---
title: 'Arbitrage Betting is Broken in 2026 (What They Won''t Tell You)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=IMNcdMQafwU'
video_id: 'IMNcdMQafwU'
date: 2026-07-18
duration_sec: 597
channel: 'Billy Collins'
---

# Arbitrage Betting is Broken in 2026 (What They Won't Tell You)

> Source: [Arbitrage Betting is Broken in 2026 (What They Won't Tell You)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=IMNcdMQafwU)

## Summary

The video provides a brutally honest assessment of arbitrage betting in 2026, explaining why the strategy is no longer as profitable as it once was due to increased competition, smarter sportsbooks, and behavioral patterns that lead to account limitations. The creator shares personal experience and data to help viewers understand the current landscape and avoid costly mistakes.

### Key Points

- **Arbitrage betting landscape changed** [00:02] — In 2026, arbitrage bettors are getting limited within days or weeks, compared to months in the past.
- **Past success vs current reality** [00:52] — The creator made over $11,000 in seven weeks using a few sportsbooks, but now accounts get limited quickly.
- **Why books caught up** [01:19] — Explosion of betting software competitors and smarter tracking of closing line value (CLV) by sportsbooks.
- **Closing line value explained** [01:45] — CLV measures how good a bet was compared to final odds. Arbitrage requires one book to be off, but books now flag consistent CLV winners.
- **Double exposure from two bets** [02:51] — Arbitrage requires two bets on two books, doubling volume and putting bettors on radars faster.
- **Player props liquidity issue** [03:44] — Most arbitrage opportunities come from player props, which have low liquidity (max bets $200-$250), limiting profit potential and speeding up limitations.
- **Behavioral red flags** [05:05] — Betting on unders days before games on niche markets is a dead giveaway to traders that you're not a casual bettor.
- **Live arbitrage difficulty** [07:17] — Live arbitrage has higher ROI but requires lightning-fast execution and discipline; most people can't capture opportunities consistently.
- **How people still post big profits** [07:56] — Multi-accounting (using multiple people's accounts) is how some post huge numbers, but it's risky and breaks terms of service.
- **Trump's bill impact** [08:37] — A new bill starting January 1st is devastating for arbitrage betting; creator directs to another video for details.
- **Realistic expectations** [08:49] — Arbitrage betting still possible but not a full-time income. Books are quick to catch on, even with small bets.
- **Alternative: positive EV betting** [09:32] — Over 95% of positive EV betting involves one bet on one book, which is less detectable and more sustainable.

### Conclusion

Arbitrage betting in 2026 is much harder and less profitable than before due to sportsbook countermeasures. The golden days are over, but the strategy can still yield small profits if approached with realistic expectations. For better results, consider positive expected value betting instead.

