AFL presents a distinctive betting landscape thanks to its high-scoring, fluid nature. Matches regularly produce combined totals north of 150 points, with individual team scores swinging dramatically based on form, conditions, and matchups. The sport's continuous play and lack of set pieces make momentum shifts harder to predict than in stop-start sports, which creates genuine inefficiencies for sharp bettors to exploit. Market depth is strong with major bookmakers — head-to-head, line, totals, and player props are all well-covered — though the exotic and same-game multi markets tend to carry significantly wider margins than primary markets.
Vig on AFL head-to-head markets typically sits in the 4–6% range with most bookmakers, though it varies meaningfully across the field. Line markets (handicap betting) tend to carry slightly tighter margins than head-to-head odds, particularly for marquee games between well-matched teams. Lopsided matchups are where bookmakers often widen their margins most aggressively, since recreational bettors flock to favorites and books face less competitive pressure on those lines. Comparing vig across books is especially valuable in AFL because the spread between the tightest and widest operators can represent a full percentage point or more on the same match.
The AFL season runs from mid-March through the Grand Final in late September, with 23 rounds of home-and-away fixtures followed by a four-week finals series. Early-season rounds often feature softer lines as bookmakers and models alike adjust to roster changes, coaching shifts, and preseason form that may not translate. Finals betting tends to attract the sharpest lines and tightest vig due to increased handle and public attention. Weather is a critical factor — wet and windy conditions at exposed grounds like GMHBA Stadium or Blundstone Arena can suppress scoring by 30+ points and dramatically shift totals value. Home-ground advantage remains meaningful, particularly for teams with travel disadvantages like teams flying interstate, and injury news — especially to key midfielders or full forwards — can move lines substantially in the hours before first bounce.
Analysis updated September 6, 2026. Odds data above refreshes hourly.
↑ 7-day trend: AFL average vig has worsened by 0.33 percentage points over the past week (from 6.19% to 6.52%). Odds margins are widening, meaning bettors are getting less value per wager.
Cross-Sport Vig Comparison
AFL averages 6.52% vig across 2 sportsbooks. Here's how that compares to other active sports:
Vig Rankings
| # | Sportsbook | Avg Vig | Grade | ML | Spreads | Totals | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinnacle | 5.95% | C+ | 5.72% | 5.16% | 6.96% | 1 |
| 2 | DraftKings | 7.09% | D | 7.33% | 6.98% | 6.98% | 2 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which sportsbook has the lowest AFL vig?
Pinnacle currently has the lowest vig at 5.95%, earning a grade of C+.
What is AFL and when is it played?
AFL (Australian Football League) is the top professional Australian rules football league. The season runs from March through September, with finals in September-October. AFL is the most popular sport in Australia and attracts significant international betting interest.
How does AFL vig compare to US sports?
AFL vig tends to be moderate — comparable to NBA. Australian bookmakers offer the tightest lines due to local market depth, while US-facing books typically carry wider margins since AFL is a niche sport for their customer base.
What is vig (vigorish) in sports betting?
Vig — short for vigorish, also called juice or overround — is the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. It's the difference between the true probability of an outcome and what the odds imply. Lower vig means you keep more of your winnings on every bet. For example, a standard -110/-110 line has about 4.76% vig.
How often is this data updated?
We pull fresh odds from The Odds API every hour, on the hour (UTC). Each snapshot captures the latest lines from every sportsbook that has posted odds. The timestamp at the top of the page shows the most recent refresh.
How is the vig grade calculated?
Each sportsbook is graded on average vig: A+ (under 2%) is exchange-level pricing, A (2–3%) very competitive, B+ (3–4%) above average, B (4–5%) the industry standard, C+ (5–6%) slightly below average, C (6–7%) below average, D (7–8%) high vig, D− (8–10%) very high, F (10%+) predatory.
Why does lower vig matter for bettors?
Lower vig directly impacts your long-term returns. A bettor placing $1,000 per week at a book with 4% vig loses roughly $40/week to the house edge. At 2% vig, that drops to $20/week — a $1,040 difference over a year. For serious bettors, shopping for lower vig is one of the most reliable ways to improve profitability.
What sportsbooks do you track?
We track both regulated US sportsbooks (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars) and offshore books (Bovada, BetOnline, MyBookie, BetUS, LowVig.ag, BetAnything). Data comes from The Odds API, which aggregates real-time lines from licensed sources.
How We Calculate These Numbers
- Data Source
- All odds on this page come from The Odds API, which aggregates real-time lines from licensed US and offshore sportsbooks. We track moneyline, spread, and totals markets across every sport with active betting lines.
- Update Frequency
- We pull a fresh snapshot of every tracked market every hour, on the hour (UTC). Each snapshot captures the latest lines from every sportsbook that has posted odds for a given event. The timestamp at the top of each page tells you exactly when the data was last refreshed.
- Vig Calculation
- Vig (short for vigorish, also called juice or overround) measures the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. We calculate it by converting the odds on each side of a market to implied probabilities, summing those probabilities, and subtracting 100%. For example, a market priced at -110/-110 implies 52.38% on each side — a total of 104.76%, meaning a vig of 4.76%. Lower vig means better value for bettors because you keep more of your winnings.
- Per-Market Breakdown
- We compute vig separately for each market type: moneyline (h2h), point spreads, and totals (over/under). The "average vig" shown for each sportsbook is the mean across all market types weighted by the number of events sampled in each market.
- Grading Scale
- Every sportsbook receives a letter grade based on its average vig: A+ (under 2%) is exchange-level pricing. A (2–3%) is very competitive. B+ (3–4%) is above average. B (4–5%) is the industry standard — a -110/-110 line is 4.76%. C+ (5–6%) is slightly below average. C (6–7%) is below average. D (7–8%) is high vig. D− (8–10%) is very high vig. F (10%+) is predatory pricing. See the full Vig Index Methodology for formulas, worked examples, and known limitations.
- Trend Tracking
- We store daily snapshots for 30 days, allowing us to show 24-hour and 7-day vig trends. A downward trend (improving) means sportsbooks are tightening their lines — often in response to increased competition or higher betting volume as a season heats up.