Football Odds Ireland

Best-price share: where the value actually sits

Best-price share measures how often a bookmaker posts the top available price on a sampled selection. It is the cleanest single indicator of pricing value.

• Betfair — 53.1% best-price share (213 selections sampled)
• Ladbrokes — 22.3% (193)
• Unibet — 17.3% (191)
• William Hill — 17.4% (219)
• Betway — 13.8% (195)
• Paddy Power — 12.3% (195)
• BoyleSports — 11.8% (195)
• 888sport — 11.4% (219)
• LiveScore Bet — 10.4% (193)
• BetVictor — 6.4% (188)

Betfair's dominance reflects its exchange-driven pricing model, which typically undercuts fixed-odds books. Shares sum above 100% because multiple books can share the top price on the same selection. For accumulators and multiples, spreading selections across two or three of the higher-share operators captures more top prices than staying loyal to one book.

Average margin: the bookmaker's built-in cut

Margin (overround) is the theoretical hold baked into a market. Lower margin means more of the true price returns to you.

• Betfair — 4.29%
• Unibet — 5.73%
• Ladbrokes — 5.83%
• Betway — 6.32%
• Paddy Power — 6.93%
• William Hill — 6.96%
• bet365 — 7.44%
• 888sport — 7.13%
• BoyleSports — 7.51%
• BetVictor — 7.51%
• LiveScore Bet — 8.37%

The gap between Betfair (4.29%) and LiveScore Bet (8.37%) is roughly four percentage points — a material difference over a season of stakes. Note that bet365 was sampled on only 30 selections here, so its 7.44% margin figure and 0% best-price share carry less statistical weight than operators sampled on 188–219 selections; treat them as indicative rather than settled.

Reading the two metrics together

Best-price share and margin measure different things and occasionally disagree.

William Hill and Unibet post near-identical best-price shares (17.4% vs 17.3%), but Unibet runs a tighter margin (5.73% vs 6.96%). On markets where neither posts the outright top price, Unibet's lower overround tends to leave the better second-tier price.

Betfair leads on both dimensions — highest share, lowest margin — so it is the natural first check for a single football selection. But no operator wins every market: Ladbrokes and William Hill each take the best price on around one selection in five, so a value-focused approach in Ireland means holding two or three accounts and comparing prices at bet placement rather than assuming one book always leads.

Market depth and sports coverage

Pricing value is only useful if the market you want is priced. On coverage and depth ratings:

• bet365 leads market coverage (9.6) and sports depth (9.5), with live capability at 9.4 — relevant for in-play football across midweek European fixtures.
• Betfair scores 8.8 coverage / 8.6 depth alongside its pricing lead.
• William Hill (8.5 coverage / 8.6 depth) and Betway (8.4 / 8.5) sit next.

For deep markets on a single high-profile match — additional goalscorer, corner and card lines, Bet Builder combinations — coverage and depth ratings matter more than raw margin. Paddy Power, BoyleSports and Novibet all carry GRAI regulation and offer Bet Builder, useful for domestic bettors combining Irish-facing operators with GRAI oversight.

Football competitions covered

The football fixtures priced across these operators span the leagues Irish bettors follow most:

• Premier League — the deepest market by volume; Arsenal v Coventry City in the EFL Cup is among the near-term fixtures below.
• Champions League and Europa League — midweek European nights with the widest in-play and Bet Builder coverage.
• Ligue 1, Serie A — Marseille v Strasbourg opens the Ligue 1 sample.
• Copa Libertadores — the South American knockout rounds draw a full slate, including Flamengo v Cruzeiro and Cerro Porteño v Palmeiras.
• World Cup futures — long-term outright markets sit under futures pricing.

Best-price share tends to be highest on Betfair for major-league match-odds; niche Libertadores selections show more dispersion, so comparison pays off most on lower-liquidity markets.

Upcoming football fixtures

Selected fixtures from the current sample (times UTC):

• Independiente Rivadavia v Fluminense-RJ — Copa Libertadores, 18 Aug 22:00
• Deportes Tolima v Independiente del Valle — Copa Libertadores, 19 Aug 00:30
• Universidad Católica (CHI) v Estudiantes La Plata — Copa Libertadores, 19 Aug 00:30
• Cerro Porteño v Palmeiras-SP — Copa Libertadores, 19 Aug 22:00
• Coquimbo Unido v Platense — Copa Libertadores, 19 Aug 22:00
• Flamengo-RJ v Cruzeiro — Copa Libertadores, 20 Aug 00:30
• LDU Quito v Mirassol — Copa Libertadores, 20 Aug 22:00
• Corinthians-SP v Rosario Central — Copa Libertadores, 21 Aug 00:30
• Marseille v Strasbourg — Ligue 1, 21 Aug 18:45
• Arsenal v Coventry City — Premier League cup tie, 21 Aug 19:00

Compare match-odds across operators close to kick-off; opening lines shift as liquidity builds, particularly on the Libertadores knockout fixtures.

Payments, apps and withdrawals

All 14 operators here are licensed for the Irish market, carry a €10 minimum deposit and quote withdrawal windows of 0–24 hours. Payment support varies:

• Apple Pay is listed by bet365, Paddy Power and BoyleSports.
• Revolut Pay is listed by bet365 and Paddy Power.
• PayPal is listed across every operator in the set.
• Debit Card (Visa/Mastercard) is universal.

On app ratings, bet365 (9.3) and Paddy Power (8.8) lead, with LiveScore Bet (8.5) and William Hill (8.5) close behind. Hollywoodbets is Android-only in this set (no iOS app listed). The minimum betting age in Ireland is 18.