Stephanie Sorrell

Quick answer: while arbitrage betting does increase your risk of being restricted by bookmakers, it can still form a useful part of a Matched Betting strategy. By making use of price boosts, and restricting arbs to accounts that have already been gubbed, you can get the most out of arbitrage alongside Matched Betting while minimising the risk of bookie restrictions.

There comes a point in the journey of most matched bettors when they go to place a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/qualifying-bet-guide">qualifying bet</a> and realise that they’ve found a matched bet that could actually make them a profit, due to the back odds being higher than the lay odds.

This is known as an arbitrage bet, and it really does allow the bettor to lock in a profit with a single matched bet, without having to make use of an offer or price boost.

However, arbitrage bets are also well known for attracting the attention of bookies, and most <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Matched Betting</a> guides advise bettors to steer clear of arbitrage bets, aka ‘arbs’, in order to preserve the health of your bookie accounts.

Still, the prospect of locking in a profit with a single bet, without relying on offers, is bound to be highly attractive to any matched bettor. Many will find themselves wondering if there’s any way they could safely include a level of arbitrage in their Matched Betting strategy.

In this article, we’ll explore to what extent it’s possible, and how you can add arbing into your Matched Betting while minimising the risks it poses.

If you’re reading this article, you probably already have a good idea of how arbing works, so we won’t go into too much detail here. If you want a full rundown of the mechanics of arbitrage betting, though, check out our dedicated <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-arbing-or-arbitrage">guide to arbing</a>.

For now, we’ll just give you a brief sketch of the basics of arbitrage, and how it can generate profits.

The key principle of arbitrage is that it relies on finding favourable odds that cover two or more opposing bets on a single market within one event, so that no matter what happens one of your bets will win, making enough money to generate a profit in spite of the losses from your other bet(s).

Research published in the International Journal of Sport Finance found that one in every three trades analysed in a Super Rugby betting market provided an arbitrage opportunity, with differing bookmaker odds contributing to the observed market inefficiency.

- <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/155862351801300305">International Journal of Sport Finance</a>

The most popular form of arbitrage betting in the UK is bookmaker-exchange arbitrage, where your bet works just like a standard qualifying bet when you’re Matched Betting.

You place a back bet (for a certain outcome) with a bookmaker, and a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-lay-betting">lay bet</a> (against the same outcome) with a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-betting-exchange">betting exchange</a>. But rather than making a small qualifying loss, so long as the back odds are higher than the lay odds, you’ll emerge with a profit.

You spot particularly good odds for a horse race with the bookmaker BestOdds: odds of 2.3 on Asia Force with BestOdds on the 16:45 Carlisle, and wonder if you might have found a potential arb.

Sure enough, when you compare with the betting exchange Smarkets, you see that the odds there are quite a bit lower, at 2.1, meaning that you’ve found an arbitrage opportunity.

You use a <a href="https://outplayed.com/calculator">Matched Betting</a> or arbitrage calculator to work out your optimal stakes to lock in the greatest possible profit regardless of whether Asia Force does or doesn’t win.

As you can see from the screenshot above, if you place a back stake of £20 on Asia Force with BestOdds, your optimal lay stake is £21.90 with Smarkets, which will result in <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-liability-in-matched-betting">liability</a> of £24.09.

Whether your selection wins or loses, you stand to make a profit of £1.90 when your bets settle.

This isn’t a huge profit, of course, but an arbitrage betting strategy involves building profits over time, with lots of small profits adding up in the long term.

Bookmaker-exchange arbitrage is the easiest model of arbitrage to complete, especially for matched bettors who are used to placing matched bets of this nature.

But it is also possible to arb between two bookmakers, known as bookmaker-bookmaker arbitrage. This is a form of <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-dutching">Dutching</a>, and if you’re able to locate sufficiently favourable odds, it can be just as profitable as bookmaker-exchange arbitrage.

The problem can be locating those odds, as standard odds matching software isn’t designed for dutching - but if you do spot a good bookmaker-bookmaker arbitrage opportunity, you can use a <a href="https://outplayed.com/calculators/dutching-advanced-calculator">Dutching Calculator</a> to work out the optimal odds for your bets.

It’s also possible to arb between two exchanges, in exchange-exchange arbitrage. However, we strongly advise against this, as betting exchanges, which are very happy to accommodate matched bettors and standard arbers, do not appreciate exchange-exchange arbing and may take action by limiting your account or removing your 0% commission rate.

