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What is Matched Betting? Banner Image

What is Matched Betting?

If you’re looking for an answer to the question, “what is matched betting?” then you’ve come to the right place.

Matched Betting is one of the best ways to earn a side income from the comfort of your own home. Many students do it whilst studying to supplement their income.

You don’t need any experience at all to make money from matched betting. You don’t even have to be able to name a bookmaker or have placed a bet before. Seriously, you don’t even have to like sports.

Link to FREE TRIAL of Profit Accumulator  - The free trial will show you step by step how to make £45 tax free cash with matched betting.

You need exchanges for Matched Betting so sign up to Betfair Exchange & Smarkets through these links  to get the best sign up offer available.

What is matched betting?

A Matched betting is a way to turn the free bets offered by bookmakers into real money. The technique relies on maths rather than chance which means the risk is low.

What is no risk matched betting?

Lots of bookmakers use promotions and incentives to attract new customers to their sites in the hopes of encouraging them to sign up. They’re a kind of welcome gift. These offers come in all shapes and sizes:

  • Bet £X, Get X
  • £X no deposit
  • X% free bet refund
  • Deposit bonus

By removing the risks associated with gambling, you can ensure that your money is protected and you win no matter what the outcome of your bet is.

Is matched betting risk free?

If you’ve Googled matched betting at any point, you might’ve seen it referred to as ‘no-risk matched betting’. This is when you compare it against traditional betting or gambling.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) considers the claim of matched betting being 100% risk-free “misleading because although theoretically sound, the process was open to human error”.

If done ‘properly’, the risk is minimal. However, with the ASA ruling in mind, let’s look at some of the potential risks of matched betting:

  • Human error: If you leap before you look and start placing bets before you understand exactly what to do, the chances are that you’ll make a mistake. There are a few steps to get your head around at first so just take your time, double check everything and make sure you’re comfortable with how it works before you do anything.
  • Again, to minimise the chances of making a mistake, just make sure you check the odds before you place any bets.

However, with matched betting you’re not putting your money at risk. Instead of placing just one bet with a bookmaker, you actually place two; you ‘match’ that bet with another one at a betting exchange.

Is matched betting legal?

In a word: yes.

It’s just a different way of using the promotional offers. As long as you’re over the age of 18, matched betting is completely legal. And the betting industry’s fine with it, too.

In an article with The Telegraph, Graham Sharpe, former Media Relations Director at William Hill, said that “There’s no illegal element,” and that “It’s a free bet and you can do what you like.”

(from an article by: Murray-West, Rosie. “Is this a bet you can’t lose?”, The Telegraph. Dec 2010.)

Is matched betting gambling?

Not technically, no. Even though you’ll be using a gambling site (the bookmaker) to do it. It also benefits from the fact that winnings from gambling activities are not currently taxed in the UK. So why isn’t matched betting gambling? With gambling, you take a risk when you play games of chance in the hopes of winning money. You’re ‘taking a punt’ on the outcome ending up in your favour.

What do you need to get started?

#1 - To be 18+ : Although matched betting isn’t gambling, you’ll open accounts with online bookmakers, so you do need to be aged 18 or above. This is the minimum legal age in the UK.

#2 - To live in the UK : Because we’re located in the UK, most of the offers we find and post on BetSlayer are UK-based.

#3 - A laptop and the Internet : At this point, all you need is a computer with a good internet connection. It doesn’t matter if it’s a laptop or desktop. The most important thing is that you need to able to move between tabs and windows quickly without worrying about your connection dropping out.

#4 - Matched Betting Software : Matched betting software allows you to find the opportunities for profit. Mainly it's broken down into 2 parts, 1 is the profit finder & 2nd is the oddsmatching software. 

#5 - A separate bank account: This one’s completely up to you. The main argument for having an account especially for matched betting is so everyday spending doesn’t get in the way. It’s as simple as that. With a separate bank account, you can keep track of your incomings and outgoings more easily.

Most of us have direct debits set up for things, so we need money in the bank on a certain date. Withdrawal times differ between bookmakers and sometimes there’ll be extra delays that are out of your control. It can be a bit of a waiting game. And this all means that you won’t always be able to guarantee when you have the amount of money you were expecting. Or that you’ll have enough money for those bills.The easiest way to do this is to open an account with monzo, which is a great challenger bank which moves quickly. Simply download the app and they’ll approve you within a couple of hours and then your card will arrive in 2 days normally.

