Cricket Betting Odds 101: How Do Cricket Betting Odds Work? (2023) Last Updated: May 12, 2023 Weighing up operators to see which offers the best cricket betting odds can be tricky. In this article, we carry out a side-by-side comparison of some of India’s best cricket betting sites across markets to see which one, on average, provides the most competitive prices consistently. Let's begin! MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION Match odds explained How do cricket betting odds work? How to understand cricket betting rates Quick links Match Betting Odds Meaning What Are Cricket Betting Odds? How Do Cricket Betting Odds Work? Comparing Cricket Betting Odds Best Cricket Betting Odds & Overround Comparison What Do You Get Out of the Best Cricket Betting Odds? How To Understand Cricket Betting Rates Why Cricket Betting Odds Are So Important What About Betting Exchange Sites? CricketBettingAdvice Final Say Match Betting Odds Meaning Anyone who enjoys betting should take the effort to learn how to read and evaluate match odds. Betting odds indicate how likely your selection is to win in the eyes of the bookmaker and how much money you stand to gain if your wager succeeds. Even though betting odds may seem complicated at first, our comprehensive explanation will ensure that you understand how these odds work so you can make better decisions when betting online on cricket. What Are Cricket Betting Odds? Bookmakers set betting odds in a way that reflect what they think is the likelihood of an event. In India, the UK, and other parts of Europe, these odds are often expressed as either a fraction (2/1) or a decimal (3.0). The American approach, also known as the ‘moneyline' system, places a plus or minus sign in front of the number (+200). Every event that bookies are accepting bets on, including cricket, horse racing, and football, will have betting odds. How Do Cricket Betting Odds Work? In the decimal system (most commonly used in India), your potential winnings also include the original stake. So all you must do is simply multiply the bet amount (or the ‘stake') by the odds. This is how cricket betting odds work in the decimal format: 8.00 odds = ₹10 bet would return ₹80 including stake 10.00 odds = ₹10 bet would return ₹100 including stake 5.00 odds = ₹10 bet would return ₹50 including stake Comparing Cricket Betting Odds For the best cricket betting odds available online, the top five bookmakers we recommend are Parimatch, 10Cric, Dafabet, and Betway. These operators have made a mark for themselves by providing reliable and consistent wagering experience over the years. They also offer a range of markets, catering to both the seasoned and amateur bettor. Some even have their own best online cricket betting apps for those who enjoy placing bets on the go. We will also compare the overrounds (explained in the next section) for the match-winner (and final result) market for five of the world’s top cricket tournaments, including IPL betting. This is not a one-off thing. Starting here, we will carry out these checks at regular intervals so that you have an overall idea about where to get the best cricket betting odds. What is overround? A bookmaker's overround is the total of all the odds of a particular outcome, and is created to ensure that the operator keeps profiting (and stays financially viable) in the long run. Calculating the overround is integral to determining the quality of odds from any cricket betting site. Overround = 100% (which is the maximum probability of an event happening) – (implied probability or book%) Implied probability of an outcome = 1/odds x 100. So, if odds on an event is say 10.00, then implied probability = 1/10 x 100 = 10% The higher the overround, the lower the value of the odds. Generally, an overround of 0-3.5% denotes competitive odds; anywhere between 3.5-5% is acceptable, 5-7% is generally considered low-value odds, and anything greater than 7% means you should definitely look elsewhere. To make life easier, we recommend using one of the simplest overround & probability