What’s The Difference Between Matched Betting And Arbitrage Betting?

Matched Betting and arbitrage betting have a lot in common, but there are some crucial differences to be aware of.

1. Reliance on offers. As you’ll be aware as a matched bettor, you need offers to complete if you’re Matched Betting, whether you’re doing a standard bet &amp; get or a more complicated <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/horse-racing-refunds">racing refund</a>. Arbitrage betting, however, doesn’t require any offers at all, just favourable odds, which can crop up at any time. Matched Betting is inherently limited by the number of offers available, whereas there aren’t any real limits to the number of arbitrage bets you can complete.

2. Size of profit. Typically, each offer you complete when Matched Betting will hold more significant profit than you’re likely to achieve with a single arbitrage bet.

3. Speed of completion. Because Matched Betting mostly involves placing first a qualifying bet and then a free bet, it’s usually quicker to complete an arbitrage bet, which locks in its profit with a single matched bet.

4. Risk of bookie restrictions. Both strategies do carry a risk of bookies imposing restrictions on your account, but the risk is somewhat lower with Matched Betting, as bookies make their offers available with the specific intention of encouraging bettors to take advantage of them. You should be careful to blend in with regular punters to preserve your account health with both strategies, however.

5. Necessity of favourable odds. Ideally, both matched bettors and arbitrage bettors will want to find favourable odds for their betting. However, it’s possible for matched bettors to make profits even with relatively poor matches, if the free bet they receive as a reward is generous enough - the profits just won’t be quite so high. Arbers, however, cannot make a profit at all if the odds they find aren’t good enough.

The biggest practical difference between the two strategies is often consistency rather than the size of any single profit. Matched betting gives you a defined opportunity through an offer, whereas an arb can disappear before you act. That makes disciplined opportunity selection more valuable than simply chasing volume.

What Are The Risks Of Arbitrage Betting? 

Having established how arbitrage differs from Matched Betting, we can now take a look at why arbitrage might be considered a less ‘safe’ strategy than Matched Betting.

Although arbitrage betting carries very little risk of actually losing money with each bet, an arbitrage betting strategy does hold some risks, of which you should be aware before you start placing arb bets.

A 2025 Princeton University study of live NBA betting found that arbitrage opportunities typically lasted around 13 seconds under favourable conditions and were present for just 4.52% of total observed game time.

- <a href="https://theses-dissertations.princeton.edu/entities/publication/437f7731-67ad-4af7-a1e6-648c1d003d46">Princeton University</a>

However, you shouldn’t let the need for speed take precedence over accuracy. Use tools like an arbitrage calculator to make sure you get your stakes right, enter the details of your bet correctly, and double check your stakes as you enter them. It’s far better to miss out on an arbing opportunity than to risk losing money due to a silly mistake.

The headline arb percentage can be misleading if you ignore how much capital the opportunity actually requires. A smaller percentage return that can be repeated efficiently may be more useful than a larger-looking edge that ties up substantial bookmaker balances or exchange liability for little additional profit.

What Can You Do To Make Arbitrage As Safe As Possible?

It’s wise to be wary about including arbitrage betting in your Matched Betting strategy. As we’ve seen in the previous section, arbitrage betting carries a particularly high risk of incurring bookie restrictions, and it would be a disaster for your Matched Betting strategy if you were to lose access to a profitable account due to a couple of ill-advised arbs.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to include arbitrage in your Matched Betting; you should simply ensure you go about it sensibly, taking reasonable precautions to limit the risk you expose yourself to.

The very safest way to incorporate arbitrage into a Matched Betting strategy is with price boosts. Bookies regularly offer <a href="https://outplayed.com/price-boosts">price boosts</a> on a range of sports and events, and these are often generous enough to create an arbitrage opportunity.

If you can find lower lay odds at the exchange than the boosted back odds at the bookmaker, you can make a single matched bet and lock in an immediate profit - sometimes quite a significant one.

Because bookies feature price boosts specifically in order to entice bettors, it’s far less suspicious to place a bet with a price boost than it is to place a standard arbitrage bet, so your accounts are much less likely to be limited as a result.

That said, bookies will still notice if you bet on nothing but price boosts, so you should mix in a few mug bets to preserve the health of your accounts.

Another good way to arb in relative safety is by making use of gubbed accounts.

