The sportsbooks’ edge is their mathematical advantage over the bettor, which is built into the odds. If you are betting into a 5% edge you will have to be 5% smarter than the sportsbook to break even in the long run. The lowest sportsbook’s edge you can get at a single operator is around 2.5% at Betfair and Pinnacle, but they are not end-to-end crypto so we don’t want to use them.
Lowest edge you can get with crypto
The lowest sportsbook’s edge at any of the top crypto sportsbooks is 5.38% at Stake. However they only have the best odds on 52.88% of selections, the other 47.12% of the time other crypto sportsbooks have the best odds. So what if you could make your own betting markets made up of only the best odds on each selection from the top crypto sportsbooks?
We create these synthetic markets in every odds comparison and right now the synthetic sportsbook’s edge in NBA is only 2.93%. You can easily bet into markets with such great odds, just check the odds comparisons and take the best odds on the bets you want to make.
Real world example
Here’s an example from the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
By using the overround calculator we can see which sportsbook has the lowest edge:
But the best odds on each selection are:
| Selection | Best odds |
|---|---|
| Boavista | 9.26 (Cloudbet) |
| Draw | 5.01 (Cloudbet) |
| Sporting | 1.44 (Stake) |
The overround calculator shows this is a synthetic sportsbook’s edge of only 0.2%! Much better than any individual sportsbook and you only need to be 0.2% smarter than the odds makers to make long term profit!
In the long run
In the 2021 German Bundesliga season Cloudbet had the lowest edge of any top crypto sportsbook at 2.68%, while BitOdd’s synthetic edge was only 1.29%. Here is the difference that makes over the season if you bet 1 m฿ on these selections in the match result (1×2) market.
| Bet |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | +585m฿ | +598m฿ |
| 50% winners 50% losers* | +156m฿ | +166m฿ |
| Favorite | -29m฿ | -24m฿ |
| Underdog | -10m฿ | -7m฿ |
| Draw | +30m฿ | +38m฿ |
The difference is 4.62%, which can easily be the difference between winning and losing in the long run.
It’s easy with crypto
This does mean you need an account at each sportsbook, 4 in total, which is normal for serious bettors who can not use Betfair and Pinnacle. Because crypto sportsbooks don’t require your personal information, it’s quick and easy to join with just an email and a password.
It is easiest and cheapest to maintain a balance in each account, but you don’t have to. The sportsbooks credit deposits instantly or at most after 1 confirmation, so you can deposit for each bet. The only problem with that is the high transaction fees if you are using Bitcoin or Ether. You can get around that by using a low fee crypto like Dash or Doge or by maintaining a balance at each sportsbook.
Have fun and good luck.