#6 - A float/bankroll : Another one that’s up to you. Well, it depends on your circumstances and how much money you can afford to set aside for matched betting. We’d recommend a minimum bankroll of at least £50, but the more you start with, the more you can earn. A larger bank roll means you can do more offers at once, without having to wait for your money to transfer between bank, bookmaker and betting exchange accounts.

Free bet offers

Free bets and promotional offers are where your matched betting profits come from. You need to find bookmakers who are running promotions or sign up offers. But searching for offers could take up quite a bit of time. That’s where matched betting companies come in.

How does it work?

Here’s a quick example, but we’ll also take you through a real offer step-by-step in a minute:

How matched betting works

There’s an offer to ‘Bet £10, Get £30’. To get the £30 bet from the bookmaker, you have to stake £10 of your own money. This is known as the ‘qualifying bet’.

Place a £10 ‘back bet’ at the bookmaker on England to win a game.

With matched betting, you match this at the betting exchange by placing a ‘lay bet’. In this example, a £10 bet that says that England won’t win. This covers both a loss and a draw:

Now, because you’ve placed two bets which cover all possible outcomes, you won’t win any money. The important thing is: you won’t lose any either – the two bets cancel each other out. So where does the money come from, then? It comes from the £30 free bet, which you’ve unlocked by doing the qualifying bet.

5 steps to making a profit from matched betting.

How does matched betting work?

In this section, we’ll go through how matched betting works:

#1. Sign up with a bookmaker

Find one offering a welcome bonus and deposit some money into the new account. Check the T&Cs of the offer to make sure you’re meeting the criteria.

#2. Open an account with a betting exchange

…and deposit some money. You’ll need to put in more than you did in the bookmaker account to cover something called ‘liability’. (have explanation below in “Betting dictionary” section)

#3. Use matched betting software to find an event to bet on

The original odds matching software sources and sorts the best odds for you. Use the filters to finds matched betting opportunities which fall within the T&Cs of the offer you’re doing and use the built-in calculator to work out how much you’ll need to back and lay, as well as how much money you’ll make.

#4. Complete your qualifying bet

Find and place your back bet at the bookmaker and do the same for your lay bet at the betting exchange. Once the event you’ve bet on has taken place, the bookmaker will credit your account with the free bet. Depending on the bookmaker, this could take up to 48 hours.

#5. Complete your free bet

In matched betting, you’re looking to keep around 75% and 80% of the free bet amount. For a £20 free bet, this is around £15 to £16. Using almost exactly the same method you’ve just completed the qualifying bet with, find and place the back and lay parts of your free bet. Again, we’ll show you exactly how to do this with written and video guides.

How much money can you make from matched betting?

The answer to this question is a bit ‘how long is a piece of string?’. But that just means that matched betting is a flexible way to make money and can fit around your lifestyle.

Based on the expected value of each of the initial signup offers, you can probably make between £1000 – £1500. Obviously this is reliant on a few things, such as odds taken and float, but it’s a pretty nice chunk of money.

Then once you’ve opened all of your bookie accounts, there are many ongoing and daily offers you can take advantage of. Betslayer has guides and tips for these offers, as well as the support available in our thriving Community.

Matched betting isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme but with a little time and effort, you can earn tax-free money each month.

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Betting dictionary

BOOKMAKER: A bookmaker, or ‘bookie’, offers odds on sporting and non-sporting events to people who want to gamble. They accept bets and then pay out if they win! For example, if you bet on England to win, and they do, you get money. The amount you win depends on the odds you took.

Traditionally, bookmakers were located in shops on the high street and at racecourses. You’ll have seen them on any high street you’ve walked down. Examples include, Coral, Betfred and William Hill. You can walk in, place a bet and (if your bet wins) return with proof of your bet to collect your winnings.

These days, bookmakers are online too. Online bookies offer the same service as shop ones but with the obvious convenience of being able to ‘visited’ whenever your internet connection allows. Choose and place a bet and if it wins, your funds will be added directly into your bookmaker account. It’s then up to you to withdraw these into your bank account. Depending on the bookmaker and/or your payment type, withdrawals can take 2-5 working days.

Not all bookmakers are created equal, so make sure you know who you can trust. It’s your money, after all. OddsMonkey looks into bookmakers that are licensed to operate in the UK & Ireland and who have a good reputation. But we’d always recommend doing your own research too. And if you’ve got any doubts or reservations, don’t hesitate to ask.

