What is sports arbitrage betting?
An arbitrage bet arises when bookmakers have different opinions on the outcome of a sports event. This is reflected in the odds they provide and because the odds are so far apart it means we can bet and win regardless of outcome.

Is it similar to matched betting?
In a lot of ways, yes. Instead of using the bookies free bet to make a guaranteed profit we use the variation in odds between bookies. There is no need to place a qualifying bet in arb betting and most of the time instead of laying at the exchange we simply cover the other 1 or 2 outcomes at other bookies.

What is arbitrage software used for?
Because bookmakers odds can change quickly and the calculation of stakes needed to make a successful arbitrage bet can take time arb betting software was born. Arbitrage software makes a lot of things much easier. It automatically tracks odds and calculates the stakes needed to make the most money from an arb opportunity. Most add the bet to your betslip automatically saving you from having to navigate endlessly on bookmaker markets.

It also is a much more efficient arb finder because instead of you having to keep an eye out for the right odds the software does it for you. The arb software scrapes all the odds from the bookies and then automatically calculates which contain sure bet arbitrage opportunities. Sports Arbitrage Software like Betslayer highlights hundreds of Arbitrage sure bet opportunities every day.

Free bets?
You may be asking if you can use free bets to boost your arbitrage betting bankroll. The answer is yes. Combining free sign up offers with arbitrage actually gets you a 150% (2.5x) profit compared with if you did it with matched betting and used an exchange like Betfair. This is because Betfair charges a 5% fee and matched bettors look for the same odds to take the opportunity rather than always looking for profitable arbs. The only difference when redeeming free bets is that you shouldn’t use an e-wallet like skrill, neteller or PayPal (check terms and conditions though) you can withdraw your winning via an e-wallet but deposits should be via credit/ debit card.

How to place an arbitrage bet?
Step 1
Pick a 3-10% arb from betslayer Software in a generally popular market ie Premier League/ championship not League 2 that has been recently refreshed.

Step 2
Use filter to round to £5 and play around with stake until you find the best fit for profit.

Step 3
Open both bookies side to side before placing arb.

Step 4
Double check

Step 5
Place bet

To begin with you should never place a bet of more than £100 on one outcome.

Here is a good example to start with as it contained the bookies you have placed money with.

Let’s break this bet down.

Stake
Bookie
Outcome A
Outcome B
£50
Coral
1.91 x 50 = £95.5 (+£10.5)
0
£35
WHill

2.62 x 35 = £91.70 (+£6.7)

So you see, whatever happens we make a profit because our total original stake was £85.

Make £100.64 in your 7 day free trial

The basics of which arbs to place..

• Less that 7 days in advance
• Never choose an arb which has more than a 10% ROI
• Choose Arbs that have been updated 1-2M ago
• Use round to 5 feature
• Bet stakes less than £100
• Relatively mainstream (ie. not challenger tennis or romanian premier league)
• Keep outcomes to 2-3 so it’s easy to place the arb
• Open both bookmakers side to side to reduce the time gap between placing one bet and the other
• Double check the odds
• Open both windows side to side before placing arb

How Much Money it takes to Start?
We recommend having at least £250 to start with. This will be enough to make you £100 in your first week whilst you’re still learning the ropes. We recommend putting £50 in five bookmaker accounts. We recommend - Bet365, Ladbrokes, Marathon, 188Bet & Coral.

Managing your bankroll
The reason we recommend spreading your bankroll across different bookies is so you never miss out on arbitrage opportunities. Think about it, you place an arb of 2 outcomes. One wins. This means one of your bookie accounts has no money in it and the other has 5-10% more than the total stake you placed on the arb. This means you need to reload the account to make it available to you again. We do this by using e-wallets like skrill or neteller which takes 12 hours to withdraw funds rather than 3-5 days via bank transfer. E-wallets only charge when you withdraw to your bank, they’re a neat tool that allow you to deposit and withdraw to your e-wallet for free quickly and efficiently. They are essential for arbitrage betting.

Avoiding mistakes/ getting limited
Start off with small stakes to learn the ropes. Unlike matched betting this is evergreen, there are always arbs so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you start off place £20 bets. This eliminates the number one mistake when arbitrage betting : human error. Arbitrage betting by nature is risk free but there are certain things like getting limited and certain situations you have to adapt to to make it 100% the case.

Is Arbitrage Betting Legal?
Arbitrage betting is completely legal. We are simply doing as a trader would do and buying and selling odds to make profit.

Don't bookies hate this - won't they limit me?
If you are stupid and have abnormal betting patterns then it’s a possibility. Most people keep their accounts open for a 6 months to a year but you can keep accounts open much longer with certain bookies like Bet365 and there are endless opportunity for arbitrage even with just BEt365 and an Exchange like Betfair. There is only so far a bookie can go with limiting players because they don’t want to limit players that have a lifetime ROI of profit. This is why it’s important to track which bookies you’re winning and losing with so you can place mug bets (A normal bet of 1-2% of your bankroll) just to throw them off. I always thought that even though arb bettors are gaming the system we don’t actually know which bookie we are going to win and lose with so they shouldn't care.