If a bookie has already gubbed you - i.e. removed your ability to take part in offers - then that account can be the perfect way to add in some arbitrage to your betting.

As you’ve already lost access to offers, there’s no real risk to arbing on a gubbed account, as its profitability will already be very limited.

It is possible that the bookie might heavily stake restrict you if they detect your arbing, but if your account would otherwise have lain dormant then this isn’t any great loss.

If you live in the middle of a town or city, sharbing can be a great way to arb safely.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-sharbing">Sharbing, or shop arbing</a>, involves placing your back bet in person at a betting shop, then laying your bet with an exchange online.

Because you can bet in reasonable anonymity at a shop, your betting patterns are much harder to track, and you’re much less likely to be spotted by the bookie.

Shops can also be slower to update their odds, which means it may be easier to find arbitrage opportunities.

Obviously, this involves rather more effort than simply betting online from your sofa, but if you have several shops close to your home, it can be a profitable and safe way to include arbitrage in your Matched Betting strategy.

Are There Any Tools That Can Help Make Arbitrage Safe And Profitable?

There are quite a few tools out there that can make a huge difference to the success, security and efficiency of your arbitrage betting.

Most basic are sites like <a href="https://www.oddschecker.com/">Oddschecker</a>, which compares odds from the most popular bookies and a handful of betting exchanges, to show you which are the most generous. It won’t track down arbitrage opportunities on your behalf, but it will give you an idea of where you might find them.

Below, you’ll see a screenshot of Oddschecker’s results for an upcoming EFL match, with the best available odds for each win market selection highlighted in green.

Even with Oddschecker, though, you’ll spend a lot of time searching for good arbing opportunities, which limits the profitability of your strategy.

Far better would be a tool that locates good arbitrage opportunities on your behalf, so all you have to do is place your bets.

And that’s where Outplayed’s <a href="https://outplayed.com/products/oddsmatcher">Oddsmatcher</a> comes in. Available with all membership tiers, the Oddsmatcher constantly scans British bookies and betting exchanges for close matches between back and lay odds. Although it’s primarily designed for Matched Betting, it can equally be used for arbitrage betting.

Each match it displays is given a percentage rating, indicating how close a match it is. Anything over 100% is an arbitrage opportunity, with the potential to make you a profit. You should be wary of matches over 110%, though, as there’s a good chance they’ll turn out to be due to a palpable error.

For <a href="https://outplayed.com/pricing">Diamond</a> members, the Price Boost Tracker is another fantastic tool that makes it a breeze to locate good price boosts that allow you to lock in an arbitrage bet - and one that’s far less likely to attract bookie attention than a standard arbitrage bet.

It’s updated all the time as price boosts are added by bookies, and it shows the current lay odds available with the main British exchanges, so you can see how much profit you stand to make (the profit shown is for a £10 bet, as price boost stakes are often limited to £10).

There’s no denying that arbitrage betting does carry some risks, and matched bettors should think carefully about how best to incorporate arbitrage betting into their strategy.

However, arbitrage betting has the potential to significantly improve your profits, especially if you’ve got gubbed accounts that aren’t currently making you any money.

And if you’re new to both arbitrage betting and Matched Betting, and you’re wondering how you can find out more, take a look at the <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Outplayed Beginner’s Guide to Matched Betting</a> for all the information you need to get started.

Alternatively, if you’re raring to go and ready to get started, take out the Outplayed free trial to gain access to £850+ profit from over 40 sign up offers, completely free of charge.

Is It Safe To Arb As Part Of Your Matched Betting Strategy?

Quick answer: finding arbitrage opportunities is the most difficult aspect of arbitrage betting on tennis, but you should also take care to avoid attracting the attention of the bookies, and pay close attention to retirement rules. Outplayed’s tools and software can help to streamline a football arbitrage strategy.

Sports betting is hugely popular, both in the UK and around the world, with around <a href="https://www.limelightdigital.co.uk/sports-betting-statistics/">10% of the UK population</a> engaging in online sports betting.

A survey by the Gambling Commission’s (September 2025 - January 2026) found that 8% of adults in Great Britain had bet in the past four weeks.

- <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/statistics-on-gambling-participation-wave-4-september-2025-to-january-2026-official-statistics">Gambling Commission</a>

Tennis is a perennially popular choice for bettors, but often volatile, so it isn’t surprising that people resort to all sorts of strategies to try to improve their betting success.

