This tutorial builds a small comparison from a single event's Odds API snapshot. It uses Python's standard library, so the grouping rules are visible rather than hidden in an SDK call.

What counts as the same selection?

For this example, we compare full-time moneyline prices for the same event and side. We request only the moneyline market, then check market_key, bet_type, period, and side again in the returned rows. The event_id is fixed by the URL. The bookmaker is not part of the grouping key; it is what we want to compare.

For a spread or total, add the exact point value and any other selection dimensions to the key. Never group all “home” selections together across different periods or lines.

Fetch every snapshot page

Get a current event_id from GET /v1/events. Put your API key in an environment variable on the server. The snapshot can be paginated, so collect pages before ranking anything.

import json
import os
import sys
import time
from urllib.parse import quote, urlencode
from urllib.request import Request, urlopen

BASE = "https://api.odds-api.net/v1"
API_KEY = os.environ["ODDS_API_KEY"]
EVENT_ID = sys.argv[1]


def get_json(url):
    request = Request(url, headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})
    with urlopen(request, timeout=20) as response:
        return json.load(response)


def load_snapshot(event_id):
    path = f"/events/{quote(event_id, safe='')}/odds/snapshot"
    filters = {"market_keys": "moneyline"}
    items = []
    bookmaker_times = {}
    cursor = None

    while True:
        query = dict(filters)
        if cursor:
            query["cursor"] = cursor
        page = get_json(f"{BASE}{path}?{urlencode(query)}")
        items.extend(page["items"])
        bookmaker_times.update(page.get("bookmaker_as_of_ts_ms", {}))
        if page["complete"]:
            return bookmaker_times, items
        cursor = page.get("next_cursor")
        if not cursor:
            raise RuntimeError("Incomplete snapshot without next_cursor")


bookmaker_times, items = load_snapshot(EVENT_ID)

The API keeps a bookmaker's matching markets together on a page when no bookmaker filter is set. complete and next_cursor still decide whether you have all pages. For a production cache, retain the top-level freshness fields and resume alongside the fetched items.

Filter before sorting

This example applies a client policy of at most 120 seconds since each bookmaker's accepted snapshot. Adjust that threshold to suit your application and compare it with the response's target_refresh_interval_seconds and ttl_seconds. It is a display rule, not an API guarantee.

MAX_AGE_MS = 120_000
now_ms = int(time.time() * 1000)
best = {}

for row in items:
    if row.get("market_key") != "moneyline":
        continue
    if row.get("bet_type") != "moneyline":
        continue
    if row.get("period") != "full time":
        continue
    if row.get("side") not in {"home", "away"}:
        continue
    if not row.get("is_available"):
        continue

    price = row.get("odds")
    bookmaker = row.get("bookmaker")
    observed_ms = bookmaker_times.get(bookmaker)
    if not isinstance(price, (int, float)) or price <= 1:
        continue
    if not isinstance(observed_ms, (int, float)):
        continue
    if now_ms - observed_ms > MAX_AGE_MS:
        continue

    key = (row["market_key"], row["bet_type"], row["period"], row["side"])
    previous = best.get(key)
    if previous is None or price > previous["odds"]:
        best[key] = row

for key, row in sorted(best.items()):
    print(f"{key[3]:>4}: {row['odds']:.2f} at {row['bookmaker']}")

Run both blocks in one file with python compare.py EVENT_ID. A row can disappear from the output because it is unavailable, lacks bookmaker freshness metadata, or exceeds the chosen age threshold. That is preferable to presenting it as a current best price.

One subtlety: the code combines per-bookmaker timestamps across pages. If you need a strict point-in-time comparison across a large paginated response, verify the snapshot and freshness metadata stay consistent as you page. If they do not, retry the snapshot before showing a ranking.

Use the result as a display candidate

The printed price is the highest eligible snapshot price for that exact selection. It is not a promise that a bookmaker still offers it when a user opens the market. Refresh the snapshot or subscribe to the event's odds stream when you need a hotter view, and recheck availability before any downstream action.

The Odds API documentation defines the snapshot response, pagination, bookmaker freshness map, and streaming route used in this example.