Buyer guide
What to look for in a matched-betting feed
The feed under an oddsmatcher fails in specific, predictable ways. Here are the eight that bite hardest when you are choosing one, with the reasoning behind each.
8 min read
An oddsmatcher is only as trustworthy as the feed beneath it. A wrong pair, a stale price, or an opportunity that cannot actually be placed quickly teaches users to stop trusting your numbers.
This checklist is specific to matched betting. The generic provider criteria (coverage, update time, delivery, reliability, support) apply here too and are covered in how to choose an odds-data provider. Below are the eight checks particular to a matched feed, ordered by how badly each bites if you get it wrong.
1. Is it matched, or just raw prices?
The first and biggest question. A matched feed returns each opportunity as a back/exchange-lay pair, rated. A raw feed returns prices and expects you to build the matching engine.
For a matched-betting product, buying raw means committing to build and maintain fixture matching, pairing, rating and gating yourself. That can be right if your edge is in that logic, but go in with your eyes open. Most teams want the matched feed.
2. Is Bet365 covered?
Bet365 is central to matched betting and one of the hardest books to cover, so it is often missing. A matched-betting feed without Bet365 is missing offers and prices users care about.
Treat its presence as table stakes, and confirm it is genuinely there rather than a future promise.
3. Are the rows gated for actionability?
A rated pair is useless if the exchange has no liquidity or the price has aged out. The feed should gate on liquidity and update time so the opportunities you render can actually be placed.
Ungated rows are the fastest way to lose user trust: the first time someone tries to lay an opportunity and the money is not there, your credibility takes the hit, not the feed's.
4. Which matcher types are covered?
Matched betting is several calculations: standard, each-way, extra-place, BOG, dutching, 2Up. A feed that only does 'standard' covers a fraction of what your users will want.
You do not need every type on day one, but you want a feed that offers them so you can expand without changing providers. Each type is expensive to build yourself.
- Standard, each-way, extra-place, BOG, dutching, 2Up as finished output.
- Selectable per request, from one endpoint.
- Consistent rating and qualifying figures across types.
5. How fresh is it, and can you prove it?
Odds move, and a matched opportunity has a shelf life. The feed should refresh on a tight cycle and stamp every payload with a processed-at time, and ideally publish update times live so you, and your users, can see it.
Be sceptical of 'real-time' with no number. A stated cadence and a visible update-time surface beat a marketing word.
6. Is delivery efficient?
Matched-betting products poll frequently. ETag/304 support and gzip mean you refresh on the cycle without re-downloading an unchanged board every time. That is the difference between cheap polling and a runaway bill.
One endpoint per matcher type keeps the integration small, too.
7. Is the coverage maintained?
Bookmakers change markets constantly, and the failure mode here is nastier than a missing price: a mismapped market produces a confidently-wrong back/lay pair your users act on.
So ask how mapping drift is caught before it reaches a rated row, and whether coverage is maintained for you so your product stays correct without you chasing every change.
8. Can you see proof, and try it?
Finally: is there verifiable proof the feed runs in production, and can you try it on the real envelope before committing? A provider confident in a matched feed will show you a live update-time surface and give you a trial key.
Building on a feed you have only seen in a demo is a risk you do not need to take.
At a glance
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Matched output | Back/exchange-lay pairs, ratedRaw prices mean you build the matching engine yourself. |
| Bet365 | Covered today, not a roadmap promiseIt is the book matched bettors expect most. |
| Gating | Liquidity- and update-time-gated rowsUngated opportunities break user trust on first failure. |
| Matcher types | Standard, each-way, extra-place, BOG, dutching, 2UpA single-type feed covers a fraction of demand. |
| Update time | A stated cadence + a visible update-time surfaceOpportunities have a shelf life, and 'real-time' with no number is a red flag. |
| Delivery | ETag/304 + gzip, one endpoint per typeFrequent polling has to stay cheap. |
| Maintenance | Coverage and normalisation maintained for youUnmaintained coverage decays into wrong rows. |
| Proof + trial | A live update-time surface and a trial on the real envelopeDo not build on a feed you have only seen in a demo. |
Where OddsRelay fits
OddsRelay's matched feed is built to pass this checklist as written. Take a trial key and run the eight checks against the real envelope before you commit.
Keep reading
Oddsmatcher-ready, explained
The difference between raw prices and a row you can render straight into an oddsmatcher.
Lay & exchange coverage
Why the exchange side matters as much as the bookmaker side, and what 'lay coverage' really means.
Choosing a provider
The eight criteria that actually separate odds feeds: coverage, update time, schema, support and more.
Matched betting & arbitrage
The stack behind matched-betting and arbitrage platforms: the matched feed, the tools, and full white-label builds. Scoped per partner.
Tipsters & content sites
Live matched odds inside your content: embeds, best-price tables and price-at-publish records under your own brand.
Put the criteria to the test.
Start a free trial of the full UK feed and judge it against everything in this guide.