Arbitrage betting is a form of sports betting that has become extremely popular with the rise of sports betting markets. With the technique being focused on covering different outcomes, it is typically known as a form of matched betting, making it one of the many techniques that you can include in your betting strategy. Here, we are going to look through what Arbitrage betting is, how it works in different sports, and all the other relevant information that you would ever have to know about arbing!
What Is Arbitrage Betting?
Arbitrage betting is a betting technique in which you place bets with different online sites, whether that be bookmakers or betting exchanges, to cover all outcomes of a sporting event, therefore ensuring there are no losses made. However, the main aspect of arbing is to find discrepancies in odds.
The concept of arbing is similar to matched betting, though there are no free bets or offers being used here. Therefore, it is a matched betting technique that can be used throughout different sporting events and is quite similar to value betting techniques. Upon finding differences in odds between bookmakers for the same sporting event, you can calculate how much you would need to place on the two bets to split your desired stake and remove the possibility of loss. Essentially, you divide your entire stake between the two outcomes, with a higher amount going on the side with lower odds. This, in turn, balances out both ends of the bet and means no matter which outcome wins, you make the same profit margin.
If we look at this in a different example, it is similar to the idea of buying a product at a low, discounted price to then sell it for a higher price. By placing arbitrage bets, we find odds that are too high and too low compared to each other, meaning that when the sporting event ends, we will make at least some profit, regardless of the result.
Sometimes dubbed ‘sure bets’, 98% of arbitrage bets return less than 1.2%. This means that when participating in arb betting, the strategy may require larger stakes or a lot of smaller bets that add up quickly to be worthwhile.
How Does Arbitrage Sports Betting Work?
Let’s take a look at a simple example to make the concept easier to grasp. Sports like the NFL and Tennis are much easier to place arbitrage bets on, as matches cannot end in a draw, so there are only 2 options. Arbitrage can still be used for football betting, but the risk is higher due to the chance of a game ending in a draw.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to find these bets through the tools at OddsMonkey:
- Using an odds comparison tool like OddsMonkey’s OddsMatcher, find a sporting event that offers two outcomes
- Find the highest odds available for each outcome from two different bookmakers
- Calculate whether the odds represent an arbitrage betting opportunity
- If so, calculate the individual stakes using our arbitrage betting calculator
- Place the bets at the respective bookmakers
For example, we will use a tennis example, which could be Carlos Alcaraz up against Jannik Sinner, and there will be plenty of betting markets available across various bookmakers that can be used for arbitrage betting. For this example, we will say that Carlos Alcaraz has odds of 6/5 at one bookmaker, whilst another bookmaker has Jannik Sinner at odds of 13/10.
As you can see in this example, both players have incredibly similar odds. However, this strategy involves placing bets on both players to win, ensuring a profit regardless of the match outcome. Here is a step-by-step look at how this could be used as an arbitrage bet:
Step 1: With an example total stake of £500, bettors would have to place approximately £235 on Carlos Alcaraz at the first bookmaker.
Step 2: Place the remaining £265 on Jannik Sinner at the second bookmaker.
Step 3: If Carlos Alcaraz wins, the bettor will be awarded approximately £517 with a profit of £17, whilst if Jannik Sinner wins, the total return will be £609.50, with a profit of £109.50.
With this example, using a high stake might seem like quite an intimidating bet to place; however, if done correctly, then there are no risks and no matter how much you have placed, there will always be some form of profit coming back to you. If you are interested in tennis, check out our tennis matched betting guide, which is available at OddsMonkey.
Whilst tennis is one of the most popular sports for arbitrage betting in the UK, there are also other sports across the world that are well-suited to arbing, such as American Football.
Let’s use the example of the Pittsburgh Steelers up against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Steelers being given odds of 1.5/1 and the Kansas City Chiefs using odds of 0.8/1. By using a technique similar to the one we have seen in the tennis example, we can create an arbitrage bet right here to ensure there are no chances of losses.
Step 1: With an example total stake of £100, you would place £41.86 with Bookmaker A and cover the Pittsburgh Steelers winning at odds of 1.5/1
Step 2: Place the remaining £58.14 with Bookmaker B to cover the Kansas City Chiefs winning
Step 3: Due to the discrepancy in odds, no matter the outcome of the match, the bettor will be awarded £104.65, with a total stake of £100, meaning the bettor has made £4.65 in profit.
