What are sure bets?
Sure bets, also known as arbitrage betting, is a betting style that guarantees profit to the gamer, irrespective of the outcome. In every bet you stake, there is a take-home, win or lose. The guaranteed result might be a mix up in odds where any possible market fronted gives the bettor an advantage.
Gamers like it since it reduces betting losses and consolidates their earnings. Although it is legal, some bookies do not condone arbing as it reduces their take-home margin.
A detailed explanation of this famous sports betting term
As gamers grew, they tried different ways to increase their winnings from betting. Technology came in and improved the gaming scenario but sometimes snapped to give the gamer added advantage. Procedures, where the gamer could simultaneously place bets on all markets, are the most common in arbing betting. Irrespective of the outcome, the bettor picked the winning selection. Direct outcome markets such as win-lose are the most common.
With time, gamers exploited weaknesses in odds provision between sportsbooks to increase their earnings. In an ideal scenario, bookies always have their total outcomes odds exceed 100% to gain the betting advantage. However, arbitrage betting comes in when the total odds outcome is less than 100%. The difference favours the bettors, which they exploit.
Arbing betting is legal, although sportsbooks do not entertain it. If a bettor successively wins, the bookies closely follow their activities to ascertain their sources. They might not reprimand him/her, limit their participation, or even close down the account without giving a reason.
Punters have arbing betting software that uses specialised algorithms to predict outcomes. Profit accumulators are good examples as they minimise losses by betting on 2 different outcomes. Matched betting also forms part of sure bets where gamers benefit from free bets and other incentives. They are risk-free and the gamer can take home winnings without spending any of their monies.
Example of a sure bet
Any risk-free proceeds gained in a market is a sure bet, with the price-difference as the most common method. The difference in odds value of the same event on different bookmakers creates the price difference. Picking the best odd from each market makes a margin less than 100%, which is the gamer’s advantage or arbitrage betting.
For example, if sure bet for today on bookie 1 is 1.30 on player/team 1 and 3.93 on player/team 2 (margin 102.4%). In the same event, bookie 2 has 1.42 and 2.90 on players/teams 1 and 2, respectively (104.9% margin). The arbitrage for the market is 1.42 on player/team 1 and 3.93 on player/team 2, creating a 95.9% margin. The 4.1% difference is the arbitrage advantage.