Sports Betting Rule Book

Sports Betting Rules

Every sportsbook has their own rules that apply to bets placed on their sites. However, you may not have the time or the desire to read through what could amount to pages upon pages of “fine print.” This guide is a generic listing of some of the most common rules regarding the placing of bets and wagering on the major sports betting websites. Keep in mind, rules vary for each type of sport, as well as each type of bet!

💡General Rules
📊Dead Heat Rule
✨Summary
✅More about sports betting

General Rules

There are many specific rules applicable to most sports. Those can really get into the weeds, and quickly, but if you have questions about how any particular bet on certain action in a given sport will be settled, it’s best to refer to the sportsbook’s rules page.

Who Decides the Official Results, or if a Bet is Validated?

In general, bets will be settled based on the official result of the relevant governing body of the sport in question.

For most games or matches in almost all sports, the result is validated based on the final score(s) and statistics at the end of regulation time, along with any overtime that occurs included.

Your Odds are Fixed at the time of your Bet:

Once you’ve placed your wager, the odds indicated on your betslip are set—no matter what happens to the offered odds after that point.

Example: you bet on the Dallas Cowboys at -200 a week before the game. Two days before the match, their star quarterback is injured and will miss the game. The odds are re-evaluated and now they are the underdog at +120. Your bet on the match remains at the -200 odds, regardless.

Canceled Game/Event:

If you bet on an event that ends up getting canceled for any reason *before the game starts*, the amount of your wager will be reimbursed.

If the game is called off in the middle of the match, due to inclement weather or any other situation, any bets that can be validated will be, such as number of touchdowns in the first half, point spreads, etc. Any bets related to unfinished portions of the match will be canceled and your wagers refunded.

Example: If a soccer match is suspended in the 70th minute, a bet on the result of the first half of the match will still be validated, whereas the final score bets will not be.

Abandon/Disqualification of a Player

In some types of matchups featuring two individual players (like tennis), what could happen if a player were to become injured while competing, or is disqualified?

Some sportsbooks will keep your bet and payout as applicable based on the end results whether or not the full game was played, others will void your bets and your original wager will be reimbursed if the match was not finalized.

It’s possible that some sportsbooks will consider the match result and any related bets valid if at least a significant portion of the match has been played (i.e. greater than one round/period/half).

Because these conditions can vary greatly depending on the sport, you’ll have to verify with a particular sportsbook’s rules.

Non-Runners (withdrawal of a team/player)

Sports bets are accepted on a “non-runner, no bet” basis. This means that stakes will be refunded on a player, team or other competitor that is withdrawn prior to the start of an event.

Change of Field/Stadium:

In the event of a change to where the game will take place, generally your bet is maintained as it was. The primary exception to this would be if the game is relocated to the stadium of the team previously anticipated to be the away team. In this rare situation, you’ll have to consult the sportsbook’s site.

Cup Matches (i.e. Soccer)

Generally, when wagering on games taking place under a Cup (tournament) structure, you wager on the result of the match prior to any resolution or extension mechanism (i.e. penalty kicks). Moneylines reflect the anticipated winner at the end of regulation.

If you wish to wager on a team’s chance of qualifying for the next round, you must make sure to choose the appropriate wager, usually something like a “to qualify” bet.

Dead Heat Rule (Reduction)

The “dead heat rule” is applicable when multiple competitors end in a tie. In theory, this could occur in one-off sports matches with more than two participants, or in the case of futures (if multiple teams end the season in a tie). This is most common in golf but can occur in other sports too.

Effectively, your potential winnings are reduced by a factor equivalent to the number of participants who tied. If you wagered $100 on Max Homa finishing third straight up (+400) in the Masters Tournament, but instead he tied for third, your bet is still validated.

If two players tie, you’d win $50 x (+400) = $200 but you lose the other $50.
For a three way tie, it’d be $33.33 x (+400) = $133.33, but $66.67 of your original wager is forfeited.

We could also imagine a futures betting situation if you had wagered $100 on the Philadelphia Phillies finishing the 2024 MLB first in the NL East (+400, 5.0), but they end up finishing the season with the same record as the Atlanta Braves. You’d only get half of what your original betslip odds were as an actual payout.

Summary

Sports betting and all its rules can almost seem as complicated as the sports themselves! But remember, the primary objective is to have fun and hopefully win some money along the way. You don’t need to memorize the “The NFL Football Operations Bible” in order to have a decent understanding of how a football game works.

Similarly, most of the time it will suffice to understand generally the rules on how the most basic bets function to understand Sports Betting, writ large. Don’t overthink it, but the main thing is to be aware there are many specific (if rare) occurrences that can impact your bets and potential payouts. Good luck and happy betting!

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