Cricket Fancy API explained: session markets, lines and settlement

Fancy markets are where Indian cricket betting sites make most of their turnover, and they are also the part of a data feed that new operators understand least. This post explains what a fancy API sends, how a session market is priced and settled, and what to check before you connect one to a live wallet.

What a fancy market is

A fancy, also called a session market, is a bet on a number rather than on who wins. Typical markets are runs scored in the first six overs, a batter's total runs, runs in a ten-over block, the fall of the next wicket, boundaries in an innings and the total for a partnership. A single T20 match can produce well over a hundred of them, and they open and close continuously as the game moves.

Each market is quoted as a line with two sides. The no side is the lower number, the yes side is the higher one, and each side carries a rate. If the line for the first six overs is 48 no at 100 and 49 yes at 100, a player backing yes wins if the score reaches 49 or more. Rates move independently of the line, so the feed has to carry both.

What the API actually sends

A fancy API is a per-match stream of market objects. For every open market you receive a market id, the market name, the no and yes lines, the no and yes rates, the minimum and maximum stake the source allows, a status flag and a timestamp. The fields that matter most are the ones that change every ball.

• Line values for the no and yes sides, updated within a second of the source
• Rates for each side, usually expressed per hundred
• Status: open, suspended, closed or settled, so your front end can grey out a market in time
• Size limits per market, which you should enforce in your own wallet rules
• The final result value and the settled side once the market closes

Different sources model the same match differently, which is why our fancy feed combines Betfair fancy, Khhadda market fancy, manual fancy and Type D fancy in one response. Manual fancy is set by a trading desk and moves in larger steps; exchange-derived fancy moves every few seconds. Operators normally show all of them and let the player choose.

Suspension and why it matters

Between the ball being bowled and the outcome being known, every affected market is suspended. If your site keeps accepting bets during those two or three seconds, sharp players will pick you off with live television that is ahead of your data. The suspend flag in the feed exists for exactly this reason, and it should be treated as authoritative: when a market reads suspended, the bet button is disabled, full stop.

Two implementation details follow from this. First, poll or subscribe frequently enough that a suspension reaches your site before a player can react to the screen. Second, validate every bet against the market state on the server at the moment it is placed, never against the state the browser had when the page was rendered.

How settlement works

When a session ends, the source publishes the final value and the market moves to settled. Your settlement job reads that value, compares it with each open bet's line and side, and credits or debits the wallet. Because the API carries the settled result for every market, this is a mechanical job that can run in a queue worker without a human checking each market.

There are three edge cases to handle. A market can be voided if the session does not complete, for example when rain ends an innings early, and bets on it are refunded. A line can be corrected after an official scorecard change, in which case the result is republished and your job must be idempotent. And a match can be abandoned, which voids every unsettled market for it at once.

Plans and prices

The fancy feed is sold on a fixed monthly rent with unlimited requests. Match Fancy on its own is ₹50,000 per month and covers Betfair, Khhadda, manual and Type D fancy. Most operators take it with match odds: the Match Odds and Fancy Combo is ₹90,000 per month, and the full package with Bookmaker match odds added is ₹130,000 per month. There is no per-bet or revenue-share element, so the cost does not grow with your turnover.

Before you connect it to a live wallet

• Run a full match in the sandbox and check your suspension handling against the live TV delay
• Confirm that settlement is idempotent and that voided markets refund correctly
• Check that your maximum stake per market is at or below the size the feed reports
• Log every market state change for at least a week so disputes can be replayed

Key takeaways

• A fancy market is a numeric line with a no side and a yes side, each with its own rate
• The feed carries line, rate, size, status and the settled result for every market, per match
• Treat the suspend flag as authoritative and validate bets server-side
• Match Fancy is ₹50,000 per month with unlimited requests; combos with match odds start at ₹90,000