The cost of the price
A margin is a percentage. This is what it takes in cedis.
A book returning 95 per cent on a cedi of turnover keeps five pesewas of every cedi that goes across it, before a single result is known. Over a year of slips that becomes a real number, and it is a number nobody puts on a promotions page.
Read this before the tables
These figures are the cost of the price, not a prediction. They assume somebody betting in line with the book's own prices, which is the assumption that makes them a floor rather than a forecast. A bettor who loses more than the margin loses more than this; nobody should read a smaller number as a path to being ahead.
Betting is not a way to make money and this publication does not present it as one. The only claim being made is that if you are going to be charged, you may as well know what the charge is.
At three slips a week, over a year
156 slips is three a week for a year, chosen here so the arithmetic has something concrete to sit on. Move along a row to see what changes when the stake does. The deduction rate in the first column is the only figure in the table that came from a bookmaker.
| Bookmaker | Taken per cedi | GH₵5 a slip | GH₵20 a slip | GH₵50 a slip | GH₵200 a slip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetFox 4.21% margin, indicative | 4.04% | GH₵32 | GH₵126 | GH₵315 | GH₵1,260 |
| betPawa 5.08% margin, comparable | 4.83% | GH₵38 | GH₵151 | GH₵377 | GH₵1,508 |
| Soccabet 5.12% margin, indicative | 4.87% | GH₵38 | GH₵152 | GH₵380 | GH₵1,520 |
| 22Bet 5.34% margin, weak | 5.07% | GH₵40 | GH₵158 | GH₵395 | GH₵1,582 |
| SportyBet 6.12% margin, comparable | 5.77% | GH₵45 | GH₵180 | GH₵450 | GH₵1,799 |
| Betwinner 6.70% margin, comparable | 6.28% | GH₵49 | GH₵196 | GH₵490 | GH₵1,959 |
| 1xBet 6.71% margin, comparable | 6.29% | GH₵49 | GH₵196 | GH₵490 | GH₵1,962 |
| Betway 8.98% margin, weak | 8.24% | GH₵64 | GH₵257 | GH₵643 | GH₵2,571 |
Turnover at each stake, for reference: GH₵5 a slip is GH₵780 across the year; GH₵20 a slip is GH₵3,120 across the year; GH₵50 a slip is GH₵7,800 across the year; GH₵200 a slip is GH₵31,200 across the year.
The difference between betPawa and 1xBet
Both figures were measured the same way, on thirty or more of each book's own current prices across more than the top flight, which is what makes the subtraction legitimate. betPawa charges 5.08% and 1xBet charges 6.71%, a gap of 1.63 points.
| Slips a year | GH₵5 a slip | GH₵20 a slip | GH₵50 a slip | GH₵200 a slip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 one a week | GH₵4 | GH₵15 | GH₵38 | GH₵151 |
| 156 three a week | GH₵11 | GH₵45 | GH₵113 | GH₵454 |
| 365 one a day | GH₵27 | GH₵106 | GH₵265 | GH₵1,061 |
Each cell is what the dearer of the two books takes above the sharper one, on the same turnover, from the price alone. It is not a saving in the sense of money in a pocket. It is a smaller deduction from the same stakes.
Against a free bet
A welcome offer is worth something and it is worth it once. The largest sign-up offer on this market, cleared in full, is a single credit. The margin is applied to every slip after it, including every slip placed with the money the offer produced.
At GH₵20 a slip and 156 slips, the gap between the sharpest and the dearest comparable book on this board comes to GH₵45 in one year. That is the number to hold a bonus headline against.
Questions this page gets asked
Does a smaller margin mean I win?
No. The margin is the deduction the bookmaker applies to the prices before anything is settled, so a smaller one means you are charged less per slip. Most accounts finish a year behind whatever book they use, and nothing on this page changes that or is meant to suggest it.
Where do the cedi figures come from?
Stake multiplied by number of slips multiplied by the deduction rate. The deduction rate is one hundred minus what the book returns on a cedi, which comes out of its own published prices. The stake and the number of slips are chosen on this page rather than measured anywhere.
Why compare only some of the books?
Because only four of the eight margins on the board were measured the same way. Putting a figure taken from two fixtures on an aggregator into a cedi comparison would give a number to four decimal places and a claim to none.