How do Bookmakers Create Betting Odds? Betting Odds Insider 2026
Simply make your selections from our predictions and they’ll be added to the smart bet slip.
| Bookmaker | BOG Coverage | Terms & Conditions | User Rating (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet365 | UK/Irish Horse Racing, Football | Applies to win singles, must be SP shorter | 4.7 |
| William Hill | Selected UK Horse Racing | Online & shop prices compared | 4.5 |
| Paddy Power | UK & Irish Horse Racing | Price boosts excluded | 4.6 |
| Sky Bet | Horse Racing, Football | Pre-match markets only | 4.4 |
| Betfair Sportsbook | UK Horse Racing | Applies to all customers | 4.3 |
From there we do the hard work, giving you a comparison of prices from leading bookmakers for the accumulated odds of your coupon.
- Automated betting software, or bots, can use comparison APIs to place instant bets.
- This requires accounts with sufficient funds across multiple bookmakers.
- Latency in odds feeds is a crucial factor for successful automated trading.
- Such systems are often used for matched betting and arbitrage strategies.
Then simply pick a bookie to bet with – or open a new account using the links to claim a new customer bonus – and click to be redirected to the bookmaker site with your coupon ready and waiting to bet. If you’re registered with KickOff and signed-in to your account we’ll also track your bet for you and provide an overview of your betting performance. Our football betting predictions cover every major competition that counts from around Europe.
How do betting odds work?
Over/under goals markets can seem confusing, but the premise of the over/under 3.5 goals market is simple. If you bet on a match to end with over 3.5 goals being scored you are betting on four or more goals being scored in 90 minutes. Alternatively, a bet on under 3.5 goals being scored will win if three or fewer goals are scored during the game. Over 3.5 goals selections are considered more popular – particularly as part of an accumulator – because they are live for the entirety of a game, whereas under 3.5 goals selections could bust your accumulator at any time during the match. It couldn’t be simpler to use our smart bet slip to compare live football betting odds among leading bookmakers. Updated daily, our predictions include games across the Premier League, Championship, La Liga, Serie and Bundesliga – as well as a number of smaller leagues from across the continent. In total, we’ve got tips and stats across 32 leagues or competitions – which means you’ll never be short of options for your bets. While other over/under betting markets are generally more popular for the ‘over’ component, the Over/under 3.5 goals market is slightly different.
Betting Odds and Probability
Backing the underdog can be a great way to use a double chance bet, especially as a single. Let’s say you think a team that is favourite to win has odds that are too short, and you think there’s a fair chance they won’t win the match. You could simply back the draw (probably the most likely secondary outcome) but you’d feel pretty annoyed if the underdog actually went on to win. A double chance bet allows you to cover all possibilities except the favourite winning. Some teams, especially those with strong defences, rarely lose but might not always have the firepower to get the win.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
In this case backing them to win or draw would be a good use of a double chance bet. Other teams might play a very open style which could result in a win or a loss but rarely in a draw. Finally, a struggling team might draw quite a lot of games but rarely win – this could be especially true if their defence is strong but they don’t create many chances. You might want to back their opponent to win but have the draw as an insurance. Over 0.5 goals tips are great for bettors who like building football accumulators because of its low odds and high likelihood of success.
American money line odds
If you’re the kind of bettor who loves watching the ticks pile up on a big acca then this is the market for you. Most major European Leagues, including the Premier League and Serie A, average between 2.5 and 3 goals/match. This means the likelihood of winning an over 0.5 goals bet is very high. An over 0.5 goals bet just means you’re betting that there will be at least one goal in the game. As long as the scoreline isn’t 0-0, you’re a winner. Remember goals from both sides are counted so look out for two high or low scoring sides playing one another. Around 80% of matches in the Premier League finish with under 4.5 goals (i.e. So while that might seem like a “safe bet” it often means that the odds are low too. Odds are much more generous if you choose to bet on over 4.5 goals and try to find one of those rare thrillers. Finding a good prediction in this market is all about finding value. And to do that, you need the best stats and experts, which is where we can help.
- Decimal, fractional, and American odds formats can usually be toggled.
- Live or in-play odds comparisons require fast-updating platforms.
- Filtering by league, event type, or bet market is essential for efficiency.
- The "best odds" guarantee feature highlights the top price in green.
- Mobile apps provide on-the-go comparison for last-minute bets.
Like all over/under markets, the over/under 4.5 goals market needs a bit of explaining.
| Sportsbook | Player A to Win | Player B to Win | Difference from Best Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unibet | 1.72 | 2.10 | +0.02 / -0.05 |
| Bwin | 1.70 | 2.15 | 0.00 / 0.00 |
| 888sport | 1.68 | 2.12 | -0.02 / -0.03 |
| Betway | 1.75 | 2.05 | +0.05 / -0.10 |
An over 4.5 goals bet is on five or more goals being scored in a game. If the total goals between the two teams adds up to 5 or more, your bet will win. This includes score lines such as 3-2, 5-0 and 6-1.
| Selection | Betfair Exchange (Back) | Betfair Exchange (Lay) | Average Bookmaker Odds | Liquidity on Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team X to Win | 2.20 | 2.22 | 2.10 | £250,000 |
| Team Y to Win | 3.50 | 3.55 | 3.40 | £180,000 |
| Draw | 3.80 | 3.85 | 3.60 | £95,000 |
Under 4.5 Goals bet is for four or fewer goals to be scored in a game.
