How much money do you need for arbitrage betting?

First the most important rule: your starting bankroll is money you can do without. Sure bets are hedged on paper, not risk-free: prices change, bets get voided, accounts get limited. Not money for rent, loan repayments or bills.

Why the money must be spread across accounts

In a sure bet you stake at two or three different bookmakers at the same moment. So the money has to be there before the opportunity appears; a deposit takes too long when a price lasts only minutes. And you don't know in advance which bookmakers the next sure bet involves.

That means your bankroll is not one pot but a set of balances. The more bookmakers you use, the more sure bets you can take, but the less sits on each account. Four to eight bookmakers is a good balance in practice, as long as they have live odds in our feed (from Austria that is mainly Tipico and William Hill today); see how many bookmaker accounts and, for weighting, bankroll management.

Minimum amount per account

The formal minimums are low. Minimum deposits at the bookmakers common in Austria and Slovakia are usually around €10 or less, and minimum stakes a few cents to €1. Check the current values with each bookmaker; they change.

The practical minimum is much higher. At a 1% margin, a sure bet with €80 in total stakes earns about €0.80. For the four minutes to be worth it, and so that rounding doesn't eat the whole margin, each account should be able to carry one leg of €100 to €200, better more.

Austria has no cross-operator deposit limit like Germany's LUGAS; each bookmaker sets its own, and you can set your own limits. That is a sensible tool for staying within your planned budget.

Three scenarios: €500, €2,000 and €5,000

The table uses the same model as the calculator on our homepage: per sure bet at most the bankroll divided by the number of bookmakers with live odds (and at most €600), pre-match sure bets only, a 1% realised margin, the money staked about 6.5 times a month. The last column is a typical month after the €97 subscription, with a cautious and a good month in brackets.

These are examples with assumptions, not promises. Real results vary and can be negative. How to read them:

• €500 is enough to learn the routine. In our model even a typical month ends below zero after the subscription. A good use of this budget is the 14-day trial, without subscribing afterwards.
• €2,000 is the amount from which we recommend sure betting. Even here, a cautious month ends below zero after the subscription, and a month after limits more so.
• €5,000 only helps with more bookmakers with live odds: with two, our model stops growing at about €3,000, because there aren't more sure bets to place. The possible damage grows too: if one leg is voided and the other loses, about €300 is gone.

How much time this takes and what remains after all costs is in arbitrage betting as a side income.

Money tied up until settlement

• Your stake is tied up until the bet settles. For pre-match sure bets that is usually one to three days. The model assumes about 2.4 days per bet, because opportunities appear up to 7 days before the start.
• Events several days away tie up the money for longer. A sure bet on a match in five days earns the same margin but blocks the money about three times as long.
• Outrights such as league or tournament winners tie money up for weeks or months. They don't suit a small bankroll.
• Hedges after a void tie up extra money at a third bookmaker. That is what the reserve is for.

Moving money between accounts

Sure bets move money in one direction: winnings collect at the bookmakers where the winning leg happened to be, and the other accounts empty. Every week or two you rebalance:

1. Withdraw from accounts well above their target balance.
2. Top up low accounts from the reserve.
3. Refill the reserve once the withdrawals arrive.

Expect waiting times. Withdrawals take from minutes to about five working days depending on the bookmaker and payment method. Before the first withdrawal, bookmakers verify your identity, as EU anti-money-laundering rules require; do it right after opening the account, not when you need the money. Many bookmakers only pay out to the method you deposited with, and deposits and withdrawals always go through accounts in your own name.

After a few weeks, your own records tell you how long each bookmaker takes. Size the reserve so it covers the longest wait.

Frequently asked questions

Is €100 enough for arbitrage betting?

To try it out, yes; as a side income, no. Split across two accounts, a sure bet at a 1% margin earns less than a euro. In our model that is about €5 a month before costs, which doesn't cover the €97 subscription.

How much money should be on each bookmaker account?

Enough for each account to carry at least one leg of a typical sure bet. With €2,000 across five accounts that is about €340 per account plus a reserve. Bookmakers that appear more often in your sure bets get more.

How often do I need to move money between accounts?

Usually every week or two. Withdraw from accounts well above their target balance and top up low ones from the reserve. Bundle withdrawals to keep fees and waiting times down.

What happens to my money if an account gets limited?

Your balance is still yours. Withdraw what you no longer need there and use it at bookmakers that still accept your stakes. Licensed bookmakers normally pay out the balance even when they close an account.

Sources

• Directive (EU) 2015/849 (Anti-Money Laundering Directive): customer due diligence
• Unternehmensserviceportal (USP): Wettgebührenabrechnung (in German)
• ÚRHH: legal online gambling and betting websites in Slovakia (in Slovak)
• Spielsuchthilfe: advice on problem gambling (Austria) (in German)

As of October 2026, checked against the linked sources. Not legal, tax or betting advice.

Betting involves risk, even with sure bets: prices move, bets get voided and accounts get limited. Only use money you can do without. Our responsible gambling page lists free help.

Not betting advice. 18+. Betting involves risk. See our disclaimer.