Think about it, it’s the same deal. You still have to put up money as a guarantee, so why not use that for betting instead? If the bet loses, it’s the same loss. But if it wins, you get to keep all the profit. Makes way more sense, right?

Yeah. It is the same deal if it's put that way, but I don't think it works like that. If the match is indeed a fixed one, you won't lose the bet thanks to which the escrow will end up sending you the stake + winnings.
If it ain't fixed, the escrow will still send you back your stake. This is probably what op is trying to sell and he clearly failed miserably.
But it would be interesting to know, perhaps in percentage terms, what is the percentage of fixed matches in different competitions. After all, fixed matches basically just redistribute winnings for both players and those who place bets, and for bookmakers too, of course. And it may well be that fixed matches are staged and the result is the opposite. This also happens periodically. In general, this is such a practically "inexhaustible kitchen" for deception and fraud that in principle it is not worth believing in fixed matches and at the same time having a 100% guarantee of the result. So trading in such insider information is also a rather murky and ignoble occupation.