To choose betting software, ask every tool the same twelve questions before you pay, and get the answers in writing. They cover where it runs, who holds your bookmaker logins, how old its prices are, what it records, what stops it, and what it costs per bet as well as per month.
The questions fit every kind of tool in the betting tools in Australia overview, from odds boards to bots. Each comes with a check you can run yourself, because a demo shows a tool on its best day and your own records show it on an ordinary one.
The twelve-question betting software checklist
| No. | Ask | A straight answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where does it run? | On your computer, which must stay on, or on the seller's servers, said plainly | It is vague about what happens while your computer is off |
| 2 | Who holds my bookmaker logins? | Where they are stored, who can see them, how to remove them | It asks for passwords by chat or email |
| 3 | Where do the prices come from? | The bookmakers and exchanges it reads, by name | "Our own data" and nothing more |
| 4 | How old is a price when I see it? | A read cycle, and a time on every price | No timestamps anywhere |
| 5 | What does it cover? | Bookmakers, sports, racing codes and markets, listed | A bookmaker count with no names |
| 6 | What does it record for each bet? | Time, bookmaker, price asked, price taken, stake, status, result | Only a profit chart |
| 7 | Can I check it against my bookmaker? | A CSV export to line up with your statements | No export |
| 8 | What stops it? | A stop for each session and one for everything | Stopping means uninstalling |
| 9 | Which limits do I set? | Stake caps, price floors, run windows, loss limits | Settings you cannot see or change |
| 10 | What does it cost in total? | Subscription plus any per-bet charge, in writing | A rate it will not state before you pay |
| 11 | How do I get help, and how do I leave? | A support channel, a reply time and a deletion process | No way to delete your data |
| 12 | What do the terms say? | Who is responsible for what, and what your bookmakers allow | Promises of profit, or no terms at all |
Where it runs, and who holds your bookmaker logins
Questions 1 and 2 decide what has to stay switched on, and who could act on your accounts.
Software on your own computer works only while that computer is on, awake and online: a laptop that sleeps before the last race places nothing on it. Software on the seller's servers keeps going without you, but your logins and your betting then sit on a machine you cannot see. Neither design is wrong, as long as the seller tells you which one it uses.
Any tool that logs in to your bookmaker accounts to place bets needs your username and password. Ask where they are stored, who on the seller's side can see them, and how you remove them; giving betting software your login works through those questions in full. A browser extension working in your own logged-in tab needs neither to act there, yet can still read and act on that account, so its permissions and site access matter just as much.
Note: Every account you connect must be your own, opened in your own name. Many bookmakers restrict or prohibit automated betting and third-party access in their terms, and can limit stakes, void bets or close an account under them.
Where the prices come from, how old they are, and what it covers
Questions 3 to 5 are about the data under every number the tool shows. A tool reads the prices bookmakers publish, often with an exchange's back and lay prices beside them, and it sees every change some time after it happens. So the honest answer to question 4 is a read cycle and a timestamp.
If a tool reads a bookmaker once a minute, a price on screen can be a minute old before you even click. A tool with no times on screen cannot tell a live price from a dead one, and neither can you.
For question 5, ask for the list by name: which bookmakers, which sports, which racing codes (thoroughbred, harness, greyhound), and which markets at each. One gap no tool can close: a tote dividend is declared after the result, so it cannot be compared in advance. Horse racing software in Australia sorts racing tools by the job each does.
Tip: Write down the bookmakers you hold accounts with before any demo, and ask the seller to show a live market from each one.
What it records, and how you check its settlement
Questions 6 and 7 decide whether you can trust the tool's own figures. A usable record holds the time, bookmaker, selection, price asked for, price taken, stake, status and result of every bet, and it exports to CSV.
Your bookmaker keeps the other half: under the National Consumer Protection Framework, an Australian online wagering provider must send active customers a monthly activity statement (measure 7, in place since 31 July 2022). Transaction records must also be available for at least the past seven years. Match the tool's first fortnight of bets against them, line by line. With illustrative bets:
| Bet | Tool's record | Bookmaker's record | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30 at $2.35, won | $30 at $2.35, won | Matches |
| 2 | $30 at $3.10, lost | $30 at $2.95, lost | The tool logged the price it asked for, not the one taken. On a win it would overstate the return by $30 x (3.10 - 2.95) = $4.50 |
| 3 | Failed, not placed | $25 at $1.90, lost | The bet went on while the tool logged a failure, so a resend would have placed it twice |
| 4 | $40 at $6.00, pending | No such bet | The tool counts a bet the bookmaker never took |
One mismatch is a question for support. A pattern of them means the tool's profit and loss figures are not yours, whatever its dashboard says.
