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There are three main methods to find arbitrage bets. The hardest way of finding arbitrage betting opportunities can be by looking for them manually.
The budget-friendly method is using a free arbitrage finder tool.
To find arbitrage bets you need to follow one of the following strategies:
- Finding sure betting opportunities manually by opening the same match at both bookmakers and comparing odds for arbitrage opportunities
- Using free sports betting arbitrage finders for searching
- Using Paid scanner Software services for searching Arbitrage bet opportunities
- Developing your own software
All these ways of finding arbitrage betting opportunities have their benefits and disadvantages.
In the following part of this article, you can find out which way of spotting sure bets suits your needs best.
Ways to find arbitrage betting opportunities
1. Find arbitrage bets manually
Finding arbitrage bets manually is the most complex and least profitable way to practice this betting strategy (for most players).
It has the advantage of not having to pay for an odds comparison site.
But finding arbitrage opportunities manually is very time-consuming, you need to have a strong PC (computer), and at least two monitors, and you also need to be very fast-acting.
To find arbs manually you simply need to open the same event on two different browser tabs.
The other big disadvantage of manual arb finding is that bookmakers are evolving fast in spotting overpriced odds with too much attention on them.
Back in 2010-2015, it was fairly easy to find arbitrage betting opportunities manually because bookies were slower in reacting to wrong odds.
The bookmakers have made a lot of mistakes, and you could place bets easily.
Finding sure bets manually by comparing your slow/local bookies with arbitrage friendly sportsbooks is still a possible way.
The more people are using these services the more people are betting on the same outcome of a match.
For a beginner arbitrage bettor, this means that the chance of finding an arbitrage opportunity is getting smaller.
These odds comparison sites can not scan every bookmaker and every market at events.
Knowing this you can have better chances of finding arbitrage bet opportunities.
How to find arbitrage opportunities manually?
To find sports arbitrage opportunities manually, you need to open the same sports event in two different browser tabs, hopefully on two monitors, and compare betting markets and outcomes on a one-by-one basis.
Find some bookmakers that are available in your country (and they are also trustworthy, based on other bettors’ opinions).
Have a look at arbitrage scanner services, whether they are scanning that bookmaker or not (it is hard to find one that is not scanned, but hope for the best).
Choose a sport that you are familiar with. For beginners, football and tennis betting are the best, to begin with. Open the same sports event at more bookies.
Compare the odds of the same market at every bookmaker you have. In the beginning, try the markets with only two outcomes: over/under goals, over/under corners, and over/under cards. If you are familiar with handicap markets you can have a look at them too.
For manual search, I would suggest paying more attention to tennis markets between your bookmaker and a sharp bookie.
For comparing odds, you can find several free calculators by searching on Google for a betting arbitrage calculator.
But finding wrong odds and arbitrage opportunities in a live event is the only somewhat sustainable way for sure betting.
How to find arbitrage bets manually on live events?
To find arbitrage bets manually on in-play sports events, you need to follow the below-mentioned rules and tips:
Markets that are moving fast are one of the best opportunities for finding arbs, it is better to place the first bet on the wrong odds (they are more likely to drop).
Markets that are good for football arbing: over/ under goals, corner, handicap markets, next corner market, over/under red or yellow cards.
Markets for arbitrage bets on tennis: over/under games in the set and the match too, handicap markets, set winners. It is better to wait for the breaks to place your bets.
This way, you reduce the chance of losing a large amount of money. That is because if the market is not moving in the right direction on the next points, the odds you have to place are dropping.
Good markets on Basketball could be over/under points, handicaps, and winners in quarters or half. The same rule applies to tennis if you are not very experienced in betting on basketball.
If you are a beginner in arbitrage betting it is good to know that bookmakers are making the most of their mistakes in live events.
Even though you have more arbitrage bet possibilities, the odds are moving really fast.
Being successful in manual searching at live events needs a lot of experience.
Finding arbitrage bets on live events is mostly for more advanced bettors.
So if you have just started your betting journey, you can have more chances with the next method to find sure bets with free software like surebet.com.
2. Use a free arbitrage finder
Using a free arb finder as a beginner arbitrage bettor is the most budget-friendly yet still somewhat profitable method to find sure bets.
These services scan the bookmakers and compare their odds every few minutes for pre-match events and every 2-3 sec for in-play sports events.
Advantages of using free arbitrage scanners:
- You can gain experience in sure betting without paying for the service
- Growing your starting capital faster than finding arbs manually (if you are a beginner)
- You can check which bookmaker can be good for your needs
- Complete your bonus requirement faster
Disadvantages of using free arbitrage scanners:
- The maximum profit is limited to 1% or 3.5% depending on the service you choose
- A delay of approximately 1 minute is applied to each betting opportunity. Users with paid subscriptions have a 1-minute advantage for placing those bets before the odds start dropping
- Too many players use the free plans which results in faster odds-dropping
- You miss out on profits because of delays and the 1% limit
- If you are arbitrage betting from the UK (with hundreds of bookies) it’s wasting time betting on such low arbs
Down below, you can find some arbitrage scanner services that have a free platform too.
| Service name | Max arb % | Delay |
| RebelBetting | 3.5% | No |
| Betburger | 1% | 60s Prematch 15min live |
| Surebet.com | 1% | 60sec |
You can find my more detailed review and comparison table of free arbitrage betting sites here.
