Which bookmaker keeps the most of your money?

By Victor Anozie · first published 2026-10-28 · prices as of 2026-11-05

• Bookmakers5
• Markets averaged6
• Matches priced38
• UpdatedDaily

• 1xBet Nigeria keeps about ₦40 of every ₦1,000 staked.
• Betway Nigeria keeps about ₦85: 2.1 times as much.
• At ₦1,000 a week, that gap is about ₦2,340 a year.

These are the bookmakers' prices, not a tip. A small margin does not make a bet a good one. If betting stops being fun, Gamble Alert can help.

The index

Every price has the bookmaker's cut built in. The index is that cut in naira: what each bookmaker keeps out of ₦1,000 staked, on average over the match result, both teams to score and over/under 2.5 goals on the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Lower is better for you.

Market by market

The average hides how differently one bookmaker prices its markets. The darker the cell, the more it keeps.

1xBet Nigeria shows it most. It keeps ₦15 on the Premier League match result market and ₦70 on the Premier League both teams to score market. The cheapest bookmaker on the market you see advertised is not always the cheapest on the market you bet.

What the gap costs over a season

Stake ₦1,000 a week for a year, and the margin alone costs about ₦4,420 at Betway Nigeria and about ₦2,080 at 1xBet Nigeria, on average, before a single bet is settled either way. On an accumulator the cut is paid on every leg: see sure 2 odds, measured.

What the index does not tell you

• Bet9ja and the rest. Only the Nigerian bookmakers on the margins page are in it. One priced on fewer than 4 of the 6 markets is left out.
• Other leagues and markets. These are the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. A bookmaker's margin on another league or market can be quite different.
• Bonuses, limits and payouts. A low margin is worth little if the bookmaker is slow to pay. For that side, see the bookmaker reviews.
• Who pays us. Some bookmakers pay us a commission for new customers. The index is the same arithmetic on every bookmaker's own prices, whether it pays us or not, and no bookmaker can buy a place in it.

How the index is worked out

• The cost. For each match and market, the implied chances of all outcomes are added up; what is over 100% is the margin. A bookmaker's figure for a market is the median over the matches it priced, as on the margins page.
• The index. The plain average of those figures over the 6 markets, in naira per ₦1,000 staked.
• When. The index is redone every day from the bookmakers' latest prices; the date above is the last one.

Use these figures

Also measured: sure 2 odds · NPFL home advantage · every margin, match by match