What esports betting tips actually tell you — and what they cost

Updated October 2026

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A punter looking for an “esports tip” usually wants a name to back. This page is built around the harder question: what does a tip consist of, how is a value bet measured, and what does any offer cost once the small print is read. The aim is a guide, not a tip sheet — no concrete matches, picks or odds are invented here, because nobody can know an outcome, and a reader who acts on a predicted one loses real money on the page’s word.

Data current as of 27 October 2026 and checked against the Gambling Commission’s public register.

How the ten bookmakers here compare on esports

Ten UK-licensed brands surface again and again on esports searches, and the table below is built from what each one shows on its own site and on the Gambling Commission’s public register. A licence line is the floor: every brand named is on the register, but the way each one handles esports is its own — a fact the table leaves room for.

The columns that matter to a reader who came looking for esports are the licence line and what each operator’s own terms show. Coral’s welcome offer is the most visible — and, in the language of the offer, the most “generous” looking — but the headline number (£40 in free bets after £20) says nothing about esports coverage specifically. The esports check happens in each operator’s actual betting slip, not in the welcome email.

Esports as a betting market, in fundamentals

Esports is competition using video games, usually organised multiplayer matches between professional players, individually or in teams. The titles that carry real betting volume in Great Britain today are League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Valorant, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Rocket League and StarCraft. Major tournaments include the League of Legends World Championship, Dota 2’s The International, the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) for fighting games and Intel Extreme Masters. The International 2021 for Dota 2 had a prize pool above US$40 million, the largest in esports history at the time.

The calendar is denser than football. League of Legends runs spring and summer splits across major regions, then a World Championship in autumn. Dota 2’s competitive season is anchored by The International, with regional leagues and mid-season events filling the gaps. Counter-Strike’s circuit of Valve-sponsored events and third-party tournaments (BLAST, ESL Pro League, IEM Katowice) gives bookmakers a near-continuous match feed. Valorant runs through regional leagues and a Champions tour. Rocket League’s RLCS and Fortnite’s competitive cups close the year.

That density is part of the cost story. A reader who treats esports like Premier League football — one match a week, plenty of time to read form — meets a fixture list that updates every few hours. The market never sleeps, which is precisely why margin discipline matters. An esports bookmaker who prices a match in the morning has had it repriced by someone else before the first map of the series begins.

Statute, regulation and the licence question

The Gambling Commission (UKGC) regulates the commercial market in Great Britain under the Gambling Act 2005. Since the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, an operator whose remote facilities are used in Great Britain needs a Commission licence wherever it is based — sections 33 and 36 of the 2005 Act as amended — so a Curaçao, Maltese or Gibraltar licence is not a substitute. There is no state monopoly and no cap on the number of licences. The Commission’s public register is searchable by business name, trading name, domain or account number, and is the whole test of who holds one.

Identity is verified before a customer can deposit or gamble. Since 7 May 2019, name, address and date of birth must be checked before the first deposit — and that includes with a free bet or bonus. The minimum age is 18. Credit cards are banned for gambling in Great Britain since 14 April 2020, including credit-card-funded payments through an e-wallet; debit cards and bank-based payments are not covered. Financial spread betting sits under the Financial Conduct Authority, not the Commission, and spread-betting losses can exceed deposits.

On payment methods, a British named-account rule, a state list of permitted methods and any rule for or against cryptocurrency deposits at licensed operators are not established in the public record. A reader who meets a bookmaker accepting bitcoin or tether at a GB domain should expect it to be a payments convenience at the cashier, not an exception to verification, because the verification rule applies regardless of how the money arrives.

The Commission’s treatment of esports is straightforward: an esports event is treated like any other event, and an operator’s offering falls under its remote general betting standard (real events) licence. There is no statutory list of permitted markets. In-play esports markets are offered by GB bookmakers under their own licence conditions, not because a statute authorises them, and the controls are the operator’s customer-protection duties. The detail that separates a serious esports offering from a thin one lives in the betting slip — match-winner, map handicap, total rounds, first blood — and in how many markets are priced before the first map begins.

Responsible gambling at the betting site

Every GB-licensed online operator takes part in GAMSTOP, the national multi-operator online self-exclusion scheme. Self-exclusion periods are six months, one year, five years, or five years with auto-renewal. After the minimum period the exclusion stays in place for a further seven years unless the customer asks GAMSTOP to remove it. GAMSTOP covers online sites and apps; betting shops use a separate service.

