Fetching Odds

Overview

The Odds-API.io provides several endpoints for fetching odds data from multiple bookmakers. This guide covers best practices and common patterns for working with odds data.

For an up-to-date list of all supported bookmakers, visit odds-api.io/sportsbooks.

Basic Workflow

Get available sports - Fetch the list of supported sports
Get leagues - Retrieve leagues for your chosen sport
Get events - Find upcoming or live events
Get odds - Fetch odds from selected bookmakers

Fetching Odds for a Single Event

Use the /v3/odds endpoint to get odds for a specific event:

const apiKey = process.env.ODDS_API_KEY;
const eventId = 123456;
const bookmakers = ['Bet365', 'Unibet', 'SingBet'].join(',');

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.odds-api.io/v3/odds?apiKey=${apiKey}&eventId=${eventId}&bookmakers=${bookmakers}`
);

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

import requests
import os

api_key = os.environ['ODDS_API_KEY']
event_id = 123456
bookmakers = 'Bet365,Unibet,SingBet'

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.odds-api.io/v3/odds',
    params={
        'apiKey': api_key,
        'eventId': event_id,
        'bookmakers': bookmakers
    }
)

data = response.json()
print(data)

<?php
$apiKey = getenv('ODDS_API_KEY');
$eventId = 123456;
$bookmakers = 'Bet365,Unibet,SingBet';

$url = 'https://api.odds-api.io/v3/odds?' . http_build_query([
    'apiKey' => $apiKey,
    'eventId' => $eventId,
    'bookmakers' => $bookmakers
]);

$response = file_get_contents($url);
$data = json_decode($response, true);
print_r($data);

Fetching Odds for Multiple Events

For better efficiency, use the /v3/odds/multi endpoint to fetch odds for up to 10 events in a single request:

const apiKey = process.env.ODDS_API_KEY;
const eventIds = [123456, 123457, 123458].join(',');
const bookmakers = ['Bet365', 'Unibet'].join(',');

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.odds-api.io/v3/odds/multi?apiKey=${apiKey}&eventIds=${eventIds}&bookmakers=${bookmakers}`
);

const data = await response.json();
// Returns an array of event odds
console.log(data);

import requests
import os

api_key = os.environ['ODDS_API_KEY']
event_ids = '123456,123457,123458'
bookmakers = 'Bet365,Unibet'

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.odds-api.io/v3/odds/multi',
    params={
        'apiKey': api_key,
        'eventIds': event_ids,
        'bookmakers': bookmakers
    }
)

data = response.json()
# Returns an array of event odds
print(data)

The multi-odds endpoint counts as only 1 API request regardless of how many events you fetch (up to 10).

Understanding the Odds Response

The odds response includes multiple markets for each bookmaker:

{
  "id": 123456,
  "home": "Manchester United",
  "away": "Liverpool",
  "date": "2025-10-15T15:00:00Z",
  "status": "pending",
  "bookmakers": {
    "Bet365": [
      {
        "name": "ML",
        "odds": [
          {
            "home": "2.10",
            "draw": "3.40",
            "away": "3.20"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2025-10-04T10:30:00Z"
      },
      {
        "name": "Spread",
        "odds": [
          {
            "hdp": -0.5,
            "home": "1.95",
            "away": "1.85"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "Totals",
        "odds": [
          {
            "max": 2.5,
            "over": "1.90",
            "under": "1.90"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Market Types

Pass these exact names to the markets parameter. Matching is case-insensitive.

ML - Match result (Home, Draw, Away)
Spread - Handicap betting with fractional lines, including Asian lines
Totals - Total goals/points over or under a line
Both Teams To Score - Yes/No markets
Correct Score - Exact score predictions
Double Chance, Draw No Bet, European Handicap, Half Time / Full Time
Team Total Home / Team Total Away - Totals for one side only
Half-time and period variants use a suffix: ML HT, Totals HT, Spread HT, Totals 2H
And many more…

Availability varies by sport. Tennis uses Totals (Games) and Spread (Games), basketball adds Player Props. To see exactly which markets an event carries, request it without a markets filter.

