You may or may not have heard of a betting strategy involving the exploitation of betting differentials between companies. This is known as arbitrage betting, or more commonly; arbing.

 

The basic premise is ‘shopping around’. The Internet revolution has spawned a multitude of betting opportunities for the average punter, and the average punter will exploit the competition by selecting the best odds for their selected event.

 

But what many punters won’t do, and won’t realise, is that this competition creates discrepancies that, if exploited, yield guaranteed profit. The long time ‘Holy Grail’ of punting is the infallible system, which we all know, is not achievable. Arbing provides the closest possible thing to guaranteed winners.

 

Imagine stumbling into the local independent and finding a tennis match that has been priced at 4/6 and 7/4 for either player to win. It isn’t going to happen. Or is it? Well, a half-competent bookmaker would never allow this happen (and if he did, he would claim palpable error….) but two bookmakers vying for competition in the market may well offer these two prices.

 

Basically, you are scouring the land for under-rounds, 96, 97% markets, sometimes 99%. That’s all it is. With the advent of bet exchanges, great odds can be found for many events (football matches etc), coupled with increasingly competitive high-street bookies clamouring for a share of the money, means a sub 100% market can be formed many times a day. Obviously you must cover all eventualities in said event otherwise you could come unstuck, but when you’re staked and ready, you’ll find you have locked a profit before the event has begun.
 
 The stakes are often larger than ‘ordinary’ punting due to the small returns but having said that, a half dozen arbs per day, using a composition of stakes totaling £100, can net upwards of £80 a week. A nice earner for a very obtainable outlay.

 

So why isn’t everyone doing it? Well, a few reasons. Firstly, the average punter is simply not aware of this concept. Secondly, it is time consuming and a lot of research must be put into your bets, many are quickly put off after only making a few pounds in a few days. Thirdly, if you do not check your betting rules in detail, then you can wipe out 2 weeks of work in one fell swoop. Fourthly, many online betting accounts are needed to exploit the available odds and a decent organisation of moneys at the root is essential. Many do not reach point four before they have already abandoned their crusade.

 

I personally enjoy a blend of arbing, trading and simple backing and laying. Making a living from arbing would, in my opinion, employ stakes beyond my means but that’s not to say you can’t….

 

Recent example:
Tennis ATP Warsaw Open final – Davydenko vs Robredo
Boylesports offered 1.5 about Davydenko
Betfair offered 3.2 about Robredo
This creates a market of about 97.9%, so not a huge margin, but a margin none the less.
68% of your total stake would go to Davydenko and the remaining 32% on Robredo.
A Guaranteed 2.1% profit per every pound staked.