ODDS: The way the likelihood of a particular outcome is shown in betting. Odds are shown as ‘fractional’ (10/1) or ‘decimal (11.00). 10/1 means that you’d receive 10 ‘units’ for every 1 units you staked (put on), plus your original bet amount too. If you stake £1 and you win, you’ll get £11 in back.

PUNTER: (Traditional) Also known as a ‘bettor’ or ‘gambler’. A person who risks money by gambling or placing a bet on something.

BETTING EXCHANGE: An online website, platform or marketplace where gamblers can bet against each other, rather than against a bookmaker. Essentially, you can take the place of the bookmaker against someone else’s bet. There are currently 4 online betting exchanges available to UK customers: Betfair, Smarkets, Betdaq and Matchbook.

BET: In sports, this is the act of predicting the outcome of a race, game or event and agreeing to forfeit money if you’re wrong. Betting isn’t just limited to sports though. Bets can be placed on anything from TV shows to the date Man’s going to land on Mars.

FLOAT: The amount of money you have available to you before you start betting. Also known as a bankroll. The idea is to build this up by completing all of the welcome offers so that you can boost your earnings later on in your matched betting journey.

QUALIFYING BET: The first bet you have to place at the bookmaker in order to qualify for and unlock the advertised free bet amount. In matched betting, you’re not aiming to make any money from this bet. That comes from the free bet itself.

BACK BET: A type of bet placed at the bookmaker. When you ‘back’ something, you are betting ‘for’ the team (or horse, or player, etc) to win. Another way to think of it is that you believe it will happen.

LAY BET: Just a complicated way of saying you’re ‘betting against’ something. Lay bets are placed at the betting exchange and are the opposite of back bets. If you ‘lay’ England to win, then you’re saying that you don’t think they will. Again, this covers both a loss and draw outcome.

FREE BET: The type of bet often ‘given away’ by bookmakers. In gambling, you’ll have to risk some of your own money in order to unlock the free bet, but with matched betting, you can unlock it and protect your own money at the same time.

LIABILITY: This is probably one of the most confusing things you’ll come across when you’re starting out matched betting. But stick with us. In traditional betting, liability is the amount of money that the person you’re betting against with Betfair stands to win from you. However, it’s different with matched betting. Don’t worry if they win it from you because you’ll win the same amount from the bookmaker. You won’t lose the liability amount.

The liability of a lay bet depends on the odds taken when you placed the bet. If you’re into the maths side of things, this formula shows how to calculate your liability: Liability = (Decimal Odds -1) x Stake.

Here’s a quick example: if you were to place a lay bet using £10 stake with decimal odds 6.5 your liability would be:

Liability = (6.5-1) x £10

= 5.5 x £10

= £55

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The Ultimate Guide to Arbitrage Betting in 2018

A classic arbitrage bet looks like this:

1 - see arbitrage opportunity
2 - Make sure you have available funds in those accounts
3 - Place both sides of the arb (place highest stake first)
4- wait for bet to settle
5 - Withdraw funds and reload account

What exactly is arbitrage betting?
Arbitrage Betting takes advantage of the high competition in odds between online bookmakers. When bookmakers odds vary enough we can bet on all outcomes of the event and win a profit of around 2-10% no matter what.

This may seem like a small return of £2-10 at first (given a £100 stake) but over time this can lead to great profits, especially as on some events you can bet upwards of a £300 total stake on a single arb which means £15-30 per trade!

Arbitrage is similar to matched betting but instead of using free bets to get a risk-free profit it uses the natural variation in odds instead.

Arbitrage betting has been dubbed as “the only way to make constant profit” in sports betting and there are tens of thousands of people who regularly arb because it is typically a far better way to invest money than a bank.

How does it work?
Example You bet on a football match.

Swansea v Wolves

The odds for the game to have total goals of over 2.5 has odds of 2.6

The odds for the game to have total goals of under 2.5 has odds of 1.75

We place a total stake of £100 and have covered all outcomes.
We make £4 profit if Outcome A happens & £5 profit if outcome B happens.

To break down what is shown in the table.

If there are over 2.5 goals in the match, your return will be a total of £104 (2.6 x £40=£104) = £4 profit

If there are under 2.5 goals in the match, your return will be a total of £105 (1.75 x £60=£105) = £5 profit

Remember we’ve only place a total of £100 so anything over this figure is profit.