How to find sure bets before they disappear?
To find sure bets before they disappear (the odds drop) you need to use software that does not have a significant delay in displaying the odds.
For this matter, BetBurger can seem almost useless when looking for a free sure bet finder. but professionals use their free services to spot potential events and markets.
Based on my experience, the 2-week free trial of RebelBetting (for Europe and the US mainly) and the 1-week trial of OddsJam (USA and Canada) are your best shots for pre-match sure betting.
Both offer their services with a slight limitation on the profit % (in the free trial), allowing you to spot arbitrage bets that are still live.
In summary, to find arbitrage bets before they disappear you will need to shift from using free arb tools towards paid services.
The amount of guaranteed profit you can make with a premium arbitrage finder is significantly higher.
It can mean a 15x profit difference between a free and paid service.
They offer different odds, and they will help you have a different profit margin for the same amount of time invested.
3. Use premium/paid arbitrage software
Using the paid version of these services most of the time has a significant impact on the quality and the number of your sure betting opportunities.
This way, you will not face delays, and there will be no maximum profit % limitation at arbitrage bets.
Check my review about the cheapest yet well-developed arbitrage betting software: Breaking Bet
On the following link, you can read my review and table about the best value betting software, and the following article includes the same table about sure bet finders.
To avoid any misunderstanding, I have to note that price differences do not mean a very big quality difference as, well.
4. Develop an arb finder yourself
The hardest way of finding arbitrage bets is by developing a scanner yourself. It is the hardest way to spot these opportunities and it also has the highest failure rate.
What do you need to succeed in finding arbitrage bets with your own software?
- Serious coding skills
- A deep understanding of arbing as a mathematical strategy
- Access to fast API for odds or having a scraper that is fast enough and does not get blocked by bookies
- Hundreds of hours of coding to get a somewhat working tool
Is it worth developing your own software to find arbitrage bets?
In most cases, it is not worth developing your own software to find arbitrage bets. Many developers try building a sure bet finder but fail because of the bad source of odds API.
Cheap odds sources offer an API with slow scanning. These days spotting arbitrage bets is harder because of betting bots with fast scanning.
The most possible way to succeed with self-made software is by having connections with premium odds API providers and investing more in developing a properly working bot.
What are the steps of identifying arbitrage bets?
1. Make a list of your bookies:
To identify the right arbitrage betting opportunities, you need to have a list of your local bookies. I would advise using only the ones with a good reputation.
This betting technique is not welcomed, so the last thing you want to experience is facing a bookie who has a background of banning accounts for no reason.
2. Open accounts at sharp/Asian bookies:
You need a trustworthy betting site or sports betting broker to cover/hedge your initial bet.
To practice sure betting with success:
- you need at least one side of your bets to be at bookies that won’t limit your maximum stakes,
- and have a fairly high stake limitation in general.
3. Set up the filters:
After opening accounts at the above-mentioned bookies and you have some funds on your accounts, you need to set up your filters with the sure betting software.
To identify the right arbitrage betting opportunities you need to open the settings and choose only the bookies that you have funds.
For many, it might sound like a piece of obvious advice, but believe me, many people (me included) need to know the very basics when they are beginners.
Selecting the required sports, markets, and odds ranges can come when you already have an idea about how to find arbitrage betting opportunities at your local bookies.
4. Follow the right sure bets:
The right way to find and identify sports arbitrage betting opportunities that are good is by looking for sure bets that are available for several seconds or even minutes.
Many of these opportunities disappear from one second to another.
These can happen because of a short delay at one bookie, not because of a real sure betting opportunity.
5. Calculate the stakes:
Now you know how to get arbitrage bets displayed on your screen.
The next step is calculating the right stake for your bets.
Each relevant sports arbitrage spotter service has a dedicated calculator for each betting opportunity.
You will notice them as a calculator icon on each sure betting opportunity pop-up window.
Here you can fix one leg of your bets and include the stake you need at your slow bookmaker. The tool will display the right stakes for the other outcome.
6. Place the sure bets correctly:
Opening the right event and market in time and inserting the right odds is the crucial part of profitable arbitrage betting.
You need to be fast at each step to accomplish it successfully but you also need to avoid mistakes. Those can cost you the sure betting profit of a few days.
The odds might shift in seconds, and if you are not fast enough, sometimes you need to cover your bets with a loss.
7. Treat mistakes accordingly:
As I already mentioned, sometimes you will make mistakes or run into falling odds.
After many years of sure betting, I know how and where to find arbitrage bets that have a very low chance of dropping while I cover each outcome of the bets.
But when this happens, I always hedge my bets no matter how big the loss can be.
Taking a guaranteed 10-25% loss is way better than risking one of 100%.
Conclusion: How to spot sure bets
To find arbitrage betting opportunities, you need to follow one of the following three possible methods:
- Find sure bets manually;
- Use a free arbitrage finder tool;
- Opt-in for a paid fast arbitrage bet scanner service.
- Develop your own arbitrage finder
Read more in my arbitrage betting guide article or in one of the following relevant articles:
- Arbitrage betting software USA
- Arbitrage betting software Canada
- Arbitrage betting software Australia
- Arbitrage betting software UK
- Arbitrage betting formula & calculation
My other article on arbitrage betting vs matched betting can also be an interesting read before you jump into one of these strategies.
