What is a margin, in one sentence?

The share of everything staked that the bookmaker keeps before anybody wins or loses, built into the prices rather than charged as a fee.

Why can I not just compare the percentages?

Because four of these eight were measured on something narrower than the others, and books price top-flight football far sharper than anything else. Comparing a top-flight figure with an all-competitions figure flatters the first by more than the real difference between the two books.

Why does one figure carry a 2023 date?

Because it is the only capture of that book's own price feed anybody could reach. It says what that book was pricing at then and nothing about today, and the date is printed rather than tidied away.

Is a lower margin always better?

On price, yes, and price applies to every bet you place. It is not the only thing that matters, which is why the margin is one criterion of five on the slip rather than the whole of it.

the price of a bet

What each book keeps, and on what basis it was measured

A welcome offer is used once. A margin is applied to every bet you place for as long as you keep the account. These are the prices, and the basis each one was measured on.

Books with a readable price

8 of 13

Measured on the same footing

all-competitions football

Narrower basis

read the caveat before comparing

No price anybody could read

unpriced, not expensive

Every margin, with what is behind it

Bookmaker	Keeps	What was priced	Read	Comparable
BetFox line 7	4.21%	eight mainstream 1X2 markets read in a browser on the live Ghanaian site	9 August 2026	no
betPawa line 4	5.08%	860 football events carrying a full-time 1X2 market, crawled from the operator's own site	9 August 2026	yes
Soccabet line 3	5.12%	all ten Premier League matches on the operator's own coupon	9 August 2026	no
22Bet off the slip	5.34%	ten football markets on the operator's own Ghana pre-match feed, from a web archive capture	7 September 2023	no
SportyBet line 5	6.12%	491 football matches on the operator's own Ghana pricing feed, every tier	9 August 2026	yes
Betwinner off the slip	6.70%	36 football fixtures on the operator's own feed, aggregate specials excluded	9 August 2026	yes
1xBet off the slip	6.71%	the fifty most-played football events of the day on the operator's own line feed	9 August 2026	yes
Betway line 6	around 9%	two La Liga fixtures on one weekend, taken from an aggregator because the book served no odds	9 August 2026	no

BetFox. Eight prices is a small sample beside the four books measured across hundreds.

Soccabet. Top-flight football only, which is the basis every book looks best on. Soccabet's all-competition figure is unmeasured and is very likely higher than this.

22Bet. Three years old. It is the only capture of this book's own feed anybody could reach, and margins move, so it says what 22Bet was pricing at then and nothing about today.

Betway. Two prices from one aggregator. This is the weakest margin figure on the site and is shown rounded, because the stored decimals claim a precision two fixtures cannot carry.

What it costs, in cedis

The only books compared here are the four measured on the same footing. Multiply the turnover by the margin and you have the price of using that book for a month, before a single result goes your way or against it.

Bookmaker	Keeps	on GH₵200	on GH₵1,000	on GH₵5,000
betPawa	5.08%	GH₵10	GH₵51	GH₵254
SportyBet	6.12%	GH₵12	GH₵61	GH₵306
Betwinner	6.70%	GH₵13	GH₵67	GH₵335
1xBet	6.71%	GH₵13	GH₵67	GH₵336

On GH₵1,000 of turnover the gap between betPawa and 1xBet is GH₵16. That is more than most welcome offers in this market are worth after their playthrough, and unlike a welcome offer it repeats every month. The builder will do this for the books you actually use.

The books with no price at all

Premier Bet, MSport, Bangbet, Melbet and Wiwi Casino publish no odds this desk could read, either because the line is served only to a browser inside Ghana or because what was served was not a real coupon. Those records carry no margin, and an absent margin is shown as absent rather than as zero. A zero would be an accusation of the worst pricing in the market, applied to books nobody has priced.

About margins

What is a margin, in one sentence?: The share of everything staked that the bookmaker keeps before anybody wins or loses, built into the prices rather than charged as a fee.
Why can I not just compare the percentages?: Because four of these eight were measured on something narrower than the others, and books price top-flight football far sharper than anything else. Comparing a top-flight figure with an all-competitions figure flatters the first by more than the real difference between the two books.
Why does one figure carry a 2023 date?: Because it is the only capture of that book's own price feed anybody could reach. It says what that book was pricing at then and nothing about today, and the date is printed rather than tidied away.
Is a lower margin always better?: On price, yes, and price applies to every bet you place. It is not the only thing that matters, which is why the margin is one criterion of five on the slip rather than the whole of it.