How Sports Bets Are Settled: Void, Abandoned, Postponed and Extra-Time Rules

The quick version

How settlement works: the rule hierarchy

Every bet you place is settled by a stack of rules, and the order matters. At most operators, market rules take precedence over sport rules, which take precedence over general rules³. In plain terms: the specific rules for the market you bet on decide the outcome first. If those rules are silent, the rules for that sport apply. Only if both are silent do the operator's general terms come into play.

This is why two bets on the same match can settle differently. A 1X2 bet and a Next Goalscorer bet are both football bets on the same 90 minutes, but they have different market rules. The 1X2 bet cares about the final score at the end of regulation time¹. The Next Goalscorer bet cares about which named player scores next, and it is settled according to the corresponding next goal result if there is an own goal⁶.

The practical takeaway is simple. Before you place a bet, read the market rules for that specific bet type, not the general terms. The general terms are the fallback, not the starting point.

General rules that apply to every bet

A few rules cut across almost every football market.

Regulation time is the default. Standard match markets settle on the result at the end of a scheduled 90 minutes of play, including added injury or stoppage time but not extra time, a penalty shootout or a golden goal³. This applies to 1X2, handicap, total goals, correct score and most in-play markets².

In-play bets settle on the full-time result, not the score when you bet. If you take an in-play handicap bet, the payout is based on the full-time result adjusted by the handicap line, not the score at the moment you placed the bet⁶. The same applies to in-play first half handicap, which settles on the adjusted result at half time².

Payouts are rounded. Fixed odds dividends are rounded up or down to the nearest 10 cents⁷. On a HKD 1,000 in-play total goals bet at odds of 3.50, a winning bet on 3 total goals pays HKD 3,500⁶.

Once paid, it is paid. Once dividends or refunds are paid based on a referee's declaration, later amendments by the referee or the official body are ignored for payment purposes⁸.

Market rules versus sport rules

The distinction between market rules and sport rules is where most settlement confusion comes from.

Sport rules cover the sport itself: how many players, how long a match lasts, what counts as a goal. Market rules cover the specific bet you placed: what exactly you are betting on, what voids it, and how it pays.

Take own goals. Under the sport rules, an own goal is a goal scored by a player against his own team, registered as a goal in favor of the opposing team¹. That means team markets like Team to Score First Goal count own goals, because the goal is credited to the opposing team¹.

But player markets treat own goals differently. Anytime Goalscorer bets exclude own goals, and if the same designated player scores more than one goal, the winning bet is paid only once⁶. Next Goalscorer bets are settled according to the corresponding next goal result if there is an own goal, and if a player outside the designated list scores next, related bets are refunded⁶.

Same match, same own goal, two different outcomes depending on the market. That is the rule hierarchy in action.

Void bets: when your stake is returned

A void bet means the bet is canceled and your stake is returned. You do not win, you do not lose, and the money goes back.

For football, a match is usually declared void and all bets refunded if:

• The event is called off and no replay or resumption is scheduled¹
• The venue changes after betting starts but before the event begins¹
• A scheduled replay does not fall within 36 hours of the original scheduled time and date¹

When a match is declared void, single bets are refunded. Accumulator bets involving that match remain valid, with the stake running onto the next selections in each bet at odds of 1.00². Some operators describe the same treatment as the void leg counting as a successful leg at odds of one⁹.

Not every bet on a void match is refunded. Bets whose outcome is already determined, or which have already been settled by early settlement, may stand⁷. And some markets have their own rules: if a match is declared void, all Half-time/Full-time bets are refunded, and all Odd/Even Goals bets are refunded¹⁰.

For racing, the refund rules are similar in spirit. If a race is declared void, all bets are refunded in full even if the stewards order a rerun⁴. For single race pools, all bets are fully refunded if a race is declared void¹¹. For multi-race pools, all bets are refunded if all legs are void, but if some legs are run, bets remain valid on the races actually run, ignoring the void races¹¹.

Abandoned and postponed events

This is the question that causes the most worry, and the answer depends on when the match stops.

Called off before regulation time ends. Where a football match is called off, including abandonment, postponement, suspension and cancellation, before the end of regulation time, bets are void and refunded¹. The same applies to specific markets: Last Goal Scorer bets are void if the match is called off before the end of regulation time, and HT-FT bets are void and refunded¹.

Called off after regulation time. Where a match is abandoned after it has proceeded beyond regulation time, there are no refunds and the full-time score determines the result¹. So if your team was winning 2-0 at 90 minutes and the match is abandoned in stoppage time, your bet stands on the 2-0 score.

Postponed, not abandoned. If a match is postponed but rescheduled within 36 hours of the original time and at the same venue, bets usually stand¹. If the replay falls outside that window, or the venue changes, bets are void and refunded¹.

Partial refunds. Some markets refund only if the result is not already determined. Will Both Teams Score bets are void and refunded unless the result is already fully determined at the point the match is called off¹.

