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Arbitrage betting is, on the surface at least, simple. You place bets and then you profit, every time.
Unfortunately, there’s a catch: arbitrage betting may indeed work, but it’s far from a simple process — and when we say “far from simple”, we really mean “can be downright impossible at times”. Thankfully, arbing software is the perfect solution, offering a way to engage in a spot of arbing without having to sacrifice hours and hours of your time to do so.
You’re here to read about arbitrage betting software, and worry not, we’re going to dive head first into that topic very soon indeed. However, we must start from the very beginning, because it’s… well, it’s supposed to be a very good place to start. So, let’s first look at what arbitrage betting actually is.
Arbitrage betting does, indeed, work — there are people across the globe currently engaging in a spot of arbitrage betting today, right now, and realising the promise of profit regardless of outcome.
So, article finished, right? Arbing works, it’s a way to win money, and all you need is a bookmaker and an exchange account to get started. Thanks very much Betting.co.uk, you’re now off to embrace your new betting system and anticipate just how wonderful life will be when you’re mortgage-free and holidaying in St Lucia when you tire of Tahiti.
Except… not quite. While we hate to be the bearers of bad news, arbing isn’t quite as simple as we’ve initially made it sound. Sure, the basic principle is absolutely correct and we stand by that, but there’s a couple of issues that any would-be arber is going to find themselves have to contend with.
The first is the question of whether arbitrage betting is actually permissible in the UK; you may, naturally, be wondering if a system that allows you to take profit without (theoretically at least) any risk might sound a little on the dodgy side. Thankfully, arbitrage betting won’t put anyone on the wrong side of the law, so if you’ve been wondering “is arbitrage betting legal?” then be reassured that the answer is a resounding yes.
However, there’s a huge gap between what’s legal and what you can actually do. Bookmakers, playing the role of the villain of the piece, hate arbing.
It’s easy to understand why this would be the case, too: arbing removes their advantage and can even result in financial losses, so operators tend to take the same approach to arbers as you would if your neighbour decided to serenade you outside your bedroom window: you’d want it to stop.
Right now. And if your neighbour was quite determined you needed to hear their dodgy version of Wonderwall, you’d make it stop: you’d close the window. Or, depending on how bad their singing voice is, you’d just move house to escape their dulcet tones.
Bookmakers do much the same, only less residential drama and more major corporations making a decision. First, they’ll close the window on arbers, so to speak: accounts are restricted so that only small-stake bets can be placed, erasing the possibility of generating a decent profit.
If they’re still unhappy even after this course of action, then they’ll move on — from accepting you as a customer. Yep, arbing can get your bookmaker accounts outright banned.
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to prevent account restrictions if you are arbing; under their terms and conditions, bookmakers have the right to restrict or cancel accounts for any reason. There are a few tips and tricks that people like to suggest that will make account restrictions or cancellations less likely, but these are questionable at best. If you’re arbing, bookmakers will find out through the use of sophisticated software: you just have to decide if you’re comfortable losing accounts in exchange for the profits arbing is capable of generating.
However, these restrictions are far from the most significant problem arbers face — so let’s now turn our focus to the most significant issues of all…
Let’s imagine a glorious world where bookmakers are happy to let people arb as much as they want. Even in such a wondrous alternative timeline, arbing manually would still present a problem. The reason? Simple: volume.
Head to any bookmaker’s website and you’ll be presented with a plethora of betting markets and options for a single game. A standard football game, for example, will have goalscorer bets, the 1x2 market, corners, and much more besides — there’s 100 different bets, and often more, for every individual fixture. Every single one of those markets is capable of producing a profitable arb, so if you were to try arbing manually, you’d have to scan every market for every fixture yourself. Oh, and you’d also have to monitor the lay prices at the exchange, going back and forth between screens in the hopes of spotting a profitable opportunity.
Is it possible to scan every possible betting market in the hope of finding an arb? Perhaps, if you’re willing to focus on just one game… which isn’t ideal, given that arbs are far from guaranteed, and you could spend hours looking for arbs that simply don’t (and never will) materialise.
Then there’s the speed factor to contend with. Let’s say you strike lucky and you find an arb you can actually use as you move between bookmaker and exchange, constantly checking. The race is now on: you’ve got to calculate your stakes, check and place your back bet, check and place your lay bet… and poof, the arb is gone. Arbs are incredibly of-the-moment; bookmakers will quickly change their odds, providing a very short window for you to make your calculations and place your bets on the precious arbs you’re able to locate when manually searching.
So we have a scenario where there’s literally hundreds and thousands of possible arbs, but it’s humanly impossible to actually find them — both due to the number of options, and the relatively short lifespan of each individual arb.
For any would-be arber, that means there’s only one option left: arbing software.
