Although professional arbitraging is one of the more secure methods of earning consistent profits through betting, there are several risks involved which must be avoided or controlled.
Image: Andresr (Shutterstock)(1) Disappearance of Arbitrage Opportunities
Arbitrage positions often have a very brief window of opportunity, perhaps between three and 15 minutes, before they disappear from the market.
Furthermore, the greater the number of ‘arbers’ finding and exploiting an ‘arb’, the shorter the arb’s lifespan becomes.
Once an arbitrage opening is identified speed and accuracy are essential to ensure that bets are placed at the required odds within the very short time window, the duration of which is fleeting and unknown.
Possible solutions:
Rapid disappearance of the optimum odds to attain profit from backing (or laying) all outcomes of an event is one of the largest challenges faced by professional arbers.
Experience in combating or avoiding loss making positions in sports arbitrage is the equivalent of possessing the betting equivalent of the ‘holy grail’, and every arber who has this high degree of market knowledge should be considered a master in his field.
- One path to attaining such heights is to specialise in cross market arbitrage, as these transactions are harder to identify for bookmakers and punters alike, reducing the risk they will be found by many others; hence the lifespan of the arb is protected or prolonged.
- Focusing on established bookmakers with both an online and high street presence is also a good idea. In this way, arbs can be compiled using a mixture of online bets from home, and walk-in transactions using the betting shops in your neighbourhood.
Shops need to publish and make their prices available several days in advance as fixed odds coupons are printed and distributed for walk-in customers. This can certainly present arbitrage situations where all bets can be placed many days in advance of the event (although whether arbers mind having their betting bank tied-up for longer periods such as this is purely a personal and/or financial decision).
Usually, only on the day of the event will punters be faced with the possibility of arriving at a shop with fixed odds coupon in hand only to be told that the price they have selected has dropped.
In summary, the combination of cross market arbitrage via the larger bookmakers will often present arbitrage opportunities with life spans of much longer than 15 minutes.
ArbMate is another new player on the arbitrages services.
MathBet has been closed down. Betslayer.com is new to the space and has asian handicap bets.
Some sportsbook software providers will allow customers to connect their trading software directly to their feeds so they can view market data in real time and place bets as soon as they find a trading opportunity:
Example: sportsbooksoftware.com – they have a page with data feed information and example JSON file
hi guys , i have previously mentioned a program i have that is much better than arbing ,the returns are heaps better , you can round off your wagers to hide from the bookie and the inevitable banning . the website is at
www.saverberts.com, a free 12 day trial and then only $65.00 usd a month , have a look if you need any instructions email me i have 3 documents i can send to you explaining saverbets, but a simple explanation , you make a primebet then a saverbet (or saverbets ), if your primebet loses your saver must win and you will get all of your stake money back , you have had a free bet ,donar@westnet.com.auWell said, Don.
It takes an enormous amount of mature thinking and unemotional actions to become good at any form of gambling.
The major factor governing arbitrage success is the size of the initial bankroll – the larger it is, the easier it becomes to make faster money in agreeable amounts.
But it should always be remembered that the final outcome should pay for the time invested and provide a healthy profit on top.
i would like to comment on “the time that an arb may last “, in my opinion no one knows how long an arb may last , i have heard 3/4 minutes , in the article above the author suggests 3 /15 minutes.
i do know from experiences i have had in the development of my own arbs program that arbs can and do last for days and days , in my opinion it mainly has to do with the ” date the match /event is to be played ” , we find lots of arbs fin our arb tables for matches that may not be played for 3 / 4 /5 etc days , obviously there will be less activity in these matches than say one that is due to start in an hour and the bookies are adjusting their odds all of the time .
to me i am much happier arbing those matches that are days away from starting , my biggest fear has alway been getting maybe 2 of the 3 wagers on , only to find the bookie has altered the odds on the third bet , so i am now out on a limb , i am now straight out gambler with the 2 bets i have already placed , of course to make arbs on matches that are days away from being played requires more capital but ,i am afraid nothing is perfect( i would like to say that NOW i will never be left out on a limb with 1 or 2 bets already placed and the odds changed for the remaining bet , i now know how to ” kill ” the firts two bets with the remaining one , it may not get me out of trouble 100% but it certainly ” will soften the blow ” enough for me to live another day, donar
It is also really annoying when the bookies limit your account before your bonus is unlocked.Personally I think surebetting is one of the safest way of making a long term profit. Also, I found this website: surebetadvice.com, which is full of useful tips.
Good post. Being aware of the risks is very important IMHO. Get an arb trade wrong and the result goes against you, that can serious empty your arbitrage betting bank…. ouch!
Hi Soccerwidow,
Are there any arb software programs you have used or reviewed that are any good?
AB
Arbitrage software which we think is pretty good:
RebelBetting
MathBet
The latter, MathBet specialises on finding cross-market arbitrages, and may be there even the current market leader.
OddStorm is also good arbitrage software.