How to choose an arb scanner
The basic functionality that absolutely any product has is a pre-match surebets scanner. We will consider, disassemble and evaluate how important it is point by point. On our website there is an article about additional functions of arb scanners, which was written more than 3 years ago. Most of the information presented there has still not lost its relevance, but modern realities are making changes in all areas of life, including bookmaker arbitrage. Let's update them. The relevance of this article is November 2023.
TLDR
Here is a quick list of three scanners that are relevant today, which in terms of price/effectiveness ratio are in the lead relative to the rest:
BetBurger - better than others in most respects
BreakingBet - a reasonable balance of everything: fast, inexpensive, excellent customer service, good online reviews
OddsStorm - expensive, but super-fast, there are many features, for example, polish middles
Types of scanned arbitrage
If you are going to deal only with sure bets, then you do not need functionality in the form of a middle or value bet scanner. Moreover, these types of scanning are usually not included in the basic subscription (value bets are most often the most expensive subscription option). If you are still interested in values, middles or other exotic types of arbitrage, you will have to pay extra money.
Implementation form
The scanner can be presented in the form of a website, a desktop application, an application for mobile phones, or a browser plugin (most often this is additional functionality for an online scanner). Therefore, before purchasing, make sure that the type in which the project is implemented suits you. Typically, you can follow the rule: online surebets search services are more convenient. Faster and more functional – desktop applications. Mobile applications are not included in this hierarchy due to their specifics: they may be convenient for some, but in a general sense they are not suitable for betting.
Live sure bets
Let's be honest - you can earn a lot in the pre-match without nerves, but the number of sure bets in live is significantly greater. Often a scanner without live is chosen in order to “practice”, understand how it works and make a decision whether sure bets are for you or not. If you decide to make money on sure bets in full-time mode (8-10 hours a day or more), then the Live scanner is preferable. Fortunately, now it is available in many places. Although some representatives of scanners in pre-match mode are superior to their live versions in terms of convenience and capabilities.
Scan speed
This does not relate to functionality, but rather to characteristics, but this is such an important point that it definitely needs to be mentioned. If the line update rate is less than once every 5 seconds for live, then you should really think about whether to buy such a scanner. It definitely won't work in live mode. Unfortunately, even in our times there are products that
Others update the odds in 30-40 seconds. And at the same time they can cost a lot. Therefore, be sure to pay attention to this characteristic. Even in the pre-match now sure bets rarely last for tens of minutes.
Number of bookmakers
The more bookmakers, the better, this is an axiom. The more links, the more surebets/middles the scanner can find. And with each new bookmaker on the list, this number increases exponentially. It would seem that everything is clear. But there are nuances.
- First, think about how many bookmakers you can actually use. You physically will not be able to hold accounts in all 80, which, for example, is offered by BetBurger. Therefore, it is worth thinking in advance about the pool of companies that you want to use and looking for them. And it’s not worth overpaying for quantity.
- Nuance No. 2. Usually the incredible number of bookmakers in the scanner is just a commercial move. And when you go to the list, there, for example in the States, there are a lot of the same names. This is because in each state the bookie must register a separate legal entity. So we see a bunch of bookmakers, but in reality they have the same odds and they won’t arb.
- And finally – drops. You need to buy drops, so think: do you have the opportunity to buy them in the USA, Asia or Britain?
Kinds of sports
The more sports and leagues there are, the better and the more arbitration situations there are - this is also obvious. But even here there are pitfalls. It is impossible to know the rules of absolutely all sports. Especially if we take the currently popular e-sports: each game has its own rules, and there are a great many games. Due to ignorance of these nuances, many arbitrage traders lose a fairly large percentage of their income because they bet on the wrong outcomes. Connect sports as you learn their rules and the intricacies of betting calculations. Therefore, at first, this is also not particularly important. Then yes. Another problem is that the bookmaker is asleep and sees how to catch you and cut the maximums. And it’s easiest to spot you on those sports and leagues where there are few bets. Experienced players can use these markets at their discretion, but if you are just starting out, then there is no need to involve greyhound racing in Kenya (we are exaggerating, but we think you get the idea). Therefore, scanners with such competitions may not be interesting to you.
Bookmakers line
It’s about the same as with the number of sports. A lot is good, but you shouldn’t bet on anything too exotic. There are quite popular outcomes in painting: cards, corners. But you shouldn’t go too deep into this topic. Therefore, we also write this parameter as not particularly important.
Arb calculators
A calculator for calculating sure bets is a must. At least two and three outcomes. Everything else depends on your interests.
