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How accurate are the Euroleague odds?

The closing prices of 1,741 finished games since Thu 30 Sep 2021, set against what happened: the chance the market gave, with the bookmakers' margin removed, next to how often it came in. A record of what the market did, not a tip.

The market's record

1,741 games, 2 bookmakers
  • Closing favourite won 53% 915 of 1,741 games
  • Market Brier score 0.539 0 is perfect; a coin flip scores 0.500
  • Average closing payout 95.3% 100% minus the bookmakers' margin
  • Games covered 1,741 Thu 30 Sep 2021 to Thu 15 Oct 2026

Market chance against what happened

10-20% chance: happened 39.7% of 131 selections 20-30% chance: happened 47.3% of 349 selections 30-40% chance: happened 49.6% of 486 selections 40-50% chance: happened 48.1% of 753 selections 50-60% chance: happened 51.9% of 777 selections 60-70% chance: happened 50.4% of 486 selections 70-80% chance: happened 53.0% of 351 selections 80-90% chance: happened 59.7% of 129 selections 100% 0%
Market said 0%100%
Happened
Market chancePriceSelectionsMarket saidHappenedDiff
10-20% 5.00 to 10.00 131 15.9% 39.7% +23.8 pts
20-30% 3.33 to 5.00 349 25.6% 47.3% +21.7 pts
30-40% 2.50 to 3.33 486 35.4% 49.6% +14.2 pts
40-50% 2.00 to 2.50 753 45.5% 48.1% +2.6 pts
50-60% 1.67 to 2.00 777 54.3% 51.9% -2.4 pts
60-70% 1.43 to 1.67 486 64.6% 50.4% -14.2 pts
70-80% 1.25 to 1.43 351 74.4% 53.0% -21.4 pts
80-90% 1.11 to 1.25 129 84.1% 59.7% -24.4 pts

Every priced outcome of every game is one selection. "Market said" is the bookmakers' average implied probability with the margin removed; "Happened" is how often that outcome came in. On the diagonal the market was right on average; above it, that kind of result happened more often than the prices said. Bands with fewer than 30 selections are left out.

Home, away

OutcomeMarket saidHappenedDiff
Home win 52.2% 63.1% +10.9 pts
Away win 47.8% 36.9% -10.9 pts

The market's average closing chance for each outcome over all 1,741 games against the share of games it won. "Home" is the first-named side.

Bookmaker accuracy

lower is better
BookmakerGamesBrier scorevs market averagePayout
Unibet 1,280 0.450 0.000 94.7%
Bet365 1,118 0.605 +0.007 96.0%

Each bookmaker's own closing prices, margin removed, scored against the results of the games it priced; "vs market average" compares it with the bookmakers' average on the same games, so a negative figure means its prices were the closer. Bookmakers with fewer than 50 priced games are left out. Differences of a few thousandths are noise; a much higher score usually means the bookmaker's last price was captured well before the start, so it is the price in our archive being scored, not the trader.

Odds accuracy FAQ

How accurate are Euroleague odds?
Across 1,741 finished Euroleague games since 2021, the closing favourite won 53% of the time. The market's closing chance, with the bookmakers' margin removed, gave the home side 52.2% on average and home wins happened 63.1% of the time. The bands above show the same comparison price by price: a well-calibrated market has outcomes happening about as often as its prices say.
What is a Brier score?
The squared distance between the chances a bookmaker's prices gave and what happened, averaged over games: 0 would be perfect foresight, and on a three-way market a coin-flip price scores 0.667. The market average's closing prices score 0.539 in this league; the lowest single bookmaker is Unibet at 0.450. Differences of a few thousandths between bookmakers are noise, not skill.
Does a well-calibrated market mean the odds cannot be beaten?
Calibration says the market is right on average, not on every game. A band where outcomes happened more often than the prices said is where the closing market under-priced that kind of result over these seasons. The bookmaker's margin, about 4.7% here, still has to be cleared: the closing line value calculator shows what a price needs to beat.