What is sports arbitrage?

Sports arbitrage is a method of placing bets on an event such that a profit is guaranteed regardless of the outcome of the event.

Can you give me an example of how this works?

You are sitting in your office at work when you receive an email alert telling you that you can make 4% profit.  It's lunch time so you decide to leave your computer and make some extra money.  You go to Ladbrokes and fill out a football coupon to make a bet of £300 on Doncaster to win.  After lunch you go back to your desk.  You then use a special arb calculator to work out exactly what to bet online.   You log onto Pinnacle and place a bet of £150 on the other team (Scunthorpe) as well as £185 on the Draw.  You have outlayed a total of £634 which means you made a profit of £634 x 4% = £25.  If Scunthorpe win you make £25.  If Doncaster win you make £25.  If the game is a draw you make £25.

How often is there an alert?

There are football games every day.  Most days there is usually at least one arb opportunity.

How much will I need to invest to make it worthwhile?

Investment returns of 2% and more on your capital is quite common.  Often though, each shop may set a limit on the amount you can bet for a particular game once they believe that their odds have become good value.

Is this risk free?

Like any investment there are risks involved.  After bets have been placed correctly and all outcomes are covered, then yes, you would be in a risk free position.  Care must be taken to ensure the bets are placed properly and the right calculations have been made.  Other unexpected problems could arise, for example, your internet connection could fail while you are attempting to offset your high street bet.  Like an investment in the sharemarket, it is advisable to only use money that you could afford to lose in the worst case scenario.

Which bookmakers do you compare?

We currently compare Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral high street shops with Betfair and Pinnacle online.  More will be added in future.

The following screenshot shows the arbs that were available at 1:55pm Saturday 24th April (about an hour before most games start)