calculators available online. Simply enter the odds (fraction, decimal) to calculate the value of the odds at a particular bookmaker. Best Cricket Betting Odds & Overround Comparison All odds as of March 18, 2021, 12:22 PM (IST) West Indies vs England Format: Test Time & Venue: March 16-21, Kensington Oval, Barbados BookmakerFinal Result (1x2) OddsOverround (%) BetwayWI: 26.00 | Draw: 2.20 | Eng: 1.669.54 10CRICWI: 16.30 | Draw: 2.22 | Eng: 1.7010.41 MelbetWI: 23.00 | Draw: 2.264 | Eng: 1.745.99 ParimatchWI: 28.00 | Draw: 2.22 | Eng: 1.717.51 PariPesaWI: 24.00 | Draw: 2.296 | Eng: 1.7654.38 22BetWI: 23.00 | Draw: 2.275 | Eng: 1.755.45 DafabetWI: 29.00 | Draw: 2.26 | Eng: 1.725.84 CBA Says As you see in the table above, PariPesa has the lowest overround (4.38%) of the eight operators, followed by 22Bet (5.45%) and Dafabet (5.84%). It’ll make more long-term financial sense if you bet with PariPesa, however, considering that they maintain their low overround percentages. South Africa vs Bangladesh Format: ODI Time & Venue: March 18, SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, Centurion BookmakerMatch Winner OddsOverround (%) BetwaySA: 1.13 | BAN: 5.506.68 10CRICSA: 1.12 | BAN: 5.108.89 MELbetSA: 1.168 | BAN: 4.945.86 ParimatchSA: 1.17 | BAN: 4.607.21 PariPesaSA: 1.175 | BAN: 4.985.19 22BetSA: 1.175 | BAN: 4.965.27 DafabetSA: 1.15 | BAN: 5.903.91 CBA Says For the above market, Dafabet is the most high-value odds provider with an overround of just 3.91%. It’s followed by PariPesa (5.19%) and 22Bet (5.27%). You may have noticed that PariPesa has been a regular feature thus far, consistently offering one of the lowest overrounds across markets. CSK vs KKR Format: IPL (T20) Time & Venue: March 26, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai BookmakerMatch Winner OddsOverround (%) BetwayCSK: 1.90 | KKR: 1.905.26 10CRICCSK: 1.89 | KKR: 1.827.86 MELbetCSK: 1.89 | KKR: 1.895.82 ParimatchCSK: 1.92 | KKR: 1.856.14 PariPesaCSK: 1.91 | KKR: 1.914.71 22BetCSK: 1.90 | KKR: 1.905.26 DafabetCSK: 1.96 | KKR: 1.893.93 CBA Says Dafabet has the lowest overround of 3.93%, followed by PariPesa. Given that these two operators maintain such overround percentages, it would definitely be a prudent decision to bet with them. The Ashes (Outrights) Format: Test Time & Venue: July-September 2023, England Outright OddsBetway10CRICMELbetParimatchPariPesa22BetDafabet Australia2.00N/AN/A2.07N/AN/AN/A Draw6.50N/AN/A7.00N/AN/AN/A England2.37N/AN/A2.35N/AN/AN/A Overround (%)7.585.15 CBA Says With the Ashes still some time away at the time of writing, it’s difficult to comment on whether the bookmakers have valued the teams correctly. That said, if you simply go by the overrounds, Parimatch seems to be the clear winner at this point in time. However, we will reserve our final word for when other operators have also published their odds. 2022 T20 World Cup (Outrights) Format: T20I Time & Venue: October 16 – November 13, Australia Although not many betting sites have released the outright odds for the upcoming T20 World Cup just yet, we’re going with Betway, 10CRIC, Parimatch, and Casumo for now. TeamBetway10CRICCasumoParimatch Australia4.004.352.804.35 India4.003.754.204.00 England4.505.003.904.50 Pakistan7.508.009.007.50 New Zealand8.007.508.007.50 South Africa11.0011.009.0011.00 West Indies13.0013.0011.5013.00 Sri Lanka51.0026.0029.0026.00 Afghanistan67.0034.0081.0034.00 Bangladesh67.0034.0081.0034.00 Ireland251.00500.00251.00251.00 Namibia1001.001000.002001.00301.00 Scotland1001.001000.002001.00301.00 Overround (%)20.3822.403524.45 CBA Says If you look at the above teams objectively, you'll notice that only the top five (and the West Indies) have a realistic shot at winning the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. So, if you were to only look at the odds, Betway, 10CRIC, and Parimatch seem to make the most sense financially. However, if you were to only factor in the overround, it is Betway (20.38%) that edges past the other three. What Do You Get Out of the Best Cricket Betting Odds? When it comes to wagering on