A financial vulnerability check (LCCP condition 3.4.4, in force since 30 August 2024) applies to licensed remote betting when a customer’s deposits minus withdrawals exceed £150 in a rolling 30 days (since 28 February 2025). It is a public-record check — for example, bankruptcy or county court judgments — not an income check and not a credit reference check. Financial risk assessments — the “affordability checks” of the press — are announced in a staged plan, with no start date as of the Commission’s article of 7 July 2026. Operators must offer a gross deposit limit on a fixed time frame; the first changes have applied since 31 October 2025, a second phase was postponed to 30 September 2026, and whether it is live is not established in the public record.

The operator-level tools are the more concrete ones. Coral lists deposit limits, reality checks, time-out and self-exclusion on its safer-gambling page. Unibet lists deposit limits, a Player Profile test, product restrictions and self-exclusion, with live chat support and links to BeGambleAware, GamCare, GAMSTOP, Gambling Therapy and the BGC. QuinnBet and BetGoodwin are GAMSTOP members on the same terms as every other GB-licensed operator. The framework is uniform; what each operator adds in front of it is its own — and a tip that turns into a streak is the moment those tools matter.

If gambling stops being fun, the front-line help lines are GamCare (the National Gambling Helpline), GambleAware, NHS gambling clinics and Gamblers Anonymous. These are independent of any bookmaker.

Crypto, bitcoin and the anonymity question

Crypto payments at a licensed UK site are a payments convenience, not a permission slip. Identity is still verified before the first deposit — a Bitcoin deposit does not move that requirement out of the way. Several operators listed in the comparison take bitcoin and other coins at the cashier, but the verification step, the GAMSTOP exclusion, the £150 vulnerability check and the 10x bonus cap all apply regardless of how the money arrived.

Two practical points sit underneath that. First, a bet placed after a deposit from any source, crypto included, settles at the bookmaker’s odds, and the odds include the margin whether the punter paid in pounds or in bitcoin. Second, the loss of the deposit in a settled losing bet is a real-money loss — a bitcoin stake that loses is a bitcoin down, regardless of which currency the winnings page shows. Treating crypto deposits as a “house edge dodge” mistakes the rail for the price.

For readers comparing brand reputations across borders: a Curaçao-licensed operator that takes crypto, asks no questions and pays out without delay is operating outside the GB framework, and a customer there has no Commission complaints route, no GAMSTOP cover and no approved dispute-resolution body if funds are withheld. The honest framing is that licensed means checks, limits, GAMSTOP and the bonus cap — and verification before the first bet — and unlicensed means none of those protections and possible loss of funds. Neither is “the safe choice” by default.

Bonuses, free bets and what they cost

The marketing word “free” is the load-bearing word in any welcome page. A £40 “free bet” after a £20 stake is not a £40 gift — it is a credit that, when it wins, pays the winnings only, because the stake is usually not returned. That distinction is what the operator’s own terms describe, and it is what the punter’s actual return shows.

Coral’s sports welcome offer is “Get £40 in Free Bets when you bet £20”: a deposit and sports bet of £20 or more at minimum odds of 2.0 (1/1), with £40 in free bets issued within 7 days and expiring 7 days after issue, for new GB customers who opt in. QuinnBet free bets are valid for 7 days from credit and can be used on any market at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater, with maximum odds of 50/1; straight accumulators are allowed but Trixies, Patents and Yankees are not. The wagering cap under the promotion rules in force since 19 January 2026 caps bonus wagering requirements at 10x — a £10 bonus at 50x would have needed £500 of bets; under the cap no more than £100.

Bet Ahoy carries a 10% Acca Bonus up to £1,000, “Sub-Cover” for player substitutions, Best Odds Guaranteed on UK and Irish horse and greyhound racing up to £100, and Double Result payout on UK and Irish racing. Kwiff’s Supercharge can instantly boost the odds on a bet, for example from 2/1 to 20/1, on singles or multiples across any sport. NetBet lists Daily Boosts, Profit Boosts and free bet offers, a Bet Builder with instant dynamic odds, and sports stats for major leagues. The flavour differs; the cost question is the same: what does the offer actually pay back at typical odds, after the deadline and the minimum price are applied?