From <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-courtsiding">courtsiding</a> to <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/49367314/french-tennis-player-ban-match-fixing-increased-5-years">match fixing</a> to simply <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/gamblers-female-tennis-social-media-abuse-b3016217.html">hurling abuse at players</a> who fail to win, the tennis world sees frequent attempts to gain an edge over the bookies.

But it is in fact possible to lock in profits from tennis without having to bribe players to lose, and without getting on the wrong side of the law.

If you can place bets that cover two or more opposing outcomes on a match at sufficiently favourable odds, you can put yourself in a position where you make a profit no matter the outcome of that match.

Over time, these profits build, meaning that arbitrage betting can become a significant side hustle if you put enough time and energy into it.

In this article, we’ll explain how arbitrage betting works on tennis, how to find and place tennis arbitrage bets, and how to get the best possible profits out of your tennis arbitrage betting while minimising any risks.

For now, we’ll just give you a quick rundown of how arbitrage betting works, but if you’d like to read a more detailed explanation, take a look at our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-arbing-or-arbitrage">full guide to arbitrage betting</a>.

Arbitrage betting relies on finding favourable odds that cover opposing outcomes on a single match. By betting on all possible outcomes across a single market within an event, you can lock in a profit regardless of the result, so long as the odds are good enough.

The easiest way to do this is with a back bet at a bookmaker and a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-lay-betting">lay bet</a> at a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-betting-exchange">betting exchange</a>, ensuring that your bets are directly opposed. If the back odds are higher than the lay odds, you stand to make a profit.

As an example, let’s imagine an arbitrage opportunity on the winner of the US Open. You find odds of 1.65 on Jannik Sinner with Bet365, while at Matchbook you find available lay odds of 1.6.

By using a Matched Betting or arbitrage calculator to work out your optimal stakes, you can lock in a profit of £3.12 on a £100 back bet (assuming you’re an Outplayed member and taking advantage of our 0% commission rate with Matchbook).

This is quite a small profit for the size of bet, of course, but because the risk of losing money is minimal (and should only occur if you make a mistake) this technique can be repeated over and over to build your profits in the long term.

What’s The Best Way To Arbitrage Bet On Tennis?

In theory, arbitrage betting on tennis betting is pretty straightforward, but the nature of both the sport and its most common markets mean that there are some important considerations to take into account.

The best arbitrage model for tennis betting

Generally speaking, it’s easiest in the UK to place a back bet with a bookmaker and a lay bet with a betting exchange, following the bookmaker-exchange model of arbitrage betting.

The Gambling Commission’s 2025 survey found that only 1% of adults had used a betting exchange in the previous four weeks. While exchanges represent only a small part of overall betting participation, their presence creates an additional source of prices that arbitrage bettors can compare with bookmaker odds.

- <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/gambling-survey-for-great-britain-annual-report-2025-official-statistics#:~:text=Data%20and%20downloads-,Files,-GSGB%20Annual%20report">Gambling Commission</a>

This has the benefit of ensuring that your bets are directly opposed (so only one can win, and one must win), as well as allowing for easy identification of arbitrage opportunities - if the back odds are higher than the lay odds, you know you stand to make a profit.

With tennis, however, it can be a bit more complicated. It’s not uncommon for a tennis player to retire from a match due to injury, and bookmakers don’t all handle this situation in the same way. Some will void a bet rather than settling it if your player wins by default, or will only settle if the game has progressed to a certain number of sets before one player retires.

We explain how this works in full in our <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/tennis-retirement-rules">guide to retirement rules</a>, as well as confirming how specific bookies and exchanges treat matches that end in retirement. The main thing you need to ensure is that both (or all) of your bets are settled under the same terms if you’re betting on the winner of a match.

Because of the limited number of exchanges, it may therefore be easier to use the bookmaker-bookmaker model of arbitrage if betting on a match winner, where your bets are placed between two bookies rather than one bookie and one exchange. It might be trickier to locate a good arbing opportunity, though, and you’ll need to use a <a href="https://outplayed.com/calculators/dutching-advanced-calculator">Dutching calculator</a> rather than a Matched Betting calculator to work out your stakes.

A related question to the best model for arbing on tennis is that of markets. Because tennis retirement rules can make arbitrage bets on the winner of a match more complicated, you may find it easier to place bookmaker-exchange arbs on other markets, such as total sets, total aces etc (double checking that these markets aren’t also affected by retirement rules at the bookie in question).

