Are you interested in making money from arbitrage betting in Australia but wondering whether it’s still possible?
Well, I have successfully made thousands of dollars from arbitrage betting in Australia, so in this article I will be exploring whether it’s still possible and whether you should do it!
Sound good? Let’s get started!
What is Arbitrage Betting in Australia?
If you are brand new to arbitrage betting, check out this article which explains the fundamental concepts. Essentially, arbitrage betting involves betting on all possible outcomes of a sports match and profiting regardless of which outcome occurs.
This is only possible when a specific set of odds are offered by the bookmakers. When different bookmakers disagree on what the true odds should be for an event, an arbitrage betting opportunity occasionally arises.
Here’s an example using a fictional tennis match between Dan Evans and Nick Kyrgios. 12Bet and Sportsbet are both offering head-to-head (outright win) markets for the match.
Dan Evans | Nick Kyrgios | |
|---|---|---|
12Bet | 1.82 | 2.10 |
Sportsbet | 1.63 | 2.40 |
If we take the highest odds for each player from the respective bookmakers, we can create an arbitrage betting opportunity. If we bet specific stakes on these two outcomes, it is possible to profit regardless of which one occurs.
Odds | Stake | Potential Winnings | |
|---|---|---|---|
12Bet | 1.82 | $170 | $309.40 |
Nick Kyrgios | 2.40 | $130 | $312.00 |
Total |
| $300 |
|
We have locked in guaranteed winnings of at least $9.40, regardless of who wins.
To find out when these specific odds occur, arbitrage bettors typically use software that scans the odds for hundreds of sporting matches across tens of bookmakers.
I successfully used this strategy to make thousands of dollars in Australia in 2016.
Is It Still Possible In Australia In 2023?
Yes and no, unfortunately. To understand what I mean by this, you need to understand that there are two types of bookmakers: soft bookmakers and sharp bookmakers. For successful arbitrage betting, you need both types of bookmakers.
In a nutshell, the sharp bookmaker has very accurate odds, and the soft bookmaker has fairly inaccurate odds. We place one bet with the sharp bookmaker and another bet with the soft bookmaker.
The soft bookmakers have very high profit margins built into their odds, which means that it is very difficult to arbitrage between them.
Pinnacle is the largest and most reputable sharp bookmaker in the world. They operated in Australia until late 2016, before pulling out of the country. There are no other sharp bookmakers in the country.
This means that arbitrage betting in Australia is more difficult than it used to be, but still possible.
Below, I have a list of ways that you can still do arbitrage betting in Australia, as well as a recommended alternative!
Arbitrage Betting Australia - How to get started?
If you want to arbitrage betting in Australia, here are your options:
Option | Rating |
|---|---|
Use a betting broker | |
Do Betfair/soft bookmaker arbitrage | |
Do matched betting instead |
Click on each of these options to skip forward to them, otherwise read on to find out more!
Option #1: Use a Betting Broker
As I mentioned earlier, Pinnacle no longer operates in Australia, which makes arbitrage betting more difficult. However, there is another way that you can access them.
Betting brokers (or betting agents) are services that can act as intermediaries between bettors and bookmakers. You sign up for an account with the broker, and then they will give you access to a dedicated Pinnacle account that you can use to place bets.
The betting brokers typically provide their service for free, they make money by receiving a small commission from Pinnacle when you place your bets. This does not impact you as a bettor at all.
I recommend BetInAsia for Australians. They allow free deposits and 1 free withdrawal every 30 days via a wide variety of payment methods, from Visa and Mastercard, Skrill and Neteller, to Bitcoin.
They can provide you with access to 9 bookmakers and 3 betting exchanges (including Pinnacle).
Even better, they are offering 0.1% cashback on all of your bets for life for readers of The Arb Academy (use the code 'ARBcashback' when signing up)! Use the button below to find out more!
Note: Agent style betting is prohibited in many countries. It is up to you to ensure that you comply with all relevant legislation in your country of residence. If in doubt, contact a legal professional in your country.
Betting brokers are not a way to circumvent Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. Brokers are required to ensure all their customers meet strict KYC standards to prevent money laundering.
This still leaves the issue of how to find the arbitrage bets. There isn’t any arbitrage betting software that covers both Australian bookmakers and Pinnacle.
