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Payout rates and operator margin: how to check them yourself
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The payout rate is what a market returns to bettors at the quoted prices. Margin is the part the operator keeps. You can work out both from the odds on your slip in under a minute.
Work out the margin on any market
- Write down the decimal odds for every outcome in the market. For a match result that is home, draw and away.
- Divide 1 by each price and add the results together. This is the book total.
- Margin (overround) is the book total minus 1. A book total of 1.05 is a 5% margin.
- Payout rate is 1 divided by the book total. A book total of 1.05 gives a payout rate of 95.2%.
Do this on the market you actually want to bet, at the moment you want to bet it. Margins change by sport, league, market and time of day.
Worked examples
Two-way market at 1.95 and 1.95. 1/1.95 + 1/1.95 = 1.026. The margin is 2.6% and the payout rate is 97.5%.
Two-way market at 1.90 and 1.90. 1/1.90 + 1/1.90 = 1.053. The margin is 5.3% and the payout rate is 95.0%.
Two-way market at 1.80 and 1.80. 1/1.80 + 1/1.80 = 1.111. The margin is 11.1% and the payout rate is 90.0%.
Three-way market at 1.80, 3.80 and 2.20. 0.556 + 0.263 + 0.455 = 1.273. The margin is 27.3% and the payout rate is 78.5%. Prices like these are a hypothetical example, not a quote from any operator.
Small differences in price add up. Between 1.95 and 1.80 on both sides, the margin rises from 2.6% to 11.1%.
Why margins differ between markets
- Major European football and tennis: heavy betting volume and many competing operators usually push margins down.
- NPFL and other smaller leagues: lower volume and less public information usually mean wider margins. Check the book total before you stake.
- Virtual sports: results come from a random number generator and prices are set by the operator. Treat virtuals as entertainment, not value betting.
- Outright markets: long-term markets such as league winner or AFCON winner often carry wide margins. Compare outright prices across operators before you commit.
Bets.ng odds scores
This table shows the odds score from our sportsbook reviews. It is a review rating out of 10 for price competitiveness, explained on how we rate. It is not a measured payout rate, so use the method above on the markets you bet.
| Operator | Odds score (out of 10) |
|---|---|
Stake
|
9.5 |
bet365
|
9.4 |
1xBet
|
9.2 |
Betway
|
8.9 |
22Bet
|
8.9 |
Melbet
|
8.8 |
Betwinner
|
8.7 |
Cloudbet
|
8.7 |
1Win
|
8.6 |
Paripesa
|
8.6 |
Roobet
|
8.6 |
Bet9ja
|
8.5 |
BC.Game
|
8.5 |
Shuffle
|
8.5 |
N1Bet
|
8.5 |
Not every operator listed accepts Nigerian registrations or naira. Check availability on each review before you sign up.
Effective cost over 100 bets
Suppose you place 100 bets of NGN 1,000 each on roughly even-money prices. Total stake: NGN 100,000. Before skill or luck, the expected return is the stake times the payout rate.
- At a 95% payout rate, the expected return is NGN 95,000.
- At a 90% payout rate, it is NGN 90,000.
- At an 85% payout rate, it is NGN 85,000.
These are illustrations of the arithmetic, not forecasts. Real results swing widely over 100 bets. Never stake money you cannot afford to lose.