Arb Betting

You can use arb betting to exploit pricing discrepancies between odds provided by different sportsbooks. Learn how to identify arbitrage opportunities and generate consistent income from sports betting wagers.

What is Arb Betting?

Arbitrage betting is a gambling strategy you can use to guarantee profits by limiting risk and exposure.

You can do this by backing AI sports tips that cover all possible outcomes of a sporting event. Wagers are usually placed on markets with two teams/competitors across different betting sites.

Although this method is among the safest ways to bet, it is not foolproof. As with any betting strategy, you must adhere to strict rules and criteria to maximise the power of betting arbitrage.

Furthermore, yields tend to be small and less volatile compared to high-risk bets like parlays, for example.

How Does Arbitrage Betting Work?

If you compare odds for the same event at offshore sportsbooks and other betting sites, you’ll find they differ depending on their prediction of the outcome.

There may be various odds discrepancies across multiple platforms for the Boston Celtics vs the Houston Rockets, for example. This means there are potential sports betting arbitrage opportunities to exploit.

Arbitrage in betting is about math and probabilities. There are calculations and formulas that must be used to determine guaranteed profit.

As such, arbing levers on finding price differences you can use when backing all outcomes in a game.

For instance, it’s not enough just to find odds for who wins between the home team and the away team and back them. Even though you have both outcomes covered, you must find the best prices for both to generate a profit.

For the most part, lines and prices should be relatively close with standard betting sites. This means you must compare odds to find differences that are worth exploiting while also factoring in bookmakers’ vigorish.

After all, it doesn’t matter who wins – as long as you have your numbers right, you will generate some profit.

Other Key Terms in Sports Betting Arbitrage

We recommend learning some of the basic terminology and betting parlance used by the arbing community.

Doing so can help you understand the strategy better and speed up the process of navigating through tips and content.

• Sports Arbitrage – Also known as arbing, surebets, miraclebets, or simply arbitrage, these words refer to the same strategy of betting on all outcomes of an event to guarantee profit based on odds discrepancies at different betting sites.
• Arbitrage Middles – You can make a profit by taking both sides of a two-way bet if the result lands within a set range.
• Cross-Market Arbitrage – There is also scope to bet across different markets (moneyline vs totals vs spreads) to create a more profitable position.
• Stake Balancing – This refers to the process of calculating stake sizes to limit risk or generate profit across all possible outcomes.
• Dutching – Although similar to arbing, you spread your risk across multiple outcomes at the same betting site.
• Gubbing – Some online sportsbooks limit or close accounts of bettors who consistently make profits from arbitrage-style bets.

Manually Calculating Arbitrage

There are plenty of arb betting software and odds comparison tools that can help you find surebets. Whether they are EV betting picks or standard selections. But it’s helpful to understand the basic formula used to identify these opportunities.

• Arbitrage Percentage = (1 / Odds for Team A) + (1 / Odds for Team B)

This formula works by converting each bookmaker’s odds into implied probability (IP).

Implied probability is the bookmaker’s estimate, expressed as a percentage, of how likely they think each outcome is. When the combined implied probabilities are under 100%, you’ve found a potential arbitrage bet.

Calculate the implied probabilities from each sportsbook’s odds to identify situations where the combined probabilities register below 100%. Again, it’s crucial to remember to account for the oddsmaker’s vig (also known as juice/overround), which is their “cut” for facilitating the bet.

There are two sets of American odds: positive/+ (usually the underdog) and negative/- (usually the favorite). In both cases, you must convert to decimal odds first to get your figures. Here are the formulas for both.

Positive Odds (Usually Underdog)

• (Odds / 100) + 1

Negative Odds (Favorite)

• (100 / Odds) + 1

Work these out manually or with an arb betting calculator to find the gap (your guaranteed profit margin).

To bet, you must open accounts with multiple sportsbooks and closely monitor sports odds for movement. The next step with arbitrage in sports betting is to place wagers when you see an in worth backing.

Examples of Sports Betting Arbitrage by Sport

You can find a wide range of potential arbitrage opportunities in multiple sports. Some sports certainly offer distinct advantages for arbing, on account of their suitability for the strategy.

NFL Betting Arbitrage Example

Here’s an example using our moneyline NFL picks for the San Francisco 49ers vs the Denver Broncos.

The best odds are San Francisco with sportsbook A (-125) and Denver with sportsbook D (+130)

• Implied probability is 55.6% + 43.5% = 99.1%
• Stake $100 and place $55.82 on -125 and $44.18 on +120
• Profit Range = $1.48 to $1.61

NBA Arbitrage Example

You could bet on NBA predictions for the Boston Celtics to beat the LA Lakers, but you instead choose to arb the market.

