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Frequently Asked Questions
What is arbitrage betting?
Arbitrage betting (also called sure betting or arbing) involves placing bets on all possible outcomes of an event across different bookmakers to guarantee a profit regardless of the result. A profit exists when the combined implied probabilities of all outcomes total less than 100%, which happens when bookmakers have differing opinions on the true odds.
How do I calculate if an arbitrage opportunity exists?
Add together 1÷Odds for each outcome. If the total (the arb percentage) is less than 1 (or 100%), an arbitrage opportunity exists. For example: Outcome 1 at 2.10 and Outcome 2 at 2.05 gives 1/2.10 + 1/2.05 = 0.476 + 0.488 = 0.964 = 96.4%. Since this is below 100%, you can guarantee a profit of 3.6% on your total stake.
How are individual stakes calculated in an arb?
Each stake is calculated as: Individual Stake = (Total Stake × (1÷Outcome Odds)) ÷ Arb Percentage. This distributes your total investment so that each outcome returns the same amount, locking in your guaranteed profit regardless of which outcome occurs.
What is a realistic arbitrage profit percentage?
Most arbitrage opportunities offer 1–5% profit on turnover, with the majority under 3%. Higher margins exist for niche markets or when bookmakers differ significantly on odds. After accounting for bookmaker limits, account restrictions and the time cost of finding opportunities, realistic returns are typically 10–30% annually on deployed capital.
Will bookmakers close my account for arbitrage betting?
Bookmakers monitor accounts for arbing behaviour and regularly restrict or close accounts of profitable customers. Using multiple bookmakers, varying stake sizes, and placing occasional losing recreational bets can slow down account restrictions. Exchanges like Betfair generally do not restrict winners as they profit from commission regardless of outcome.