You may also find that betting on more obscure markets gives you a better chance of locating arbitrage opportunities, as bookies are often slower to update the odds on their least popular markets.

On the other hand, staying under the radar is always important when arbitrage betting, and more popular markets are a better choice if you’re trying to blend in.

The same difficulty applies to matches as to markets: that the best arbitrage opportunities are likely to occur on obscure matches, but the best way to blend in is to focus your betting activity on the most popular matches and the biggest tournaments.

Ultimately, it all comes down to a balancing act, and establishing yourself as a tennis fan may allow you a little more wiggle room. If you’re a consistent bettor on tennis, it won’t look particularly out of place if you bet on lesser known tournaments, especially if you appear to be a fan of particular players.

Are There Any Tools That Can Help Me With Tennis Arbitrage Bets?

There are a few tools out there that can help to make your life easier as an arbitrage bettor.

Below, you’ll see a screenshot of Oddschecker’s results for an upcoming WTA Tennis match, with the best available odds for each win market selection highlighted in green.

Even with Oddschecker, though, you’ll have to manually calculate your odds and stakes to work out if you’ve found a potential arbitrage opportunity.

The biggest trap with tennis arbitrage software is assuming that similarly named markets are automatically equivalent. A total-games market, for example, can carry different settlement conditions around retirements or abandoned matches, so the market rules need checking alongside the price.

Outplayed’s <a href="https://outplayed.com/calculator">Matched Betting</a> and Dutching calculators, however, allow you to enter the odds and your intended stake to instantly calculate if your proposed bets hold potential profit, and what your optimal stakes ought to be if so.

Our Price Boost Tracker (available with a Diamond tier or higher membership), meanwhile, lets you know about any profitable price boosts available on tennis (and a range of other sports). Because bookies expect and intend to attract large numbers of bettors when they offer a <a href="https://outplayed.com/price-boosts">price boost</a>, an arb that results from a price boost can be less suspicious than a regular arbitrage bet - although you should still take care not to bet on nothing but price boosts.

All things considered, an <a href="https://outplayed.com/pricing">Outplayed membership</a> really is one of the best possible tools to have by your side when arbitrage betting.

What Are The Risks Of Arbitrage Betting On Tennis? 

Arbitrage betting is in general a very low risk strategy, whether on tennis or any other sport, and when done correctly the likelihood of losing money is minimal.

However, there are still a few risks to bear in mind when arbitrage betting on tennis.

Account restrictions are rarely as simple as a bookmaker spotting one arbitrage bet and reacting immediately. Betting patterns are assessed over time, so a consistently profitable account can attract scrutiny even when individual bets look completely ordinary. That makes account longevity a consideration when planning an arbitrage strategy.

Are There Any Other Strategies You Can Use When Betting On Tennis To Maximise Your Profits?

Arbitrage betting is a fantastic technique, but the profits it generates per bet are quite small, and you do risk attracting the attention of bookies. Combining this technique with other smart betting strategies is the best way to make the best possible profits when betting on tennis while minimising your risk.

We’d also recommend betting on a range of sports, rather than just tennis, to get the best profits from any of these strategies.

We strongly recommend combining arbitrage betting with Matched Betting as the best way to maximise your profits. Matched Betting produces higher profits per bet, generally speaking, especially in its early stages when bettors are completing lots of sign up offers, and can allow you to build your bankroll more quickly.

However, there are only so many offers available at any one time, and dedicated matched bettors could find themselves running out. Throwing a spot of arbitrage into the mix will help tide you over when there are fewer Matched Betting offers to complete (e.g. during the football off-season).

Between the two of them, it’s certainly possible to generate more profits more consistently than with either strategy alone.

You should be aware, though, that the same problem with retirement rules applies to Matched Betting as to arbitrage betting - so make sure you’re clear about exactly what retirement rules are being followed by the bookies/exchanges you use.

To find out more about how Matched Betting works and how you can get started, check out the <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Outplayed Beginner’s Guide</a>.

Value Betting is a more advanced strategy than arbitrage betting or Matched Betting, so it’s best suited to experienced sports bettors or matched bettors, who have already built up a good bankroll. This is largely because Value Betting does involve risk; you aren’t locking in a profit with every bet.