Best odds are Sportsbook C Boston -135 and D for LA +145.

• Implied Probability is 57.45% + 40.82% = 98.2
• Stake $100 and wager $57.43 on -135 and $42.57 on +145
• Profit Range = Up to $3.73

Example of NHL Sports Arbitrage Wagers

Here’s an example of arbing using info from our NHL picks and predictions.

The best odds are Toronto with sportsbook B (-105) and New York with sportsbook D (+125)

• Implied probability is 52.4% + 43.5% = 95.9%
• Stake $100 and place $52.94 on -105 and $47.06 on +125
• Profit range = $2.47 to $3.53

MLB Arbing Example

You can also look to MLB picks for top arbing opportunities.

Leading odds for both sides are with sportsbook D (- -105 / +120)

• Implied probability is 52.4% + 45.5% = 97.9%
• Stake $100 and bet $52.94 on -105 and $47.06 on +120
• Profit range = $2.47 to $3.53

Tennis Arbitrage Bets Example

A strong alternative to arb betting on any of the sports above is our tennis predictions, which offer plenty of markets to bet on. Here’s an example of one of them.

The best odds available are Alcaraz with sportsbook A (-125) and Sinner with sportsbook D (+140).

• Implied probability is 55.6% + 41.7% = 97.3%
• Stake $100 and place $57.14 on -125 and $42.86 on +140
• Profit = $2.86

Best Markets for Arbitrage in Sports Betting

You can find opportunities for arbitrage strategies and bets in several bet types and markets. We think the following betting markets prove more suitable for this type of betting.

• Moneyline Bets – The best place to start is with win/loss wagers with clear outcomes and relatively consistent pricing.
• Over/Under Totals – The bookies set a line, and you must bet whether the total points exceeds or falls under it, which is not difficult.
• Point Spreads – Spreads are also suitable markets for finding frequent arbitrage opportunities due to being easily accessible.
• Other Two-Way Markets – Any bets with only two possible outcomes can help with simplifying arbitrage calculations.

Less Suitable Arbitrage Betting Markets

We find prop bets less suitable for arbitrage due to their volatility and inconsistent pricing across sportsbooks.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but we believe it is smarter to focus on more consistent markets like those above.

This also applies to parlays, which involve combining two or more selections into one wager, also fall into this category. Parlays and teasers mean crunching multiple variables that can complicate the process of finding arbitrage.

Futures odds change frequently depending on a wide range of factors that include sportsbooks’ statistical models.

Sometimes, it’s smarter to wager a small bet on a futures market instead, unless you can pinpoint two extremely likely winners from the many candidates and build a wager around that.

Live betting moves too quickly for most strategies to work. With that said, you might be able to find some opportunities if you’re fast enough to find the right angles.

Effective Sports Betting Arbitrage Strategies

Arbitrage wagering is about minimizing risk while making small but consistent profits. Here are a few strategies that can help.

Compare and Select Your Accounts in Advance

You need accounts with several sportsbook platforms to capitalize on our free or subscription-based arbitrage opportunities.

The first thing to do is to compare the best online betting sites according to the experts. This ensures you’re prepared to make more from your arbing than you might elsewhere.

Follow Proper Sports Arbitrage Betting Stake Distribution

When you have your sportsbooks in place, you must then allocate your bankroll to facilitate wagers. Some of the arbitrage opportunities you find will require you to bounce in and out.

So, it’s always a good idea to leave money in these accounts where possible. If not, you’ll need to deposit funds to ensure you can place bets.

Learn How to Monitor Line Movement

You can use as many odds monitoring systems and arbing calculators as you wish. But if you don’t know how to identify line movements and market changes, none of your calculations (with arbitrage betting calculators or not) will make sense.

With practice, you will also be able to predict the speed at which odds change across some betting markets in the same way professional arbitrage bettors can.

Avoid Unrealistic Markets

To put it another way, focus on sensible markets with two possible outcomes. Look to back both top teams from the Eastern Conference NBA standings in their showdown game.

This will be settled after that scheduled game ends, unlike backing on whether it will be Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos who first has contact with aliens.

Keep Betting Patterns Consistent

We recommend avoiding betting patterns that will flag for detection by sportsbook algorithms. You can do this by mixing up your arbitrage bets with regular wagers to maintain the appearance of being a regular bettor.

Also, you can trigger automated reviews, wager limits, and even gubbing if the bookie picks up on patterns usually associated with arbitrage bettors.

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