Arbitrage Betting Explained – What Do You Need to Know about This Strategy?

What Is Arbitrage Betting?

Arbitrage betting is a way to guarantee a profit by betting on one outcome with bookmaker A and betting on the opposite outcome with bookmaker B. With this method, punters can average a 1 to 10% return on a bet. This might not seem like much, but the profit is risk-free. Moreover, the cumulative profit per month can exceed 20%.

In general, the top 10 football betting sites give close quotes for specific football markets, but there is always some difference in the odds displayed by the leading sportsbooks. While the gaps aren't that big at a glance, decimal points are usually good indicators of potential value.

The quickest way to find and calculate arbing opportunities is to use software, and there are plenty of choices on the market nowadays. However, before you go shopping for Ultimate Arbing Hack 3000, it would be best to learn the working principles of surebetting.

Arbitrage Betting Tips – How to Spot and Take Advantage

Let's examine the following table as an example of a surebet opportunity.

Usually, bookmakers include a commission in their odds which gives them profit for both outcomes of an event. While the commission is not obvious, it can be easily calculated by adding together the inverses of the odds. You can do this by separately dividing 1 by the odds of both outcomes and then adding the numbers together. Then, multiply everything by 100, like this:

• Bookie A Commission: (1/2.10) + (1/1.72) = 0.47 + 0.58 = 1.05 ; 1.05*100= 105%
• Bookie B Commission: (1/1.75) + (1/2.20) = 0.57 + 0.45 = 1.02 ; 1.02*100= 102%

Everything that is above 100% is the bookmaker's commission. It appears Bookie A have a 5% commission on each stake, while Bookie B charge only 2% for their services. Moreover, there is a significant difference in the odds for the same outcomes. However, the difference in quotes is not sufficient to determine whether arbitrage betting will be profitable.

Calculating Potential, Stake Size and Exact Profit

Before we proceed, we need to calculate whether betting on opposing outcomes with different bookies will give us value. In order to investigate the potential profit of arbing (aka the yield), we need to cross-check the inversions of these odds. We are looking for a sum that is less than 100%. Here is how to calculate it:

• Inversion 1= (1/2.10)x100 + (1/2.20)x100 = 47.6% + 45.45% = 93.05%
• Inversion 2=  (1/1.75)x100 + (1/1.72)x100 = 57.14% + 58.14% = 115.28%

The first inversion gives us an outcome below 100%. It's clear that the profit from arbing will be around 6.95%, as calculated by subtracting the result from 100%. However, to get the optimal profit, we need to determine how much to bet on each outcome. We can do this by multiplying the sum we intend to invest by the individual arbitrage percentage and divide it by 93.05%:

• Stake 1 = (47.6% x £100) / 93.05% = £51.16
• Stake 2 = (45.45% x £100) / 93.05% = £48.84
• Profit if Over 2.5:  2.10 x £51.16 – (£51.16 + £48.84) = £7.43
• Profit if Under 2.5:  2.20 x £48.84 – (£51.16 + £48.84) = £7.44

By betting the above sums on the respective odds, punters are guaranteed to earn £7.43 in profit. Any investor will agree that 7% is a decent return on investment. In sports betting arbitrage, however, the return is per bet, not per year, like in stock trading.

How to Do Arbitrage Betting

Now that we've shown you how to calculate the potential profit and the optimal stakes, we can concentrate on arbitrage football betting itself. There are three steps to engaging in arbitrage betting, and while they are simple, each presents a challenge on its own:

How to Find Betting Opportunities

There are three ways to find opportunities in the UK for arbitrage betting, and each of them has advantages and disadvantages:

Is It Worth It?

In the end, it comes down to money, and UK arbitrage betting on football offers plenty of money if done right. Using surebet software, punters can get leads for opportunities, and all that remains is to then capitalise on them. Many people criticise arbing because it doesn't offer as much value as normal betting. However, when the risk is taken into consideration, surebetting definitely looks like the winner.

Frequently Asked Questions