What’s Sure Betting?
Sure betting or surebet is a method to ensure that you win every bet by wagering on all possible outcomes of an event based on odds inefficiency among different bookmakers.
Is Sure betting real and profit guaranteed? Yes, surebet is a proven betting technique and theoretically, 100% guaranteed profits that can be mathematically explained based on the arbitrage concept.
However, practically there are many pitfalls and obstacles, which every newbie should clearly understand.
Sure betting = Surebet = Sports Arbitrage
Sure betting is actually a sports arbitrage which can be defined as;
So, the whole idea is for you to profit no matter what happens in a game – means the Opportunity that you are able to bet on all possible outcomes of a certain match at odds that guarantee a profit regardless of who wins that match, that’s why it is a “Surebet”.
How does the Sure betting Opportunity arise?
Sports arbitrage takes its origins from arbitrage trading in financial markets, one of the most common strategies employed by a hedge fund.
In financial markets, an arbitrage trade exploits, for example, the difference in the price of a listed company on a stock market in different countries.
Sports arbitrage trading is where people regularly trade price inconsistencies between fixed odds bookmakers on the same sporting event, namely Market Inefficiencies.
There are hundreds of online fixed odds bookmakers. They are all competing with one another and are located in various countries and time zones.
They may have the relevant stats but they can’t possibly know every participant and every event.
In short, mistakes can and do happen. Besides, importantly bookies’ odds are consistently moving because they try to balance their book, which means their odds don’t reflect the true probability of the event outcome but public (betters) preferences – see the secrets of odds.
Sure Betting Brief Summary
So, the sure betting opportunities arise because;
- Fierce Competition
- Different Bookmakers’ Opinions on Each Sports Event
- Some Bookies’ Lack Of Ability To Predict The More Accurate Probability
- Simple Mistakes
- Importantly, Bookies Need To Move Odds Based On the Public To Secure Their Profit But Its Speed Differs Among Bookies
Taking these elements into account, you get hundreds & thousands of opportunities for sure betting trades every week.
However, don’t misunderstand they don’t create the arbitrage opportunity at their own prices. You can’t just go to a single bookmaker and bet on all outcomes without losing money since the bookies factor in their own profit margin a.k.a. Overround in every single sporting event.
All in all, sure betting is a proven way to get regular risk-free profits from the massive online fixed odds betting market. In a way, it’s like a swoop and scoop of regular small profits from pitting one fixed-odds bookmaker against another.
Is Surebet Legal?
If online sports betting itself is legal is another issue and it depends on the jurisdiction though, sure betting itself is absolutely legal.
Think about it, you are simply exploiting price differences in the market, effectively buying and selling (betting) as any financial trader does, so can’t be illegal.
Account Limit & Restriction
However, keep in mind that some bookmakers fundamentally oppose clients making money without incurring risk. Every company has the right to decide who their customers should be and many bookmakers a.k.a. Soft Bookies try to keep sure bettors away from their business.
As soon as suspicion is aroused they may quickly limit or even close the account. Therefore, we have prepared the following 2 guides – One is Before Restriction, The Other One is After Restriction;
How Much Money Can I Make from Surebet?
OK, it’s a natural question. How much money can you make from sure betting?
The amount of money you can make depends on a number of factors. These variables include;
- Amount of bankroll that you have available to bet
- Size of the arbs that you invest in,
- The time you have to invest
- How well you manage your money.
Average Gains
- The Percent gain you can expect from surebet safely is between 2% and 7% per bet – a typical ‘arb‘ provides around 4+%, so conservatively assume = 3%
Bankroll & Money Management
- Assuming you have an initial bankroll of €1,000.
- Bet around 1/5th, which is €200, every day expecting a 3% profit. This will become €180 per month.
- The rationale behind 1/5th is that firstly you need at least 30% of the total bank in E-Wallet as a reserve (see the detail in Sports Arbitrage – Cheat Sheet). Second, arbing may take a few days to complete from the time you place your bet to the time your winnings are available to invest again. Thus you spread your €700 bankroll into 7 bookies and place €100 bet in at least 2 bookies every day. This is just a theoretical model, but it more or less works the same in the real world.
