Online Betting » Arbitrage Betting Calculator

Arbitrage Betting Calculator: Work Out If An Arb is Available When Sports Betting

emily saunders
Writer
Fact checked by: Mike McKean
Last Updated on 19.11.2024

Arbitrage betting gives you one of the best chances to minimise losses when betting by working out discrepancies between different bookmakers. With a sports betting arbitrage calculator on your side, you can identify those opportunities in a flash.

Not only can you use our calculator for free and as many times as you want, but we’ve also added everything you need to know about arbitrage bets and how to use our calculator to its fullest. Arbitrage betting can be confusing, so use our guide to get a handle on this effective betting strategy today.

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Try our Abitrage Calculator to Refine Your Betting Strategy

Arbitrage calculator

Selection
Include
Bias
Highest Odds
Selection 1
 / 
Selection 2
 / 
Selection 3
 / 
Selection 4
 / 
Selection 5
 / 

Betting Outcomes

Strategies (Bet on Selection 1)

Profits Arbitrage
None No Bias Biased
Selection 1
Wager
Profit
Selection 2
Wager
Profit
Selection 3
Wager
Profit
Selection 4
Wager
Profit
Selection 5
Wager
Profit

What is an Arbitrage Calculator?

Our online arbitrage calculator works by calculating the potential return for a wager with certain odds for three outcomes and then generates your overall potential return across the full wager. This way, you can quickly see your potential return. If it’s over what you wager, then it’s a good choice. If the amount is lower (meaning you lose money), continue tweaking the calculator until you get a positive result.

What’s the Main Purpose of the Arbitrage Betting Calculator?

Finding arbitrage opportunities and knowing how much to place on each team to win or draw can be challenging. That’s why using a calculator is so important. Betting on the best odds for each outcome and the right stake amount is key to any arbitrage betting strategy – and once they all add up, that’s a lot of calculating to do! Our 3 way arbitrage calculator makes it a walk in the park to calculate potential returns on different betting options, so you can quickly work through the arbitrage spread and find the best wager and bet weight for the game in question.

What is Arbitrage Betting?

Arbitrage betting, also known sometimes as arb betting or arbing, is a strategy that has you bet on all outcomes of a single game, at varying amounts, to minimise losses. So, if you’re betting on a sports match, then you’ll usually bet on each team to win and also on the teams to draw (if applicable).

Done right, you can usually work it out so how much you stand to win at least covers your bankroll. If you manage to find great odds deals by betting on three different sportsbooks, then you may even be able to walk away with a small positive return between 1 – 2%.

Example of Arb Betting with Our Calculator

Let’s put our calculator to the test. In our example, we’re using a Man City vs Real Madrid UEFA Champions League game.

  • Bet365: 1.80, 4.33, 5.0
  • DraftKings: 1.59, 4.5, 5.25
  • BetMGM: 1.6, 4.4, 5.0

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Since we want to bet on the sportsbook that has the longest odds for each outcome, that means we should bet Man City to win on Bet365, and then bet on a draw outcome and Real Madrid to win on DraftKings. With those selections, that means the odds we’re working with include:

  • Man City to win: 1.80
  • Draw: 4.5
  • Real Madrid to win: 5.25

Based on these highest odds and our bet budget of £100, our calculator then suggests three ways to split our wager, including potential profit outcomes for the whole bet:

  • $57.38 on Man City
  • $22.95 on the draw
  • $19.67 on Real Madrid

This would result in a profit of roughly $3.27-$3.28, which in this case is about a 3.28% profit.

Main Reasons to Try Out Arbitrage Betting Today

Arbitrage betting means you bet on all outcomes, which is popular if you want to cover all bases and want a return on your bet. You’ll want to compare odds on different sportsbooks to find the best odds for this practice and even split your bets across platforms for the best betting opportunities, so some knowledge and strategy is required to get started. Once you get the hang of arbitrage betting, there are many different things you can look forward to, such as:

  • Taking advantage of inflated odds on pre-match events or during live games.
  • Taking advantage of good odds or bonuses on multiple platforms.
  • Practising advanced betting strategies.

Top Sports to Apply Arbitrage Betting

Arbitrage betting is best used with sports with two or three outcomes. This makes it ideal for sports such as:

Football (Soccer)

Football is an excellent sport for arbitrage betting, thanks to its massive number of betting markets. Since it’s one of the most popular sports in the world, it’s also guaranteed to be covered by every sportsbook, giving you more opportunities to find odds opportunities between bookmakers. Football is so internationally popular, so you will also find more bonus options that can impact your arbitrage bet approach than in more niche sports.

Football (American)

While American football isn’t as internationally widespread as traditional football (soccer), it does have a raving fan base in North America that extends to the rest of the world. As such, there are many sportsbooks that cover American football, giving you plenty of opportunity to shop around for odds. You’ll also find many big bonuses that can boost odds or potential profits, giving you more opportunities for arbitrage betting.

Tennis

Tennis is another internationally renowned sport, with a key difference – the match cannot end in a draw. If you want to make your arbitrage betting simpler, opting for a two-outcome sport like tennis can be the way to go. Tennis also has multiple competitions throughout the year in different locations, giving you plenty of matches to bet on. Since it’s so popular, many  sportsbooks cover the matches, giving you ample options to find the best odds. 

The only time arbitrage betting isn’t great is for events with multiple outcomes, such as horse racing, because there are too many options with too low stakes to make it worthwhile. In that case, you will instead want to hedge your bets or try out the dutching strategy. Don’t worry—we have calculators for those, too!

