If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already explored the possibilities that arbitrage betting can bring you. In which case, you’ll also know that even if you are a mathematical genius, you’ll need arbitrage finder software to find arbs for you.
Don’t worry if you don’t know much about ‘arbing’ as it’s usually referred to, we’ll show you the basics before we move on to how arbitrage finder software works and give you some tips for finding the best options.
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We’re often asked the question, is sports betting profitable? The basis of arbitrage betting is to benefit from a discrepancy in sportsbook odds and spreads by placing bets in such a way that you’ll make a profit regardless of the outcome of an event.
So, it’s not about sports betting, it’s much more about applying a mathematical equation and coming out on the profitable side. You can find a more detailed explanation of exactly how to use arbitrage sports betting right here. For now though, let’s take a look at how our finder works.
Before you can commence, you’ll need three things:
In very simple terms, you find a suitable sporting situation and run the figures in the arb calculator, you then place a ‘back’ bet with a sportsbook and a corresponding ‘lay’ bet at the exchange. In reality, a single sportsbook account is not sufficient, you need to sign up with as many as you can find to have the best shot at success.
There are one of two outcomes, either your back bet wins, or your lay bet wins. If you have done this right, then one bet will offset the other and you’ll be left with a small profit. The average profit is only around 4% per bet, but successful arbers place numerous bets every day and to find them, they use arbitrage finder software.
Theoretically, there are three ways to find arbs:
There was a time when it was a much easier task to find arbs manually and many astute bettors jumped on the bandwagon. Once the sportsbooks spotted this trend and the profits were being denied, they started using arb scanning software that identified certain betting patterns and became far more astute at finding arbs.
The speed at which sportsbooks are able to locate and correct arbitrage betting opportunities makes it unrealistic to try and find them manually. So, whilst it is still possible, the reality is that it could prove a very disappointing and fruitless endeavor.
There’s plenty of free software available online that will give beginners a chance to find out what arbing is all about. However, it does come with certain limitations. First off, the maximum return you could expect using this type of software is just 1% and more often than not it’s even less.
In addition, most free software packages are slow and have an average delay of 60 seconds. Although a minute might not seem much, in reality, most major sportsbooks will have found and fixed arbs before you have even seen them.
When considered purely as a learning tool, free software is just about acceptable, but in the longer term, and especially if you become serious about arbing, then you will soon outgrow its usefulness.
It wasn’t too long after sportsbooks began routinely using arb scanning services that they started being used by arbitrage bettors as well. Arb finders, as they are commonly known, are highly sophisticated services, which can scan up to 100 sportsbooks at a time to find your arbs in a split second.
There are many different brands available on a monthly subscription basis. Most provide services in addition to their arb finder and monthly costs vary according to the number of sportsbooks you want to scan and the exact services you select.
This is the point where we have to break some bad news to US residents about arbitrage betting. There is no legal way to do it in the United States. But we won’t leave it there, we’ll explain why.
As we explained earlier, the basis of arbitrage betting revolves around using an arbitrage finder to identify arbs and then placing two bets – a back bet at a sportsbook and a corresponding lay bet at a betting exchange.
Unfortunately, there are no betting exchanges in the US simply because they are not viable, taking account of state-related US gambling laws. The essence of a betting exchange is liquidity, meaning that there must be an abundance of participants willing to accept your lay bet. Confining the potential for that to an individual US state does not allow for sufficient liquidity.
The slightly better news is that there are alternative, legal ways to make use of some aspects of arbitrage.
Dutching means placing two opposing bets where there is sufficient difference in the betting odds. First, you must identify a suitable bet, one where an outcome is fairly certain to happen. This is usually easier for a sport like tennis, where there are just two players. Theoretically, you can search for dutching opportunities manually using a decent odds and spreads comparison tool.
Next, you place two ‘back’ bets at two different sportsbooks. One that indicates the outcome will happen and the other indicating that it won’t happen. Provided there is sufficient difference between the odds and you made your selection correctly, you could make a small profit.
The downside of dutching is that sportsbooks don’t like it because you are losing them money and they will make it their business to prevent that from happening. Using whatever means necessary, they will identify consistent dutching and flag your betting account. At best, you are likely to have it limited and at worst, they will shut it down completely.
