Are price boosts worth it?
Usually not, but it depends which bookmaker. Of the 660 boosts we could price against the exchange since 11 September, 6% were above the exchange's fair price when they appeared. The median boost was priced -10.3% against it.
What a boost is worth, in one line
A boost moves a price from, say, 5/2 to 3/1. The question is not whether 3/1 beats 5/2 (it always does) but whether 3/1 beats what the market thinks the selection is worth. The exchange's fair price is that market view with the exchange's own margin removed. A boost above it is real value; one below it is a price that was cut before it was raised.
How the margins are spread
| Margin against the exchange | Boosts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| more than 20% under fair | 115 | 17% |
| 10% to 20% under | 224 | 34% |
| 5% to 10% under | 139 | 21% |
| 0% to 5% under | 142 | 22% |
| 0% to 5% above | 27 | 4% |
| more than 5% above | 13 | 2% |
By bookmaker, last 30 days
| Bookmaker | Boosts | Priced | Above fair | Median margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddy Power | 786 | 135 | 7% | -7.1% |
| Betano | 708 | 23 | 0% | -8.8% |
| Coral | 1,229 | 57 | 4% | -9.5% |
| Ladbrokes | 923 | 63 | 0% | -10.3% |
| talkSPORT BET | 737 | 21 | 5% | -10.5% |
| Parimatch | 578 | 23 | 0% | -10.5% |
| BetVictor | 573 | 22 | 0% | -10.6% |
| William Hill | 2,724 | 315 | 9% | -12.0% |
| bet365 | 9,491 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Betlegend | 254 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Betcrown | 240 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Luckymate | 240 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Betnero | 238 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| 888sport | 225 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| BoyleSports | 215 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Sky Bet | 82 | 1 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Betfair Sportsbook | 72 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Bwin | 50 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| 7Bet | 47 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Midnite | 33 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Betfred | 23 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
| Spreadex | 17 | 0 | fewer than 10 priced boosts | |
By sport
| Sport | Priced | Above fair | Median margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| racing | 422 | 6% | -13.4% |
| football | 238 | 5% | -5.6% |
The boosts we cannot price
97% of recorded boosts are on markets the exchange does not carry: bet builders, player props, correct scores, cards and corners. They are recorded with the boosted and pre-boost price, but there is no independent fair price to hold them against, and the bookmakers know that. Where a bookmaker's boosts are almost all of this kind, its page says so.
How long boosts last
Half of all boosts were withdrawn within 25.0 h of first appearing; 57% were withdrawn before the event started rather than expiring at the off.
Everything on this page is recomputed hourly from the recorded boosts. How it is measured, including what is excluded and why.