Arbitrage

Also called: Arbing, Sure bet

When different bookmakers price the same market differently enough that backing every outcome guarantees a profit whatever happens.

It exists when the combined implied probability of all outcomes across the best available prices comes to less than 100%. In practice the windows are brief, the stakes needed are large relative to the return, and accounts that do it are routinely limited or closed.

When the book totals under 100%

Outcome A at 2.1047.6% implied
Outcome B at 2.2045.5% implied
Combined book93.1%
Staked across both£100.00
Guaranteed return≈ £107.40
Guaranteed profit≈ 7.4%

Note: the stakes must be split in proportion to each price — an even split does not guarantee the same return on both outcomes.

Related terms

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