Find a betting term
Type part of a word into the search box to narrow the list as you go, or pick a subject to see only racing terms, football markets or exchange jargon. The letters jump straight to that part of the alphabet, and every term has its own link you can copy and share. Where we cover a subject in depth, the entry links to the full guide.
170 terms
0–9
1X2
The three-way market on a match: home win (1), draw (X) or away win (2), after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties do not count unless the market says so.
A
Acca boost
A percentage added to the winnings of an accumulator, rising with the number of legs. Some bookmakers apply it to profit, others to the return, and minimum odds per leg apply.
Acca insurance
A promotion that refunds your stake, normally as a free bet, when exactly one leg of an accumulator loses. It usually needs a minimum number of legs and minimum odds per leg.
Accumulator
A bet that links four or more selections, every one of which must win. One loser sinks the whole bet, which is why the price grows so fast as legs are added.
Age verification
Confirming that a customer is 18 or over. Since 7 May 2019 a licensed operator has had to do it before you can deposit or place any bet, free bets included.
Alphabet
Twenty-six bets on six selections: two Patents, a Yankee and a sixfold accumulator.
American odds
The US way of showing prices. A plus figure is the profit on a $100 stake, a minus figure the stake needed to win $100.
Example+150 is the same as 6/4 or 2.50; −200 is the same as 1/2 or 1.50.
Ante post
A bet struck well before an event, often days or months before the final field is known. Prices are usually bigger, but if your selection does not run the stake is normally lost unless the bookmaker offers non-runner no bet.
Anytime goalscorer
A bet that a player scores at any point in the match. Own goals do not count for the player, and most bookmakers void the bet if the player does not take part.
Arbitrage
Backing every outcome of an event across different bookmakers when their combined prices add up to less than 100%, so that one result pays whatever happens. The gaps are small and short-lived, and bookmakers restrict accounts that chase them. Prices can move or a bet can be voided before every leg is placed, so the profit is never certain.
Our guide to account restrictions arbitrage calculator on bettingtools.uk
Asian handicap
A handicap market that removes the draw by giving one team a head start in half, whole or quarter goals. On whole lines a result that lands exactly on the handicap returns your stake; on quarter lines half the stake can win or be refunded.
ExampleChelsea −0.5 wins only if Chelsea win; Chelsea −1 returns the stake if they win by exactly one.
B
Back
To bet on an outcome happening, as you would with a bookmaker. On an exchange the backer is matched with someone laying the same outcome.
Bad beat
A bet lost at the last moment, such as an acca beaten by a late goal in its final leg. Painful, but a normal part of betting.
Banker
The selection in a multiple bet that you are most confident of, often included in every line of a system bet.
Bankroll
The money set aside for betting and nothing else. Keeping it separate makes it easier to stick to a budget and to judge results honestly.
Best odds guaranteed
A promise that if you take a price and the starting price turns out bigger, you are paid at the bigger price. Terms vary on which races qualify and on maximum payouts.
ExampleYou take 4/1, the horse starts at 6/1 and wins: you are paid at 6/1.
Bet and get
The most common UK welcome offer: place one qualifying bet, win or lose, and receive free bet credit afterwards.
Bet builder
A bet that combines several outcomes from one match, such as a team to win, a player to score and over 2.5 goals. Because the outcomes are linked, the bookmaker prices the combination itself, usually with a wider margin than a single.
Bet slip
The panel where your selections, stake and potential return are shown before you confirm a bet. Check the odds and stake there, because the bet is accepted as the slip shows it.
Betting duty
The tax a bookmaker pays to the government on its betting profits. Punters in the UK pay no tax on their winnings.
Betting exchange
A marketplace where punters bet against each other instead of against a bookmaker. The exchange matches the two sides and charges commission on net winnings.
Black market
Gambling sites that accept British customers without a Gambling Commission licence. They offer no GamStop protection, no regulated complaints route and no guarantee you will be paid.
Bookie
A person or company that takes bets and sets the odds, keeping a margin in every price. Bookmakers in Great Britain need a Gambling Commission licence.
Booking points
A market on the total cards shown, counted as points: usually 10 for a yellow and 25 for a red, with a player's maximum capped at 35. Each bookmaker's rules say which cards count.
Both teams to score
A bet on whether both sides score at least one goal. The result of the match does not matter; a 1–1 draw and a 3–2 win both settle a yes bet.
Bottle
Slang for odds of 2/1.
Burlington Bertie
Rhyming slang for odds of 100/30, from the music-hall song.
C
Canadian
Twenty-six bets on five selections: ten doubles, ten trebles, five fourfolds and a fivefold, with no singles.
ExampleA £1 Canadian costs £26.
