Since the inception of sports betting, punters have been trying to develop sustainable betting strategies. And in the last few hundred years, we’ve seen phenomenal progress in the paradigm. The star of our show, arbitrage betting, is one of the descendants of this paradigm.
Arbitrage betting, or arbing for short, has been quite sustainable for professional bettors. As there are no regulatory restrictions against this practice, everyday punters can incorporate this in betting.
But how do you go about it? How do you find the proper arbitrage bets? Well, that’s what we’re trying to answer in this post. You can either go for manual searching on multiple bookmakers, use a free bet finder, or use a paid scanner tool.
In this post, we will cover each of them in detail. But before that, you need a profound understanding of arbitrage betting.
What Is Arbitrage Betting?
The term “arbitrage” means buying and selling assets simultaneously. It goes for the real estate industry, the stock industry, as well as the betting industry.
It means placing opposing wagers on the same market. So, whatever the outcome is, you’re always coming out victorious.
Think of a sports match between 2 teams. It’s given that 1 team will win the game and the other will lose. The possibility of a draw is not considered in arbitrage betting. Each of the teams will get odds to win. Keep in mind that different bookmakers offer various odds. While they’re going to be in a similar range, they’re not identical.
Your job is to put a bet in favor of Team A at Bookmaker X. Now, you need to visit another bookmaker, Bookmaker Y, and place a bet in favor of Team B.
As the match takes place, either Team A or Team B will come out victorious. Whatever it is, you’re a winner in both cases. And that’s how my punters, you place an arbitrage bet.
Now, among the 2 teams, 1 is going to be the favorite while the other 1 is going to be the underdog. The odds will be different as well. That’s where finding the right opportunities for arbing comes into play.
If you went out and started placing opposing bets randomly, you may lose more than you win. Because the success of an arbitrage bet depends on how cleverly you can create the difference between the odds.
How to Find Arb Betting Opportunities in Sports Betting?
Now, different bettors might take different routes in their adventures to find arbitrage opportunities. But as our guest today is a betting expert, it would be not very smart to not ask for her advice on how to find the possibilities.
The Manual Way
Most people rely on software now. Kudos to the advancement of technology. Although you might not want to go this way, this happens to be a very reliable approach. But it has somewhat taken away the fun of being a nerd for some time.
To find arbitrage betting opportunities the ancient way, you will need a pen and a notebook. Open up multiple bookmaker websites on your browser. Log in if you have accounts with them. It’s ideal to sign up because you can access more information.
Go for a particular sport. It’s best to pick a sport that you’re familiar with. Whatever it is, make sure you know all about it. If you’re an absolute beginner and have yet to master any sport, you can check out football and tennis.
These 2 are relatively simpler than the other ones.
Make a table for an upcoming match, including the projected odds, your potential stakes, and potential winnings as the columns.
Input the data into the table to see which combination gives you the most profits. It may take a few trials and errors, but you’ll get there.
The Free Bet Finders
Probably the most common and popular method of looking for arbitrage opportunities among bettors. A free arbitrage bet finder is quite easily accessible on the internet nowadays. These tools can find the best options for you based on your input.
You enter the amount you want to wager, the match you want to bet on, etc. It’s going to vary a little from software to software. Once you click to process, the software will take some time and give you a table identical to what you created in the previous section.
By looking at the table, you can determine which matches to go for and at what odds. Some tools even color code the rows and columns to give you a better understanding of good opportunities and bad opportunities.
Keep in mind that free tools may not give you accurate results all the time. They don’t have enough resources to make things go all the way. It’s one of the very few drawbacks of free things.
Using Paid Tools
Paid arbitrage bet finders are like the free arbitrage betting opportunity, only 10 folds better at what they do. As these are paid, the companies have enough resources to scan the database of iGaming sites to find the best arbitrage betting opportunities for you.
One of the biggest advantages of paid tools over free ones is their instantaneous nature. The betting opportunities you find on free wager finders are expired in most cases. You may get a 10-minute window at best.
It’s not nearly enough if you truly want to benefit from arbitrage betting.
The paid bet finders also give you access to high-profit arbitrage opportunities. It’s something that the free platforms’ scanner can’t even pick up.
Placing Arb Bets Vs. Betting Exchanges & Shops
Another widespread and lucrative betting option for professionals is wagering in exchanges. A betting exchange is somewhat similar to a bookmaker. It gives the punters a platform to place bets at competitive odds. However, an exchange is not a bookmaker. Punters bet against other punters instead of the bookmaker.
As you can imagine, an exchange allows you to create your odds for a particular event and challenge other punters to bet on that. It’s surely a high-adrenaline scenario for passionate bettors but unsuitable for beginners.
But be careful of fraud attempts on these platforms.
As for betting shops, they’re physical establishments that take wagers for particular events. If the country you live in has betting shops, you may use the arbitrage betting opportunities in them as well. However, traveling from shop to shop to make a slim profit doesn’t sound feasible.
Conclusion
Online sports betting as a trend might not be very old, but it still encapsulates the essence of similar excitement. Arbitrage betting, or sports arbitrage, has been a fantastic way for bettors to minimize their losses and hopefully make profits.
As time goes by, the number of sportsbooks is increasing. So are the arbitrage betting opportunities. You have to find the right ones with free arbitrage bet finders or paid ones.
We’ve shared 3 foolproof ways you can find the best arbitrage betting opportunities. You might find plenty of other strategies on the internet as well. Just know that none of those is going to top these 3.
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