Common questions about Arbitrage Betting
Do I need to be in the UK?

It helps to be in the UK as we have the largest amount of bookies in europe but as long as you have access to a decent about of mainstream bookmakers sites you should be fine.

Do I need to have bookmaker accounts open?

Yes you need bookmaker accounts open to do this.

Won’t the bookmakers limit my account if they think i’m arbitrage betting?


It’s true that some bookmakers are not too keen on arbitrage betting but many people stay under the radar for a while by being smart like only betting round stakes.

Many matched bettors arb on their gubbed accounts to double their matched betting profits.

The 3 things to consider are:

  1. The amount of stake you place
  2. How big a % the arb is
  3. How mainstream the event is.

If you balance these three factors then you can keep accounts open, we’ll go into more detail on this later. Other tips include only withdrawing funds from the exchange because they never limit you and it makes bookies think you’re losing when you’re winning because you never withdraw from cash from a winning account.

Is it legal?

Arbing might seem too good to be true, but it is an entirely legal way to bet. All you are doing is taking advantage of the differences that occur in the market.

Won’t it take ages for me to withdraw funds?


If you use skrill or paypal you can withdraw funds to your skrill wallet in 12 hours or with paypal instantly, and load bookie accounts instantly making it easy to control cashflow and easy to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities.

How much money do I need to get started?

You need at least £100-200 to make arbitrage worthwhile.

You say its risk-free, so what’s the worst thing that can happen?

Even though Arbitrage is risk-free, there are certain things you have to keep in mind when implementing it. Like in the rare case that a bookmaker doesn't accept your bet, but you've already placed 1 out of 2 outcomes of the arb?

There are 2 solutions for this.

  1. Many bookies will allow you to cash out of a bet, you can do this on your original bet and lose a couple quid.

  2. Or you can find similar odds on our software dropdown menu and place a bet with another bookmaker. This feature means you could still make just as much money, or if they are slightly worse odds, you may win or lose a couple of pennies.

What are the best bookmakers to use?

Pinnacle is an arb friendly bookmaker that welcomes arbers and will never limit you. Currently its not available in the UK unless you use brokers like premium tradings or Bet IBC. There is great opportunity for safe profit by using Pinnacle and a low commission exchange like Smarkets. Other good bookies include Marathon & Bet365.

**Are all arbing opportunities back/lay like matched betting? **

Nope there are lots of opportunities between bookmakers directly without the use of an exchange.

So why isn’t everyone doing it?

A lot of people don’t know this exists and if they do they are overwhelmed by thinking they have to calculate every arb themselves or pay £100+ a month for betting software. Using Betslayer you only have to make 1-2 bets a month to make a good profit of the service.

Many people do arbitrage betting after finishing the sign up offers because they have many accounts open and want to turn their bankroll and double it.

Advantages of arbitrage betting:

  • No qualifying bet to place
  • Takes less time
  • Very profitable
  • Great to squeeze profits out of gubbed accounts

Disadvantages of arbitrage betting:

  • Puts your accounts at risk

Claim your free 7 day trial at betslayer.com/pricing (no card required)