## Transcript

betting. But here's what's crazy. If I started arbitrage betting today in 2026, first month. The arbitrage betting landscape has completely changed and not
strategy where you could fly under the radar for months is now getting people limited within days and sometimes even within their first few bets. In this video, I'm going to give you the brutal, honest truth of the current state of
arbitrage betting in 2026, why the golden days are over, what's causing accounts to get nuked faster than ever, and whether this strategy is even worth your time anymore. If you're thinking about getting into arbitrage betting, or
watch this entire video because what I'm about to share with you can save you from making some very expensive mistakes. Back then, you could arbitrage bet for months before the sports books caught on. I only used a couple of
sports books like MGM, Bar Stool, DraftKings, and FanDuel. I made over $11,000 in my first seven weeks using this strategy. You could go three, four, or five months before you ever hit your first limit. The books were very slow to
adapt. Fast forward to 2026, and I'm hearing that some people are getting limited within days, some within weeks. So, what changed? The problem is is that arbitrage betting has become mainstream and very popular and the books have
caught up. First, the number of sports betting software competitors has exploded since 2021. It's not just OddsJam anymore. There are dozens of other platforms that are teaching this strategy. When I started, this strategy
was relatively unknown, and OddsJam was the only software that I was able to Second, the sports books have gotten smarter about tracking closing line value or CLV. Closing line value is the
measure of how good your bet was compared to the final odds before the game started. So with arbitrage betting, you need at least one sports book to be off with their odds at the time that you place this bet. So over here, there's an
opportunity on dbo Samuels over under at the score in Sports Zeno. Well, as you could see on the over, a lot of sports books have this between -16 to -1 130. Well, Sports Zeno has this at + 120. So to break this down, if we were to wager
this over at Flip, you'd have to put up $130 on the over to profit 100 bucks. Well, at Sport Zeno, you just have to wager $100 to profit $120. Sports Zeno's pricing is way off on this over compared to the rest of the market. Well, the
same can be said on the under. The score has this at plus 100 odds. No other sports book has a plus sign next to it. They're all minus odds. So, in this example, both sports books are really misaligned with their price. So, we're
going to place a bet on the over and the under to lock in a guaranteed profit. But that's where the problem exists is that the books are seeing over at the score and Sports Zeno when you're placing the opposite side of the wager
that yo, this person's getting a really good price on us on the under. And Sports is like, man, this better really just got a great price on us on this over. So, even if you're only wagering $10 on one side, the trader working at
look at your betting history and say, "Wow, this person is beating us on the closing line value on every single bet that they place." That's a massive red flag that screams that you're a sharp better. It makes life very simple for
the trader to just go ahead and limit your account. But here's where it gets even worse. The strategy is working against you in most ways that people don't realize. Unlike positive expected value betting where you're just placing
one wager on one sports book, arbitrage betting requires you to place two bets on two different sports books. This doubles your betting volume which puts you on the sports books radars twice as fast. But the real problem is where
these arbitrage opportunities are coming from. Most ARB opportunities come from player props and player props have terrible liquidity compared to mainline here, most of the plays that are on this screen are player props. Well, the
of money on player props compared to mainline markets. If I come over to the largest sports book in America, FanDuel, and I click on the Falcons at plus 4 1/2, at minus 110 odds, and I type in a very large number, you can see that I
very large number, you can see that I can wager $5,500 on this play. If I Evans, over on his receiving yards, I can only wager 500 bucks where I could wager $5,500 on the spread. [music] So, the liquidity is less on player props.
And then all of our opportunities are coming from player props. Why this is an issue is that most recreational sports books only let you wager between $200 to books only let you wager between $200 to $250 consistently on player props, which
means with arbitrage betting, you're burning through two books at the exact same time. So once you start to make some money with this strategy, naturally you want to increase your wager size so that you can make more money. Well, this
is how you're put on the fast track to getting limited with these books because most books aren't equipped to handle wager sizes on player props above $250. And then there's the behavioral problem that's a dead giveaway to every trader
that works at a sports book. Picture this. You sit down on your lunch break at Wednesday at noon to find some arbitrage opportunities. You see a great 4 percent return on your investment on this Ravens Bengals game, but it's
Wednesday. The game doesn't start until Sunday and you're being recommended to bet the overunder on total field goals. How many casual betterers are logging in on a Wednesday to bet the under on team total field goals? And then you scroll
down just a touch and you see an opportunity for Debo Samuel over under doesn't start until Sunday and it's Wednesday. How many casual sports bers are hopping over to FanDal to bet the under on player receptions? This is not
how casual sports betterers behave. Casual sports betterers love to bet overs. They love to cook up parlays and they love to place bets minutes before the game starts, not 10 plus hours or days in advance of an event betting on
an under. When you're placing a single straight wager on an under that far away announcing to the trader that you're a sportsbook account, you're making their job of identifying what type of better
that you are incredibly easy. But it gets even worse when you start to look at the specific markets where these arbitrage opportunities are coming from. these arbitrage opportunities are concentrated in the worst possible
markets for staying under the radar. We touched on this earlier in the video, but how many people on a Wednesday are betting on an under on total field goals or looking at a basketball game later for today between Eastern Michigan and
Purdue Fort Wayne, not Purdue. Purdue Fort Wayne. How many betterers are betting on the overunder on the second half total points? When a trader working at a sports book sees a high influx of betting activity into a niche alternate
market, it's very easy for that trader to jump into that market and take a look and say, "Wow, looks like this person got a great price on us over here at Hard Rock on the over total fuel goals and then see everyone else bets this at
roughly the same exact time." And it's easy to either lump these betterers into as odds jam users or some type of arbitrage software user. You're essentially joining a crowd of people that are all making the same sharp bets
at the exact same time. The sports books can spot this pattern from a mile away. "Well, what about live arbitrage? Because the returns are higher there." And you're right. The ROI is better with live arbitrage. But here's the brutal
truth. Most people simply aren't fast enough to capture these opportunities consistently. Live arbitrage requires lightning fast execution, incredible discipline, and patience that most people just don't have. Even if you have
all of these qualities, capturing these opportunities is extremely difficult. So then that begs the question, how are people still posting massive monthly profits that you see on social media? The days of making $10,000 or more a
month arbitrage betting are essentially over for a regular person. But some people are still posting these numbers. And here's how they're really doing it. which is commonly referred to as multi-accounting. These people posting
huge monthly profits are cycling through multiple people's accounts to gain these profits. For the average better, this isn't possible. Plus, it breaks multiple terms and conditions on numerous sports books, making this strategy extremely
then on top of all of this, we have Trump's big beautiful bill that starts up January 1st. And if you want to find out why this bill is absolutely devastating, click the first link in the description below to that video I made.
The reality is is that arbitrage betting is still possible and you still can profit from it, but you can't quit your job to do this full-time. The books have become incredibly quick and efficient to catch on to your betting activity. Even
bets. So, where does this leave arbitrage betting in 2026? The goal of this video isn't to completely trash arbitrage betting. The strategy still honest assessment of what you're really getting into. The earning potential has
strategy's popularity. Increased awareness from the sports books to track your closing line value. And [music] simply put, most people download the software and start smashing arbitrage bets immediately, which makes their
profile stick out like a sore thumb. If you're going to try arbitrage betting in 2026, go in with realistic expectations. You're not going to make life-changing significant risks, which I personally wouldn't recommend. The golden days of
arbitrage betting are over. The question is, are you okay with this new reality? And if you're not, then what are your other betting opportunities? Over 95% of positive EV betting, where you're placing one bet on one book. And if you
here, this is going to be a step-by-step tutorial walking you through the entire strategy, teaching you how to execute it to perfection. Click on this video right to perfection. Click on this video right here and I'll see you in the next