A live odds API streams real-time prices from bookmakers to your screen or model, and it is the infrastructure behind odds comparison sites, value alerts, and automated betting strategies.

At its core, an odds API is a data feed: you send a request for a sport, league, or event, and the provider returns current odds from multiple bookmakers, usually as structured JSON data.

The key concepts are polling versus streaming, latency, coverage, and rate limits, since a feed that updates slowly or covers few bookmakers is of limited use for finding value.

Before you pay for a feed, check that it covers your sports and bookmakers, updates fast enough for your strategy, and allows your intended use, since many providers restrict automated betting.