Oddschecker: 1X2 Premier League overround margin hit record high in January
FairPlay Sports Media-owned odds comparison portal finds ‘Big 7’ bookmakers peaked at an average of 106.7% during the first month of 2026, as aggressive pricing becomes less of a priority
Oddschecker has revealed average Premier League overround margin on home, draw, away (1X2) markets among the so-called ‘Big 7’ operators reached 106.7% in January – the highest since the affiliate began collecting data in 2014.
By comparison, the average for 2024 was 105.8%, “signalling a recent and clear shift in strategy from operators over the last 12 months”, oddschecker said about propriety data released today, 9 February.
“Rather than competing aggressively on price, market leaders appear focused on promotions, product development and maximising value from their existing customer base,” the firm added.
The graph below shows that apart from 2024, average overrounds among the ‘Big 7’ – Sky Bet, bet365, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral and Betfair (Sportsbook) – have gradually crept up since 2017.
As well as the new highs for average 1X2 margin, January was a particularly bookmaker-friendly month, delivering the most profitable month in the Premier League since 2019.
Oddschecker reported that the win rate for pre-match favourites dropped to 39%, or 16 percentage points below the long-term average.
More than two in five matches (41%) ended in a draw, which was 18 percentage points above normal levels.
Much of this was down to a dearth of goals, with seven matches ending 0-0, “significantly limiting payouts across popular goals and goalscorer markets”, the company noted.
A lack of goals is a trend that persisted all season; there have been 17 goalless encounters in English football’s top-flight, which already beats last season’s total with 13 game weeks still to play.
Oddschecker said that despite the low-scoring affairs, business has been brisk, with bookmakers on the affiliate’s grid experiencing a 7% increase in UK football betslip clicks in January versus December, “reinforcing the belief that demand remains resilient even as goals dry up”.
The firm continued: “With engagement holding firm, it’s clear that operators appear increasingly willing to protect margin rather than chase volume on price.”
Turning to horseracing, the report examined how results at the Dublin Racing Festival (DRF) have impacted ante-post odds for the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Most significantly, Fact To File, a comprehensive winner of the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown, was available 33/1 in places last month for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham but is now a best priced 4/1 with Betfred.
Trainer Willier Mullins dominated the DRF once again, saddling the winner in five of the eight Grade 1s in a weekend of equine action disrupted by turbulent weather conditions that saw Saturday’s action postponed until Monday.
Since the DRF’s inception in 2018, exactly 50% of winners have been the starting price favourite, oddschecker said.
“In stark contrast to last year, day one of the 2026 Festival proved a strong start for operators, with just one favourite obliging and an average winning SP of 8/1, compared to 7/2 the year.
“Day two saw punters claw back ground, with four favourites winning, the same as last year, and an average winning SP of 13/2 compared to 4/1 in 2025.”
Meanwhile, oddschecker reported that Betfred topped the ‘best performing offers’ league table in January with its ‘Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets’ promo.
This was followed by William Hill (Bet £10 get £40 in Free Bets), Bally Bet (Bet £10 get £20 in Free Bets), BetMGM (Bet £10 get £40 in Free Bets) and Sky Bet (Bet 5p get £40 in Free Bets).
The best performer in terms of registration to first-time deposit conversion was challenger bookmaker BetWright at 92%. This compares to an oddschecker average of 72%.
Overall registrations at the odds comparison portal were up 10% year on year in January, though down 1% on December.