The honest reading of a promotion is to ask three questions. What is the qualifying condition, and how many bets does it take to satisfy? What is the minimum price, and how does it filter the markets the bonus can be used on? What is the deadline — usually 7 days in the examples above — and how many weekends or tournament days fall inside it? A £40 free bet expiring in 7 days, on a sport whose fixtures happen twice a week, is a different thing from one on a sport whose season ends on the same Sunday. The expiry date is part of the price.

Payments, payout speed and the cashier

A bookmaker that pays out in hours is a real improvement over one that pays out in days. The pace is the operator’s own, and it shows up after the betting is settled. Cards and bank transfers dominate the cashier at licensed UK sites; PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and Trustly appear at several brands; paysafecard is offered at others. The detail that matters — and that varies between operators — is the withdrawal window, not the deposit window.

KYC is the floor under all of it. Because identity is verified before the first deposit, the first withdrawal from a new account often triggers an extra document check — a bank statement, a photo of the card used to deposit. A reader who has provided that documentation at sign-up waits less. A reader who has not waits longer, and the wait is not a complaint, it is the licensed-operator process in action.

On currency, the page is in pounds. An esports tournament with a US dollar prize pool is settled by the bookmaker at the operator’s quoted odds, not at the prize pool — and the exchange rate, where it applies, is the operator’s, not the punter’s.

Mobile, app and the betting slip

Most licensed UK bookmakers ship a native iOS or Android app alongside their desktop site. Betfred’s app features Bet Builder, Sub Switch, Racing Post data, Extra Places, live casino and bingo. NetBet’s mobile product wraps Daily Boosts, Profit Boosts, free bet offers, the Bet Builder with instant dynamic odds and sports stats. Coral, BetGoodwin, Kwiff, Fafabet, Bar One Racing, QuinnBet and Bet Ahoy all have presence on the GB App Store as of the snapshot.

The check that matters for esports is whether the app surfaces the markets the punter wants at speed. League of Legends and Dota 2 maps run for 25 to 60 minutes each; Counter-Strike maps run shorter. A punt made during a pause between maps is settled on the next selection, not the last; an app that lags a few seconds at the wrong moment is the difference between a price taken and a price missed. The honest test is to open the app before depositing, run through the betting slip, and confirm that the markets and the in-play screen load fast enough.

Live betting, cash out and what each one actually does

Live betting means placing a bet after the event has started. On a League of Legends best-of-five, the in-play markets open after the first map and the price of the next map moves with the score. Cash out is the operator’s offer to settle a bet before the event ends, at a price the operator sets — usually lower than a full-win payout, sometimes higher than a full-loss forfeit.

Betboro offers in-play markets and cash-out on football, racing and tennis, plus boosted odds on selected singles from £10 stakes and safer-gambling tools including deposit limits, reality checks and self-exclusion. Coral and NetBet carry cash-out on most sports. The mechanic is the same across operators: the operator quotes a settlement value, the punter accepts or rejects. The punters who use cash out most often are the ones losing — that is its main commercial purpose, and the price quoted reflects it.

The esports specifics: cash out during a live match is more volatile than during a football match because the score line of a single map can swing in ten seconds. A bookmaker’s cash-out button greys out during a pause or a server disconnect; the punter’s “open position” then sits through the delay. The honest framing is that cash out is a tool, not a strategy, and at the margin the operator keeps a higher share of cashed-out value than of settled value.

Predictions, strategy and the bankroll question

Searches for “esports betting tips” want names to back. The honest guide explains what makes a prediction worth backing: form, statistics, line-ups, and the market’s own odds, with a margin stripped out.

Form means recent results on the specific patch. League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant all run on versioned patches that change character balance every few weeks. A team that won the last three series on patch 14.10 is on a different playing field from one that won three in a row on patch 14.7; the meta can flip the favourite in a fortnight. Statistics means KDA, GPM, first-blood rate and objective-control rate over a representative sample of matches, not the last series. Line-ups mean which players are starting, whether a stand-in is in, and whether a player is on a rest day after travel.

The bookmaker’s odds sit on top of those facts. A team whose true probability of winning is 55% is roughly 1.82 in decimal odds (1 ÷ 0.55). A bookmaker offering 1.70 is offering a price whose implied probability is about 59% — and that gap is the margin. A “value bet” is a price above the punter’s true probability once the margin is taken out, and finding one is a numbers exercise rather than a hunch.