Carpet
Slang for odds of 3/1. On course, a carpet can also mean £300.
Cash out
A bookmaker offer to settle a bet early for an amount based on the current price. It locks in a profit or cuts a loss, and the offer includes the bookmaker's margin, so it is worth slightly less than the bet's fair value.
Clean sheet
A bet that a team does not concede a goal. It is the defensive half of to win to nil, because a goalless draw also counts.
Closing line value
How the price you took compares with the final price before the event starts. Regularly beating the closing price is the most common sign of a skilled bettor, and of an account bookmakers will watch.
Combination forecast
Forecasts on every order of three or more selections finishing first and second. Three selections make six bets.
Commission
The exchange's charge, taken as a percentage of your net winnings on a market. Losing bets pay no commission. Rates differ between exchanges and between customer packages.
Corners
Markets on the number of corners in a match or a half, as over/under lines or as a race to a number. Corners awarded but not taken usually do not count.
Correct score
A bet on the exact final score. Prices are long because there are many possible scores, and bookmakers build wide margins into this market.
Credit card ban
Credit cards have not been allowed for gambling in Great Britain since 14 April 2020, online or in shops. E-wallets funded by a credit card are refused for the same reason.
D
Dark horse
A runner whose ability is not well known, often because it has raced little. The phrase is now used for anyone who might surprise.
Dead heat
Two or more runners finishing level for a paying position. Under the dead heat rule your stake is divided by the number of runners sharing the position, and that part is paid at full odds.
Example£10 at 4/1 on a horse that dead-heats for first returns £25.
Decimal odds
A price shown as the total return per pound staked, including the stake. A price of 3.50 returns £3.50 for each £1, so £2.50 profit.
Deposit limit
A cap you set on how much you can pay into an account over a day, a week or a month. Since 31 October 2025 every GB operator has had to prompt you to set a financial limit, such as a deposit limit, before your first deposit, and since 30 September 2026 it counts money paid in without netting off withdrawals.
Double
One bet that links two selections. Both have to win, and the return from the first becomes the stake on the second, so the odds multiply.
ExampleTwo selections at evens make a double at 3/1: £10 returns £40.
Double chance
A bet that covers two of the three results in one stake: home or draw, away or draw, or either team to win. The price is lower than either single result because you have two ways to win.
Draw bias
An advantage for horses starting from certain stalls on some courses and distances, often because of a tight bend or a faster strip of ground. It matters most in sprints on the Flat.
Draw no bet
A bet on one team to win where a draw returns your stake. It sits between the match result and the double chance in both risk and price.
Drifting
A price that lengthens because the market rates the outcome less likely or money is going elsewhere. A drifter is the opposite of a steamer.
Dutching
Splitting a stake across several selections in the same event so that any of them winning returns the same amount. It cuts the chance of losing at the cost of a smaller return.
E
Each way
Two bets of equal stake: one for the selection to win and one for it to place. A winner collects both parts; a placed horse collects only the place part, at a fraction of the odds.
Example£5 each way costs £10.
Each way terms
The combination of place terms that applies to an each way bet: the fraction of the odds and the number of places paid. Always check them before you bet, because they differ between bookmakers on the same race.
Each way thief
A horse that often finishes placed but rarely wins, making it a better each way bet than a win bet.
Early price
A fixed price a bookmaker offers on a race on the morning of the event, before the on-course market forms. Often paired with best odds guaranteed.
European handicap
A three-way handicap where the head start is in whole goals and the adjusted result can be a draw, so there are three outcomes to bet on.
Evens
Odds of 1/1, or 2.00 in decimal. A winning bet doubles your stake: £10 returns £20.
Exacta
A tote bet to name the first and second in the correct order. It is the pool version of a forecast.
Expected value
The average amount a bet returns over many repetitions: each possible result's payout multiplied by its probability, added up, minus the stake. At bookmaker prices it is negative by the size of the margin.
Extra places
A bookmaker offer that pays each way bets on more places than the standard terms, such as five places instead of four in a big handicap. Most useful in big fields, where the extra place is more likely to come into play.
F
Fair odds
The price an outcome would carry with the margin taken out, so that the implied chances add up to exactly 100%.
Betting margin calculator no-vig calculator on bettingtools.uk
Favourite
The runner with the shortest odds in the market, the one the betting rates most likely to win. Joint favourites share the shortest price.
Favourite-longshot bias
The long-observed pattern that outsiders win less often than their odds suggest and favourites slightly more. It means the margin on long-priced selections is usually larger.
Financial risk check
A check an operator runs once your net deposits pass £150 in a rolling 30 days, using public records such as County Court Judgments. It does not touch your credit file.
