Sports with limited arbitration opportunities

Arbitrage bets, or sure bets, allow bettorsмнее to receive a guaranteed profit due to the difference in odds between different bookmakers. However, not all sports provide equal opportunities to implement this strategy. In some disciplines, due to the specific rules, competition structure and bookmaker policies, arbitrage becomes more difficult or even impossible. In this article, we will examine in detail the sports where arbitrage bets are rare or have significant restrictions, as well as the reasons for this phenomenon.

What influences arbitrage restrictions in sports?

1. Smooth dynamics of odds changes. In some sports, events develop slowly, and odds changes occur evenly, which minimizes the possibility of "sure bets".
2. Lack of competitive multivariance. When the outcome of a sporting event is limited to a minimum number of options, for example, only a win or a loss, the likelihood of arbitrage situations is significantly reduced.
3. Popularity and predictability. For popular sports, bookmakers pay more attention to the accuracy of odds, which minimizes arbitrage opportunities.
4. Strict betting limits. In some sports, bookmakers set limits on the maximum bet amounts, which makes arbitrage economically unprofitable.

Sports with limited arbitrage opportunities

1. Golf

Golf is a sport with a unique competition structure. The main limitations of arbitrage are related to:

• Length of tournaments. Golf competitions can last several days, and the odds change very smoothly, which makes sure bets unlikely.
• Limited number of bookmakers. Not all bookmakers offer golf lines, which reduces the number of available odds for comparison.
• Large number of participants. Tournaments have dozens of players, which makes it difficult to find arbitrage situations due to the spread of odds.

2. Horse racing

Horse racing is a popular form of betting, but arbitrage in this area is limited due to:

• Pari-mutual system. Unlike fixed odds, bets on horse racing are often settled on a parimutuel system, where payouts depend on the total betting pool and the distribution of money between participants.
• Fast odds updates. Horse racing odds are updated almost in real time, which makes sure bets almost unachievable.
• Short duration of events. Races last only a few minutes, which minimizes the time windows for arbitrage.

3. Boxing and martial arts

In boxing and MMA, arbitrage bets are rare due to:

• Limited number of outcomes. Most bets are made on a win or a draw, which reduces the likelihood of arbitrage situations.
• Rarity of events. Tournaments and fights are not held as often as in team sports, which limits the overall volume of bets.

4. Track and Field

Track and field competitions have a number of features that make it difficult to use arbitrage strategies:

• Multiple disciplines with different participants. Odds on track and field events such as running, jumping, and throwing vary greatly depending on the discipline and participants.
• Rarity of major events. Major tournaments such as the Olympic Games or World Championships are held once every few years, which limits the availability of betting lines.

5. Esports

Despite its growing popularity, esports has a number of limitations for arbitrage betting:

• Influence of internal factors. The results of esports matches may depend on technical problems, player substitutions and other unpredictable factors, which complicates the creation of arbitrage situations.
• Limited markets. Not all bookmakers offer extensive lines even for leading esports competitions, which reduces the choice of odds. For top football matches, the number of coin markets exceeds 500, but for esports there are 10.

Why do bookmakers limit arbitrage opportunities?

• Profit preservation. Arbitrage betting directly harms bookmakers, as bettors use their odds to guarantee a profit.
• Detecting arbitrage bettors. Modern algorithms and monitoring systems allow bookmakers to track suspicious bets related to arbitrage strategies.
• Limiting limits. To prevent the use of arbitrage, bookmakers set strict limits on bet amounts in less popular sports.

How to minimize restrictions in surebets?

For bettors who want to use arbitrage strategies, it is important to:

• Bet on popular sports. Football, tennis, and basketball provide more opportunities for "surebets" due to the large betting volume and many markets.
• Use specialized scanners. Services for finding arbitrage situations can help find rare "surebets", even in sports with limited opportunities.
• Diversify bets. Working with different sports and bookmakers, you can minimize the risks of blocking and restrictions.

Conclusion

While arbitrage betting is not possible in all sports, understanding its limitations allows bettors to better plan their strategies. Golf, horse racing, martial arts, athletics and eSports are disciplines with minimal opportunities for arbitrage, but this does not mean that they are completely excluded. Using modern technology, an analytical approach and a variety of bets, bettors can find successful solutions even under the limitations.