Tournament bets. If a tournament is canceled or terminated, all unresolved tournament bets on it are refunded¹². If a team withdraws before playing any match in a single-tournament bet, all bets containing that team are refunded. If the team withdraws after playing, those bets are treated as losing¹². For multi-tournament bets, withdrawal from any relevant tournament means all unresolved bets involving that team are refunded, whether or not the team played⁸.

Other sports. Basketball lottery betting follows a similar pattern: if a match is abandoned within legal playing time, all bets are void and stakes refunded in full. If a match is postponed to within 24 hours of the original start time, bets stand; beyond 24 hours, bets are void and refunded⁵.

Extra time, penalties and settlement of match markets

Extra time is the scheduled additional 30 minutes of play, plus stoppage time, after regulation time ends¹. It is a separate period for settlement purposes, and it does not count toward standard match markets.

Standard match markets settle on regulation time only:

• 1X2: the outcome at the end of regulation time¹
• Handicap: settles on the full-time result at regulation time, excluding extra time or penalty shootouts¹³
• Total goals: counts goals during regulation time¹
• Correct score: settles on the full-time result of play time, excluding extra time and penalty shootout²

In-play markets follow the same principle. All in-play football bets settle on the half-time or full-time result of normal playing time, excluding extra time or penalty shootouts⁶. When extra time begins, the in-play score resets to 0:0⁶.

There are markets built specifically for extra time. Extra time Correct Score settles on the score of the normal extra-time period after normal playing time ends¹⁴. And To Qualify markets, which bet on which team advances to the next round or wins a playoff, are settled on the team that progresses, which may include extra time and penalties⁶.

A worked example. You bet on a team to win in a cup match. The score is 1-1 at 90 minutes, your team wins 2-1 in extra time. Your 1X2 bet loses, because the regulation time result was a draw. Your To Qualify bet wins, because your team advanced.

Greyhound and horse racing settlement

Racing settlement works differently from sports betting because most bets are pari-mutuel: the payout comes from a pool, not from fixed odds.

How the pool pays. Winnings are declared per unit bet from the net betting pool divided by the number of unit bets on the winning combination. The operator may declare winnings in multiples of S$1, rounded down to the nearest dollar, or in fractions of a dollar¹⁵.

Dead heats. If two or more horses dead heat for first, the Win net pool is divided equally among the winning combinations backed⁴. So if two horses dead heat and you backed one of them, you get half the pool share you would have received for an outright win.

Place betting. Bookmakers pay on 3 placed horses when there are 8 or more starters, and on 2 placed horses when there are 4 and fewer than 8 starters¹⁶.

Insufficient finishers. If no horse finishes, all Win bets are refunded. In Place betting, if two horses finish there are two place dividends, if one finishes there is one place dividend, and if none finish all bets are refunded⁴.

Scratched horses. Bets on scratched horses are refunded. If declarations of non-starters leave fewer than four starters, all bets for that bet type are void and refunded¹⁵.

Void races. If an overseas race is declared void, all bets are refunded in full even if the stewards order a rerun. A rerun of a dead heat is treated as a separate race and does not affect the original race's declared dividends⁴.

Payout rounding. For fixed odds bets, the payout for each winning bet is rounded to the nearest 10 cents up or down¹⁷.

Bet types. Racing offers a wide menu: Win, Place, Evens and Odds, Forecast, Place Forecast, Tierce, Trio, Quartet, Quadro, Double, Double Forecast, Double Trio, Triple Trio, Six Up, All Up and Roll betting¹⁵. In Japan, central racing offers five pari-mutuel methods: win, place, correct-order forecast, either-order forecast and multiple pari-mutuel betting¹⁸.

What the betting rules do not cover

Some things sit outside the settlement rules entirely, and it helps to know which.

Cash out. The option to automatically or partially cash out your bet is not available on some operators' football products¹. Where it is offered, it is a separate facility with its own terms, not part of standard settlement.

Esports. Esports markets have their own settlement definitions. In a First Kill market, bets on the team that gets the first kill indicated on the scoreboard win, and bets on the other team lose³. In a First Inhibitor market, bets on the team that has one of their inhibitors destroyed first lose, and bets on the other team win³. For map-based markets like Total Turrets Destroyed, a turret counts only the first time it is destroyed in a map; later destructions after respawning do not count³.

Simulated sports. Where results are determined by a completely random computer simulation, the settlement rules are the operator's simulation rules, not real-world sport rules³.

Amended results. In cycling, in the event of a disqualification or amended result, bets are settled on the result at the time of the podium presentation³. That is a market rule that overrides what happens later.

Discretion clauses. If an operator cannot obtain clarification from a match's official body within a reasonable time, it may have absolute discretion to refund all stakes or take other action¹⁰. This is rare, but it exists.

Field betting. A bet on Field Betting does not include combinations involving additional declared starters added after the bet is accepted¹⁹.

The pattern across all of these is the same: the specific market rules decide, and the general terms fill the gaps. If you want to know how a particular bet will settle, find the market rules for that bet type before you place it.