This week I’m joining Ladbrokes. It follows the very familiar format of placing a qualifying bet which once settled will in turn unlock free promo cash. As Arsenal are finished for the season all that’s left for us to do is mull over what is likely to be another wasted transfer window, going hand in hand with a wasted season. But that shouldn’t stop us earning a little extra on the side utilising a free bet for the Champions League and Play-Off Finals.

If you Join Ladbrokes through the link here you’ll see you need to stake £30 to unlock a free £30 bet. A word of caution - the offer isn’t valid with deposits through money bookers so you must use your debit/credit card. Also where it says Promotion Code/RAF ID, be sure to type in FB30 to receive the offer.

I would suppose it’s usual protocol to support the English team but I’m opting for the Barcelona win. The odds match well and after Barca’s strong home performance against the Gunners, at least we can say we went out to the eventual winners.

Once you’ve joined Ladbrokes change the odds over to decimal, this can be found in the bottom left of the screen. Then click on “Football” and under “Football Highlights” you’ll see “Champions League Final”. At the moment you can back Barca at odds of “2”, I can’t imagine it changing too much from this so place the full £30 stake on it.

At Betfair go to “Football” and you’ll see “Barcelona v Man Utd”. Click the pink lay button for the Barcelona win. This had odds of “2.1” (Ed’s note: 2.06 when I backed it, but shouldn’t drift much more than that. I stuck with the £25 suggested) as I laid the bet with £25 so it left the following outcomes:

- Barcelona Win in 90 minutes: +£2.50 (+£30 at Ladbrokes, -£27.50 at Betfair)

- Barcelona doesn’t win in 90 minutes: -£5 (-£30 at Ladbrokes, +£25 at Betfair)

As we’re betting on the outcome of the match and not actually the eventual Champions League winner our bet only applies to the 90 minutes. So if it’s a draw at 90 minutes and goes into extra time well be down £5. Either way we’re left with a small profit or loss from Part 1 but the most important thing is unlocking the free bet which we will be able to utilise for a guaranteed profit on the Monday’s Championship Play-Off Final.

Check back for full details of Part 2 on Sunday. And remember...

“Why gamble when you can win!”