Best Bookies for Arbitrage Betting? Image

Best Arbitrage Friendly Bookies in 2017

Best Arbitrage Friendly Bookies in 2017

Here's the transcript
hi guys Max here from betslayer with a really cool video on the best bookies for arbitrage, now this is foundational fundamental to everything we do in arbitrage betting and I've just put my two cents in on which bookmakers I use the people that use betslayer use the most and just a bit of an explanation about Sharp and soft bookies. I'll jump straight in but this is going to be a very useful video so make sure you watch until the end and as ever please take a moment to subscribe like the video and leave a comment below it really helps me out and I really appreciate it. Anyway let'sjump straight in there are a number of arbitrage friendly bookmakers out there which will never live limit you there are also bookmakers for arbitrage who will limit you that provide some of the best odds and they're actually more lenient than most,and this article I will go over the best bookmakers for sports arbitrage betting and explain some of the reasons why the first thing to consider when choosing a bookmaker is, is it a sharp or soft bookmaker. Now what does that mean? Okay Sharp bookmakers like pinnacle have automatic odds movement and rapid response to movements in the market the odds are generally less competitive compared to soft bookmakers for this reason, but many sharp bookmakers like pinnacle will never limit you so they're an extremely useful type of bookmaker to have if you are just using Sharp bookies in arbitrage you would have extremely limited opportunities and the arbs would probably rarely go over 1% ROI but don't sweat that's why we have soft bookies and competitive rate exchanges. So here are the best Sharp bookmakers for arbitrage: Pinnacle 3ET,SBObet which is Asian Handicap betting which is a subject for another video.Bet365 188bet these guys have you know competitive odds but still will maybe eventually limit you 188Bet used to be a bit better. Bet365 is one of the best pinnacle I'd say is the best bookmaker for arbitrage just because they'll never limit you you can have really high betting stakes and it just works. 3et is a bit newer you need to apply to get an account there but I think that you know that they're very similar to soft bookmakers like Bwin are useful because unlike sharp bookies their odds are changed manually usually by a trader this means odds might be substantially different between these bookies meaning there are lots of opportunities for big arbitrage so here are the best soft bookmakers for arbitrage they're rated by you know how long they keep your accounts open and you know usually wanna if you're using a soft cookie to make sure they're a big bookie because they're more likely to play by the rules and and not mess you around with with withdrawals and things like that William Hill, bwin Coral, marathon bet, Ladbrokes was on that list up at this point but recently we've been getting lots of complaints about their doing some stuff but I think Ladbrokes is still okay I use them. So why are betting exchanges useful for arbitrage? betting exchanges are like an online marketplace with punters to bet against themselves on sporting events around the world customers bet against each other not the exchange and that's how the odds are calculated the exchange just takes a commission of you know 1 to 5 percent,they're useful because they'll never limit you because their odds aren't manipulated by traders it means there can be great opportunities for arbitrage especially because you can lay a bet. ie bet against every outcome apart from winning which means there's fewer bets to place in order to cover all outcomes to make a profit many people see great results from arbing a soft bookie against an exchange or sharp bookie so Smarkets, MatchBook I think they do 1 percent commission, Betfair's the biggest exchange in the world so they're up to 5 percent BetDAQ think that's about 2% and and those are basically what you need to know about bookmaker arbitrage to do with soft bookie, sharp bookies, exchanges if you have any comments or questions leave a comment in the description box again please subscribe it really helps me continue to make videos for you guys like this and good luck with your arbitrage betting.

 Cheers.

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Arbitrage Betting For Complete Beginners

Arbitrage Betting For Complete Beginners

What is sports arbitrage betting?
An arbitrage bet arises when bookmakers have different opinions on the outcome of a sports event. This is reflected in the odds they provide and because the odds are so far apart it means we can bet and win regardless of outcome.

Is it similar to matched betting?
In a lot of ways, yes. Instead of using the bookies free bet to make a guaranteed profit we use the variation in odds between bookies. There is no need to place a qualifying bet in arb betting and most of the time instead of laying at the exchange we simply cover the other 1 or 2 outcomes at other bookies.

What is arbitrage software used for?
Because bookmakers odds can change quickly and the calculation of stakes needed to make a successful arbitrage bet can take time arb betting software was born. Arbitrage software makes a lot of things much easier. It automatically tracks odds and calculates the stakes needed to make the most money from an arb opportunity. Most add the bet to your betslip automatically saving you from having to navigate endlessly on bookmaker markets.

It also is a much more efficient arb finder because instead of you having to keep an eye out for the right odds the software does it for you. The arb software scrapes all the odds from the bookies and then automatically calculates which contain sure bet arbitrage opportunities. Sports Arbitrage Software like Betslayer highlights hundreds of Arbitrage sure bet opportunities every day.

Free bets?
You may be asking if you can use free bets to boost your arbitrage betting bankroll. The answer is yes. Combining free sign up offers with arbitrage actually gets you a 150% (2.5x) profit compared with if you did it with matched betting and used an exchange like Betfair. This is because Betfair charges a 5% fee and matched bettors look for the same odds to take the opportunity rather than always looking for profitable arbs. The only difference when redeeming free bets is that you shouldn’t use an e-wallet like skrill, neteller or PayPal (check terms and conditions though) you can withdraw your winning via an e-wallet but deposits should be via credit/ debit card.

How to place an arbitrage bet?
Step 1
Pick a 3-10% arb from betslayer Software in a generally popular market ie Premier League/ championship not League 2 that has been recently refreshed.

Step 2
Use filter to round to £5 and play around with stake until you find the best fit for profit.

Step 3
Open both bookies side to side before placing arb.

