookmaker side, with the lay yours
B337 is betting automation and odds comparison software, and on matched betting it does three things and leaves one to you:
- It puts bookmaker prices beside the exchange's. From Terminal View, Betfair back and lay sit beside each bookmaker's price on the Terminal, so you can see where a bookmaker price sits against the exchange market. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds. Prices are read on a repeating cycle, so confirm one with your bookmaker before you bet.
- With Full Automation, its Classic Racing strategy can place a racing bonus bet on the bookmaker side when the runner sits inside your odds range and its bonus conversion, measured against the Betfair price at the time, meets your threshold.
- Full Automation also tracks offers and results. Auto Scan Promos reads the offers on your accounts during the day, the Promos page lists them with the expiry date each bookmaker states, and stake, return and bonus conversion are tracked per session and per bookmaker, with CSV export. Bets placed elsewhere, such as your lay, can be added by hand.
- It does not place the lay: a bonus bet a session places is unhedged until you hedge it in your own exchange account.
A session runs only while the bot is on your own computer, which has to be on, awake and online, and it uses only offers a bookmaker has already issued to your account. No price is published for Full Automation: you set it up with the team, and they confirm the price, charges on top of the plan price included, before you pay. Bets placed through B337 use credits, a per-bet usage charge, so the more a session bets, the more it costs. Bonus bet automation covers the settings. Bookmaker names are trade marks of their owners. B337 is not affiliated with them.
For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Many bookmakers restrict automated betting in their terms, any of them can void bets or close an account, and B337 makes no claim that it avoids limits. Automation can bet far more, far faster, than by hand, so cap each bookmaker account with a deposit limit before any session runs. See responsible gambling for limits and support.