Expected Profit With Bigger Bank
- When you increase your bank to €5,000, then you bet 1/5th that is €1,000 at 3% profit arb every day = €900 per month. Bear in mind that, you will increase the number of bookies as you increase the capital.
- If your bank reaches €10,000, then €1,800 every month
- So, you may expect €1,800 / €10,000 = 18% Profit Return
- Don’t forget that you prepare €10,000 bank, but you actually invest €60,000 (€2,000 x 30 days) Thus, (€11,800 – €10,000) / €60,000 = 3% ROI (Return On Investment) as we assumed originally. You rolled over your capital 6 times per month, extremely efficient.
Surebet Calculator
For those who need to know the mathematical logic behind the surebet, we created the section How to Calculate Surebet section later. In case you hate math, you don’t need to read.
Because, you don’t need to do all the above calculations manually, but you can use Free Sure Bet Calculator. It is prepared by Pinnacle and used in the example in the above How to Calculate Surebet section.
Why Is Surebet Little Known?
If surebet works so simply and guarantees a profit, why does not everybody do it? This is also a natural question. So a few explanations;
How do Bookies consider surebet?
Theoretically, bookmakers are only interested in ensuring that they generate value in every book they make.
An arbitrageur’s money is as good as any other punter’s and since at least half of all the bets, an arbitrageur makes will lose, the bookies basically should not care so much. Furthermore, bookmaker businesses face fierce competition, and they are forced to compete about having the best odds on the market. Because every other bookie will have better odds, and the customers will realize this and move to another.
So their motive to attract investors with better odds provides the mispricing situations in the market which create arbitrage opportunities. This means they can’t prevent it by nature.
Harsh Reality
Unfortunately, the reality is not so sweet. There are 2 types of bookies of Soft & Sharp bookies, for details, take a look at Beat The Bookies By Knowing How Your Enemy Makes Money. But very quickly, we can characterize each bookie as;
- Soft bookies: Targeting Casual Punters – Run a lot of promotion / Odds adjustment is relatively slow / Impose account restriction (gubbing)
- Sharp bookies: Targeting Professional Punters – Highly competitive odds / High staking limit / Never impose account restriction
Over 90% of online bookmakers are Soft Bookies, and they do not like active arb-traders (not only arbitragers but virtually all smart punters). They restrict the account over time despite the above circumstances.
However, don’t worry they never freeze your money. They can’t steal your money because you don’t commit any illegal activities. Let me reiterate that surebet is absolutely legal in almost all countries where online betting is legalized. Just your trading would be limited.
In any case, you need Sharp bookies represented by Pinnacle that even publicly promotes surebet as below
It is a Must-Have Bookie for professional punters including sure bettors, so suggest going through our Pinnacle full review.
How do Existing Arbers consider surebet?
One Sports Arb service site said when you visit various forums, you may find a lot of negativity related to surebet trading. Some deliberately post disinformation on boards in order to put entrants off. Others take every opportunity to criticize the various arb services and warn people off even though they may secretly use the same services themselves. Anyone who speaks positively about a service will be called a “shill” or have their credibility doubted in some way. Why?
Keep it Low Profile
The above site says the reason is that ultimately, every trader is in competition with every other trader. And, existing traders have a vested interest in reducing the number of people that start trading as novices. Yes, in theory, surebet traders are in competition with each other. However, in practice this only matters when they are chasing exactly the same trade at exactly the same time.
Let me briefly explain what it means, the more people place the same bet at a bookmaker, the more chance that the bookmaker may realize the odds are higher than they should be. Therefore they will take action to adjust (down) the odds immediately. They need to do so to balance their book, which shortens the life of that particular arb opportunity.
So, given the vast number of surebet opportunities arising every day, this competition may not be the central reason. Someone commented that many existing traders want to make this a sort of exclusive club and don’t want bookies to take unnecessary big countermeasures by making this surebet business too popular – in other words, want to keep it low profile. Although it has already become quite popular these days.
How do Prospective Traders consider Surebet?