The reason we went through all of the details about online sports betting arbitrage is because it has strong connections with positive EV betting. Gaining an understanding of arbing and the software used will be a great help if you decide to go this route.
The EV is the Expected Value of a bet and in a similar way to arbitrage betting, it relies on sports betting math to find +EV bets. However, it eliminates the need for a betting exchange as you will only need to place one bet. We’ll explain this more later on in this guide.
If you want to know more about how we do EV betting, check out our other products, such as PromoGuy Pick'em and PromoGuy Plus.
We’ve reviewed a variety of subscription arb finder software that’s designed to help you narrow down some decent bets. Of those, we have tested, we found a clear favourite with OddsJam. It isn’t the cheapest option, but it has a whole range of features designed to suit various types of betting as well as arbitrage.
As we explained earlier, arbitrage in sports betting isn’t a viable proposition in the US, but for anyone in a country where it is possible, it would be an excellent choice of tool for narrowing down sports betting arbitrage opportunities.
OddsJam isn’t just for sportsbook arbitrage though, it’s also the best at searching out those elusive +EV opportunities we mentioned. If you were to concentrate just on +EV betting, it’s likely that you’d be returning well above the industry average, but you’d need to ride out any rough patches and see that over the long term.
OddsJam also has an excellent odds and spreads comparison tool amongst its many features. It’s the fastest we’ve ever come across and there is zero delay in seeing the results, provided you’ve got a stable network connection. If you like the excitement of live betting on sports, then you’ll be pleased to hear that OddsJam is capable of updating live odds for up to five matches every second.
There are plenty of other cool features too like the bet tracker, which automatically tracks every bet you’ve placed and calculates the exact percentage of your hits and misses. It’s sure to help you hit the 50% CLV mark that all +EV bettors strive for.
You can try it free for 7 days and after that there’s a number of different subscription packages to choose from. OddsJam isn’t the cheapest software out there, but it certainly ticks the boxes for us.
Sometimes the US laws can make things seem frustratingly limiting for sports bettors. So, we set out to find some alternatives to the betting strategies that rely on a betting exchange and we came up with a solution that we think ticks most boxes.
Before we tell you more, we’d like to make it clear that we do not charge fees or subscriptions for following our advice and we are not about to tell you about any illegal ways to place bets. The sportsbooks we recommend are all legitimately licensed to operate in the US.
The mainstay of this alternate method is making use of sports betting bonuses and ongoing sportsbook promotions and using them to boost up your bankroll. But it doesn’t stop there, if you also seek out some of those elusive +EV bets to make use of them, then your wins will be a double whammy.
As a result, you can gain a distinct advantage and better still, you won’t have to spend all of your time immersed in mathematical equations, you’ll get to enjoy the sport too. As we pointed out, you should only use fully-licensed US sportsbooks and the awesome promos they provide.
Unfortunately, not all US states have legalized online sports betting, which means, for now at least, not all of you will be able to enjoy this style of betting. That said, we are seeing changes happening almost every day and we’re sure that more states will soon see the benefit of allowing a bit more freedom.
As we’ve shown you, arbitrage betting done correctly, can result in a small profit. We’ve also explained that it is not about sports betting, it’s all about using mathematical equations and software as a means to an end.
We’ve also explored the need to use a suitable arbitrage finder, detailed the reasons why online sports betting arbitrage cannot be used in the US and shown you a very viable alternative.
Although you may be disappointed to find that online sports betting arbitrage in its purest form is not an option, we hope that our guide has been a helpful insight and that you will give our alternative suggestions a chance.
If you have searched that question, you’ll have found many answers which vary from ‘Get Rich Quick’ systems through to very expensive premium arb finder programs. If you want to get the straight facts about online sports betting arbitrage and suitable software, then you need to read our Promo Guy guide.
Without going into detail, there are many different levels of arb finder software available for online bettors. Each has its own merits, features and capabilities. Here at PromoGuy, we’ve looked at many different versions and for us, one has clearly come out at the top of the list. Take some time to check out our arb finder guide and see which one we use and recommend.
At the end of the day, not all arbitrage finder programs are equal. We’ve made it our business to look at everything that’s available from free arb finders through to top-spec versions. Head over to our website and check out our arb finder guide. You’ll find the answer to your question and also learn which version hit the top spot on the list for us.
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