What is sure betting and should you consider using this strategy in 2019?
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at sure betting, how it works and whether you should use it to maximise your income from betting in 2019.
Ready? Let’s get started.
Sure betting – What is it and how does it work?
This may be a new term to some of you out there so here’s a simple introduction.
Sure betting, also known as arbitrage betting or arbing is a way of making a guaranteed profit from the price differences between bookmakers odds.
There is little risk involved with this betting strategy making it one of the more popular ways to make money online. Similar to matched betting, it’s popularity has risen over the past few years mainly thanks to the rise of the internet and online gambling.
This method is also similar to matched betting in that bettors know the exact outcome of their bets even before an event has started.
Using this strategy, bettors look for a difference in odds between bookmakers on a certain event.
The bookies generally don’t show the same odds for a certain market. Whether that’s down to differing opinions on the outcome of the event or due to an error, there are often discrepancies out there.
The larger the variation in price, the more money you can potentially make. By placing bets on all outcomes of the event, you’ll be able to make a profit.
Sure betting in 2019
Sure betting has been around for a while now and it’s had a great amount of publicity over the years.
In the past, bettors and professional gamblers would use this strategy to make a solid income from betting.
As you can imagine, over the past few years as the betting industry has become more competitive, the bookmakers have clamped down on sure betting and arbers out there.
Nowadays most odds across betting platforms are fairly similar mainly due to improvements in technology.
Despite all of this, arbitrage is still a strategy you can employ in 2019. You’ll just need to spend more time looking for variations in odds and stake larger amounts.
Whilst the big differences in price aren’t available any more, you should still be able to find smaller odds discrepancies which can still be worthwhile.
What’s more, it’s now easier than ever to take part. Thanks to odds comparison sites and specialist software, sure betting is a strategy for all punters no matter how much experience you have.
However, as I mentioned earlier these advancements in technology have also made it easier for bookmakers to spot those taking part. Unfortunately, the bookmakers are not too keen on sure betting and arbers, more on this later.
Another thing you’ll need to keep an eye out for when placing arbs is the liquidity. As you’ll need to place large stakes, you’ll need to look for markets with high liquidity.
These markets are easy to spot at a betting exchange like Smarkets as the liquidity is shown underneath the market odds.
It’s slightly harder to check this at the bookmakers so I suggest you stick to popular markets where lots of betting activity takes place.
Continuously changing odds
In the modern world of online gambling, odds are rarely stable. They’re constantly fluctuating as more people enter and leave the market.
That means any arbing opportunities do not stay around for very long. Therefore, you need to react quickly and place your bets.
How much can you make with this betting strategy in 2019?
One of the questions everyone wants to know the answer to, how much money can you make using sure betting?
How long is a piece of string?
It depends on what markets you place your bets on, the variation in odds and how much you stake.
All in all, this makes it very hard to work out a representative figure in terms of potential earnings.
What I can tell you is that you’re unlikely to make much money from each sure bet you complete. The bookies have ironed out the large price differences meaning there is less profit readily available.
You’ll need to place quite a large number of sure bets with high stakes to make this strategy worthwhile. Don’t let that put you off though, there are still plenty of bettors who successfully use this strategy in 2019.
Open multiple bookmaker accounts
Opening plenty of online bookmaker accounts is one of the key ingredients to a successful sure betting strategy in 2019.
Thankfully it’s easier than ever to achieve this with so many options available to punters. There are hundreds of online bookmakers you can choose from.
If you’re not sure which bookies you should use, why not check out our top 10 bookmakers guide.
Best sports for sure betting
So what are the best sports for arbitrage?
Sure betting is a very versatile strategy and it doesn’t matter what sport you place your bets on. You can bet on both two-way events like Tennis and three-way events like Football.
As long as you can find the right odds at the bookmaker, you can guarantee a profit from arbing.
Having said that, I would still advise you stick to the more popular sports like Football, Horse Racing and Tennis. You’ll often find the most profitable sure bets where the majority of betting activity takes place.
Do bookmakers like arbitrage betting?
Now you know a little more information about sure betting and how it works, let’s find out what the bookies think of it.
It’s fair to say that the bookmakers don’t look favourably on sure betting. They’re not keen on any bettors or professional gamblers that take too much value or guarantee a profit using their platform.
As I mentioned earlier in the article, the bookies can often spot arbers quite easily thanks to technology and betting trackers.
If you’re caught, you’re likely to have your account restricted or even worse, banned. This is what bettors call gubbed.
To avoid getting caught, bettors and professional gamblers in the UK employ those with un-restricted accounts to place their bets for them.
Professional arbers have generally been banned by a large number of bookmakers making it difficult for them to place their bets.
Whilst this practice is strictly against the bookie’s terms and conditions, it still seems to work well.
There are several other methods you can use to stop the bookies catching you out, but we’ll leave that for another article.
Should you use sure betting in 2019?
So should you consider arbitrage in 2019?
Overall sure betting sounds like a great strategy in theory. However, several drawbacks make this method less effective and potentially not worthwhile.
Due to the large stakes involved, this strategy is not for the faint-hearted and any mistakes can be very costly.
I don’t recommend arbers to use this technique unless you have a lot of experience and knowledge of the betting industry. If that’s you, there are still opportunities available.
Let me know what you think of sure betting and whether you’re going to use this strategy in 2019 by leaving a comment below.
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