Minimum Capital Requirements could be the 1st hurdle. You can’t make money through surebet without having a certain amount of funds to trade in the first place.
A full-time trader can expect to make around 10 – 20% of their bankroll each month. This means that in order to live off arbitrage trading as the primary income source you need to have tens of thousands of dollars available for trading. (For this particular point, you may want to read How To Make A Living Sports Betting – Full Assessment of 3 Methods Based On Numbers. We examine Sports Arbitrage as 1 of the 3 methods.)
However, for those who want to earn just Extra income, it will not be a big obstacle.
The 2nd hurdle that prevents people from going into a full commitment to Sports Surebet trading is people’s bias. People perceive it as a scam mainly by its name SUREbet and disinformation posted in public forums mentioned above.
Sure betting invites many mistakes
The 3rd hurdle & the biggest issue are various Pitfalls. As elaborated in the following section, there are many operational risks that may wipe out tens of successful surebet profits with just 1 careless mistake.
Such mistakes are typical among inexperienced. Therefore many people tend to give up before being able to prevent those simple mistakes. 1 of the easiest solution is finding good quality arbitrage software. You will find 2 such software in the later section.
Surebet Pitfalls
As just said above, Sports Arbitrage is theoretically Sure Bet but practically NOT RISK-FREE. In fact, there are several pitfalls that easily lead you to make a big loss, especially for a newbie.
Surebet Common risks and mistakes
In the following tables, we will show an extensive list of risk situations and provide an example for each one. We have classified risks by their possible cause as follows:
- User error: This risk happens because the user makes a mistake when placing bets. You should be able to avoid these problems at any cost.
- Surebet inherent risk: This risk happens because of the surebet process. You should be able to avoid most of these problems and only be hit in very exceptional situations. In case you suffer this risk, you should learn to take action to limit the damage.
User Error
Surebet inherent risk
Advice
In order to prevent these problems, there are a few basic steps that you should consider. If you are a newbie you will find it difficult and each surebet could take you too much time to place. After you get the practice you will do all these checks within seconds. Experienced arbers do not even need to think about this and prevent these risks automatically.
- Be sure you have set the same time zone on all your bookmakers so that all events are shown at the correct time.
- Ensure you use the same currency on all bookmakers (except for a few exceptions where this is not possible).
- Try to remember bookmaker rules for some specific sports (tennis, ice hockey, and baseball) at least for the bookmakers you use most.
- Check you are betting on the same match on all legs. The sport, competition, team names, date, and time must be the same.
- Double-check you are betting on the same market (unless it is a cross-market bet).
- Do your stake calculation and confirm you have a balance on all bookies.
- Consider the order to place bets, taking into account limits, confirmations, odds, etc. In general, you should place the bet in the soft bookmaker first.
The above summary covers basic risks & advice. For thorough analysis & precaution-specific actions, please go to; Sports Arbitrage – Cheatsheet For Dummies To Become A Seasoned Arber Overnight.
The Surest Ways To Succeed in Surebet
Frankly speaking, to get decent earnings from the arbing, you need a lot of effort to do like;
- A lot of time-consuming calculations (means a lot of math)
- Accurate & complete record-keeping of every transaction, which is quite tiresome & boring.
Most importantly, it's not practical to capture surebet opportunities that last a very short period efficiently without automatic software.
Surebet Finder
Having said that, a high-quality surebet finder namely software will help you save time & prevent the various pitfalls significantly. Or allow me to be straightforward, quality software is essential if you want to make serious money.
There is a lot of arbitrage software in the market and you need to carefully select the best because many of them are crap. You should have clear assessment criteria such as;
- User friendly
- Automate all key 3 surebet processes of “Select Surebet” “Verify Bets” “Place Bets”
- Superb surebets finding algorithm (Detector)
- Rapid odds refreshing
- Intuitive client/website
- Supporting many good bookmakers etc.
I would have reasonable confidence to say that the following software is the best in the industry;
RebelBetting
RebelBetting is by far the most reputable & successful Sports Arbitrage software in the world. See our full review of Rebel Betting Review - The Truth About World Best Sports Arbitrage Software which includes the interview with the founder;
Alternative Surebet Model with Betting Exchanges
So far, we have talked about finding surebet opportunities among conventional bookmakers. However, alternatively, we can use the Betting Exchange, which means backing a conventional bookmaker while laying at Exchange to cover all the outcomes.