First goalscorer
A bet that a player scores the first goal of the match. If the first goal is an own goal, bookmakers usually move on to the next scorer; check the house rules.
Flag
Twenty-three bets on four selections: a Yankee plus six pairs of single stakes about bets.
Forecast
A fixed-odds bet to name the first and second in the correct order. The payout is set by a formula after the race, not when you place the bet.
Form
A horse's recent results, usually shown as a row of numbers and letters beside its name: 1 for a win, 0 for outside the first nine, F for fell, P for pulled up. The latest run sits on the right.
Fractional odds
The traditional British way of showing a price, as profit over stake. Odds of 5/2 pay £5 profit for every £2 staked, plus the stake back.
ExampleTo convert to decimal, divide and add one: 5/2 = 3.50.
Free bet
A stake given by the bookmaker, usually as part of a welcome offer. If it wins you receive the profit only, because the free bet amount is not returned.
Furlong
The unit racing distances are measured in. One furlong is an eighth of a mile, about 201 metres, so a mile race is eight furlongs.
G
Gambling Commission
The regulator that licenses and supervises gambling in Great Britain. Every legal online bookmaker serving British customers holds its licence, and each licence has an account number you can check on the Commission's public register.
GamStop
The free national self-exclusion scheme. One registration excludes you from every online gambling operator licensed in Great Britain for six months, one year or five years, and the exclusion only ends when you contact GamStop after the minimum period.
Goal line
An over/under market with whole or quarter lines, such as 2 or 2.25 goals. On a whole line an exact total returns the stake; on a quarter line the stake is split across the two neighbouring lines.
Going
The condition of the ground on a racecourse, from heavy to firm. Some horses act on soft ground and struggle on fast ground, and the other way round, so a change in the going can shift the betting.
Going stick
A probe pushed into the turf to measure how firm the ground is. Courses publish the reading as a number beside the official going description.
Goliath
Two hundred and forty-seven bets on eight selections, every combination from doubles to the eightfold. Expensive, and rarely worth it at short prices.
Green up
Trading slang for spreading a trading profit across every outcome so that you win the same amount whatever happens. The exchange shows it in green.
Gubbing
Slang for a bookmaker restricting an account, usually by cutting maximum stakes or removing access to promotions. It often follows consistent winning or a pattern of offer-only betting.
H
Half time/full time
A bet on the result at half time and at full time together, such as draw/home. Nine combinations are possible, which keeps the prices long.
Handicap
A race where horses carry different weights according to their official rating, so in theory every runner has an equal chance. Big handicaps attract large fields and generous each way terms.
Handicap betting
Betting where one side is given a head start or a deficit to even out a mismatch. The result is adjusted by the handicap before the bet is settled.
ExampleMan City −2: they must win by three or more for a −2 bet to win.
Hedging
Placing a second bet against your first to lock in a profit or cut a loss, for example laying your selection on an exchange before the last leg of an acca.
Heinz
Fifty-seven bets on six selections, every combination from doubles up to the sixfold. The name comes from the 57 varieties.
I
Implied probability
The chance of an outcome hidden inside its price: one divided by the decimal odds. A price of 4.00 implies 25%.
In running
Betting while a race or match is under way. Prices move with every stride or every attack, and exchanges are where most in-running racing bets are matched.
Insider betting
Betting on an event using information the public does not have, such as an unannounced transfer or team selection. Sports rules ban it for players and officials, and it can be an offence under the Gambling Act 2005.
J
Jackpot
A tote bet to pick the winner of each of the first six races at a meeting. Unwon pools often roll over to the next meeting.
K
Kelly criterion
A staking formula that sets the stake as a share of your bankroll according to how big your edge is. It only works if your estimate of the true chance is accurate, which is the hard part.
KYC
The checks an operator makes on who you are and where your money comes from, under anti-money laundering rules. Most happen automatically at sign-up; documents may be requested later, often at a first withdrawal.
L
Lay
To bet on an outcome not happening, taking the bookmaker's side. If the outcome loses you keep the backer's stake; if it wins you pay the backer's profit.
ExampleLay £10 at 4.0: you win £10 if it loses and pay £30 if it wins.
Liability
The amount a layer stands to lose if the outcome wins: the backer's stake multiplied by the odds minus one. The exchange holds it from your balance until the bet is settled.
Liquidity
The amount of money waiting to be matched in an exchange market. Deep liquidity lets you get large bets on at the displayed price; thin markets move against you.
Long odds
A big price on an outcome the market rates unlikely. Long odds lose most of the time and pay a lot when they win.
Lucky 15
Fifteen bets on four selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold. Some bookmakers add a bonus, such as double odds, when only one selection wins.
ExampleA £1 Lucky 15 costs £15.