Due to the chance for draws to occur during sports like football, we would recommend staying with sports that tend to have a win-or-lose result, as a draw can lower your chances of success. As you would be placing a bet on both teams to win, a draw would mean that both bets lose, and therefore, you would not make any profit. To ensure you make a profit, stick to the sports listed above, such as American Football and Tennis. If you are interested in American football betting, then you can check out our detailed NFL betting guide.
While this is only a small amount of profit for such a large stake, there is zero risk whatsoever, and the bets would be paid out quite quickly. This means, assuming there are enough opportunities, you could do the same process multiple times per day and steadily increase profit. Everything on top of your £100 stake is profit. Of course, you do not need to start with £100; you could increase or decrease this, but it is the easiest way to make sure you place the same amount each time you make an arbitrage bet.
If you are able to find these opportunities throughout sport, then you can slowly continue building up your bankroll, as arbitrage bets, which are placed in the correct way, will cut out the risk of any losses. This is not the only way to make the most of your betting, with the OddsMonkey matched betting blog being full of fantastic tips and guides on how to take your sports betting to the next level!
How To Spot Arbitrage Bet Opportunities
There are a couple of ways in which you can spot arbitrage betting UK opportunities. The first of these is through manually searching and comparing bookmaker odds in order to find where the breaking points are and where the profit lies.
While this would take some time, there are also other ways to find arbitrage betting opportunities, one of these being a formula.
Arbitrage Formula: Arbitrage% = ((1/ decimal odds for outcome A) x100) +((1 / decimal odds for outcome B) x100)
E.g. Player A win (1/ 1.18) x100 = 84.746%
Player B win (1/ 7.00) x 100 = 14.286%
84.75% + 14.29% = 99.032 (Anything under 100% is an arbitrage bet)
Bettors can also calculate potential profit from arbitrage betting with this formula:
The other option is to use software and betting calculators to find out the profit margins and potential quickly. Software such as OddsJam allows you to find opportunities for arbitrage betting without having to scour different bookmakers and their odds. By using arbitrage betting software, you can save yourself some time compared to searching manually.
Arbitrage Betting Vs Matched Betting
Now we have looked at what arbitrage betting is; we can compare it to matched betting and the similarities and differences that occur between the two.
Similarities of arbitrage betting and matched betting:
✅Can guarantee a profit if done correctly
✅Can be used on a variety of different sports
✅Both can lead to account suspensions and bans
Differences between arbitrage betting and matched betting:
❌Matched betting involves using offers such as free bets or promotions; arbitrage betting does not use free bets.
❌Arbitrage betting is all about finding discrepancies in odds.
❌Arbitrage betting can be done whenever discrepancies are found; matched betting has to be done with an offer available.
Arbitrage Betting FAQs
Due to arbitrage betting being such a unique form of betting, we have decided to look through some of the most commonly asked questions about this sports betting method.
Is Arbitrage Betting Legal?
Although arbing is not illegal, bookmakers do not like it if they can detect any suspicious activity on your account, such as arbing. This can result in your bets being cancelled, which can have a huge knock-on effect when arbing. For example, if one bet gets cancelled and the other bet does not, this could result in losses if the bet does not come in.
How much can you make from arbitrage betting?
When it comes to how much money can be made from arbitrage betting, this completely depends on three factors:
- How often do you place arbitrage bets?
- How much do you stake on arbitrage bets?
- Are you finding the best odds for arbitrage bets?
The more often that someone places arbitrage bets, the more they can make from this strategy, as arbing guarantees a profit if done correctly. The higher the stake, the higher the profit, and if you are not finding the best odds for arbing, then your progress might be slower than someone else’s.
Is there any way to avoid being banned whilst placing arbitrage bets?
Whilst arbing can be a risky tactic when it comes to the security of your account, as accounts can be restricted or even banned when they have been found placing arbitrage bets. Some bettors attempt to avoid this by placing mug bets, and if you are thinking, ‘What is mug betting?’ you can find out in our detailed OddsMonkey guide.
