Right ok blame Roberthm for this
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Arbritrage Betting
Pronounced in a french accent is basically derived from the global futures market where people trade futures at a guarenteed profit. They buy a future at a certain price and agree to sell it on to someone in a couple of months time for a greater price. The most famous example being this is what Nick Leeson got himself in trouble trying to bend the rules in the far east doing it. You will hear it mentioned constantly by Ewan McGregor in Rogue Trader.
This idea can be used in sports betting. With the advent of tax free betting and the internet the opportunities increased 100 fold in a couple of years. Bookmakers set odds on everything these days therefore there are events where there are limited amount of outcomes e. g Tennis Matches, Snooker Matches, Darts (2 outcomes) and Football (3 outcomes). So you can bet on each outcome and guarentee that you will have a winning bet on one of them.
As we all know bookies build an overround into the odds they set on any event, so basically all their odds will give them about a 10% profit no matter what happens. Yet there are many bookmakers with different opinions on the likelihood of the outcome. Therefore you can play them off against one another and at some point the overround will swing in your favour if you managed to find the right odds.
For example a tennis match played at next years wimbledon could look this:
Tim Henman 11/10 (2.10) Bookie A
Andy Murray Evens (2.00) Bookie B
This event has an underround 97.56% so a guarenteed 2.44% in our favour. So then if you place 100 on henman and 105 on murray you will place 205 all together.
On henman you will make 210 if he wins (100 * 2.1)
On murray you will make 210 also (105 * 2)
So a fiver made and you can stake more normally and therefore make more.
As mentioned above this can also be applied to backing and laying on exchanges. There are a few calculators about that do the maths for you oddschecker has one i think which allows you to put the % that the exchange take as well.
What you do need for this to make proper money is a big bankroll you prob could expect a profit of about 15% of your bankroll a month if you took alot of time doing it. I use to get my bank statement in about 4 envelopes because the amount of transactions i made a month. I was making 4 figures a month doing it at one stage tax free, yet my turnover was enough to buy a small house.
If anyone wants to ask anything fell free there is alot to it once you get into specifics, it is something i might go back to as i mull over options in my working life. i.e i could see doing this and poker as a full time income as a viable option.
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