Using Software or Maths?
It can be difficult to consistently go about performing arbitrage bets, especially for a person who is just starting out. Fortunately, there are a few types of arbitrage betting strategy out there. These methods are split between doing things manually (working out the odds and margins alone and then placing bets accordingly) and using arbitrage betting software (which will automatically find the best odds). Both have their own pros and cons, which are laid out below.
Manually
The vast majority of arbitrage gamblers will opt to just calculate the difference in odds themselves before placing their bets. Although the idea of comparing multiple options sounds fairly intimidating and complex, the process is actually fairly simple and can be broken down into a few steps for a punter to follow in order to work out if it is worth investing their time.
Firstly, the punter must find the set of odds that they like and work out whether they can make a profit. This will typically be split between two different bookmakers. For instance, one bookmaker will offer high odds of a football team winning, whilst their competing bookmaker offers high odds of them losing. The punter then works out how much money they can comfortably bet on each result and still make a profit, using the multiplication of their stake from each set of odds to find out if each bet covers the other.
Once they are satisfied that a profit can be made, the punter enters their bets as they would normally and waits for the football match to play out. Once it has finished, they will have made a profit, no matter the result. This is because each of their bets covers the cost of the others and provides some decent winnings. However, doing things manually can be quite slow, due to the vast amount of odds that are being offered on any given day. Plus, there is some room for errors in the calculation to be made, potentially losing the punter a large amount of money. If you’re new to betting you should also take a look at our bankroll management guide to make sure you don’t bet and lose more than you could afford to.
Software
For gamblers who take arbitrage betting seriously, there are more advanced tools available than a pen and the back of an envelope. Whilst it is still fairly unusual amongst the wider community, some arbitrage players will use purpose-built software as an arbitrage bet finder; finding odds that are potentially profitable and then calculate the return on investment of a given stake.
The simplest form of software used by this group is a basic web crawler. A crawler will scour websites for data and then display it to the user in one centralised location, usually a spreadsheet or crude interface. It is then up to the punter to make decisions regarding the quality of the potential arbitrage bets that get brought up. It should be noted that many web crawlers are fraught with risk due to security vulnerabilities or potentially malicious code hidden inside them by their designers. Due to this fact, extreme caution should be exercised when interacting with third party software.
The next level up is professionally made software that will interact with a betting exchange in order to locate the best possible odds.
The computer program will then calculate the potential profit based upon parameters that the user selects and automatically offer up a list of the most lucrative arbitrage bets that can be made that day.
An arbitrage bot can also locate special offers on sites and act as a free arbitrage bet finder and bonus arbitrage bet calculator. This is obviously preferable to doing things manually. However, it should be noted that such products command a premium price, such as the widely known Rebel Bet software. Additionally, even incremental changes to the layout and workings of betting sites and exchanges can cause glitches to happen, requiring constant patches from the manufacturer. Aside from this, there are many people who question the veracity of such programs’ claims of delivering large profit margins and point to reliability problems and bad updates as a reason to avoid investing.
Overall, having a good understanding of the basic principles behind the workings of arbitrage betting will pay dividends, no matter which way a punter chooses to go about their gambling.
Example
Whilst the basics may be hard to understand, once a punter has gone to the trouble of going to sites and looking for odds that can be played against one another and then calculating the potential profits, things begin to look a lot simpler. However, for readers still trying to understand the process, the working example below should provide some insight.
A punter goes to the website of Bookmaker 1 and finds a football match is being played that afternoon. They look at the odds and see that the Home side is predicted to lose, with odds of 4/1 of them winning. They then go to the website of Bookmaker 2, where they find that the Away side is predicted to lose, with odds of 5/1 of them winning. They then see that the odds of a draw are 3/1 on both sites.
Acting quickly, the gambler places a bet of £10 on the Away side to win with Bookmaker 2 and then places a bet of £10 on the Home side to win with Bookmaker 1. An additional bet of £10 covers the possibility of a draw. Thus, they will make a profit no matter what happens. This is because a draw result at 3/1 will return £40 including their £10 initial stake, covering all three bets and still providing a £10 profit. Meanwhile, if the Away side wins at 5/1, the return will be £60. If the Home side wins at 4/1, the return will be £50. In all cases, a profit is being made despite the inevitable failure of two of the bets.
Updated: 2024