It’s theoretically possible to engage in arbitrage betting without dedicated software, but who would want to? Hours spent scrutinising odds, only for an arb to vanish before your eyes when you do actually get to grips with moving back and forth between bookmaker and exchange screens. Even if your arb doesn’t vanish, you then have to rush through using a calculator on arbitrage betting sites to figure out your stakes, and then actually rush through the betting process before the numbers shift and you’re back at square one.
Sure, perhaps the above might be worth it if you were going to make millions, but arbing is usually more of a tortoise than a hare in terms of how it should be approached. The average profit from an arb is just 4% of your stake, so slow and steady wins will always be the name of the game. Such a (relatively) small return means manually searching for arbs just isn’t a realistic prospect for most people — it’s not worth the time, the effort, or the diminished eyesight from staring at a screen all day.
What’s more, even if you were willing to push through and look for manual arbs, you’d inevitably miss out. Arbs are gone in seconds, and remember, there’s literally thousands of different betting markets available every day. Realistically, the only way to truly search for arbs is to instead seek assistance, namely from software that can take over the searching process.
Arbing software is therefore the saviour for arbers. Need to scrutinise the markets for opportunities when arbitrage betting today, tomorrow, or at any other point? Then you need your trusty arbitrage betting software to hand. Software can scan the markets, find suitable arbs, and alert you to them in time for you to actually place your bets. What’s more, many arbing software options will tell you exactly how much you need to stake, and some will even help you by allowing you to place the lay bet with a single click of a button.
The end result is an arbitrage betting experience that works for you. Yes, there’s still effort involved, but no one has ever promised that arbitrage betting is a betting system that works without you having to do anything at all. There will always be time and dedication required to see a return from arbing; in that sense, it’s just like life. Importantly, what arbing software can do is help to ensure that the time you spend is actually proportional to the value of the activity to your bottom line, making the process as easy to handle as it possibly can be while still satisfying basic requirements.
When it comes down to it, we can be sure of a simple truth: if someone wants to engage in arbitrage betting, then they’re going to need software to help them out. There’s really no question of it; the alternative is simply unmanageable for a single individual, especially given the returns can be negligible given the time investment that would be required.
Alas, it’s at this point we have to acknowledge another unfortunate truth: there’s a lot of arbitrage software out there. Every single platform promises the moon, but whether they’re actually capable of reaching such lofty heights is… a little more questionable. Actually, let’s not beat around the bush, a lot more questionable. Where there’s a potential for people to profit, there’s always going to be a snake oil salesman willing to proffer an ideal solution — and the world of arbing software is no different.
At Betting.co.uk, we wanted to address this issue square on, so we’ve gone a step beyond simply telling you that software exists to make your arbing efforts easier: we’ve gone and reviewed the available products in depth, too. We have a host of different provider coverage; from our RebelBetting review to our BetBurger review, we’ve covered every potential option. Our experts have delved deep into how these systems work in an effort to sort the good from the wow-that-was-a-waste-of-time-and-money.
With the right system, your arbitrage betting experience should be straightforward. Yes, there’s still various issues to tackle — the loss of bookmaker accounts being the most pervasive — but the key point is that arbing will actually be feasible with the right software. The arbs, and their potential profit, will come to you, rather than you having to hunt them down — resulting in a better user experience and, ultimately, a more successful one too.
If you’re looking to start arbing, then we’ll make no bones about it: arbitrage betting finder software is an absolute must. To find out more, we’d recommend you explore our specific platform coverage in depth, with options such as our Arbmate review or our Oddstorm review a particularly good place to start.
When it comes to gambling, betting tips are most often thought of as suggestions for bets that offer good value. However, with arbitrage betting, standard betting tips are of little use. Instead, a thorough understanding of how arbing works and which software can help expedite the process is key — all of which you can learn more about at Betting.co.uk.
Arbitrage bet calculators are crucial for anyone looking to try arbing, but they’re also fiendishly complex to explain. The real question is what role does a calculator have to play in arbing, which you can learn more about in our dedicated guides to this interesting betting system.
Gambling in the UK is legal, but many bettors wonder if using a betting system such as arbitrage betting falls under the same banner. At Betting.co.uk, you can find out more about the legality of arbitrage alongside our advice for anyone contemplating giving arbing a try for themselves.
For people engaged in arbitrage betting, known commonly as arbers, the risk of being caught by bookmakers is ever-present. Whether or not it’s possible to avoid detection is, however, a very difficult subject, and one we have covered in more depth across our guides to arbing at Betting.co.uk.
“Gubbed” is a term that is often used by people using matched betting techniques, and essentially refers to bookmakers withdrawing promotional offers from a user’s account. Arbing is not matched betting, but it can have an impact on the health of betting accounts, as you can learn more about in our thorough guide.
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at begambleaware.org. Please Play Responsibly.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.