FAQ / Questions and answers
Questions, answered.
What the HalfPoint API covers, how the consensus is built, what it costs and how an AI agent connects.
The data
What is HalfPoint?
HalfPoint is a sports data API. It publishes de-vigged, market-implied consensus probabilities for live games (one per outcome), with fixtures, live scores, venue mappings and settlement grades. The Risk plan adds a bet-stop flag and a consensus range around each price. The product →
What is a de-vigged consensus probability?
Quoted odds include a margin (the vig), so the implied probabilities of a market add up to more than 100%. We remove the vig and combine order-book and price data across venues into one market-implied probability per outcome, built to resist stale and outlying quotes. It describes where the market is; it is not a prediction of who wins. The methodology →
Which sports and leagues are covered by HalfPoint?
Baseball (MLB), basketball (NBA), football (NFL and college football), ice hockey (NHL) and soccer (Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga and UEFA Champions League). College fixtures include games with an FBS or FCS team. Every plan covers all nine leagues. Coverage →
Which markets do you price?
The winner market. US leagues: moneyline, including overtime or extra innings. Soccer: the three-way result (home, draw, away). Spreads, totals and props are outside the current offering. A consensus is published only for games enough venues are quoting, typically from a few days before the game. A game can appear in the fixtures before it has a price.
Where does the data come from?
The consensus is estimated from order-book and price data across venues. Fixtures and live scores use official league feeds where available, checked against confirmation sources where supported. College football has no independent confirmation source. Know the limits →
How fresh is the data?
After a score, our consensus reprices a median 2.2 seconds after the scoring play's timestamp in public play-by-play data, across NBA, NHL, NFL and college football. In our benchmark it repriced 1.5 to 3.4 seconds before the fastest venue price arrived through an established odds provider, depending on the league. Consensus REST snapshots are at most one second behind the stream, and Realtime and Risk stream each change as it is published. Each price carries its timestamp (at) and a recent flag. The benchmark →
What does recent: false mean?
That a current consensus could not be formed. The last price stays in the feed with recent: false and its timestamp, so check both fields instead of assuming every returned price is current.
What is a bet-stop?
A flag that tells a market maker to widen or pull quotes now, when something happens that can be front-run, such as a score. It does not stop the venue's market, and the consensus price keeps updating. The widened-state flag marks a cautious return. It is part of the Risk plan and does not guarantee protection from loss. Signals →
What is the consensus range?
The interval around our estimate that holds the market's consensus about 9 times in 10. It accounts for venues disagreeing and for venues being behind the game together. It is published for live games, for the home and away outcomes, on prices between 0.05 and 0.95, on the Risk plan.
What happens when a game is postponed, suspended or cancelled?
A fixture never disappears silently. It keeps a stable id and a traceable history with its status: Delayed, Suspended, Postponed or Cancelled. A game postponed after its date is locked gets a new fixture id for the replacement, and the two are linked (replaces and replaced_by). Fixtures →
How are games graded for settlement?
Each outcome of the winner market gets win, lose or push after the game. A grade is published only when independent evidence agrees; conflicting results stay unpublished for review, and a published grade never changes. Results →
Do you provide historical data?
History access is not included in the plans. Talk to us if you need it. Contact →
Plans and access
How much does the API cost?
Three plans: Consensus USD 49 a month (USD 490 a year), Realtime USD 249 a month (USD 2490 a year), Risk USD 799 a month (USD 7990 a year). Each includes the one before it. Prices are in US dollars and include VAT where it applies. AI agents can also pay per request with x402. Pricing →
Is there a free trial?
Consensus and Realtime start with a 7-day trial at checkout (card required); the subscription starts at the end of the trial unless you cancel before. A 14-day trial key without a card, including for the Risk plan, is available on request. Ask for a trial key →
Can I try the API without a key?
Yes. The free sample answers without a key: one league, delayed, 10 fixtures, e.g. https://odds.halfpoint.tech/sample/odds?league=nba and https://fixtures.halfpoint.tech/sample/fixtures?league=nba.
What are the rate limits?
200 requests per 10 seconds per key, on each API host. Above that, requests answer 429 with the seconds to wait. There are no overage charges.
How do I get and manage my API key?
Choose a plan and pay by card through Stripe, monthly or yearly. The key is shown once after checkout; we store only a hash of it, so save it. Send it as the X-Api-Key header. Log in at https://account.halfpoint.tech/login with a link sent to your email to rotate the key, update your card, see invoices or cancel. After you pay →
What happens when I cancel?
A cancelled subscription runs until the end of the period already paid.
Can I redistribute the data or use it on an exchange?
Exchange deployment, redistribution, dedicated support and contractual commitments need an individually scoped agreement alongside the plans. Talk to us →
Developers and AI agents
How is the data delivered?
JSON over HTTPS (REST) for snapshots, and server-sent events (SSE) for streamed changes: the current state first, then updates and removals. Consistent fixture ids join prices, game state, mappings and results. API documentation →
Is there an OpenAPI description?
Yes, OpenAPI 3.0 for every route, its parameters and errors, without a key: https://odds.halfpoint.tech/openapi.json. https://docs.halfpoint.tech/llms.txt lists every documentation page as Markdown.
Can an AI agent use HalfPoint?
Yes. An MCP server (streamable HTTP) at https://mcp.halfpoint.tech/ offers the data as tools: list_leagues, list_fixtures, get_live, get_consensus and get_bet_stop_status with a key, and get_sample and get_pass_options without one. For AI agents →
Can I pay without an account?
Yes, with x402: an agent with a wallet pays in USDC on Base, per request (USD 0.01 per odds request, 0.03 with the Risk fields, 0.002 per fixtures, live or grades request) or for a pass, such as Realtime for 24 hours for USD 15. A pass shows its key once and has no email login. x402 setup →
Consensus and Risk for the sharp side of the market.