A person-to-person betting
exchange revolutionises the way you can place
your bets today. It acts as a brokerage allowing
different customers to bet against each other. You
will be betting against other people, not the
bookmakers.
An online betting exchange will
allow you to back your selection to win or lay it to
lose.
On average, betting exchange odds are
20% higher than those offered by traditional
bookmakers and you don't suffer the problem of having
the size of your bets restricted.
A Betting Exchange also allows you to
bet "in-running" or "In-Play" on the majority
of horse races and football matches.
Although the Betfair betting exchange is
generally the first online betting exchange that most
people think of, there are many others who offer the
same online betting chances and the odds at each
betting exchange can differ quite significantly from
each other. This discrepancy in the online betting
odds creates opportunities for what are known as
betting arbs or arbitrages.
Betting Arbitrage
A betting arbitrage is where the
difference in the odds being offered by two or
more Internet betting exchanges allows you to
place bets on all the possible outcomes of an event
and still make a profit, whatever the result turns
out to be.
For Example: One betting exchange was
offering odds of 11/10 for Didier Drogba to score at
the weekend and another betting exchange was offering
odds of 11/10 that he wouldn't score.
This difference of opinions, and
consequently the betting odds, created a betting
arbitrage where punters could back both possibilities
and make a profit whether Didier Drogba scored or
not
By placing £1000 at the first Internet
betting exchange that he would score, you would get
£2100 back if he did. That would be your £1000 stake
and the £1100 that you've won. If Didier fails to
score' then you'll obviously lose your £1000
stake.
By placing a covering bet at the second
betting exchange of £1000 for Didier not to score,
you would get £2100 back if he doesn't get on the
scoresheet. That's your £1000 stake and the £1100
you've won for him failing to score. Of course, if he
does score, then you will lose your £1000
stake.
But whether he scores or not, doesn't
make any difference to you whatsoever, because as
soon as you've placed your bets at the two betting
exchanges....... you've already
won!
Your total stake for both of the bets is
£2000, £1000 at the first betting exchange for him to
score and £1000 at the second for him not to
score.
If he scores, the first betting exchange
will pay you £2100 which is £100 more than your total
outlay, a profit of £100.
If he doesn't score, the second betting
exchange will pay you £2100 which is still £100 more
than your total outlay, a profit again of
£100.
That's what a betting arbitrage is,
where you can place a bet to cover all the possible
outcomes of an event and still show a profit,
whatever the result turns out to be !!
