Arbers are a fairly substantial group of people who make money on ‘reliable’ bets. The bets themselves carry virtually no risk, but the bettor still walks a tightrope over an abyss. But let’s take it step by step. And we’ll start by briefly explaining what an arb is.
Bookmaker arb: what is it?
Arbers are people who play on ‘arbs.’ An arb is a situation where you can bet on one outcome at sportsbook No. 1 and the opposite outcome at sportsbook No. 2 in a way that guarantees profit no matter the result.
Example of an arb. Tennis, Medvedev vs. Zverev. PariMatch offers odds of 2.1 for Medvedev’s win, so we bet 1000 rubles. Mostbet offers odds of 2.1 for Zverev’s win, so we bet 1000 rubles too. Regardless of the match outcome, one of our bets will win:
1000 rubles * 2.1 = 2100 rubles.
Our profit will be 2100 rubles, while we wagered 2000 rubles (1000 on each outcome). That’s what a bookmaker arb is.
Who are arbers?
Arbers are players who only bet on cross outcomes, those very ‘arbs.’ They typically use various helper services, often paid ones.
Arbers operate in both pre-match and live modes. Live betting is much more enjoyable because you can catch significant odds differences (up to 10-12% profit). In pre-match, a 2-3% profit is already considered quite good.
Bettors playing on arbs risk losing their account and getting banned, so they often resort to another illegal action—buying other people’s accounts. However, there are ways to earn from this without the risk of being banned.
How do they view arbers?
We’ve already mentioned that arbers can lose their account. Bookmakers use special software and, believe us, they know which competitor’s sportsbook you’re arbing with. If a user heavily bets only on such matches, their account will eventually be banned or their limits severely cut.
Still, not all sportsbooks react negatively to this activity. Betting exchanges, for the most part, don’t care at all since they risk nothing.
Which sportsbooks are against arbers?
We’ve said multiple times that arbers are the enemy of sportsbooks. There’s a whole list of companies that monitor this activity and take measures like cutting limits or banning accounts. These include:
- Marathon.
- Fonbet.
- 1xStavka.
- Olimp.
- Leon.
- Liga Stavok.
- GGBet.
- Winline and others.
In general, all legal sportsbooks monitor this using special software. Trust us, they know who you’re arbing with and on which matches. If a user makes 1-2 such bets, it’s still okay. But when they place five or more, problems start.
Arbers have found ways to keep earning here. Let’s break that down too.
Lenient sportsbooks
There are sportsbooks that are lenient toward such bets. If we’re talking about traditional ones, this list includes:
- Sbobet. This Asian sportsbook doesn’t control the appearance of arbs. It seems to operate with minimal resources, as it neither tracks arbs nor offers much variety in lines and markets.
- Pinnacle. A very interesting sportsbook. It sets a minimal margin on most markets and states that their main value is fair play, as long as it doesn’t break their internal rules. Surprisingly, there’s no mention of arbs in their rules.
There are other, more reliable options where you won’t have issues. We’re talking about betting exchanges, which simply don’t care who bets with what odds.
What is a betting exchange? It’s best explained with an example. Say two people meet and discuss an upcoming match. One thinks Lokomotiv will win, the other thinks Krasnodar will. They shake hands and bet 100 rubles on it with odds of 2. A betting exchange offers something similar. It lets you find random people to make a bet with. There are two ways:
- The player proposes an outcome with a specific odds, and other users can take the opposite bet (for example, I propose a bet on Lokomotiv’s win at odds of 2, so users can take the bet that Lokomotiv won’t win at the same odds).
- The player just looks at other clients’ offers and decides which bet to take.
Betting exchanges are fine with arbers because they don’t risk their own income. It doesn’t matter to them who wins the bet, as they just take a small percentage and never pay out from their own funds. Essentially, exchanges act as intermediaries between two bettors and take their cut.
Popular betting exchanges include:
- Betfair.
- Betdaq.
- Smarkbets.
Betfair is a globally known exchange that takes 5 to 7% from transactions.
Smarkbets is less popular, but has a lower margin (around 3%).
Betdaq is also not the most popular and is illegal for users from Russia.
How much do arbers earn?
Arbers’ income varies. It depends on several factors, with the main ones being the initial bankroll size, time dedicated, and absence of unforeseen issues.
- Bankroll size directly affects the winnings. If one arb yields about 2% profit from the bet amount, and making 100 such bets a day is realistic, that gives a profit of 200% from the bet amount (not the bankroll). But these are dry calculations without accounting for expenses, which can add up.
- Time dedicated is a crucial factor. The more time a user spends on this, the more bets they can make. You can’t just place 1000 bets in the morning and wait; that would require a massive bankroll. Arbers have to wait for matches to finish before betting on upcoming events.
- Absence of unforeseen issues means avoiding obstacles from the sportsbook itself. Bookmakers often realize there’s heavy betting on an arb match and cancel it, returning the bet at odds of 1. Meanwhile, the match might still be active on another sportsbook, costing part of the bankroll if it loses. Other issues include odds changing on one sportsbook while you’re betting on another, or the match being closed for bets.
How do bettors find arbs?
We’ve talked about profits, but not expenses. One major expense is the cost of software that automatically finds arbs on sportsbooks. There are free services, but they have drawbacks:
- No option to filter specific sportsbooks. It’s tough to create and fund accounts on every sportsbook worldwide.
- Low profit percentage. Free accounts usually offer arbs with yields up to 1%, sometimes 2%. Paid versions provide juicier arbs with guaranteed profits up to 10-15%.
- Can’t select specific leagues. Experienced arbers know sportsbooks are suspicious of big bets on obscure leagues, leading to close scrutiny and action.
- Not all matches available. Free accounts are like demo versions—self-explanatory.
How are arbers detected?
Only a few know how sportsbooks operate internally, so there’s no exact data on detection algorithms, but there are reasonable assumptions about the criteria.
Arbers get caught on:
- Frequent deposits and withdrawals.
- Regular deposits even with unsettled bets.
- Bets on obscure leagues.
- Betting the entire account balance often.
Don’t overlook another simple risk. If bettors use services to find arbs, sportsbook employees might use the same tools and know exactly which matches you’re arbing with another sportsbook. If you only bet on those, you’ll eventually get flagged.
Conclusions
This type of activity is slowly dying out. Sportsbooks are keeping up with the times and, thanks to advanced software, can identify an arb player with 100% certainty after 4-5 bets and apply sanctions like cutting limits or banning the account.
Bettors have found a workaround by buying other people’s accounts, making 3-4 bets, and withdrawing funds. But this adds costs and doesn’t always succeed. So, it’s safe to say this niche is fading and becoming riskier every day.
