What is a draw no bet?

There’s no sure thing in sports, and often, the best value on betting sites comes with backing the outsider in a match or event.

Naturally, online bookmakers have their underdogs for a reason and bettors need to be smart about which underdogs they choose to support, but the bookies do offer you various means to get behind a longshot with a safety net.

Draw no bet is one such option which has become popular among football bettors. Below, we delve into the draw no bet meaning, how a draw no bet wager works and the advantages of using draw no bet on football betting sites.

What is a draw no bet?

Draw no bet is largely exclusive to football betting, given how regularly matches finish all square.

In the 2023/24 Premier League season, 22 per cent of all fixtures ended in draws. Not a huge amount, but enough to consider taking the draw out of the equation where it makes sense.

Draw no bet is a bet type that removes the draw as a factor when betting on a game with bookmakers returning your stake in cash should the contest finish all square.

Should your selection win, you’ll be paid out as usual. If the other team wins, the bet will lose.

The price on both teams in the draw no bet market will be shorter than the standard match market on betting apps due to the absence of the draw as an outcome.

How does a draw no bet work?

Essentially, what draw no bet means is that we’ve removed one possible outcome from a match bet for a potential result on a game.

You’ll find the draw no bet market in a separate area from the match result market and all you have to do is pick the team you think will win, add them to a bet slip and select your stake.

Let’s take a game between Chelsea and Manchester City as an example of how draw no bet works. Here’s the usual match odds for the fixture:

And now here are the odds in the draw no bet market for the same fixture:

As you can see, the odds on both teams winning have been reduced with the draw no longer a factor. So now, instead of a £10 bet on Man City winning at 17/20 returning £18.50 in the match market, it returns £14 when backing City draw no bet.

A wager on either Chelsea or Man City draw no bet would have the same requirements as a bet on them in the match market in that you need your selection to win to be paid out. The only difference is, if the match ends in a draw you’ll get your stake back, whereas if you backed one team in the match market and the fixture finished all square, your bet would lose.

Should you include a draw no bet selection in an accumulator and the game finishes all square, the bet will be marked as void. This means that if you placed a five-team acca, that multiple would be reduced to four selections if one was a draw no bet wager that ended all square.

Advantages of using draw no bet

With draw no bet explained, let’s take a look at some advantages to a draw no bet strategy when betting on football matches.

The biggest advantage of draw no bet is the safety net offered by having your stake returned should the match finish in a stalemate.

That fallback will appeal to more cautious bettors who aren’t put off by the shorter prices in the market, or those punters who want to back an outsider.

Using the example from the Chelsea vs Manchester City game above, the payout on a Chelsea win drops from £42.50 to £31.50 on a £10 bet. While not an insignificant drop, those wanting to back a home underdog, like Chelsea, in this example, are still getting decent value on a home win with the added bonus of stakes being returned in the case of a draw.

Generally, you wouldn’t back a favourite in a draw no bet due to how much the odds are reduced, but there are advantageous situations where you can use this strategy.

The best instance is backing a favourite draw no bet in play when the favourite team are losing. Live betting sites will give you much better odds in that instant than you would have pre-match and if they only come back to draw, you’ll receive your stake back.

One thing to remember is that it’s best not to use free bets on a draw no bet wager. Often bookmakers will mark the free bets as void, rather than returning them to you like they would with a cash bet, should the match end in a draw.

Draw no bet vs other betting options

New betting sites give you plenty of ways to bet on the outcome of a game and for those seeking an alternative method in those scenarios, there are some different choices to draw no bet.

Bettors could go double chance. This is a bet on two outcomes, usually covering one team and the draw. It’s a lower risk wager than draw no bet because you’ll get paid out in two scenarios.

However, betting sites will reduce the odds greatly for double chance bets due to them covering two outcomes.

A handicap or Asian handicap bet also offers a different route. In this case, bookmakers will assign a virtual deficit or advantage to one side in the form of goals, points or runs, depending on what sport you are betting on.

Should the team you backed on the handicap be winning at full-time after factoring in the handicap then you’ll get paid out and it’s again another potential option for backing an underdog.

However, handicap betting can be a little complex and may not be suited to novice bettors, whereas, draw no bet is far simpler to understand.

Responsible gambling

Customers must ensure that they follow responsible gambling practices from the minute they sign up for any bookmaker.

Betting is not a way to make money online and should only be considered a form of entertainment. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and always factor in the possibility of losing when considering any wagers.

Customers should always remain in control of their betting and bookmakers offer various tools to help manage your gambling, such as deposit limits, reality reminders and self exclusion options.

Should you wish to seek help for gambling-related issues, there are multiple charities and healthcare providers who offer support and information.

• NHS Help

• GambleAware

• Gamblers Anonymous

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