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Can anyone explain in VERY simple terms? I know this has been a topic before but normally a discussion with people who already know.
What is a good example?
Cheers
CrizzySay for example there’s a tennis match. One player is 11/10 with one firm, and his opponent is 11/10 with another firm. If you backed both you’d be guaranteed a minimal profit.
An arber is somebody who engages in arbitrage – which means to seek a risk-free profit in any financial market. This could be to exploit mispricing between markets, or between layers.
An example would be to back a horse at 7-2 with a bookmaker and simultaneously lay it at 100-30 on a betting exchange. Another would be, at two sets all in the Wimbledon final, to back Andy Roddick to win 3 sets to 2 at 13-8 in the correct score market whilst simultaneously laying Roddick in the win market at 6-4.
Why they are unpopular is a mystery to me. Betting markets, like financial markets rely on efficiency, and arbitrage simply makes pricing efficient. I can’t see the problem.
Besides which, it’s very rare that it would be entirely risk free – how do you place two bets at exactly the same time? You could get one on and find the price gone in the other, leaving you with a position you didn’t want.
Arbers are the greatest threat to our way of life. They are evil penny pinching bogeymen who, if left unchecked, threaten to destroy all that we hold dear.
Full marks to the
Racing Post
for bringing this important issue to our attention
every
week and allowing a bookie’s rep to hold forth on it. Less pressing issues, like the defrauding of punters by clerks of the course and wholesale cheating by certain jocks, are quite rightly put on the back burner while these monsters are confronted in our trade paper.
I don’t think most bookies are arbers, marble…
Have to agree with Glenn – I think the RP has done the "What do you think of arbers" question to death now….
I think a better question qould be – how many arbers are there on UK Horse Racing? The early liquidity is so thin these days that I can’t believe anyone makes serious money out of arbing. The expression has now become a "catch-all" term for punters who will only bet with bookmakers when the odds are lower on BEtfair.
Absolutely nothing wrong with arbing at all – it is simply taking advantage of ricks in the market.
If the bookmakers create arbing positions then they can’t complain when the more astute punter takes advantage of the situation.
It is just bookmakers don’t like the fact they don’t hold all the aces any more.
Bookmakers have made their view on arbing quite clear through the Racing Post. This is the single biggest excuse for bookies offering everyone a poor price.
Anyone suspected of thinking about arbing will have their accounts restricted to a fiver at SP.
Contrary to popular belief I think the arb situation in racing is almost non-existant, unless your doing it in-running. I put it in the same category as the bloke running up and down the pitches at Epsom have 50K cash with everyone on the favourite, it’s urban mythology, unfortunately.
Absolutely nothing wrong with arbing at all – it is simply taking advantage of ricks in the market.
If the bookmakers create arbing positions then they can’t complain when the more astute punter takes advantage of the situation.
It is just bookmakers don’t like the fact they don’t hold all the aces any more.
I’d go along with that. Sour grapes from the bookies.
When looking to arb always make the back before the lay and try whenever possible to arb on the same exchange, that way the commision won’t kill you, it’ll only half kill you.
Shame on you Robert!
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