Sports Betting
Sports Betting
Guide
Gambling

What is Arbitrage Betting?

If you're interested in arbitrage betting, check out the following examples and strategies.

Claudia Hartley
Claudia Hartley

Last Updated: 2024-05-22

A. Tzamantanis

5 minutes read

A person using a laptop

Photo by John Schnobrich via Unsplash

Arbitrage betting is often talked about as a surefire way to make money, which is one of the reasons sports betting sites aren’t big fans of it.

An arbitrage bet requires you to bet on all possible outcomes of a sports event, at odds that will allow you to make a profit whatever the result.

If done correctly, it does guarantee a profit, but there are plenty of potential pitfalls that you need to be aware of. We’re going to take a look at how arbitrage betting works, as well as the benefits and risks of this betting strategy.

How Arbitrage Betting Works

Arbitrage betting might sound confusing, but once you’ve got the hang of it and found the tools that work for you, it’s surprisingly easy.

Watch the Odds

Arbitrage betting requires you to watch the odds of one sports event closely, ideally at multiple different sportsbooks.

Look out for events where the odds seem to differ significantly from provider to provider.

When you find an event where the odds differ, check to see if you can place a bet on all outcomes (win, lose, and sometimes draw) and still make a profit. You can use an arbitrage calculator to do this.

Bet Big

If you find an event where it’s possible to make an arbitrage bet then you’ll need to place a significant wager. This is because arbitrage betting works on very small margins.

Place your wagers on each of the possible events, using the stake calculated by your arbitrage calculator.

Cash Out

Regardless of the outcome of the event, you will win one bet and lose the other. Thanks to the odds that you found, you will always receive a payout.

Once you’ve got your payout, you can start looking for your next bet.

Arbitrage Examples 

Sometimes it’s easier to see a real-life example. So let’s imagine you’re betting on the English Premier League.

You find that three different sportsbooks have significantly differing odds for the upcoming game between Manchester City and Crystal Palace.

Sportsbook A Odds

Manchester City Win: 2.9

Sportsbook B Odds

Crystal Palace Win: 3.2

Sportsbook C Odds

Draw: 3.1

This represents an arbitrage opportunity, because if you place a wager on all three outcomes, you cannot lose money.

The easiest way to calculate exactly how much money to wager to guarantee the best return on investment (ROI) is to use a calculator.

Let’s say you want to stake a maximum of $600 on this event. If you make the following bets, you guarantee an ROI of at least 2.05% (that means you’ll make $12.30 regardless of the outcome).

  • Manchester City Win: $211.14
  • Crystal Palace Win: $191.34
  • Draw: $197.52

Is Arbitrage a Viable Strategy?

As you can see from the example above Arbitrage is a viable strategy, but the margins are low. This means that in order to make money using arbitrage betting you need to be confident that you can fulfill the following criteria:

  • Large bankroll: This is necessary to make bets at a scale that will see you make a worthwhile return.
  • Quick reactions: Odds can change quickly, if you aren’t organized and quick to place bets then you could miss the arbitrage opportunity.
  • Multiple accounts: While it isn’t illegal, many sportsbooks will suspend your account or impose bet limits if they spot you making arbitrage bets. That’s why it’s so important to place these bets at multiple different sportsbooks.

How to Find Arbitrage Betting Opportunities

There’s only one way to find arbitrage betting opportunities and that’s simply to spend a long time looking. However, there are some tips to speed up the process.

Watch Odds

In order to spot an arbitrage opportunity, you have to watch the odds. The best time to do this is as soon as a market opens, as this is generally when the biggest discrepancies can be found.

Follow Sportsbooks

The more odds-watching you do, the more you’ll start to see patterns. You might notice that two different sportsbooks often don’t align with each other, so you can focus your attention on these companies to look for the best arbitrage opportunities.

Use a Calculator

Calculating arbitrage bets isn’t easy. The best way to be sure that you’ve found an arbitrage opportunity is to plug the odds into a free online calculator and let it do the work for you.

Risks of Arbitrage Betting

While arbitrage bets are known as sure-fire bets, sure-wins, miracle bets, and all kinds of other names that imply guaranteed success, there are pitfalls.

Account Closure

The most common trap to fall into is placing your arbitrage bets with the same sportsbook and getting found out. This can lead to account closure.

Sportsbooks do not like arbitrage bettors and take extreme actions to discourage it. So, if you want to engage in arbitrage betting you should be aware of all of the sportsbooks that operate under the same parent company.

Betting Limits

If a sportsbook suspects you of placing arbs, they will sometimes place betting limits on your account.

This prevents you from making more than a couple of cents per bet, making arbitrage betting a waste of your time.

Odds Changing

It’s a nightmare that does happen. You’ll place the first leg of an arbitrage bet, only to see the odds change.

If the odds change enough, your bet will no longer work, leaving you with either a huge bet on one outcome or the option of placing the bet anyway and accepting a guaranteed loss.

Alternatives to Arbitrage Betting

As you can see, arbing is not without its risks. If you’re a little concerned about falling into a pitfall there are alternatives.

You can place what’s called an insure bet, meaning you take out insurance on your bet. This is commonplace in horse racing.

You might place an insure bet on a horse that goes on to come first, in this instance your bet is paid out like normal. However, if the horse comes in the top five places, your ‘insurance’ refunds your stake.

Claudia Hartley
Claudia HartleySports Betting Writer

With a decade of experience in the sports betting industry, Claudia can spot a value bet from a mile off. She prides herself on not just being a sports writer, but a fastidious researcher too.