Pricing & mathsGlossary
Margin
Also known as: Bookmaker margin, Hold
The bookmaker's expected long-run profit as a percentage of stakes taken on a market. Closely related to overround — overround measures the inflation of implied probabilities; margin measures the bookmaker's expected hold. For two-way markets the two numbers are very close; for three-way markets (football 1X2) overround is the cleaner measure. Typical UK margins: 4-7% on top-flight football.