Open any major Canadian sportsbook right now, FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, BET99, and the default odds display will look something like Maple Leafs -160, Senators +135. That’s American format, also called moneyline odds, and it’s the standard across every major North American book. But those same platforms let you flip to decimal odds in your account settings, and for many bettors, especially those doing serious line shopping across multiple books, that switch is worth making. Here’s what you need to know about each format, how to convert between them, and which one is actually more useful for day-to-day betting in Canada.
What Are American (Moneyline) Odds?
American odds use a plus/minus system anchored to a $100 baseline. The logic is straightforward once it clicks, but it does require you to think slightly differently about favourites versus underdogs.
Negative numbers are favourites. The figure tells you how much you need to risk to win $100 in profit. At -160, you bet $160 to win $100, your total return is $260. At -200, you’re betting $200 to win $100, total return $300.
Positive numbers are underdogs. The figure tells you how much profit a $100 bet returns. At +135, a $100 bet returns $135 in profit, total payout $235. At +300, a $100 bet returns $300 profit, total payout $400.
You don’t have to bet in $100 units, that’s just the reference point. A $50 bet at -160 wins $31.25 in profit. The math is proportional.
One place Canadians see this format everywhere is NHL betting. A typical puck line or moneyline market on a game between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks might look like Oilers -180 / Canucks +155. The minus-180 tells you the Oilers are clear favourites, you’d need to risk $180 to return $100 profit. The Canucks at +155 means a $100 bet returns $155 if Vancouver wins outright.
What Are Decimal Odds?
Decimal odds show the total return per dollar wagered, including your original stake. They’re the dominant format at European-origin books like bet365 and Pinnacle, and they’re popular with bettors who want a faster read on payouts.
The formula couldn’t be simpler. Multiply your stake by the decimal, and that’s your total return, stake plus profit combined.
- 1.50, bet $100, return $150 total ($50 profit). Implied probability: 66.7%.
- 2.00, even money. Bet $100, return $200. Implied probability: 50%.
- 3.00, bet $100, return $300 total ($200 profit). Implied probability: 33.3%.
- 5.00, bet $100, return $500 total ($400 profit). Implied probability: 20%.
The key thing to remember: in decimal format, your stake is already included in the return number. A decimal of 1.909 is equivalent to American -110, and a decimal of 2.50 is equivalent to American +150. The implied probability at 2.00 is exactly 50%, that’s even money, the easiest anchor to work from.
Decimal odds show your total return per dollar staked. A $50 bet at 2.50 returns $125, $75 profit plus your $50 back. No extra mental step required.
How to Convert Between the Two Formats
You’ll regularly need to convert between formats when line shopping across books that display differently. Here are the formulas, simple enough to do in your head once you’ve used them a few times.
American to Decimal
Positive American odds (underdogs): Add 100, then divide by 100. So +150 becomes (150 + 100) ÷ 100 = 2.50.
Negative American odds (favourites): Add the absolute value to 100, then divide by the absolute value. So -110 becomes (110 + 100) ÷ 110 = 1.909. And -200 becomes (200 + 100) ÷ 200 = 1.50.
Decimal to American
Decimals of 2.00 or higher (underdogs or even money): Subtract 1, then multiply by 100. So 2.50 becomes (2.50 – 1) × 100 = +150.
Decimals below 2.00 (favourites): Subtract 1, divide -100 by the result. So 1.909 becomes -100 ÷ (1.909 – 1) = -110.
A practical shorthand: decimals below 2.00 are favourites (negative American odds), decimals above 2.00 are underdogs (positive American odds), and 2.00 is the even-money line that separates them.
Implied Probability: The Number That Actually Matters
Both formats embed the same information: the bookmaker’s implied probability that an outcome occurs. Getting comfortable with implied probability is the single most useful skill for evaluating whether a line has value.
How do you calculate implied probability from odds?
For decimal odds, divide 1 by the decimal. Odds of 2.50 give you 1 ÷ 2.50 = 40%. Odds of 1.909 give you 1 ÷ 1.909 = 52.4%.
For negative American odds, divide the absolute value by (absolute value + 100). So -110 gives you 110 ÷ (110 + 100) = 110 ÷ 210 = 52.4%.
For positive American odds, divide 100 by (the number + 100). So +150 gives you 100 ÷ (150 + 100) = 100 ÷ 250 = 40%.
Now here’s why this matters in practice. If you add up the implied probabilities for both sides of a standard two-way market, you’ll get a number higher than 100%. On a typical -110 / -110 game spread, each side carries 52.4% implied probability, which adds up to 104.8%. That extra 4.8% is the vig (short for vigorish, also called juice or the margin). It’s how sportsbooks profit regardless of outcome.