Once you’ve gained a good amount of experience (and cash) through Matched Betting and arbitrage betting, though, Value Betting can provide a massive boost to your profits. It relies on a similar principle to arbitrage betting - that of locating favourable odds from bookies. Specifically, odds that are higher than the true probability of a win would imply.

Value bettors place their bets only on selections with disproportionately favourable odds, which are statistically likely to contribute to generate profits in the long term, even though you aren’t locking in a profit on any individual bet.

Because Value Betting doesn’t involve matching your bets, you don’t need to worry about retirement rules not lining up between bookies and exchanges, making this strategy rather easier when betting specifically on tennis.

To find out more about how Value Betting works and how you can get started, check out the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-value-betting">dedicated Outplayed guide</a>.

Arbitrage betting on tennis can be trickier than with some other sports, due to the different rules applied by bookies to player retirement. However, that shouldn’t put you off arbing on tennis altogether - you just need to make sure you check the terms of your bets, and choose your arbitrage model and betting market carefully.

By using tools like Outplayed’s calculators and Price Boost Tracker, you can maximise your profits while minimising any risk of mishaps.

But to really take your profits to the next level, your best bet is to combine arbitrage betting with Matched Betting or Value Betting. Whichever you choose, an Outplayed membership is the perfect companion, providing tools, guides and expert support to help you get the very most out of whatever strategy you choose.

To find out more, check out the <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Outplayed Beginner’s Guide to Matched Betting</a> for all the information you need to get started.

Or if you’re ready to dive straight in, sign up for the Outplayed free trial to get immediate access to 40+ bookmaker sign up offers with the potential to make £800 or more in profits, completely free of charge.

1. Can I make money by arbitrage betting on tennis?

You can indeed! Tennis is a hugely popular sport for betting, which means there are plentiful betting opportunities, especially for the biggest tournaments. It can be a bit trickier than other sports, due to retirement rules, but it’s definitely possible to make money arbing on tennis.

2. Do I have to sign up to a betting exchange to arb on tennis?

It’s not strictly essential, especially if you plan to use the bookmaker-bookmaker model of arbitrage to bet primarily on the winner of a certain match. But we’d still advise signing up to at least one betting exchange (ideally more) to widen your net as far as possible.

3. What are the best markets for arbitrage betting on tennis?

A Guide to Tennis Arbitrage Betting

Quick answer: finding arbitrage opportunities is the most difficult aspect of arbitrage betting on football, but you should also take care to avoid attracting the attention of the bookies. Outplayed’s tools and software can help to streamline a football arbitrage strategy.

Football is enormously popular in the UK, and betting on football is similarly popular. <a href="https://www.limelightdigital.co.uk/sports-betting-statistics/">5.8% of Brits</a> place bets on football, but most of them will lose money on average, because that’s simply <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-betting-sites-make-money">how bookmakers make their profits</a>.

Generally speaking, turning to betting on football as a way to actually make money is a terrible idea, especially if you base your betting decisions on hunches, or who your favourite team might be.

However, it is possible to secure a profit no matter how a football match goes, and the way to achieve that is arbitrage betting.

By covering two or more opposing outcomes on a match, you can lock in a profit no matter the match result, if the available odds are good enough.

In this article, we’ll talk you through exactly how you can begin an arbitrage betting strategy on football, the best markets and matches to go for, the tools that can help to maximise your profits, and the risks you should know about before you begin.

For now, we’ll just give you a quick rundown of how arbitrage betting works. For a more detailed explanation, take a look at our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-arbing-or-arbitrage">full guide to arbitrage betting</a>.

The easiest way to do this is with a back bet at a bookmaker and a lay bet at a betting exchange, ensuring that your bets are directly opposed. If the back odds are higher than the lay odds, you stand to make a profit.

As an example, let’s take a look at this arbitrage opportunity on the Swedish Allsvenskan (the Swedish equivalent of the Premier League) between Vasteras and Djurgardens.

With Grosvenor, you could find back odds of 5 on Vasteras, while Betfair Exchange is offering lay odds of 4.4.

By using a Matched Betting or arbitrage calculator to work out your optimal stakes, you can lock in a profit of £2.28 on a £25 back bet, even taking into account Betfair Exchange’s 5% commission rate.

What’s The Best Way To Arbitrage Bet On Football?

Because football is the most popular sport worldwide, it presents a massive range of opportunities for sports betting, and a lot of profit potential for arbitrage bettors.

