Decimal Odds | What Are Decimal Odds? How Do They Work?

Decimal or “European” odds are a popular and intuitive format for expressing the potential winnings of an a bet. The format is used across Europe, and is the default format on sports betting exchanges.

Unlike other odds formats such as Fractional or American odds, decimal odds represent the total amount that will be paid out to the bettor if their bet is successful, including the original stake.

Decimal odds are presented as a number with two decimal places, such as 2.50 or 1.75. Calculating potential winnings with decimal odds is simple: you multiply the amount of the bet by the decimal odds. For the profit, you then subtract the stake as follows:

Profit = (stake x decimal odds) - stake

For example, if you bet €50 at odds of 2.00, your potential payout would be €100 (€50 x 2.00 = €100). The potential profit would be €50 (€100 return – €50 stake).

As decimal odds represent the total payout, it’s easy to compare odds across different bookmakers. Essentially the higher the decimal odds are, the higher the potential payout is.

Decimal odds can be converted into  percentages (known as the implied probability) using the following formula:

Implied Probability = (1 / decimal odds) x 100

Let’s say you have decimal odds of 2.5 for an event. The implied probability is calculated as: (1 / 2.5 x 100) = 0.4 x 100 = 40%