A worked illustration using a two-outcome market priced at 1.90 / 1.90 in decimal (9/10 fractional). The payout share at those prices is around 95% of every pound staked across both outcomes, which leaves a margin of roughly 5% for the bookmaker. A real esports bookmaker’s margin on a match-winner market sits somewhere in that neighbourhood — between roughly 4% and 8% depending on the title, the tournament and how liquid the market is. A reader who treats any single match as a 50/50 because the prices look close to evens has imported the margin into the decision without noticing.

Bankroll discipline is the part most tips forget. A stake of 1–2% of bankroll on each selection, a stop-loss on a session, and a record of every bet are the boring scaffolding that lets the strategy survive a bad week. The bookmaker’s margin works over hundreds of bets, and a stake of 10% of bankroll on each selection erases the same edge in two losing bets.

Markets and odds, the operator’s and the punter’s

The odds on an esports betting slip are decimal or fractional, and they mean the same thing. Decimal odds of 2.00 return £2 for every £1 staked — £1 profit plus the £1 stake back. Fractional odds of 1/1 mean the same thing: £1 profit per £1 staked. The conversion a/b → a ÷ b + 1 is mechanical, and a punter who sticks to one form pays no attention tax to the other.

The market depth on a League of Legends World Championship match is different from the depth on a regional league best-of-three. World Championship match-winner, map handicap, total maps, first blood, first to ten kills, total dragons and so on are priced at tight margins. A regional league match between rosters the public does not follow carries thinner markets, with fewer selections and a wider margin. The same brand can offer both, and the margin difference is the operator’s honest answer to liquidity.

Bet Builder and same-game multi let the punter combine selections from one match. NetBet’s Bet Builder carries “instant dynamic odds” — the price updates as the selections change. The arithmetic on a Bet Builder multiplies the decimal odds into one combined price, and a successful bet pays the combined odds. The risk is that a bookmaker’s margin compounds across the selections, so a four-leg Bet Builder carries roughly four times the margin of a single selection.

Each-way bets — two equal stakes, one on the win and one on the place — apply to outright markets with place terms. Esports outrights are usually settled as win-only. A reader who tries to place an each-way bet on the League of Legends World Championship winner is making a request the operator settles as a single. The two-bet mechanic is a horse-racing artefact, and esports markets do not carry it.

The sports, tournaments and the calendar

Esports events are scheduled tournaments rather than weekly leagues. The Esports World Cup 2026 runs from 6 July to 23 August 2026 in Paris with a US$75 million prize pool across 24 games; the 2025 edition had a US$71.5 million prize pool. Team Falcons won the Esports World Cup Club Championship in 2025, defending its 2024 title.

Around the marquee events sit regional leagues: LEC, LCS, LCK and LPL for League of Legends; DPC and regional qualifiers for Dota 2; VCT regional leagues for Valorant; ESL Pro League and BLAST for Counter-Strike. The bookmaker’s coverage window is the calendar’s daily cadence — match-winner markets open 24 to 48 hours before first blood, map markets appear once the teams are confirmed, in-play markets open at first map.

A punter who tries to bet every match ends up with a sample dominated by results that carry less weight than the majors. A punter who bets only the majors ends up with a calendar that runs hot for two months and cold for ten. The honest schedule is somewhere between the two, with a clear view of when the patch has settled and when the meta is still moving.

What to check before backing an esports selection

Five things, in order. First, the patch: which version of the game is the match being played on, and how long has the patch been live? A team with three weeks of practice on the patch is in a different position from one playing the patch for the first time. Second, the line-up: who is starting, who is on the stand-in, who is rested? Roster moves are public but not always flagged by the bookmaker’s market description. Third, the head-to-head: how have these rosters done against each other on this patch, in this tournament tier, in the last three months? Fourth, the format: best-of-one or best-of-three or best-of-five. Upsets are more common in best-of-ones because one map is one map. Fifth, the price: what is the implied probability at the quoted odds, and is the punter’s own estimate above or below that line?

The question underneath those five is the value-bet question. A punter whose own probability estimate is above the implied probability is finding an edge. A punter whose estimate is below is paying the bookmaker’s margin for the privilege of watching. Neither is a tip; both are arithmetic.