You have two options then. One, use a free Australian odds comparison tool, then manually compare the best odds for each match with Pinnacle manually (more info on how to manually find arbitrage bets here).
Alternatively, use the BonusBank dutching software which compares the odds between bookmakers in Australia to find the ones that are the closest to an arbitrage opportunity. You will then need to manually compare these with Pinnacle.
It’s imperfect, but this is how you can keep doing arbitrage betting in Australia in 2023!
Option #2: Use Betfair and BonusBank
The second option is to substitute Pinnacle for Betfair, the world’s largest betting exchange. Betfair is a marketplace where people can place bets with other punters rather than against bookmakers.
Betfair makes money by taking a 5% commission of winning bets placed on their platform.
As Betfair is a large platform with many professional bettors on there, the odds are generally considered to be very accurate and similar to what you would find with a sharp bookmaker.
So you can back a bet with an outcome at a soft Australian bookmaker, then lay the same outcome with Betfair (this means that you are acting as a bookmaker and accepting someone else’s bet on this outcome).
Unlike Pinnacle, Betfair does operate in Australia.
BonusBank has the only arbitrage betting software in Australia that compares soft bookmakers with Betfair.
The software compares the odds for all major sports matches in Australia between the soft bookmakers and Betfair. It automatically takes into account the Betfair commission, and alerts you when it finds a potential arbitrage opportunity.
It will also calculate the optimal stakes for you automatically.
This is definitely a viable option, although you will unfortunately not find a huge number of arbitrage bets this way.
That’s why I actually recommend the third option as the best way to make money from sports betting in Australia!
Option #3: Do Matched Betting Instead
Considering that it is much harder to do arbitrage betting now than when I did it a few years ago, I actually don’t recommend that people try to do arbitrage betting in Australia anymore.
Matched betting is more profitable and much easier to get started with in my opinion.
It involves taking advantage of the bookmaker promotions and bonuses to make money. There’s sign up bonuses (yes, they do still exist), reload bonuses and ongoing bonuses such as boosted odds and early payouts.
You can turn all of these into decent money ($300-$1,000+ per month depending on how many hours you are willing to spend on it).
Check out my detailed article on matched betting in Australia to find out more! It includes a video on how to get started, matched betting examples, and everything you need to start profiting as soon as possible!
This article on the best matched betting services in Australia may also interest you!
On the whole, matched betting is much more profitable and easier to get started with then arbitrage betting in Australia, so I highly recommend it.
Arbitrage Betting Australia - Conclusion
Arbitrage betting in Australia is more difficult than it was back in 2016. Pinnacle, the only sharp bookmaker in Australia, has since pulled out of the market. This has left arbitrage bettors with 3 options:
- Use a betting broker to access Pinnacle
- Arbitrage bet between soft bookmakers and Betfair with BonusBank
- Do matched betting instead
Each of these are viable options, but I recommend matched betting the most! It’s more profitable and easier than arbitrage betting. Check out my detailed guide on matched betting in Australia!
I hope you have enjoyed this guide on arbitrage betting in Australia! Any questions? Leave a comment below and I'll get back to you shortly!
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Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you choose to purchase a product or service after clicking on my link. This helps pay for the cost of running the website. You will not be disadvantaged in any way by using my links.
Disclaimer 2: Agent style betting is prohibited in many countries. It is up to you to ensure that you comply with all relevant legislation in your country of residence. If in doubt, contact a legal professional in your country.
Betting brokers are not a way to circumvent Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. Brokers are required to ensure all their customers meet strict KYC standards to prevent money laundering.
Can you not just arb horses and greyhounds that have minimum bet laws? always wondered about this
i wanted to fund a betinasia account so i opened a skrill account and funded it only to find they only accept the ewallets ecopayz astropay jeton and cashtocode from australians.I find them all dubious from a security view cryto now seems the only option.I have a test value rebelbetting running and am very interested.however with limited aust bookies available it doesnt seem viable.any ideas?
Most Australians are better off doing matched betting rather than arbitrage betting – this gets around all of the issues associated with betting brokers and ewallets. Check out this article for more info: https://thearbacademy.com/matched-betting-australia/