Matched Betting or Surebets Explained

Arbitrage, Arbs, Matched Betting or Surebets have been around as long as there have been bookmakers, indeed Arbitrage is a long standing tool of the financial markets.

Although it may seem contrary to instinct it is quite easy to place bets on any betting market in which you will make a small profit, typically 2 -4% of your stake no matter what the outcome of the sporting contest, and never, ever, at any time will one penny of your stake be at risk, indeed you may often have your stake banked long before the contest ever starts.

The rise of the internet bookmaking industry has given the ‘arber’ an opportunity to make a living from discrepancies in odds without ever risking a penny.

A crude example is as follows.

Suppose a popular Australian tennis player makes the final of Wimbledon and is matched against a popular but evenly matched British player, Andy Murray for instance.

In Australia the popular public support for the Aussie would almost certainly make him favourite at say 4/5 (1.75 in decimal) and Andy would be around 5/4 (2.25 in decimal).

In the United Kingdom the reverse would be true, Andy would be 1.75 favourite and the Aussie would be out at 2.25 so by using internet bookmakers it would be possible to bet the British player with an Australian bookie at 5/4 (2.25) and the Australian player with a British bookmaker at 5/4 (2.25)  also.

Hence you could place £100 on both players hours before the event even started and be assured that whichever player won you would return £225 for your £200 stake, totally risk free.

Now that is an extreme example but literally hundreds of these arbitrages are to be had each day.

From my own experience finding them is hard work and to be honest you need a lot of bookmaker accounts open as they often only last for a few short minutes.

Typically they return 1-3% but sometimes as much as 50% in extreme cases.

Now 1-3% does not seem much when looked at by a person with a traditional betting mentality, but this is not betting!

Your stake is never at risk and you will make your 1-3% usually within 24 hours. Compare that to a savings account!

Fortunately there are services available which find these opportunities for you for a very reasonable fee, in effect taking the leg work away.

One such service which I heartily recommend is Arbets who provide a much better explanation of Arbitrage Betting and a free trial.

Please visit their Arbitrage Home Page for more information.

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