Sometimes you come across two dozen calculators. Most of them are of little interest to the affiliate marketer and exist “for quantity”. Well, the average arbitrageur will never calculate the Nash equilibrium. Therefore, it is not necessary to choose such abundance. But what can be considered mandatory is the transfer of odds from the selected surebets to the calculator automatically, at the press of a button. The modern rate of formation and disappearance of sure bets is such that manual filling will greatly reduce your earnings.
An example of a simple and fast calculator for up to 10-arm surebets.
Automation
Here we are talking, first of all, about allowing you to go directly from the calculator to your bookmaker, and there the values calculated in the calculator would be inserted into the coupon, as, for example, Oddsclicker does. To do this, the scanners have their own built-in browser; you just need to log in to your bookmaker account. There is a “half” version of this function, which does not fill the coupon, but nevertheless transfers it to the site and opens the required shoulder. It's worse, slower, less earnings. But I wouldn’t say it’s completely bad. If your budget doesn’t stretch to a scanner with autofill, this method will do at first. But immediately switch to automated filling as soon as possible. There is also a full automation option - a bot. He himself will take the required arbs from the scanner, go to the bookmaker’s website, fill out the coupon and place bets. Is it good? Rather yes than no. They say that cutting comes faster with a bot - this is true. But he also works faster and, accordingly, earns more. But it’s worth clarifying that almost no one has a “built-in” bot; most likely, you will need to buy third-party software for this. Why then do we talk about this in the text about the scanner? Because you will need to look at which scanners this software supports and make your choice based on this list.
Arbitrator's personal account
Here we are not talking about the functionality with which you can change your password or view your deposit history. We are talking about the statistics of your bets. Ideally, I would like to have filters with which you can find out which bookmakers are unprofitable (drops are expensive and there are few sure bets), which sports or leagues are not included, and many other details. This greatly increases ROI as it helps to find money leaks. Of course, all this can be done manually with a notepad. But it remains comfortable when you have a light mode with a dozen arbs per evening. If you want to make money through arbitration, then this is a must-have functionality.
Safety
We won’t try to convince you that there are scanners that prevent you from cutting your maximums and not banning you. Everyone gets cut sooner or later. But good scanners have functionality that allows you to postpone this moment. At a minimum, there should be a proxy setting so that you go from the scanner to book under a separate IP. Otherwise, the bookie quickly “realizes” that a lot of people come and bet on the same outcomes, and they come from the same address. There are also advanced options. For example, a scanner can replace your screen resolution, memory size, time on your computer - in general, almost all the data that the bookmaker can notice. Up to disabling/enabling WebGL. Here everything depends on the level of your sophistication and, to some extent, paranoia about what exactly the bookmaker can track.
Additional functions
There is already a huge scope for the imagination of scanner developers. Let's name the most useful, in our opinion, “extras”.
- Possibility of fine adjustments “for yourself”. For example, budgets, maximums, profit percentage, a ban on placing a negative surebets and other limits beyond which the scanner will not go.
- Floors. The situation when the second/third shoulder was not placed (they didn’t have time or the appointment was closed altogether) is quite common. For these cases, a function is used that allows you to quickly find the overlap for the shoulder. It will most likely not be so profitable, but it will allow you to cover all your shoulders without risks (maybe with a slight minus).
- The ability to enter several profiles for one bookmaker in the settings at once, between which you can quickly switch.
- Automatic rounding of bets to round values. Otherwise, it is very suspicious when the amount is copied directly from the calculator and is something like 3142.
Availability of trial period
Not a required option, but better to have it. It would be a shame to pay for a scanner and then realize that you are uncomfortable with it or are not happy with something else.
Support
For an arbitrageur, time is money in the literal sense of the word. Therefore, waiting three days for a response from support if something doesn’t work for you is unacceptable. Responses should be within 24 hours, preferably hours. Pay special attention to the language. It happens that the scanner is in Russian, but support is only in English. And if you don’t know it well enough, it will be difficult to explain the problem, especially if it’s technical (Google doesn’t help much here).
Arb training
Some of the modern scanners are so complex that there are not only videos on YouTube, but entire channels dedicated to setting them up and working with them. Everything would be fine, but content creators themselves sometimes don’t really understand what they’re talking about. Therefore, it is good when the developer has his own training. It is often accompanied by lessons on arbitration, in addition to the technical part.
Convenient payment system
A couple of years ago this issue would not have even been touched upon, but in modern realities it needs to be mentioned. When choosing a scanner, make sure you will be able to conveniently pay for your subscription.
Conclusions about the functions of arbitration scanners
You, of course, noticed that we did not touch on the issue of price. We firmly believe that a scanner should be tailored to your needs, and not vice versa. If you do not yet plan to make arbitration your income, then you can choose a free option or a trial period for tests. Otherwise, we have considered almost all aspects that may influence your choice. We hope you now have an understanding of which scanner you need.