Step 4
Double check

Step 5
Place bet

To begin with you should never place a bet of more than £100 on one outcome.

Here is a good example to start with as it contained the bookies you have placed money with.

Let’s break this bet down.

Stake
Bookie
Outcome A
Outcome B
£50
Coral
1.91 x 50 = £95.5 (+£10.5)
0
£35
WHill

2.62 x 35 = £91.70 (+£6.7)

So you see, whatever happens we make a profit because our total original stake was £85.

Make £100.64 in your 7 day free trial

The basics of which arbs to place..

  • Less that 7 days in advance
  • Never choose an arb which has more than a 10% ROI
  • Choose Arbs that have been updated 1-2M ago
  • Use round to 5 feature
  • Bet stakes less than £100
  • Relatively mainstream (ie. not challenger tennis or romanian premier league)
  • Keep outcomes to 2-3 so it’s easy to place the arb
  • Open both bookmakers side to side to reduce the time gap between placing one bet and the other
  • Double check the odds
  • Open both windows side to side before placing arb

How Much Money it takes to Start?
We recommend having at least £250 to start with. This will be enough to make you £100 in your first week whilst you’re still learning the ropes. We recommend putting £50 in five bookmaker accounts. We recommend - Bet365, Ladbrokes, Marathon, 188Bet & Coral.

Managing your bankroll
The reason we recommend spreading your bankroll across different bookies is so you never miss out on arbitrage opportunities. Think about it, you place an arb of 2 outcomes. One wins. This means one of your bookie accounts has no money in it and the other has 5-10% more than the total stake you placed on the arb. This means you need to reload the account to make it available to you again. We do this by using e-wallets like skrill or neteller which takes 12 hours to withdraw funds rather than 3-5 days via bank transfer. E-wallets only charge when you withdraw to your bank, they’re a neat tool that allow you to deposit and withdraw to your e-wallet for free quickly and efficiently. They are essential for arbitrage betting.

Avoiding mistakes/ getting limited
Start off with small stakes to learn the ropes. Unlike matched betting this is evergreen, there are always arbs so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you start off place £20 bets. This eliminates the number one mistake when arbitrage betting : human error. Arbitrage betting by nature is risk free but there are certain things like getting limited and certain situations you have to adapt to to make it 100% the case.

Is Arbitrage Betting Legal?
Arbitrage betting is completely legal. We are simply doing as a trader would do and buying and selling odds to make profit.

Don't bookies hate this - won't they limit me?
If you are stupid and have abnormal betting patterns then it’s a possibility. Most people keep their accounts open for a 6 months to a year but you can keep accounts open much longer with certain bookies like Bet365 and there are endless opportunity for arbitrage even with just BEt365 and an Exchange like Betfair. There is only so far a bookie can go with limiting players because they don’t want to limit players that have a lifetime ROI of profit. This is why it’s important to track which bookies you’re winning and losing with so you can place mug bets (A normal bet of 1-2% of your bankroll) just to throw them off. I always thought that even though arb bettors are gaming the system we don’t actually know which bookie we are going to win and lose with so they shouldn't care.

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What is the best arbitrage betting software in 2018?

What is the best arbitrage
betting software in 2018?

This article is for people who have a basic understanding of what sports arbitrage betting is. If you don’t then read the summary below or check out this article for more detail.

arbitrage betting, arbing, arb betting or sure bets arbitrage isn’t gambling. It’s when there is an opportunity to make a guaranteed profit no matter the outcome because the bookmakers odds are so far apart. It can be hard to find these bets manually, which is why many people use arbitrage betting software. Arbitrage Betting Software track odds quickly and then calculates the stakes needed in order to make the maximum profit. Punters usually end up making 3-10% ROI off these bets, which quickly add up over time.

I receive emails all the time debating the question “Which arbitrage betting software is the best?” & “How much should I spend on arb finding software?”

The problem with arb betting software is it can be hard to know which one to choose. Almost all of them have arb betting calculators but only some have quick updating arbs and good customer service. Every arb finding software makes great claims, but not all live up to them.

In this article I will go over the best sports arbing software in 2017 and the pros and cons that follow.

Option 1 : Free Arbitrage Betting Software?

There is Free Arb software out there but in my opinion it should be avoided, but why?