The chosen ten, with what each one brings

Betboro

A bookmaker with a GB remote licence under Webmedia Development N.V., account 44181. In-play markets and cash-out on football, racing and tennis; boosted odds on selected singles from £10 stakes; deposit limits, reality checks and self-exclusion on the safer-gambling page. Esports coverage is in the catalogue rather than the headline, and the operator is honest about being a sports book first. A punter who wants in-play, cash-out and a tighter sports book than a casino-led brand gets value here; a punter whose interest is esports-only finds the depth at the World Championship rather than in regional qualifiers.

BetGoodwin

Goodwin Racing Limited under account 2927. Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Irish horse and greyhound racing, up to £1,000. The bookmaker’s centre of gravity is racing — the GB and Irish meeting calendar — and esports is a side panel rather than a main event. A punter whose interest is horse and greyhound racing gets the offer; a punter looking for a League of Legends World Championship price will find the catalogue thinner than at a brand built around the title.

Kwiff

Eaton Gate Gaming Limited under account 44448. “Supercharge” can instantly boost the odds on a bet, for example from 2/1 to 20/1, on singles or multiples across any sport. The mechanism is the marketing word: a small-stake bet selected at random by the bookmaker gets a price that is orders of magnitude larger. The cost is the same stake against the same selection, and the value of the boost is statistical — a Supercharged bet is a regular bet whose price has been re-quoted. Esports markets exist; the punter looking for them will find the catalogue. The operator’s edge is the Supercharge headline, and a punt on a Supercharged selection should be sized as if it were not Supercharged, because the boost does not change the probability of the selection winning.

Fafabet

Taichi Tech Limited under account 57385. Best Odds Guaranteed on UK and Irish horse racing win and each-way bets from 9am on race days, paid at the bigger of the original price and the starting price. The racing anchor is the same shape as several other brands — BOG is a horse-racing product. Esports coverage is in the catalogue and the in-play screen; for a reader focused on major League of Legends or Dota 2 tournaments, the markets and live feed are both there once the event is live.

NetBet

Netbet Enterprises Limited under account 39170. Daily Boosts, Profit Boosts and free bet offers, a Bet Builder with instant dynamic odds, and sports stats for major leagues. The catalogue is broader than the horse-racing-led brands, and the Bet Builder extends across football and several other sports. A reader whose interest is Bet Builder on esports outrights will need to check whether the operator’s Bet Builder covers the title — the answer varies by brand, and the slip on the day is the source of truth.

Bar One Racing

Bar-One Racing Limited under account 56516. Irish independent bookmaker with shops across Ireland and horse racing sponsorships at Dundalk, Fairyhouse, Navan, The Curragh, Curraheen Park and Cork. The brand is racing-anchored, Irish and licensed for GB play. A reader whose interest is Irish racing and the sponsorship angle will find the value; an esports punter will find a thin catalogue and should look elsewhere.

Bet Ahoy

Bet Ahoy Ltd under account 100094. A 10% Acca Bonus up to £1,000, “Sub-Cover” for player substitutions, Best Odds Guaranteed on UK and Irish horse and greyhound racing up to £100, and Double Result payout on UK and Irish racing. The acca-bonus headline is the load-bearing offer, and it requires multi-leg selections at the minimum price each leg requires. Esports coverage is the catalogue; the punter looking for a price on a League of Legends best-of-three will find one. The acca bonus applies when the bet type is an accumulator, so a punter who backs singles will not see the bonus credit.

Coral

LC International Limited under account 54743. Sports welcome offer of £40 in free bets after a £20 bet at minimum odds of 2.0 (1/1), issued within 7 days and expiring 7 days after issue, for new GB customers who opt in. The brand carries a wide catalogue across football, racing and several other sports, and the welcome offer is the headline. The honest reading: £40 of free bets is £40 of stake that, when it wins, pays winnings only, and the £20 qualifying bet must be at minimum odds of 2.0 to count. An esports selection at 2.0 (1/1) is the qualifying bar; the £40 free bet is then usable on a market the punter picks. The expiry is 7 days after issue, and the punter who has a tournament calendar in mind at sign-up has a better chance of using the credit than the punter who does not.

QuinnBet

QuinnBet (Gibraltar) Limited under account 61011. Free bets valid for 7 days from credit, usable on any market at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater, with maximum odds of 50/1; straight accumulators allowed but Trixies, Patents and Yankees are not. The minimum price is short — 1.5 is the floor — which means the punter can use the credit on the heaviest of favourites. The cost is that the maximum odds are capped at 50/1, so a long-odds accumulator with a 100/1 leg settles as the maximum payout, not as the full multiples.