Simply put, when the back odds are high enough then the lay odds after absorbing the exchange commission, you can lock in profit. I'll elaborate on this model in the above Sports Arbitrage Cheat-sheet.
In the meantime, in case you're not familiar with the following major exchanges;
and take a look at How To Make Money on Betting Exchange.
Bookies Selections for Surebets - You Need Both Sharp & Soft Bookies
If you start sports arbitrage, you will realize that you may want to have at least 10 bookmakers' accounts. You need both Sharp & Soft bookmakers. We have issued and periodically updated the below 2 lists that are important for sure bettors, so whenever you have time, go through them;
Cashback Opportunities
When it comes to opening up a bookmaker's account, don't forget you can rake bookies' welcome offers risk-free via matched betting. The important thing is Don't sign-up for any gambling site directly, Click + To See the Little Known Smart Method.
Many punters overlook huge Cashback Opportunities and open up bookmaker, casino & bingo accounts directly. Stop doing it, you can earn a lot of risk-free cash while receiving the gambling sites' own sign-up offers & bonuses. We have separately prepared Betting Cashback Websites – The Ultimate Guide To Be Always Better Off, where you will find how to collect probably up to £2,500. So, try NOT Sign-Up Any Gambling Accounts Directly Before Checking the Availability of the Cashback Offer.
Sure betting Wrap-Up
Surebet for Anybody in the World
Lastly, allow us to share a bit about our betting principle. Avoid Prejudice of Betting = Gambling. We Do Betting Activities but Don't Count On Chance. Instead, we do 6 Advantage Plays based on mathematical edge to beat the bookies, casinos & bingo. When it comes to Sports Betting, we use Matched Betting / Sports Arbitrage / Value Bets On Proven Tipsters to lock in a profit or consistently earn extra income for the long term.
With that said, one of our policies is "Betting On Luck Is For Losers, Stop Gamble Betting But Bet on Only +EV To Win Reliably".
It is effectively our way to promote Responsible Gambling under the regulation, and we strongly support GamCare & BeGambleAware being explained in about us.
As our name Global Extra Money (GEM) implies, we would like our readers to exploit such reliable money-making opportunities worldwide, therefore we have issued :
In these documents, you will find the specific methods that enable people from almost all countries to make the best use of the lucrative offshore advantage gambling opportunities you may have overlooked.
BTW, for those who can't access the sharp bookies and 4 Betting Exchanges we listed above, don't worry, you can use bet brokers. But you need to take a cautious approach given their small business operation. The following 2 documents will help you select the right one(s);
BTW, if you happen to be a sharp casino & game bonus hunter, strongly suggest taking a look at the List of 52 Best Bitcoin Casino Bonuses and for those who appreciate the highest privacy, go to the List of Best Anonymous Bitcoin Casinos & Bonuses, just FYI.
Appendix - How to Calculate Surebet
You need to be familiar with the jargon used in the industry.
Here, I will demonstrate how it works in numbers – I use European Odds expressed in decimals that are the most common in the sports arbing industry including matched betting.
The other odds types are UK (Fractional) & USA (Moneyline), just FYI. Firstly, let me show you a simple example.
Surebet Example
Say there is a Wimbledon tennis match (simple win / lose outcome, no draw):
- Bet365 has odds of 1.10 on Novak Jokovic and 8.00 on Roger Federer
- Pinnacle has odds of 1.20 on Novak Jokovic and 5.00 on Roger Federer
The above information tells us that Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are competing. It also tells that Bet365 has odds of 1.10 for the match to be won by Novak Djokovic, and odds of 8.00 for the match to be won by Roger Federer, the same reading for Pinnacle. It means they think Jokovic's victory is more likely to be happening (favourite). In order to help you understand exactly how surebet works, the following list shows you what needs to be wagered to win €1000 from the odds offered on this match:
In Order To Win €1000
Bet365
- €909.10 on 1.10 wins €1000 (€909.10 x 1.1 = €1,000, all the bellows are same)
- €125.00 on 8.00 wins €1000
Pinnacle
- €833.35 on 1.20 wins €1000
- €200.00 on 5.00 wins €1000
Over-Round
Looking at those numbers you will see that backing both possible outcomes at Bet365 will cost you €1034.10 (€909.10 + €125.00) and you will only win €1000, hence you incur €34.10 loss
Backing both sides at Pinnacle will cost you €1033.35 (€833.35 + €200.00) and you will still only win €1000, hence you generate a €33.50 loss.