The problem with free arbitrage software is that usually they have very odd markets like Russian Premier League which are an instant red flag for the bookmakers.
Many thousands of people jump on these free arbs so the odds change quickly at the bookmakers, also they will be able to tell you are sports arbitrage betting.
The odds on these sites don’t update quickly and you will have to manually search for the event on the bookmaker sites which can be frustrating.
However, despite these limitations these free arb finders can be a good introduction to arbitrage betting without committing funds. Their use though ends there for me, good for education but an instant ban from the bookmakers if used consistently.

These free arb sites are best for people who just want to learn more about arbing without committing to an arbitrage betting software. If you want to make any long term cash doing this you should avoid placing bets using these sites as the bookmakers will be on to you quickly.

Option 2 : Using Matched Betting Software Like Oddsmonkey or Profit Accumulator for Arbitrage?

Some matched betting services like Oddsmonkey or Profit Accumulator include arbitrage features in their oddsmatching software. These services are both less than £20 a month so are an attractive option for beginners but again they have their limitations.

  1. Arbitrage Opportunities usually have a slim profit on these platforms and because they have thousands of members (and don’t put practises in place to reduce arbs show to members) the bookmakers notice when you use these arbs.
  2. Your account will get limited very quickly because the bookmakers will instantly know you have come from a matched betting service.
  3. Odds move quickly on these services because they use exchanges and also don’t update their odds as quickly as arbitrage betting software companies because they aren’t built for that primary purpose.

Oddsmonkey & ProfitAccumulator are best for those who don’t have any bookmaker accounts open, don’t have more than £100 bankroll and want to learn the ropes & earn some money from the bookies. If you have more to invest than this on arb software I would recommend using a reasonably priced sports arbitrage software in order to combine arbitrage with matched betting to make 100% more profit than using oddsmonkey or profit accumulator.


Option 3: Expensive Arbitrage Software Services

Sports Arbitrage betting Software varies in price quite substantially but the majority of arb betting software have the same features (with some exceptions). Pricey options are Rebelbetting, Oddstorm & Betburger all are £120+ a month which means that you spend most of the month chasing profit, especially as they don’t provide a free trial or in depth tutorials.

All arb finder software contains:

  1. More features focussed on making arb betting easier
  2. Better Arb finder than matched betting software
  3. More unique arbs so less risk of getting limited
  4. Odds updated more quickly
  5. Bigger arbs which means more profit than alternative software

Rebelbetting software runs on only windows and has to be downloaded, but has a large number of bookmakers, filters and arbs.

  • Simple navigation, leading the user straight to the betting event page with a single click and all you have to do is click “bet”. This is untraceable by the Bookmakers.
  • Supports 60+ bookmakers and “clones”.
  • The refresh time of their arbs is ok.

Oddstorm updates quickly but doesn’t have the best user interface.

  • Fast refresh rates. 1-3 seconds for InPlay and average 15 seconds for PreMatch.
  • Simple navigation, leading the user straight to the betting event page with a single click and all you have to do is click “bet”. This is untraceable by the Bookmakers.
  • Supports 60+ bookmakers and “clones”.

Betburger is a solid piece of arbing software but is quite pricey.

  • Arb Helper add-on leads the user straight to the betslips, making for rapid bet placement. This is untraceable by the Bookmakers.
  • Supports 62 Prematch Bookmakers (plus 57 clones), and 50 Live Bookmakers (plus 47 clones). This makes for plenty of opportunities to profit.

The above options are worth looking into if you’re an arbitrage betting veteran who has £10,000’s to invest but otherwise I would recommend an alternative with a lower price point that still is built to purpose for arbitrage betting. The best alternative is using something that has all the features of the expensive arbitrage software but without the hefty price tag.

Option 4: Reasonably priced Arbitrage Software Services

Betslayer sports arbitrage software is only £49/mo. It’s good for people who have some experience betting but have limited experience with arb betting. It has a 7-day free trial money back guarantee which no other service has, and also unrivalled customer support.

  • Fast refresh rates.
  • Simple navigation, leading the user straight to the betting event page with a single click and all you have to do is click “bet”. This is untraceable by the Bookmakers.
  • Supports 32+ bookmakers.

Lots of arb finders are very complicated to use but with Betslayer it’s very simple. Betslayer updates quickly, automatically adds to bet to betslip in a safe way (meaning no bookmakers can track you). Betslayer also makes sure all arbitrage bets are “unique” and reduces the amount of people who can take them, making sure no bookie catches on.

Darth Vader Fighting with Luke Skywalker Image Capture

What is a soft bookie and a sharp bookie?

