What Is Arbitrage in Sports Betting? Betting Arbitrage Explained

Odds boosts specifically are a nice way to get a high percent of profit without having to have a large amount at stake. For example, for the college football title game Caesars Sportsbook had an odds boost on Georgia moneyline from -150 to +100, with a max 25. There are three different types of arbitrage bets, with the first and second options being the most common.

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An arb arises when betting companies take an alternative view on the outcomes of a particular sporting event, meaning that they offer different odds to reflect the probabilities. Should you find a situation where bookies disagree by a large enough variance, you could lock in profit regardless of which outcome win. Considering that the bookmaker will always have a profit margin built into their odds, arbitrage opportunities are not possible by betting on all outcomes with a single bookmaker.

If the customer wagers $100 on the Mets money line at +110 against the Atlanta Braves at Caesars, they would profit $110 with a Mets win. If the same customer makes a unibet casino wager on the Braves at -105 on DraftKings, their wager (Risk $105 to win $100) would guarantee either a break-even or $5 profit. Arbitrageurs find a lot of value during hugely popular events where bookmakers are competing for punters.

It’s a slim window of opportunity before the oddsmakers adjust the lines. Alex, a ten-year iGaming industry veteran and Managing Editor at BettingTools specializes in sports betting and betting tools. He also provides insightful reviews, ensures the accuracy of all offers, and maintains content quality helping you make informed choices. Combining professional expertise with a passion for football and soccer, Alex ensures we offer you a reliable resource, focusing on betting tools to assist with odds, accas, and other betting strategies.

What Is Sports Betting Arbitrage?

• In this example, the play is on the total over/under 33.5 on the Bills and Jets game.
• This will either mean you can’t take the arb or the stake you can use might be so small that it’s not worth the effort.
• If you stay disciplined, use the right tools, and act fast, you’ll be one step ahead.
• There’s no fixed amount, but starting small is recommended to learn the process.

Those odds can provide our chance to arb on an NBA game that must play to a winner because a tie is not an option. Arbitrage betting is a wagering technique that gamblers employ in order to guarantee their chances of success. They do this by betting on all possible outcomes of an event, hence its other name, a sure bet. Rather than the above approach where we split the total stake (£500) into two bets to guarantee the same profit, we can work out how much to place on outcome B if we have bet £500 just on outcome A. By staking a total of $500 at both bookmakers, we have guaranteed ourselves a minimum win of $506.09, which is a profit of $6.09 (1.22%). Specifically, you’re looking for large differences in lines where the odds present an opportunity where you can’t lose if you place your bets correctly.

Exchange to Exchange Arbs

In this case, if team A wins, we get $100.98 back, having bet $56.10. No matter the outcome, we are going to win the exact same amount, effectively giving us a $100.98 return for a $100 investment – a $0.98 profit. That being said, there are some small variations in the odds from one sportsbook to another.

It scans and delivers the odds for total 1-3 seconds for InPlay and 15 seconds for PreMatch. I’m not interested in the Rooney’s and Ronaldo’s of the world, but I am interested in betting. With that in mind, I spend hours trawling through the statistics of the football markets and can usually come up with an angle which presents a viable betting opportunity. Professional arbitrage bettors, those who make their living off this, will frequently cash out.

When two or more books offer different prices on the same event, you can bet on all possible outcomes and guarantee a profit. To get started, you’ll need accounts with multiple UK online betting sites or betting exchanges. You’ll also need to act quickly, as odds can change in seconds, particularly on football or other popular sports. In the UK, arbitrage betting is completely legal, as all you’re doing is placing bets with bookmakers and/or exchanges to take advantage of their odds. Placing bets online is perfectly legal provided you’re using your details and identity to do so.

It is impossible to only use arbitrage as a sports betting strategy and is not a standalone method. It’s difficult to win any significant amount of money if by solely betting arbitrage opportunities because of the small profit margins. Even in the examples above, if things go right, customers are locking in profits of $5 or $10 depending on unit size. Which is another downside of arbitrage sports betting, is that it usually takes a significant amount of money to make any meaningful profits. Arbitrage is almost the same as Sports Arbitrage, but the difference is that in arbitrage betting instead of “prices” there are “odds” and instead of “markets” there are “bookmakers”.