Match the full market name. There is no market called “Match Winner” (use ML), and no bare “Over/Under” or “Asian Handicap”, though longer names such as Goals Over/Under and Alternative Asian Handicap do exist.

Finding the Best Odds

Here’s an example of comparing odds across bookmakers to find the best value:

function findBestOdds(oddsData) {
  const market = 'ML';
  const bestOdds = {
    home: { bookmaker: null, odds: 0, link: null },
    draw: { bookmaker: null, odds: 0, link: null },
    away: { bookmaker: null, odds: 0, link: null }
  };

  for (const [bookmaker, markets] of Object.entries(oddsData.bookmakers)) {
    const marketML = markets.find(m => m.name === market);
    if (!marketML?.odds[0]) continue;

    const odds = marketML.odds[0];

    if (parseFloat(odds.home) > bestOdds.home.odds) {
      bestOdds.home = {
        bookmaker,
        odds: parseFloat(odds.home)
      };
    }

    if (odds.draw && parseFloat(odds.draw) > bestOdds.draw.odds) {
      bestOdds.draw = {
        bookmaker,
        odds: parseFloat(odds.draw)
      };
    }

    if (parseFloat(odds.away) > bestOdds.away.odds) {
      bestOdds.away = {
        bookmaker,
        odds: parseFloat(odds.away)
      };
    }
  }

  return bestOdds;
}

// Usage
const bestOdds = findBestOdds(oddsData);
console.log('Best home odds:', bestOdds.home.odds, 'at', bestOdds.home.bookmaker);

Getting Updated Odds

For real-time applications, use the /v3/odds/updated endpoint to fetch only odds that have changed:

const apiKey = process.env.ODDS_API_KEY;
const since = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 90; // Last 90 seconds
const bookmaker = 'Bet365';
const sport = 'Football';

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.odds-api.io/v3/odds/updated?apiKey=${apiKey}&since=${since}&bookmaker=${bookmaker}&sport=${sport}`
);

const updatedOdds = await response.json();

The since parameter must be a UNIX timestamp no older than 90 seconds.

Caching Strategies

To optimize performance and reduce API calls:

Cache event lists for 5-10 minutes
Cache pre-match odds for 30-60 seconds
Cache live odds for 5-10 seconds
Use updated odds endpoint for incremental updates

// Example caching with Node.js
const cache = new Map();
const CACHE_TTL = 60000; // 60 seconds

async function getCachedOdds(eventId) {
  const cacheKey = `odds:${eventId}`;
  const cached = cache.get(cacheKey);

  if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp < CACHE_TTL) {
    return cached.data;
  }

  const data = await fetchOdds(eventId);
  cache.set(cacheKey, { data, timestamp: Date.now() });

  return data;
}

Best Practices

Select Only Needed Bookmakers

Select only the most relevant bookmakers for your users. See the full list of supported bookmakers.

Use Multi-Odds Endpoint

Batch requests using /v3/odds/multi to reduce API calls and stay within rate limits.

Implement Proper Caching

Cache odds data appropriately based on match status (pre-match vs live).

Handle Missing Data Gracefully

Not all bookmakers offer all markets. Always check if data exists before accessing it.

Getting Started

Guides

Examples

Overview

Basic Workflow

Fetching Odds for a Single Event

Fetching Odds for Multiple Events

Understanding the Odds Response

Market Types

Finding the Best Odds

Getting Updated Odds

Caching Strategies

Best Practices

Next Steps

Value Bets

WebSockets

​Overview

​Basic Workflow

​Fetching Odds for a Single Event

​Fetching Odds for Multiple Events

​Understanding the Odds Response

​Market Types

​Finding the Best Odds

​Getting Updated Odds

​Caching Strategies

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Value Bets

WebSockets

Overview

Basic Workflow

Fetching Odds for a Single Event

Fetching Odds for Multiple Events

Understanding the Odds Response

Market Types

Finding the Best Odds

Getting Updated Odds

Caching Strategies

Best Practices

Next Steps