On a standard -110 / -110 market, the implied probabilities sum to 104.8%. The extra 4.8% is the vig, the bookmaker’s built-in margin on every bet you place.
Vig varies significantly across books. According to verified pricing data, Pinnacle averages roughly 4.5% overall and compresses to 2, 3% on peak NHL and NFL markets, making it the lowest-margin option available to Canadian bettors. DraftKings runs approximately 5% on major sports, while FanDuel and bet365 sit in the 5, 6% range. BetMGM has been measured at approximately 5.41%. These gaps look small in isolation, but they compound across hundreds of bets. A bettor placing $100 wagers 1,000 times will pay roughly $1,000 more at a 5.5% vig book than at a 4.5% vig book, same bets, same outcomes, just different pricing.
It’s worth noting that Pinnacle operates outside Ontario’s AGCO-licensed framework, holding a Kahnawake Gaming Commission licence. AGCO-licensed books, the operators overseen by iGaming Ontario, include FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, bet365, BET99, and others. For Ontario bettors, sticking to AGCO-licensed operators means full consumer-protection coverage under provincial regulation.
What About Fractional Odds?
Fractional odds are the third format you’ll occasionally encounter, common in UK-origin content and on older-style horse-racing boards. A fractional odd of 3/1 (“three to one”) means a $100 bet wins $300 profit, total return $400. A 1/2 favourite means a $100 bet wins $50 profit, total return $150.
Most Canadian sportsbooks offer fractional as a selectable display option, but very few bettors here use it as their primary format. It’s the least intuitive for calculating parlays or implied probability. Unless you come from a UK or Australian betting background, there’s little reason to use it over decimal or American.
Which Format Is Better for Line Shopping?
If you’re betting on a single book, the format is mostly personal preference. Use whichever one you find most readable.
But if you’re comparison shopping across multiple books, which any bettor looking for long-term value should be doing, decimal is measurably more efficient. Here’s why.
Comparing a favourite across three books in American format requires you to interpret three negative numbers: -162, -165, -168. Each requires a slightly different mental calculation. In decimal, those same prices become 1.617, 1.606, 1.595. Higher decimal always means better odds for the bettor. The comparison is immediate.
For parlays, decimals are even more clearly superior. Building a parlay in American odds requires converting each leg to decimal, multiplying them, then converting back if your book displays in American. Doing this in your head is error-prone. In decimal, you just multiply straight across. A three-leg parlay at 1.909 × 2.50 × 1.833 = 8.75 decimal, which is approximately +775 American. A $100 bet returns $875 total if all three legs land. That calculation is far harder to run mentally in American format without the intermediate decimal step.
For most Canadian bettors at books like FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM, you can switch to decimal in the account settings under odds display preferences. It takes about 30 seconds and doesn’t change anything about how bets are placed.
A Practical Guide to Switching Your Display on Canadian Books
Every major AGCO-licensed Ontario book and most books available elsewhere in Canada support multiple odds formats. The setting is typically found in your account profile under “Preferences,” “Display Settings,” or “Odds Format.” Look for a dropdown or toggle that offers American, Decimal, and sometimes Fractional options. The change applies site-wide and saves to your account, so you won’t need to reset it each time you log in.
For bettors new to the Canadian regulated market, a full rundown of which AGCO-licensed books are available, and how they compare on market depth and line quality, is covered in our guide to the best Canadian sportsbooks.
One practical tip: if you primarily bet NHL, NFL, NBA, or CFL on a single platform, American odds are probably fine once you’ve internalized the plus/minus logic. If you’re betting across multiple books, particularly if you’re comparing regulated Ontario books against Pinnacle or any of the grey-market offshore operators, decimal makes the comparison sharper and faster. Grey-market books are not illegal for individuals to use in most Canadian provinces, but they operate without provincial consumer protections, and any disputes with them have no regulatory backstop.
What This Means for Bettors
The odds format displayed on your screen doesn’t change the underlying price, a sportsbook charging 5.5% vig costs you the same amount whether you’re reading it in American or decimal. What the format changes is how quickly and accurately you can evaluate that price. Decimal odds make line shopping, parlay math, and implied probability calculations faster and cleaner, which means fewer errors and better decisions over time. If you haven’t tried switching your display to decimal, it’s worth experimenting with for a week.
Sources
- Sports Betting Odds Formats, Canadian Bettor’s Guide, SportsBettingCanada.io
- Moneyline Betting Explained, Canada Guide, SportsBettingCanada.io
- Understanding Betting Odds in Canada: Decimal vs American, SportsBettingCanada.io
- iGaming Ontario, Licensed Operator Registry, igamingontario.ca/en/operators
- Pinnacle Canada, Low Vig Model and Sharp Betting Approach, SportsBettingCanada.io