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Back Lay Betting Arbitrage

Published on: 08/08/2016

Not many people realise that there is a sport betting method that guarantees a profit every time. The method is called betting arbitrage and although it sound exciting in principle, putting it into practice is not always easy.

The word arbitrage come from the financial industry, and refers to a position where securities or foreign currency can be bought and sold for at the same time in different markets for a profit, thanks to small price discrepancies.

A trader may spot a commodity with a buy price on one market that is slightly lower than the sell price on another. By acting quickly, they can buy from one and sell to the other a make a quick profit. When applied to betting, the principle is the same.

If you have an event with two possible outcomes, such as a tennis or Basketball match, you can sometimes lock in a profit by backing both players with different bookmakers. If we use a tennis match as an example, where player A is priced at 3/10 at one bookmaker and player B is priced at 2/5 with another bookmaker, we can see how an arbitrage works. If we bet £71.43 on Player A and £25 on player B, we will win £100 whoever win the match. As you can see, our total stake was £96.43 so we make a £3.57 profit either way. This is only possible by using different bookmakers for each bet.

This principle can also be applied to backing and laying outcomes on betting exchanges, where you can find bettors willing to back or lay bets at prices that create a guaranteed profit. This requires really strong knowledge of the markets and how betting exchanges work.

However, if see a bookmaker offering 10/1 on an outcome that other bookies have priced at 8/1, you could bet £100 at 10/1 and then lay odds of 9/1 at a betting exchange up to £110. If the selection is successful, you will win £1000 and lose £990, making at £10 profit.

If the selection loses, you will lose £100 but win £110, making a £10 profit.

Of course, this all takes a lot of skill and there is still plenty risk involved. You could make a mistake, place a bet wrong or fail to get a bet matched on the exchange. It should also be pointed out, that betting exchanges charge a small commission and this should be included in your calculations.

As you can see from the examples, the returns are also very small when compared to the money that is staked. This is the nature of arbitrage betting. Some punters use special software that automatically detects arbitrage opportunities and even calculates how much of your stake should be applied to either side of the bet. A similar method can be used to take advantage of bookmaker’s bonuses and sign up offers. When a free bet if offered, a shrewd punter can place a bet and then lay the bet at a betting exchange to lock in a profit. Once again, there are online tools and websites that can be used to calculate these type of “Matched bets”. In fact, there are people that make a full-time living matching bets and seeking arbitrage opportunities.

As well as the financial risks involved, punters may also find that certain bookmakers will block their accounts if regular matched or arbitrage betting is suspected. To avoid this, punters will also place many regular bets on low risk events and lay them at an exchange for a small loss, just to keep their accounts looking normal.

Published on: 08/08/2016 © Bet Bind