Cloudbet and Polymarket both let you put money on a game, but they charge you in different ways. Cloudbet is a crypto sportsbook. You bet against the book, and its margin is built into the odds it shows you. Polymarket is a prediction market. You buy shares from other users, and you pay through the gap between buy and sell prices, plus a fee when you take a price that is already there. If you post your own price and wait for someone to fill it, Polymarket charges you no fee at all. So which one is cheaper depends on how you bet. If you click the price on the screen, both cost you a few percent. If you know your own number and can wait, Polymarket can cost less. The first question, though, is where you live, because neither one is open everywhere.
What is the difference between a sportsbook and a prediction market?
At a sportsbook, the book sets the price and takes the other side of your bet. When you win, the book loses. The book protects itself by building a margin into every price, so the odds on both sides add up to more than 100%.
At a prediction market, every outcome trades as a share. The share pays $1 if the outcome happens and $0 if it does not. The price of the share is the market's probability. A share at 40 cents means the market gives that team about a 40% chance.
You do not bet against Polymarket. You buy from another user who wants to sell, and the platform takes a fee for matching you.
That one difference changes three things: how you pay, who is on the other side, and what happens when you keep winning.
How much does it cost to bet on Polymarket?
Polymarket charges a fee only to the taker, the person who accepts a price that is already in the order book. The maker, the person who posts an order and waits for it to fill, pays no fee.
The fee formula is the same on both versions of Polymarket:
Fee = Θ × shares × price × (1 - price)
On the international Polymarket, Θ for sports is 0.05. On Polymarket US, the separate app for US users, Θ is 0.0695 (effective October 19, 2026).
Here is what that does to the price on Polymarket US:
| Share price | Odds before fee | Fee per share | Odds after fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50¢ | +100 / 2.000 | 1.74¢ (3.48% of cost) | -107 / 1.933 |
| 17¢ | +488 / 5.882 | 0.98¢ (5.77% of cost) | +456 / 5.562 |
| 84¢ | -525 / 1.190 | 0.93¢ (1.11% of cost) | -564 / 1.177 |
On the international site the same 50-cent share costs 1.25 cents in fees, which turns +100 / 2.000 into -105 / 1.951.
Look at the middle row. The fee is a bigger share of what you pay when you buy the outsider. That is the same problem you meet with longshots everywhere: the cost hits the cheap side hardest.
What is the real margin on a Polymarket game?
On the morning I wrote this, the Lakers vs Kings game was quoted on Polymarket at 84 cents for the Lakers and 17 cents for the Kings.
- Lakers at 84¢: -525 / 1.190
- Kings at 17¢: +488 / 5.882
- Together: 84% + 17% = 101%
So the spread alone costs about 1%. Now add the Polymarket US taker fee to both sides:
- Lakers: 84¢ + 0.93¢ = 84.93¢, which is -564 / 1.177
- Kings: 17¢ + 0.98¢ = 17.98¢, which is +456 / 5.562
- Together: 84.93% + 17.98% = 102.91%
That is a margin of 2.91% if you take both prices as they sit. This is exactly how you measure bookmaker margin at any sportsbook, and it is the first step to devig a line and find the fair price.
Two limits on that number. The quote moves all day, and it only holds for the shares on offer at that price. A big order can eat through the book and fill worse.
How do you measure Cloudbet's margin?
You do it the same way. Take both moneyline prices for one game, turn each into an implied probability (1 divided by the decimal odds), and add them up.
A standard -110 / -110 line shows how it works. -110 is 1.909 in decimal. 1 / 1.909 = 52.38%. Two sides at 52.38% add up to 104.76%, so that line carries a 4.76% margin.
Run Cloudbet's two prices for the same game through that, and you have a straight comparison with the 2.91% above. My fair odds calculator does the math for you.
On its own site, Cloudbet lists a welcome package worth up to $2,500 in rewards. It starts with your first deposit and runs for 30 days: 10% rakeback on your bets, daily cash drops based on your activity, and a Cash Vault bonus at the end. Cloudbet says the rewards are paid as cash with no rollover.
