A popular area of ​​discussion in the world of online sports betting is random betting. That is, is it possible to manipulate the different markets and bookmakers to guarantee you profits regardless of the result?

Arbitrage betting occurs when you use the various fixed odds markets offered by separate bookmakers to place bets on the outcome of events that guarantee you a small profit whatever the outcome. Generally speaking, random betting is not the easiest thing to master, however any savvy online bettor with enough time and dedication should be able to figure out the trick to doing it.

To successfully arbitrage the markets, you will need to find a situation where the placing odds are lower than the hedging odds. For example, placing a horse in a 3.1 race and covering it to win 3.8.

Let’s say we bet £11 on the placed horse (ie we bet that the horse will not win the race, against the market) and £10 on the winning horse. Now if the horse wins I will make £38 – £34.1 = £3.9 profit. Similarly, if the horse loses, we will make a profit of £1.

In that example, no matter what happens in the race, we will make a profit and we will win guaranteed. This procedure is also known as random betting or “trading”. To be successful, you must be able to find the right types of odds in the same markets, specifically, putting odds must be lower than covering odds; this is essential for any random bet. Also, not all conventional sportsbooks allow you to bet on teams or events, so I recommend choosing a sportsbook like Betfair that allows you to do this.

Another factor to consider in random betting is that it works best in horse racing or greyhound betting, where there are limited outcomes, i.e. your choice wins or loses. It is not so good in soccer, where the result can be a win, a loss, or even a draw. In a nutshell, the more results, the less chance of margining the market and guaranteeing a profit.