any sport – including cricket — nothing is as vital as searching for the most competitive odds. In fact, that’s the cornerstone, really, of how to bet on cricket. That’s because only when you get long odds do you realistically stand a chance of making a good profit. The longer the odds, the more the reason (and the benefits) of actually going through with that wager. Remember: More than the money you decide to stake or the market you bet on, it is the quality of the odds that will determine your winnings. Betting on high-quality odds will work to your advantage, both in the short and long term. If you stick to only one operator, you’re certain to miss out on value. That’s because different bookmakers typically offer varying odds, depending on the tournament or league in question. Check out what India’s top-ranked new betting sites have to offer! Even if you had a penchant for picking the winner most of the time, the quality of the odds would still make a significant difference. TO SUM UP: Sure, finding the best cricket betting odds isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it’s still really important, the significance of which one just can’t overemphasize. How To Understand Cricket Betting Rates Understanding how odds in cricket betting work out is easier than you may think. We'll go ahead and illustrate this further with an example. Suppose India is taking on Sri Lanka at home, and you’re backing the Men in Blue to win the match. The odds line in the match result (1×2) market could look something like this: India to Win (1): 1.40 Draw (X): 12.00 Sri Lanka to Win (2): 5.00 Here, to calculate your potential winnings, simply multiply your stake with the odds. Therefore, if you’re putting ₹1,000 on India (and if they win), you’ll get back ₹1,400 (which is, ₹1,000 x 1.40). So you have it – that’s how odds in cricket betting (and on every other sport) work. Cricket Betting Odds: Fraction vs Decimal While you can also choose to see odds in the fraction format, working with decimals is easier. That’s because in the latter, your stake is included in the odds you see. But in the fractional format, you have to add it yourself. Taking the above example, odds of 1.40 = 2/5. Similarly, odds of 5.00 = 4/1 and 12.00 = 11/1. If you choose your odds to be displayed as fractions, you’d have to add your stake to the winnings. Taking the same example above, let's say you win at odds of 2/5. Therefore, winnings = (₹1,000 x 2/5) + ₹1,000 = ₹1,400. We recommend using an online cricket betting odds calculator so you can do away with converting and calculating the odds manually. Why Cricket Betting Odds Are So Important We shall demonstrate this point using an example of two punters to underscore the significance of getting the best cricket betting odds, as well as how to understand cricket betting rates a bit better. Suppose we have two bettors: Ramesh & Suresh. Both are seasoned punters and have the ability to pick out winners at a good rate – for example, 70%. This simply means seven of their 10 wagers are expected to come through. Now, on an average, Ramesh gets cricket betting odds of 1.80 across markets, while Suresh – who shops around at several bookmakers — bags slightly better odds at 2.20. Suppose both want to bet on the ODI World Cup and will wager on 40 matches over the course of the tournament. So, with their winning rate of 70%, this would leave both with 28 winning bets (70% of 40 games) and 12 losing wagers. Considering Ramesh and Suresh are betting ₹2,000 on each game, the end result would be something like this: Ramesh Net Winnings [28 x 0.8] + [12 x (-1)] = 10.4 x ₹2,000 = ₹20,800 Suresh Net Winnings [28 x 1.2] + [12 x (-1)] = 21.6 x ₹2,000 = ₹43,200 Now, that is a difference of more than ₹20,000, which you could be missing out on simply because you aren’t shopping around enough. Sure, this is opportunity cost – something you cannot help in sports betting. However, if you can get better value (theoretically proven) just by comparing the best cricket betting odds, there’s absolutely no reason not to do it.