In my own betting years, Cloudbet was one of the two books that stood out for me. It always paid, it paid quickly, and it was fair and responsive.
Can you get limited on Polymarket?
A sportsbook can cut your stakes if you win too often, because your profit is its loss. That is the main risk of betting at any book.
On Polymarket, you trade against other users, so the platform has no reason to stop you for winning. What limits you there is liquidity. You can only buy the shares that someone is selling at your price. On a popular game that is rarely a problem. On a small market it can be.
Which one can you use where you live?
Polymarket's own documentation lists the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and Ontario among the places where the international site is close-only, meaning you can close old positions but not open new ones. US users have Polymarket US instead, a separate app with its own fee schedule. Check in the app which markets are open in your state.
Cloudbet says it does not accept players from jurisdictions where online gambling is prohibited, and it tells you to check your local rules before you deposit.
My own split is simple. I point US bettors to Bovada and everyone else to Cloudbet. You can see the full list on my where to bet page.
So which one should you choose?
If you want to click a price and move on, compare margins. Take the same game on both, add up the implied probabilities, and bet where the total is lower.
If you have your own number and can wait, Polymarket gives you something a sportsbook does not. You can post your price as a maker, pay no fee, and let the market come to you. That only works if your number is good. The way I check mine is against the closing line: my NFL model's bets beat Pinnacle's closing price by +4.25% over the 2025/26 season, tracked bet by bet.
The best setup is to have more than one place to bet. The same bet at a better price is the easiest edge there is.
If you do not have your own number yet, start with one of my betting models, or let the AI Betting Assistant price the game for you.
FAQ
Is Polymarket a sportsbook?
No, Polymarket is a prediction market, not a sportsbook. On a sportsbook you bet against the book, which sets the odds and takes the other side. On Polymarket you buy and sell shares with other users. Each share pays $1 if the outcome happens and $0 if it does not, so the share price works as a probability. The platform makes money from a fee on takers, not from your losses. For you as a bettor, the result can look similar: you pick a side, and you get paid if it wins. The difference is in how the price is set and who is on the other side.
Does Polymarket charge fees on sports bets?
Yes, Polymarket charges a fee on sports trades, but only to takers. If you accept a price already in the order book, you pay Θ × shares × price × (1 - price). Θ is 0.05 for sports on the international site and 0.0695 on Polymarket US. At 50 cents, that is 1.25 cents or 1.74 cents per share. If you post your own order and someone fills it later, you are the maker, and makers pay no fee.
Is Cloudbet available in the US?
Check before you deposit. Cloudbet says it does not accept players from jurisdictions where online gambling is prohibited, and it asks you to check your local rules first. Do that before you send any money, not after. My own split is Bovada for US bettors and Cloudbet for the rest of the world, and you can see both on my where to bet page.
Are Polymarket odds better than sportsbook odds?
Sometimes they are, and you can only know by checking the same game on both. Turn both prices into implied probabilities and add them up. On the Lakers vs Kings game I used above, Polymarket's prices came to 102.91% after the US taker fee, a 2.91% margin. A standard -110 / -110 sportsbook line carries 4.76%. If you post your own price as a maker, you skip the fee and pay only the spread.
What does a 50 cent share mean in American odds?
A 50 cent share is +100 in American odds and 2.000 in decimal odds before fees. You pay 50 cents, and if you win you get $1 back, so you double your money. On Polymarket US, the taker fee at 50 cents is 1.74 cents per share, which makes your real price -107 / 1.933. On the international site it is 1.25 cents, which makes it -105 / 1.951.
Can I use Polymarket from the United States?
Not the international site. Polymarket's own documentation lists the United States as close-only there, which means you can close old positions but not open new ones. US users have a separate app, Polymarket US, with its own fee schedule. Market access can differ by state, so check in the app what is open where you live.
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Last updated: November 4, 2026