Introducing Our Arbitrage Betting Calculator

Our sports betting arbitrage calculator is preset with 3 selections (you can add more) and you can pick which one you want a bias toward. Then enter the highest odds and your total wager to calculate the best strategies. Just remember to check that your odds are all in the same format and input in decimal format to avoid confusing results.

Once you press calculate, you’ll see the potential outcomes of a successful arbitrage bet, if the opportunity exists.

Arbitrage calculator

Selection
Include
Bias
Highest Odds
Selection 1
 / 
Selection 2
 / 
Selection 3
 / 
Selection 4
 / 
Selection 5
 / 

Betting Outcomes

Strategies (Bet on Selection 1)

Profits Arbitrage
None No Bias Biased
Selection 1
Wager
Profit
Selection 2
Wager
Profit
Selection 3
Wager
Profit
Selection 4
Wager
Profit
Selection 5
Wager
Profit

Top Three Main Benefits of Using a Sports Betting Arbitrage Calculator

You may be wondering why you should use a calculator at all. The fact is, however, that you cannot intuitively pick the right percentage of your bankroll for an arbitrage bet. You will need to do the maths. What better way to do the maths than with an arb betting calculator?

1. Instant Calculations Without the Headache

The reason why anyone uses a calculator is to complete complex maths equations in an instant. Our free sports betting arbitrage calculator takes this one step further. Instead of using the arbitrate formula, which requires you to determine the true probability and how much you may win if the wager wins and then compare those wins and losses together, you can do all those steps simultaneously with our calculator. No need to worry about the formula; no unnecessary steps, just answers.

2. Make Adjustments Easily

You’ll rarely get the perfect arbitrage bet right off the bat. If you were calculating odds and outcomes manually, then this would require continuous mathematics – and time. With our calculator, you can adjust your odds and wager amounts quickly, allowing you to figure out the best weights for each bet to minimise losses.

3. Maximise Potential Returns

Since you can work out what your win or loss will be with each outcome, you can work out the many different potential returns you can expect, regardless of whether Team A wins, Team B wins, or they end in a draw. By making those adjustments, you can work to maximise potential returns.

What Are the Top Bookmakers for Arbitrage Betting?

Since the best way to place arbitrage bets is to place them on several sportsbooks, you may think that any site is a good site to use – but this isn’t the case. The best online betting sites for arbitrage betting are those with low profit margins and great bonuses. These sites should also let you easily swap between odds formats, so you can easily calculate odds across sportsbooks with our calculator. To help you kickstart your research efforts, here are our top five providers that offer the best betting experience for the arbitrage strategy:

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Hot Tips to Use With Our Free Sports Betting Arbitrage Calculator

Arbitrage betting is always made infinitely easier with a 2 or 3-way arbitrage betting calculator – especially if you’re placing bets on multiple sportsbooks. However, it never hurts to have a few extra tips to guide you:

Shop Around Bookmakers to Find the Best Odds

Arbitrage betting isn’t just about betting on all outcomes. It means shopping between sportsbooks to get the best odds for each outcome. With that in mind, you’ll want to use our odds calculator alongside our arb calculator to help compare the odds.

Try Out Different Wager Weights on the Arb Calculator

Always try out different wager weights so you can see the best option for your bet. This can take some time, so aim to start early and stick to pre-match bets only.

Be Prepared for Small Win Returns

Arbitrage betting is about minimising losses. You can still get a higher return than you put in, yes, but don’t expect big amounts. Most arbitrage bets will fetch between 1 to 2% of your wager.

Arbitrage Betting Not For You? Explore Our Other Top Calculators

Arbitrage betting can take a lot of time to work out, and its low potential returns may not be of interest to every bettor. That’s okay! At the end of the day, the only thing that matters when it comes to your unique bet strategy is that it works for you. To help out, we have so many different top-quality betting calculators online, so you can easily identify opportunities and calculate odds with just a few clicks:

Ready, Set, Get Started with Our Online Arbitrage Calculator Today

Our arbitrage betting calculator makes it easy to get started with your very own arbitrage betting strategy. It works through several calculations all at once, giving you faster results that can be adjusted so you can find the sweet spot in an all-outcomes bet. This is particularly useful when you bet on different sportsbooks, especially when bonuses are thrown into the mix. Just remember to take your time and play around with our calculator to find the best arbitrage bet for your game.

Don’t Forget to Use Our Arbitrage Calculator With These Top Betting Bonuses

Arbitrage betting changes when you add bonuses to the mix, so it’s important to factor in those bonuses when working out how much to wager on each outcome, and even which sportsbook to place those wagers on to get the highest possible return. We have created an in-depth guide on all there is to know about betting bonuses, including the best ones available today:

Our favorite sports betting bonuses for 2024

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Arbitrage Betting Calculator FAQs

Yes, there are no laws that prohibit arbitrage betting. It may, however, go against the terms and conditions of the sportsbook you are using, which can result in account limits.

💸 Can I win big with arbitrage betting?

No, the most you can hope for is a 5% return, and even that is considered extremely rare.

🤟 Should I wager big amounts with arbitrage betting?

Since the percentage of potential return is so low, it may be tempting to simply bet more. While you can do this, do be aware that it may raise red flags with your sportsbook, at which point your bets or account may be limited or even banned.

🧐 What do bookmakers look out for to spot arbitrage betting?

Sportsbooks generally won’t let you bet on all outcomes on their platform. You may also raise a red flag on their system if you constantly make massive wagers right up to your limit.

🤔 How many bets are included in an arbitrage wager?

You’re essentially making moneyline bets, so most arbitrage bets include two or three outcomes at most.