# Live & In-Play Betting Odds API
URL: https://sockodds.com/use-cases/live-in-play-odds-api/

> Pre-match lines and live event status across every Australian book, refreshed every couple of minutes, with the honest flags a live product needs.

Pre-match lines and live event status across every Australian book, refreshed every couple of minutes, with the honest flags a live product needs.

SockOdds is a pre-match feed with live event state: `status.live`, `started`, `ended`, `currentPeriodID` and the period flags ride on every event, and prices refresh every ~2 minutes for as long as a book keeps a market open. It is the right feed for a live product that needs to know the state of the game and the last price seen; it is not a sub-second in-play trading feed, and it says so.

## Why build your live product on SockOdds

- **Live vs pre-match in one schema.** `status.started` and `status.live` tell you which is which without a second source.
- **Per-book freshness.** Every `byBookmaker` entry carries `lastUpdatedAt` and `available`.
- **Stale is flagged.** An event with no source write for 45 minutes is marked `info.stale: true`.
- **Filter to games in progress.** `live=true` on the events endpoint.
- **Honest cadence.** ~2 minutes; the streaming endpoint is reserved and answers 501 rather than pretending.

## What you can build

### A live games feed

Poll `/events?live=true` and render status and the last price per book.

### Line tracking through a game

Diff `byBookmaker` between polls; keep the snapshots.

### Status plus the line

`status.currentPeriodID` and `results` where the source has them, next to the odds.

### Polling, done properly

The [streaming guide](https://sockodds.com/docs/guides/realtime-streaming-api/) shows the poll-and-diff pattern.

## Example request

```bash
curl "https://api.sockodds.com/v2/events/?live=true&limit=5" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

Events in progress with their status and the last price from every book:

```json
{
  "eventID": "afl_2026-09-03_fremantle_vs_hawthorn",
  "leagueID": "AFL",
  "odds": {
    "points-all-game-eo-odd": {
      "oddID": "points-all-game-eo-odd",
      "opposingOddID": "points-all-game-eo-even",
      "marketName": "Odd/Even Total Points",
      "statID": "points",
      "statEntityID": "all",
      "periodID": "game",
      "betTypeID": "eo",
      "sideID": "odd",
      "fairOdds": null,
      "bookOdds": "-116",
      "byBookmaker": {
        "unibet": {
          "odds": "-115",
          "decimal": 1.87,
          "available": true
        },
        "tabtouch": {
          "odds": "-118",
          "decimal": 1.85,
          "available": true
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## SockOdds vs building a live feed yourself

| Capability | SockOdds | building a live feed yourself |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Live vs pre-match | `status.started` / `live` flags in one schema | Track game state across a separate source |
| In-game price updates | `byBookmaker` with `lastUpdatedAt`, ~2 min | Poll and diff every book yourself |
| Push delivery | Not offered (501); poll | Stand up a socket layer per book |
| Status with the line | `status` and `results` on the event | Join a results API to your odds |
| Books covered | 25 in one call | One integration per book |

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a live odds API?

A feed of bookmaker prices and event state during a game. SockOdds carries the state and the last price per book at a ~2 minute cadence.

### Does it support in-play / in-game odds?

Prices are captured for as long as a book keeps a market open, at the same cadence as pre-match. It is not a low-latency trading feed.

### How fast do live odds update?

Every ~2 minutes, with `lastUpdatedAt` per book.

### Do you offer WebSocket streaming?

Not yet. `/v2/stream/events` answers 501.

### Can I get the score alongside live odds?

Where the source carries it, in `results` and `teams.*.score`.

### Which sports have live status?

Every league in the feed carries status flags.

## Related use cases

- [Live Scores & Sports Data API](https://sockodds.com/use-cases/live-scores-sports-data-api/): Event status, results and team data across every code Australia follows, with odds in the same schema..
- [Odds API for Betting Alert Bots](https://sockodds.com/use-cases/odds-alert-bot-api/): Build a sports odds alert bot for Discord or Telegram: diff odds across every AU book to detect line moves and push deeplinks to users..
- [Sports Odds API for Betting Apps](https://sockodds.com/use-cases/sports-betting-app-api/): The sports betting app API with odds from every major Australian bookmaker, event status, results, and click-to-bet deeplinks in a single feed..
- [Pricing](https://sockodds.com/pricing/): plans priced on request rate and scope, including a free Lite tier with no card.

## Start building today

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