With so many options available to the arber, it can be difficult to settle on the best approach. But fear not! We’re here to break down the most important considerations when working out your football arbitrage betting strategy.

The best arbitrage model for football betting

In the UK, it’s generally easiest to arbitrage bet using the bookmaker-exchange model, where you place your back bet with a bookmaker, and a lay bet, against the same outcome, at a betting exchange.

So long as your back odds are higher than the lay odds (and factoring in any commission charged by the exchange), you should come out in profit regardless of the outcome of the match.

A study of over 16,000 English football matches and odds from 51 online bookmakers found that bookmakers do not fully incorporate information contained in their competitors' odds, helping explain why occasional pricing differences can exist.

- <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1544612319306440">Elsevier / University of Stirling</a>

However, you can also consider the bookmaker-bookmaker model, where each of your bets is placed with a different bookmaker. If you’re betting on the winner of the match, this can be tricky, though, as you have three outcomes to cover, rather than just two, and you’ll need to spend some time looking for suitable odds.

However, you can also consider betting on two way markets, such as Over/Under, where it’s possible to place just two opposing bets to cover all outcomes (e.g. bet that there will be Over 2.5 goals with one bookmaker, and Under 2.5 goals with another).

Many bettors judge an arbitrage solely by the percentage return, but execution speed often has a bigger impact on long-term results. A slightly smaller margin that can be placed confidently and consistently is usually more valuable than chasing larger opportunities that disappear before both bets are matched.

If you’re using the bookmaker-exchange model of arbitrage, it makes little difference whether you’re betting on a market that has two possible outcomes or more, as your lay bet will oppose your back bet regardless. If you’re betting between two bookmakers, though, you’ll likely have an easier time with markets that directly oppose each other, like the Over/Under market mentioned in the section above.

There are also a couple of other considerations when looking at suitable markets for football arbitrage bets, though.

Firstly, and most obviously, the prevalence of arbitrage opportunities. Obscure markets (e.g. Asian handicap markets) are often more likely to see arbing opportunities, which may hold greater profit, because bookies may be slower to update their odds as probabilities shift.

In the short term, you may therefore be tempted to go for niche markets for the sake of quicker, more significant profits.

However, bookies are always on the lookout for suspicious betting patterns, and a habit of betting on highly obscure markets is one of the most obvious signs of an arbitrage bettor (or a matched bettor). To maintain your account health in the long run, it’s therefore best to stick to more popular markets, where your betting will blend in with the crowd, even if your profits aren’t quite so high in the short term.

The same considerations apply to matches as to markets when arbitrage betting on football.

More obscure matches, e.g. international matches from lower divisions, may offer more and better arbitrage opportunities due to bookies being slower to update their odds.

But betting, say, on the Swedish 3rd Division, closely followed by the Bolivian 2nd Division, is far from the behaviour of a regular punter, whose football betting is normally confined to British clubs, international competitions, and a perhaps a few of the best international teams, such as Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

As with markets, it’s therefore wisest to stick to the most popular matches as far as possible, to help make your betting activity look more like that of a normal football fan.

Are There Any Tools That Can Help Me With Football Arbitrage Bets?

There are quite a few tools out there that can make a huge difference to the success and efficiency of your football arbitrage betting.

Each match it displays is given a percentage rating, indicating how close a match it is. Anything over 100% is an arbitrage opportunity, with the potential to make you a profit.

For <a href="https://outplayed.com/pricing">Diamond</a> members, the Price Boost Tracker is another fantastic tool that makes it a breeze to locate good price boosts that allow you to lock in an arbitrage bet.

The benefit of using price boosts for arbitrage opportunities is that price boosts are specifically designed to attract bettors, so choosing to bet on one is unlikely to be considered suspicious activity by a bookie. That said, betting on nothing but price boosts isn’t a great look, so try to mix in a few mug bets as well to disguise your arbing.

What Are The Risks Of Arbitrage Betting On Football? 

Arbitrage betting is in general a very low risk strategy, and when done correctly the likelihood of losing money is minimal.

However, there are still a few risks to bear in mind when arbitrage betting on football.

Researchers analysing more than 1.8 million bookmaker and betting exchange odds across 17,410 football matches found that bookmakers are particularly likely to offer better odds than betting exchanges when exchange liquidity is low.