What is a soft bookie and a sharp bookie?

Soft Vs Sharp Bookies
In the arbritage and sports betting world you may of come across the terms soft bookie or sharp bookie, if you are new to this world you might not know what they mean, I've kept it simple and given a brief overview of these terms.

Soft Bookie
Soft bookmakers in general are less sharp with their odds. What do I mean about this? Well their software is less sofisticated, they are typically less quick to respond to events and more regularly have errors in their odds.

As arbers this is great, more incorrect odds means more profits! Soft bookies you can typically spot from fancy (and alot of) advertising and seductive welcome offers.

Soft bookmakers typically have short lived customers who give up after loosing everything (usually re-gambling any winnings they have). I mean before you joined the arbritage betting world, how many times have you taken up an huge welcome bonus, won loads then put on something else (maybe won some more) then eventually loosing it all. Soft bookies, rely on your doing just that.

Most well known betting sites come in to soft bookmakers, to name a few Bet 365, Coral, Ladbrokes & William Hill.

Soft bookmakers are always the best for high investments when arbing, however they are also the most difficult when trying to avoid getting limited. Why? Because this just isn't their business model. For more for information see How to never get limited by the bookies.

Sharp Bookie
Sharp bookmakers and quite literally the opposite of the above. They typically have fast moving and sophisticated software that reacts quickly to events and less frequently have arbritage opportunities (Arbs still exist!).

Sharp bookies tend to fork out less on marketing and have far smaller welcome bonuses. This means in general they can afford to offer better odds, as they less spend to cover in their margin.

To summarise sharp bookmakers also have a great place when arbritage betting. In comparison to their soft bookie counterparts they rarely limit or ban your account (because they are so sure of their system), but may have lower maximum stakes which could put off some professional gamblers.

A few sharp bookie examples would be 188Bet, 12Bet & Pinnacle.

Overview
Should I use soft or sharp bookies for Arbritage betting?
There is no good answer for this. In a lot of cases it works nicely to mix Sharp & Soft bookies when looking for Arbs. High percentage investments is the the reward for not getting limited with the soft bookies. Each will suit different styles of betting.

I hope gives you a brief insite to the different opportunities available to you. In this battle I will leave you to decide which is Jedi and which is Sith (reference the header image!) and if you have any questions please let me know in the comments below and let me know what your arbritage style is!

No Limits Sign Image

How to never get limited by the bookies (Arbitrage Betting)

How to never get limited by the
bookies (Arbitrage Betting)

In this post I will go over the 15-steps to never getting limited by the bookmakers ever again. Follow this closely and you'll have risk-free profits from arbitrage betting for years.

  • Avoid long-term arbs - events that will happen or end in more than a week.
  • Load your deposits steadily ie. Don’t deposit hundreds and hundreds of pounds in one go.
  • Do not withdraw 100% of your funds immediately after a bet settles.
  • Have a static IP ie. Don’t login on your mates laptop.
  • Keep stakes well below betting limits, below £100 is a good place to start.
  • Don’t bet on Arbs that have over 10% ROI. This is because it could indicate a palpable error which would mean your bet gets rejected.
  • Don’t bet all the time on obscure markets like Russian Premier League or challenger tennis.
  • Keep track of which bookies you are winning money with, and which you are losing with in a spreadsheet. Consider mug betting a small percentage of winnings with the losing bookmaker to keep them happy.
  • Stake whole numbers (£55, not £53,37)
  • Avoid unusual patterns like betting at 2AM at night, in general it’s best to mix it up and bet on lots of events and markets.
  • Don’t use same username at every bookmaker to avoid being tracked.
  • Don’t withdraw all your funds in one go and in general don’t withdraw unless you need to.
  • Small stakes trading. This will eliminate the biggest problem which creates all the other problems, and that is inexperience. If you start trading with small stakes, you will gain experience and any error from your side won't bring you a major loss. Ie. opening bookies window next to each other before locking in a bet and making sure the market is still available before betting.
  • Use an e-wallet like Skrill or Neteller - You need to be able to move funds from each Arbing bookmakers quickly and if you use any other method it takes 3-5 days rather than 12-24 hours, this makes things far less frustrating!
  • Never place 2 bets on a single event on the same bookmaker ie. Loss & draw on one bookie & win on the other.

So now you know how to never get limited by the bookies, comment below if you have any questions!

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