- Margins, or the "overround," differ between bookmakers, affecting value.
- Sharp books like Pinnacle often have lower margins, leading to better odds.
- Comparing margins across sportsbooks shows which operator takes the smallest cut.
- Special offers and enhanced odds are frequently excluded from comparisons.
This would include score lines from 0-0 all the way up to ones such as 4-0 or 2-2. Unlike the other over/under betting markets a safer prospect (but less lucrative in terms of the odds available) is usually to pick selections for under 4.5 goals to be scored.
Best Bookmaker By Sport Covered
An under 0.5 goals bet works exactly the opposite way. You’re betting that there won’t be a single goal in the game. Essentially, this bet is the same as a correct score/scorecast bet that the full-time result will be 0-0. Just because lots of 0.5 goals bets win doesn’t mean it’s easy to make a good strategy out of placing them. As with any market, the key to making good 0.5 goals bets is finding value in the market.
Action Network
At KickOff we have a whole range of stats, tools and live odds designed to help you do exactly that. Over / under 1.5 goals football bets require you to predict whether or not the match will finish with at least 2 goals. Over 70% of matches finish this way, although of course that varies from league to league and team to team. At KickOff we give you the most up-to-date live football odds, showing which teams have the highest % of matches with over 1.5 goals, and which leagues too. We also rank the top over / under 1.5 goals tipsters in this market so you can simply copy bettors with a proven track record of success predicting matches with over 1.5 goals.
Best Odds
Betting in the under/over 1.5 goals market means you are either betting on less than 1.5 goals or more than 1.5 goals to be scored in a game. If you bet on under 1.5 goals being scored in a match your bet wins if one or fewer goals are scored. Conversely, a bet on over 1.5 goals will win if two or more goals are scored in the game. We pull through the latest live odds from our bookmaker partners so you can get the best price for your over/under 1.5 goals bets. Simply add selections to our smart bet slip and once complete, you can review the available prices from leading bookies. If you want to increase the profit you can make here, you can put multiple under 4.5 goals bets together in an accumulator. Our predictions cover games across over 32 European leagues and competitions and are updated daily. We use the latest data to calculate predictions across competitions including the Premier League, Championship, English Football League La Liga and Serie A. All our match data is 100% accurate, ensuring you can trust our algorithm’s predictions. The over/under 5.5 goals market is pretty heavily skewed – the vast majority of matches finish with under 5.5 goals. So when making a prediction on this market, you can go one of two ways – either building an acca out of likely under 5.5 goals matches with low odds, or really looking for the value bets, those rare games which finish with over 5.5 goals. We’ve got predictions for under 5.5 goals and over 5.5 goals here so you can choose which is right for you. If you back over 5.5 goals, you’re betting that at least 6 goals will be scored over the course of 90 minutes. If you back under, you think fewer than 6 will be scored.
The 3 Odds Formats You’ll See
As you add more selections to your bet slip we automatically calculate the accumulated odds. Then simply choose a bookmaker to place your bet with, and we automatically send your coupon to your chosen bookmaker. The odds may not always be the strongest in this market, so finding good selections is not always easy. Over 1.5 goals bets are generally more appealing to bettors as they are active for the full game, whereas under 1.5 goals could bust at any time and destroy your accumulator. Over and under 2.5 goals bets fall pretty much at the sweet spot in terms of difficulty and reward.
How to convert American odds to Fractional odds?
There were roughly 2.7 goals per game in the Premier League last season, so lots of games finish with more than 2.5 goals and lots finish with fewer. This means that odds in this market hover usually around evens or just under, and bet best betting offers sign up there is lots of value to be found with the right information. For each game we provide stats on how many goals each team has scored and conceded in their last 20 games, how many of their games have finished with under 2.5 goals or over 2.5 goals, their xG for the season and more detailed stats about chance conversion. Our free over & under 2.5 goals predictions are updated daily and include all of Europe’s 5 major leagues (the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1), the Europa League and Champions League, as well as some smaller leagues too. Obviously, you can’t actually have 0.5 of a goal in a game of football.
Odds Converter
So a bet that there will be over 2.5 goals in a game is a bet that there will be at least 3 goals in the game which would include score lines such as 2-1, 3-0, 3-1 and so on. A bet that there will be under 2.5 goals is a bet that there will be 2 goals or fewer in the game, which would include the score lines 0-0, 1-0 (0-1), 1-1 and 2-0 (0-2). The over and under 3.5 goals market is interesting because it lies just above the average number of goals in a game which is between 2.5 and 3 in most major European leagues. This means that the odds on under 3.5 goals are quite low but can be perfect for building an accumulator with. Over 3.5 goals games are rarer but are not only profitable if you find the right one, but it means the game you’re betting on and following will hopefully be an exciting one. It doesn’t matter what the final result of the match is or which team wins – all that matters is the total number of goals scored. If you backed the over, and the final score is 4-2, then your bet is a winner, if it’s 3-2 then your bet will lose. All goals scored by both sides count, including own goals. Over/under goals bets run for the full 90 minutes.