Whether parimutuel bets or your more traditional sports bookie, betting is basically like any other market. If you can predict it's outcome better than the res

Whether parimutuel bets or your more traditional sports bookie, betting is basically like any other market. If you can predict it's outcome better than the rest of the market - you can beat it. As someone else once told me, betting on sports is just like playing the stock market, except the market is smaller, with far fewer variables, and therefore easier to predict. It's just like people who have stock trading systems in some market that are unbeatable - they very well may be true - but only for a limited time, as their trades themselves affect the market. Arbitrage is another thing - on one hand, it may seem dishonest - it's looking for no-loose opportunities and taking advantage of them - on the other hand, an efficient arbitrage system keeps markets fair and moving. (In a perfect market, there would be no room for arbitrage.)