A Complete Guide to Arbitrage Betting

August 4, 2022

Arbitrage betting is often cited as a way to beat the bookmakers, a guaranteed way to tilt the odds in your favor and walk away with a profit every time. But how does it work?

Definition of Arbitrage Betting

Bookmakers don’t always have the same odds. It’s possible for one site to have huge underdog odds and for another to have a more modest price. Although rare, you can even find sites with different favorites.

The idea behind arbitrage betting is that you place a wager on one site and then place the opposing wager on another. If you do it right and find good odds, you can profit regardless of the outcome.

For instance, if Site A has a great price on the favorite while Site B is offering relatively high odds on the outsider, you can take both bets. That way, you’ll win regardless and profit from the difference in odds.

Sportsbooks carefully balance their odds to prevent arbitrage betting. They include a vig that ensures they profit regardless of how many people bet on Outcome A and how many bet on Outcome B. You can’t arbitrage bet on a single site, but if you do your research, you can use two sites and essentially collect a vig yourself.

How to Identify Arbitrage Betting Opportunities

Here are a few tips for finding arbitrage betting opportunities:

Use odds comparison sites to find the best odds
Stick with bets that have an A or B outcome, such as the moneyline on an NFL game
Look for Odds Boosts to get the best possible odds
Calculate both of the odds to determine if it’s an arbitrage opportunity
Determine how much you need to stake to guarantee a profit
Place both bets

It may be easier to convert the odds into decimal odds.

For instance, imagine that the Lions are playing the Steelers.

On Site A, the Lions are priced at +100 (or 2.00 in decimal odds), which means that a $10 wager earns a $10 profit. To find an arbitrage opportunity, you need a bet on Team B at odds higher than 2.00.

If you find an Odds Boost for +200 (or 3.00 in decimal odds), you could place a $10 bet on the former and $7 on the latter.

Total stake = $17
Team A win = $20 return
Team B win = $21 return
Profit = $3 or $4

This is a simplified way of making an arbitrage bet, but as shown below, there is a way to calculate it so you get the same return with each bet.

Is Arbitrage Betting Legal?

It is legal, yes. You are not breaking any rules or laws. All sportsbooks reserve the right to suspend you if they believe you are betting as part of a syndicate or using techniques designed to get around the odds. However, this usually doesn’t extend to arbitrage betting as they only see one side of the action.

Arbitrage Bet Formula

To calculate an arbitrage opportunity, just calculate your total possible winnings (from both bets) and then divide by the odds of each bet.

It’s best if you convert the odds into decimal first. The calculation must also be done on the two odds that you want to check.

For instance, let’s say that the best odds you can find for Team A is 1.20 and the best for Team B is +700 (or 8.00 in decimal odds), and your goal is to get $1,000. The formulation (and result) would look something like this:

$1000 ÷ 1.20 ($833.33) + $1000 ÷ 8.00 ($125) = $958.33

From here, you just need to subtract the $958.33 from $1,000, which gives you $41.67. This means that with the above examples, you can bet $958.33 to get a $1,000 return and win $41.67.

What is Matched Betting?

Matched betting works in a similar way to arbitrage betting but requires the use of bonuses. That way, you profit because you’re not using your own money.

Arbitrage Betting vs Matched Betting

Matched betting is a very similar concept to arbitrage betting, but rather than using your own money, you collect sports betting bonuses and use them to place your bets. The process for finding these bets is the same, but you also need to find good deposit bonuses or free bet bonuses.

So for example, if you had two Free Bets from two separate Sportsbooks. You could find a bet type and event where there are only two outcomes. A Moneyline or Spread bet on any NBA or NFL match is a good example. To undertake a matched bet, you would place a bet on each team to win. This would then mean that you would be guaranteeing at least one of your Free Bets would result in a win. This is matched betting. It’s a risk-free way to lock in a profit.