You have probably heard the saying that the casino always wins. All games have a certain advantage for the casino, which in sports betting can be called margin. The margin in betting allows betting companies to exist; if there was no margin, bookmakers would not make money, which means they would not be able to develop their business. Inexperienced players or those who place bets for fun often do not know or have even never heard of this term, while for professional players it is one of the ways to increase the chances of making a profit in the long run.

Avoiding the margin in bookmakers is impossible, but the player can choose where to place their bets and at the same time find a lower margin. In the world of sports betting, you can often see that favorites are underrated, while underdogs are overrated – this is one of the reasons why professional players choose to bet on underdogs much more often.

Margin Calculation

The odds margin can be said to be equal to the bookmakers’ profit or the casino’s edge. The margin can be calculated using the following formula:

(1/odd) * 100 + (1/odd) * 100 = margin

For example, in a tennis match, the odds are given at 1.75 for player A and the odds are given at 2.15 for player B. In this case, the betting margin for this match is:

(1/1.75) * 100 + (1/2.15) * 100 = 103.65% = 3.65% margin

Anything above 100% is the bookmakers’ profit or, put another way, the betting margin. Typically, the margin for bookmakers is around 5-6.5%. However, it can vary in different sports and leagues.

It is important to note that the margin is not distributed evenly. Yes, in bets on outcomes with equal odds we often see identical odds, for example, 1.90 / 1.90 – in this case, the margin is also distributed evenly, but the difference is much larger in bets on the winner of the match.

Finding the Best Odds

The margin is a very important aspect if bets are placed at the same bookmaker. In this case, by taking the average, you can calculate how much profit is being given to the bookmaker for the services provided. For example, if the odds for outcomes with equal odds are 1.90 and only these bets are placed, the margin is 5.26%.

However, if bets are placed at another bookmaker, where the odds for outcomes with equal odds are 1.93 / 1.93, in this case the margin is only 3.63%. Still, professional players almost never place all their bets at the same bookmaker. The main reason for this is the difference in odds.

There are examples where the odds are different for each match at different bookmakers. For example, bets are constantly placed on outcomes with equal probabilities, and the odds for these bets vary from 1.85 to 1.95. If you bet €100, the return on a winning bet would be €85 – €95.

For example, if you place 10 successful bets at a bookmaker with odds of 1.85, you would return €1,850 – a profit of €850. At another bookmaker, where the odds are 1.95, you would return €1,950 – a profit of €950. An additional €100 only after 10 successful bets. Or to put it another way, at the bookmaker where the odds are 1.95, 9 successful bets would be enough to make the same profit.

It may be that one bookmaker offers odds of 1.88 for one match and 1.93 for another. In such a case, when odds of 1.88 are offered, it is worth looking elsewhere to place the bet, while odds of 1.93 will probably be one of the highest on the market, so the bet can be placed at bookmaker A. The higher the odds you find for your chosen bet, the higher your profit will be in the long run, and at the same time, a lower percentage of successful bets will be required.

Placing bets at different bookmakers is a common practice, as the player looks for where it would be most profitable for him. This is the same as buying the same product at different shops: in one it costs €100, in another €90.