Arbitrage Betting Guide: How To Profit From Bookie's Odds
- Written by David Bet
Arbitrage betting has long been an investment sportsbetting strategy, but it has been too difficult for people outside the financial industry to understand. Wanna know how to guarantee a profit by comparing odds on different bookmakers? Read our arbitrage betting guide here!
Top Betting Sites For Arbitrage Betting
What is Arbitrage Betting?
Arbitrage betting can allow you to make more profits from your sports wagers. The best part is that you don’t even have to have an interest in sporting teams or gambling to get the most out of an arbitrage bet and bring in extra cash online. This technique uses the gap between the odds to bring in profit right away. Arbitrage betting has long been an investment sports betting strategy, but it has been too difficult for people outside the financial industry to understand completely.
How does it work?
You put bets down simultaneously on all of the possible outcomes of a particular event at odds that will ensure you profit, no matter how the event turns out. Another name for this type of bet is the sure bet, the miracle bet or just the “arb.”
In most circumstances, if you bet on all possible outcomes at once, you end up losing. Arbitrage betting involves looking at the odds from different bookmakers and using the gaps to benefit yourself. Most events have two possible outcomes, such as basketball, hockey without ties, American football (playoffs only) and tennis. Others have three, such as football (soccer), which allows draws, and the rare American football game that goes to the end of overtime still in a tie. Consider this an example of a two-outcome event:
Tennis Match: J. Sinner vs. C. Alcaraz
Total Stake: $1000Outcome 1: Bet on J. Sinner
Bookmaker: MyStakeOdds: 1.36
Stake: $801.75
Winnings: $1090.38
Outcome 2: Bet on C. Alcaraz
Bookmaker: 1winOdds: 5.50
Stake: $198.25
Winnings: $1090.38
Profit: 9.04% ($90.38)
Staking your $1000 e right way brings you $90.38, no matter how it comes out. MyStake had odds of 1.36 for Sinner to win, and 1win had 5.5 odds for Wawrinka to win. By using a mathematical formula, you can figure out how much to invest on either side to bring home a simple profit. The procedure starts with looking at the odds from different books to find the best odds, and then figuring out if those odds can make you a profit. Once you have the choices you want, you place the bet and get your profits.
Wanna know how to calculate the correct stakes in arbitrage betting? Click below and use our surebet calculator, the best free online betting tool for arbitrage. 
How to take advantage of odds balancement
One of the biggest reasons for significant gaps in odds is that online books and bookies often develop gaps in order to keep their books balanced. When bookmakers open betting for a particular event, often the top betting sites are the ones who start by laying a point spread, and the less experienced bookmakers (or the ones who lack the time to follow the sporting news as closely) follow their lead and set odds. Because leading bookmakers frequently differ on an outcome’s chances, the odds are going to be different. So when a market opens, you will often find quite a variety of odds or spreads for an event, giving you the chance to lay an arbitrage wager. New betting sites such as 1win know that arbitrage opportunities exist, and there’s nothing illegal about placing these bets. Once you know how to figure out how to play books against each other, then you can take advantage. Not every event has this opportunity, but many do.
Another significant factor here is the need that bookies have to keep balance on their books. A balanced book brings in profits for the bookie so that he is protected from a big loss on an event. However, people don’t always bet evenly on both sides. As bets pile up on one side, the bookie has to adjust the odds to make the other side more attractive.
For example, if the bookie sets a line that the Los Angeles Lakers are favored to beat the Dallas Mavericks by 7 1/2 points, big bets on the Lakers would see their odds to be shortened and the handicap line to be increased in order to attract bets on the Mavericks and keep the odds and the profits balanced regardless of the outcome of the game.