What stops it, and which limits you set
Questions 8 and 9 matter most on tools that place bets. Ask how to stop one session and how to stop everything at once. A stop can only stop new bets: a bet the bookmaker has already accepted settles as normal.
Then ask which limits are yours to set: a maximum stake, a price floor (the lowest price a bet may go on at), run windows, and a loss limit that ends a session. Ask whether the limits and the stop can be tested at the smallest stake before you commit to a long plan; the first-week check in betting bot risks runs that test and covers the failures these controls guard against.
The firmer cap sits with your bookmaker. Every Australian online bookmaker must offer a deposit limit, and a decrease applies at once while an increase waits 7 days (NCPF measure 6). Software can only bet with what is in the account, so the deposit limit also caps how much new money automation can put at risk.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Automation can bet far more, far faster, than by hand, and a software stop can fail or act late. Set a deposit limit with each bookmaker before you start, and see responsible gambling for limits and support.
What it costs per bet, not just per month
Question 10 is where tools are hardest to compare, because they charge by subscription, per bet, as a share of stake or winnings, or a mix. Turn each into a cost per bet at the volume you expect. With illustrative prices for two made-up tools and a $20 average stake:
| Tool | 50 bets a month ($1,000 staked) | 300 bets a month ($6,000 staked) |
|---|---|---|
| Tool X: $60 a month, flat | $60, or $1.20 a bet (6.0% of turnover) | $60, or $0.20 a bet (1.0%) |
| Tool Y: $15 a month plus $0.30 a bet | $15 + $15 = $30, or $0.60 a bet (3.0%) | $15 + $90 = $105, or $0.35 a bet (1.75%) |
The cheaper tool flips with volume. The two cost the same where 60 = 15 + 0.30 x bets, which is 150 bets a month. The share of turnover is the average edge your bets need just to pay for the tool: at 50 bets a month, Tool X needs 6.0% before you are a cent ahead.
Chase whatever is not published. If a seller names a usage charge but not its rate, ask for a written example before you pay: what would 200 bets of $25 cost in a month? A share-of-winnings model charges in winning months, so ask what a losing month costs as well. An automation product comparison sets two products side by side, dated and sourced.
Support, data deletion and the terms you agree to
Question 11 has two halves. For support, ask how you reach a person, how long a reply takes, and whether staff can see your settings. For leaving, ask how you close the account, how your data is deleted (stored bookmaker logins first) and how long that takes.
A seller covered by the Privacy Act must take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information it no longer needs, under Australian Privacy Principle 11. The exceptions are where an Australian law or a court or tribunal order requires it to keep the information, or the information is part of a Commonwealth record.
Question 12 is the terms. Read the seller's: who is responsible for what the software does, how cancellation works, and what happens to a part-paid month. Then read your bookmakers' terms on automated betting, third-party access and multiple accounts, because those decide what happens to your accounts. The law is a separate question again: it differs between states and countries, B337 does not give legal advice, and independent legal advice is where to take it.
Scamwatch has warned, in an alert dated 2 November 2009 (checked October 2026), that sports "investment" schemes are just another form of gambling, usually built on buying prediction software or joining a syndicate. Software never delivered, or not working, is among the problems reported to the ACCC. Sports investment scheme scams covers the warning signs.
Mistakes that cost money when buying betting software
With the illustrative figures above:
| Mistake | What it costs | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Comparing monthly fees only | At 300 bets a month, Tool Y costs $105, not $15 | Price every tool at your own volume |
| Trusting a profit screenshot | It shows a chosen month, never the losing ones | Ask for every bet with its price and time |
| Skipping the stop test | A wrong setting repeats on every bet until you notice | Test the floor and the stop with the smallest stake |
| Resending after a failed bet | Bet 3 above becomes $50 at risk instead of $25 | Check the bookmaker's bet history before sending again |
Software is also the wrong buy at low volume. At 20 bets a month, Tool X costs $60 / 20 = $3 a bet, which is 15% of a $20 stake. At that volume, compare prices by hand and use the free betting calculators for lay, arbitrage and dutching stakes and racing promotion values. Skip software altogether if you are betting to win back losses, or if your bookmakers' terms forbid the access it needs.
Where B337 sits on these questions
Hold B337 to the same list. Its bot runs on your own computer, which has to be on, awake and online, and bets only in accounts you hold in your own name. The login details you supply, and your betting records, are also held by B337 so the dashboard and the bot can work. Every placement, price and settlement is recorded, with CSV export, and you can stop one session or all of them at any time.
Three plans carry a price on the pricing page. Bets placed through B337 also use credits, a per-bet usage charge whose rates are not published, and plans set up with the team have their price confirmed before you pay. To have your data deleted, you email B337 support, which confirms within 30 days and removes bookmaker credentials first.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Many bookmakers restrict automated betting in their terms, B337 makes no claim that it avoids limits, and there is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.