Betting ROI vs yield: what each number measures and how to calculate it

ROI and yield calculator

Enter four figures from your own records for one period, such as a calendar month, to get your yield before and after costs, the turnover ratio and the ROI on capital; the example values are the ones worked through below.

Yield: profit over turnover

Yield tells you how much each unit staked earned on average:

yield = net profit ÷ total settled stakes (turnover) × 100%

Say you settled 150 bets in a month, staked €12,000 in total and finished €180 up. Your yield is 180 ÷ 12,000 = 1.5%. Void bets don't count towards turnover, because the stake came back. On a sure bet both legs count, because you paid both stakes.

Yield is the right number for comparing methods or periods: it measures how good your prices were, regardless of how much money you have. Most tipster sites and bet trackers call this number “ROI”. Whenever you compare figures, ask what they are divided by.

ROI on capital: profit over money tied up

Return on capital divides the same profit by the money you had to provide to earn it: the balances at all your bookmakers plus any reserve you keep for top-ups.

ROI on capital = net profit ÷ capital × 100%
turnover ratio = turnover ÷ capital
ROI on capital = yield × turnover ratio

The link between the two is turnover: how many times the same money was staked in the period. If €180 of profit came from €12,000 of stakes placed with a €2,000 bankroll, the money turned over six times, and the return on capital was 1.5% × 6 = 9% for that month.

How often a bankroll can realistically turn over depends on how long stakes stay locked and how your money is spread across accounts. Our bankroll guide works through those assumptions.

A third number: bankroll growth

Bankroll growth is what your account balances actually did, corrected for money you moved in or out:

growth = (end balance − start balance − deposits + withdrawals) ÷ start balance

If you withdraw your profit every month, your balances stay flat even though ROI is positive. If you deposit more money mid-month, balances jump without any betting profit. Growth is useful for checking that your records add up; ROI and yield are the numbers for judging the method.

Example: why a 1.5% yield is not a 1.5% return

Sure bets have a small yield per bet, because the margin between two bookmakers is usually 1% to 2% of the combined stake. In exchange, money is only tied up briefly: a pre-match bet often settles the same or the next day. An illustration:

Illustration, not an expectation. Assumes every leg is placed at the shown odds and stands, the money turns over ten times and no account is limited. Real results vary and can be negative.

Two things hold this back in practice. Turnover doesn't grow without limit: there aren't always enough suitable sure bets at your bookmakers, and part of your money always sits in an account that isn't needed right now. And bookmakers restrict winning accounts sooner or later, which cuts both stakes and turnover (see bookmaker limits). Multiplying one month's ROI by twelve and calling it an annual return is therefore misleading, and compounding it is even more so.

Including fees

An honest yield is a yield after every cost. The usual items:

• Betting tax passed on to you. Austria's Wettgebühr has been 5% of the stake since 1 April 2025. The bookmaker owes it, and most absorb it, but some pass it on by cutting the stake or the payout. A passed-on 5% is bigger than a typical sure-bet margin, so it belongs in every affected bet. Details in Austria's betting tax.
• Payment fees and currency conversion. Some payment methods charge on deposit or withdrawal, and accounts in another currency lose a little on every conversion.
• Software and data. A subscription such as ArbVantage at €97 a month is a fixed monthly cost.

In the example above, €300 of profit minus €97 for software leaves €203. The yield after costs is 203 ÷ 20,000 = 1.02% and the return on capital 203 ÷ 2,000 = 10.2%. At a 1.5% yield, a €97 fixed cost is only covered from about 97 ÷ 0.015 = €6,467 of turnover a month in this example. Below that, the month is negative after costs even if every single sure bet worked out.

Fixed costs behave differently from percentage costs: the smaller your turnover, the harder they hit your yield. Run your own numbers before you rely on any figure; the calculator on our homepage does it with sliders.

Spreadsheet formulas: check your own numbers

The calculator at the top uses the same four values. To keep the check in your own spreadsheet, you need them for one period, such as a calendar month:

1. Turnover T (cell B1): the sum of all settled stakes, voids excluded.
2. Gross profit G (B2): total returns minus total stakes of those bets.
3. Costs C (B3): passed-on betting tax (if not already in G), payment fees, software.
4. Capital K (B4): the average balance across all bookmaker accounts in the period, plus the reserve you hold for them, plus money in open bets.

Check with the example: B1 = 20,000, B2 = 300, B3 = 97, B4 = 2,000 gives a yield of 1.015%, a turnover ratio of 10, an ROI of 10.15% and a break-even turnover of €6,467. If you don't yet record your bets cleanly, start there: bet tracking lists the columns you need.

Common mistakes

• Counting deposits as profit. A higher balance after a deposit is not a result. Calculate profit from settled bets, not from balances, or subtract deposits and withdrawals properly.
• Mixing in free bets and bonuses. Profit from a converted free bet is real, but there was no cash stake behind it. Keep it in its own line, or your sure-bet yield looks better than it is. See free bets.
• Tiny samples. For single bets at odds around 2.00, the yield after 100 bets swings by about ±10 percentage points from chance alone (one standard deviation). Sure bets swing far less, but in a short period a single void or mistake weighs heavily.
• Ignoring open bets. Money in unsettled bets is still capital. Leaving it out overstates ROI.
• Comparing across methods. A 1.5% sure-bet yield and a 5% yield from single picks aren't comparable: the second comes with far more variance and is much harder to verify. ArbVantage's value bets are coming soon; when they arrive, track them separately from sure bets.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good betting yield?

It depends on the method. Sure bets are usually listed at margins of 1 to 2 percent, and the realised yield after voids and mistakes is often lower. For single bets on your own picks, a lasting positive yield after the bookmaker margin is rare. Only compare figures from the same method and over enough bets.

Is ROI the same as yield?

Many betting sites use ROI to mean yield: profit divided by total stakes. Strictly, return on investment divides profit by the capital you provided. For sure bets the two differ by the turnover ratio, so always check what a figure is divided by.

How often does a bankroll turn over?

As often as your money is staked and freed again in the period. A pre-match sure bet usually ties money up for one to two days. How many times it really turns over depends on how many suitable sure bets appear at your bookmakers and how your money is spread across accounts, so check it against your own records.

Does the software fee count?

Yes. For an honest result, subtract every cost: passed-on betting tax, payment fees and subscriptions such as the 97 euro a month for ArbVantage. Fixed costs reduce your yield more the smaller your turnover is.

Sources

• Unternehmensserviceportal (USP, Austria): Wettgebührenabrechnung (betting fee)
• RIS: Gebührengesetz 1957, § 33 TP 17 (bets)
• Wikipedia: Return on investment

As of October 2026. The formulas are standard definitions; every figure in the text is an example with the stated assumptions.

Betting involves risk, including sure bets: prices move, bets get voided and accounts get limited. Only bet money you can do without. Our responsible gambling page lists free, confidential help.

Not betting, financial, legal or tax advice. 18+. As of October 2026.