- <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1062976916300631">The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance</a>

Successful football arbitrage is often limited by account longevity rather than finding opportunities. Treat bookmaker accounts as a finite resource: avoiding unnecessary stake changes, rushed betting patterns and unusually repetitive behaviour can preserve access for far longer than constantly chasing the highest theoretical returns.

Are There Any Other Strategies You Can Use When Betting On Football To Maximise Your Profits?

Arbitrage betting is a fantastic technique, but the profits it generates per bet are quite small, and you do risk attracting the attention of bookies. Combining this technique with other smart betting strategies is the best way to make the best possible profits while minimising your risk.

Football arbitrage betting can be a fantastic way to secure profits from football bets. With the help of tools like Outplayed’s OddsMatcher and Price Boost Tracker, you can maximise your profits while minimising any risk of mishaps.

Or if you’re ready to dive straight in, sign up for the Outplayed free trial to get immediate access to the Oddsmatcher, plus 40+ bookmaker sign up offers with the potential to make £850 or more in profits, completely free of charge.

1. Can I make money by arbitrage betting on football?

Absolutely! Football is a great sport for arbitrage betting as it’s hugely popular, meaning there are loads of markets and plenty of volume at the betting exchange. If you find an arbitrage opportunity between a bookie and a betting exchange, you’ll be able to secure a profit by betting on both sides of that market.

2. Do I have to sign up to a betting exchange to arb on football?

You could stick to bookmaker-bookmaker arbitrage if you prefer not to sign up to a betting exchange. However, in the UK you’ll find more arbing opportunities with bookmaker-exchange arbitrage, so we do recommend signing up to at least one betting exchange - and ideally more!

3. What are the best markets for arbitrage betting on football?

A Guide to Football Arbitrage Betting

Quick answer: the very best way to get started with arbitrage betting is with a platform like Outplayed, whose tools and expert support can help you locate good arbing opportunities while avoiding costly errors.

Arbitrage betting is one of those techniques that at first sounds too good to be true.

The vast majority of sports bettors lose money on average - <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/blog/post/commercial-restrictions-by-betting-operators">research by the Gambling Commission</a> found that 72.54% of active gambling accounts were in a net loss position - so the idea of a strategy that can lock in a profit with every bet is one that will inspire both keen interest and great scepticism.

Arbitrage betting really can work as a betting strategy, though, and has the potential to build you good profits in the long term. You don’t even need any experience of sports betting, and it’s easy for beginners to get to grips with.

But how exactly do you get started with arbitrage betting? In this article, we’ll take you through exactly what you need to do to place your first arbitrage bets, as well as talking you through the risks you should be aware of when starting arbitrage betting.

If you’re reading this article, you probably already know how arbitrage betting works, so we’ll just give you a quick reminder here. However, if you’re new to the idea of arbitrage betting and want to know more, you can take a look at our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-arbing-or-arbitrage">full guide to arbitrage betting</a> for all the detail.

In a nutshell, arbitrage betting involves covering two or more outcomes within a single event, at odds favourable enough that you emerge with a profit no matter the outcome of that event.

In the UK, the most common form of arbitrage is bookmaker-exchange betting, where you place a back bet (for a certain outcome) with a bookie, and a l<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-lay-betting">ay bet</a> (against the same outcome) with a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-betting-exchange">betting exchange</a>. If the back odds are higher than the lay odds, you’ll come out in profit no matter what happens.

It’s also possible to arbitrage bet using the bookmaker-bookmaker model, where your opposing bets are placed between different bookies. This is easiest with sports like tennis, where you can place one bet on each player to win, but it is possible to execute three-way arbitrage bets (to cover all outcomes in sports like football), or in theory even more. It can be more difficult to locate good bookmaker-bookmaker arbing opportunities, though, which is why this model is less popular than bookmaker-exchange arbitrage.

In the latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain, 47% of adults had gambled in the previous four weeks, while 8% had placed bets on sports or other events. This highlights how widespread betting activity is, making disciplined strategies increasingly important for those looking to gain an edge.

In theory, exchange-exchange arbitrage is also possible, and it can be very tempting to a lot of new arbitrage bettors. We strongly recommend steering clear of this model of arbitrage, however, as betting exchanges, who are generally very happy with normal bookmaker-exchange arbitrage bets, take a dim view of exchange-exchange arbers and are liable to restrict your account or even ban you.

How Do You Get Started With Arbitrage Betting?

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