The Esports Insider — a closing judgement across the set

The arithmetic is that the ten brands differ by less than the marketing suggests. Coral, NetBet and QuinnBet carry the most visible welcome headlines; BetGoodwin, Fafabet and Bar One Racing carry racing-anchored offers; Betboro and Bet Ahoy carry multi-leg bonuses; Kwiff and NetBet carry price-boost mechanics. The licence floor is uniform — every brand is on the Commission’s register, every brand takes part in GAMSTOP, every brand applies the same verification rule before the first deposit.

The honest read is that a punter picking one of these for esports is picking on catalogue depth, in-play latency and the terms of any welcome offer, not on the licence line. The licence line is the floor; the catalogue is the floor above it. A reader who opens three apps side by side, runs a League of Legends World Championship match through the betting slip on each, and watches the in-play screen update on a live map — that reader has made the right comparison in five minutes.

The bookmaker’s margin sits inside every price, and this guide keeps it in view. A punter who knows the margin of the market they are betting on, who knows the minimum price of any free bet they are using, who knows the deadline of any bonus they are clearing, and who knows the verification rule they have already passed — that punter pays the marketing word nothing extra.

Frequently asked questions about esports betting

How does a bet on esports actually work?

A bet on esports is a wager on the outcome of a competitive video game event — a match, a map, a series, a tournament. The bookmaker quotes a price for each selection, the punter stakes an amount, and the bet settles at the end of the event at the price quoted. A winning bet pays the stake times the decimal odds, or the stake plus the profit at fractional odds. A losing bet pays nothing back. Esports markets at GB-licensed operators sit under the operator’s remote general betting standard (real events) licence and are treated like any other event under the Commission’s framework.

What is esports betting, in plain terms?

Esports betting is placing a real-money wager on the outcome of a competitive video game. The titles that carry the most action at GB-licensed operators include League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Valorant, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Rocket League and StarCraft. Bets can be placed before the match starts (pre-match) or during the match (in-play). Markets range from match-winner and map handicap to first blood and total rounds, depending on the title and the tournament tier.

Where is the right place to bet on esports?

Any GB-licensed operator can take an esports bet, because the Commission’s framework treats esports as a real event under a remote general betting standard licence. The check is the public register on the Commission’s website: a brand whose domain is on the register, against a named licence holder, is licensed to take the bet. A brand whose domain is not on the register is not licensed, and a customer there has no Commission complaints route, no GAMSTOP cover and no approved dispute-resolution body if funds are withheld. Among the ten brands in this guide, the catalogue depth on esports varies, and the test is the betting slip rather than the welcome page.

What is a value bet, and why is no tip ever certain?

A value bet is a price whose implied probability is below the punter’s own estimate of the true probability. The implied probability is 1 divided by the decimal odds — 1.82 implies about 55%. A punter whose own estimate of the true probability is 60% has found a value bet. A punter whose own estimate is 50% has imported the bookmaker’s margin into the decision. No tip is ever certain because the result of a single match depends on dozens of in-game decisions that the public cannot see; the price is the bookmaker’s best estimate, and the punter’s job is to find a price whose implied probability is below their own estimate, not to predict the winner.

What is the bookmaker’s margin and how does it show in the odds?

The bookmaker’s margin is the share of every pound staked that the bookmaker keeps, on average. It is the difference between the payout share — the sum of 1 divided by each outcome’s decimal odds — and 100%. A two-outcome market priced at 1.90 / 1.90 has a payout share of about 95% and a margin of about 5%. A real esports bookmaker’s margin on a match-winner market sits between roughly 4% and 8% depending on the title, the tournament and how liquid the market is. The margin shows in the prices because the prices are set so that the implied probabilities of all outcomes add up to more than 100%.

How is the return on a bet worked out from the stake and the odds?

The return is the stake times the decimal odds, and the net profit is the stake times (odds minus 1). A £10 bet at decimal odds of 2.50 returns £25 (£10 stake, £15 profit). A £10 bet at fractional odds of 3/2 means the same thing: £10 stake, £15 profit, £25 total return. A combination bet multiplies the odds of each leg into one combined price — a double at 2.00 and 3.00 is a combined price of 6.00, and a £10 stake returns £60 if both legs win. The return answers what a winning bet pays back; it does not answer how likely the bet is to win.

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