So both Bet365 and Pinnacle have set their odds well, they will make a profit no matter who wins (this is called Over-round or Vigorish or Juice, all are the same meaning the bookies' built-in profit margin). 
Under-Round Surebet Profit
However, if you backed the underdog Roger Federer at Bet365 (8.00) and the favourite Novak Jokovic at Pinnacle (1.20) you would be placing only $958.35 (€125.00 + €833.35) in order to win €1,000.
No matter who wins, you will win €1,000, and you will have only outlaid €958.35. This is a guaranteed profit of €41.65 (€1,000 - €958.35) because you are using the difference in each bookmaker's pricing.
Surebet trading is as simple as that.
In practice, it involves comparing the odds of numerous bookmakers to find the best odds on offer, and then seeing if those odds create a profitable return or not. If they do, place the bets and wait for the match to play out to claim your profit.
Odds Converting Into % - It's A Probability Of Each Outcome Happening
Now, move into the example of Under Round in % expression to clarify what I explained at the beginning.
Let’s take the above example – take 2. & 3. combination.
- Odds for Bet365 – 8.0
- Odds for Pinnacle – 1.2
You now express them in arbitrage percentage (%)
Arbitrage % = 100 / Euro Odds
- Arbitrage % For Pinnacle – 100 / 1.2 = 83.33%
- Arbitrage % For Bet365 – 100 / 8.0 = 12.50%
83.33% + 12.50% = 95.83%
The total percentage must be below 100% for an opportunity to occur – Under Round
Then Calculate Arbitrage % - Allocation Of Your Total Stake
Now that you just spotted an arb opportunity, you need to express them into a betting percentage (%):
Betting % = Arbitrage % / Total % to calculate how much you need to allocate on each bet.
- Betting % For Pinnacle – 83.33% / 95.83% = 86.96%
- Betting % For Bet365 – 12.50% / 95.83% = 13.04%
This is known as betting % because this is the calculated percentage that you need to bet.
Calculation For Exact Stake You Need To Bet & Final Guaranteed Profit
Based on the above odds and €1,000 stake, I will show you the next step, how to know the exact amount to bet.
Betting Amount = Betting % x Stake
- Betting Amount For Pinnacle – 86.96% X €1,000= €869.60
- Betting Amount For Bet365 – 13.04% X €1,000 = €130.40
Normally, punters would hardly bet in decimals, so in order for you to be a smart arb trader, you have to round your betting amount to the nearest $5.
- Betting Amount For Pinnacle (Rounded) €869.60 ~ €870
- Betting Amount For Bet365 (Rounded) €130.40 ~ €130
You will notice that €870 and €130 add up to €1,000. Now for the outcome…..
Profits: (Odds x Betting Amount) - Stake = Profits
- Profit When Novak Jokovic Wins: (1.2 x €870) – €1,000 = €44
- Profit When Roger Federer Wins: (8.0 x €130) – €1,000 = €40
R.O.I: (Return On Investment) Profits / Stake = ROI
- R.O.I When Novak Jokovic Wins: €44 / €1,000 = 4.40%
- R.O.I When Roger Federer Wins: €40 / €1,000 = 4.00%
So, whoever wins, will get a return of 4 – 4.4%.
If you have any inquiries or need any help from us, please contact us anytime (don't worry, we will not charge you any fee, everything is free here).
Good Luck (Luck always seems to be against the man who depends on it)!!
Joshua Walker (bio)
Editor - Global Extra Money (GEM)