Lucky 31
Thirty-one bets on five selections, covering every single, double, treble, fourfold and the fivefold.
Lucky 63
Sixty-three bets on six selections: the Heinz plus six singles, so a single winner still returns something.
M
Margin
The part of the overround above 100%: the bookmaker's built-in edge. A book of 105% has a margin of 5%, and over many bets it keeps about £4.76 of every £100 staked.
Martingale
A staking system that doubles the stake after every loss to recover it with one win. A losing run grows the stake so fast that it hits a limit or empties the account, and it does nothing to the margin.
Match bet
A head-to-head bet on which of two competitors finishes ahead of the other, whatever happens to the rest of the field. Common in golf, racing and motor sport.
Match fixing
Arranging the result of a match in advance, usually so that someone can profit from bets on it. It is a criminal offence in the UK and the main reason sports bodies and bookmakers monitor betting patterns.
Matched bet
On an exchange, a bet that has been paired with an opposite bet and is now live. Part of a bet can be matched while the rest waits.
Matched betting
Using bookmaker free bets with an opposite lay bet on an exchange so that the free bet's value is collected whatever the result. It is legal, but bookmakers often restrict accounts that do it. It still carries risk: prices move, bets can be voided under palpable error rules, and restricted accounts lose access to offers.
Money back
An offer that refunds a losing bet, usually as a free bet and sometimes as cash. If the bet wins, nothing extra is paid.
Monkey
Slang for £500.
N
NAP
A tipster's strongest selection of the day, from the card game Napoleon. Newspaper tipsters are often ranked in a naps table on the results of these bets.
No deposit bonus
A bonus given without any deposit. Rare at UK sportsbooks and usually small; sports welcome offers in the UK almost always need a deposit and a qualifying bet.
Non-runner
A horse withdrawn from a race after declarations. A single on a non-runner is void and the stake returned, unless it was an ante post bet, where it is normally lost.
Non-runner no bet
An ante post concession: if your horse does not run, the stake is returned instead of lost. Bookmakers usually offer it in the weeks before big festivals.
O
Odds-against
A price longer than evens, such as 3/1. The outcome is rated less likely than not, and a win returns more profit than your stake.
Odds-on
A price shorter than evens, such as 1/2. The bookmaker rates the outcome more likely than not, and a win returns less profit than your stake.
Official rating
A number assigned to each horse by the handicapper, reflecting its form. It decides the weight a horse carries in a handicap and which races it can enter.
Outright
A bet on the result of a whole competition or season, such as the league winner or top scorer, rather than on a single match. Your stake is tied up until the competition ends.
Outsider
A runner at long odds, given little chance by the market. Outsiders win less often than their prices suggest, a pattern known as the favourite-longshot bias.
Over/under
A bet on whether the number of goals finishes above or below a line, most often 2.5. The half-goal line means there is no draw: two goals is under, three is over.
Overround
The total of the implied probabilities across every outcome in a market. A fair book adds up to exactly 100%; a bookmaker's book always adds up to more.
P
Palpable error
A clear mistake in a price or a market, such as odds out of line with the rest of the market. Bookmakers' terms let them correct the price or void the bet. Like every term, it has to be fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which licence conditions require operators to follow.
Partial cash out
Cashing out part of a bet and leaving the rest running, available at some bookmakers. The cashed part settles at once; the rest settles on the result.
Patent
Seven bets on three selections: three singles, three doubles and a treble. One winner returns something.
ExampleA £1 Patent costs £7.
Photo finish
A finish too close to call by eye, settled by a camera image of the line. Bets are not settled until the judge announces the result.
Place terms
The number of places an each way bet pays on and the fraction of the win odds it pays at. They depend on the number of runners and whether the race is a handicap.
ExampleEight or more runners, not a handicap: usually 1/5 the odds, first three places.
Placepot
A tote bet to pick a horse to be placed in each of the first six races at a meeting. Every leg has to place, and the pool is shared among the winning tickets.
Player props
Bets on an individual player's numbers in a match, such as shots, tackles, fouls or passes. Most are settled on official data from a named provider.
Price boost
A selection priced above its normal odds as a promotion, usually with a low maximum stake. Compare the boosted price with other bookmakers before assuming it is generous.
Punter
Anyone who places a bet. In British English it is neutral, used for casual and serious bettors alike.
Push
A bet that neither wins nor loses because the result lands exactly on the line, for example a whole-number handicap. The stake is returned.
Q
Quadpot
A tote bet like the Placepot, but on races three to six of the meeting: you need a placed horse in each of those four races.
Qualifying bet
The first bet with your own money that unlocks a welcome offer. The terms set its minimum stake, minimum odds and the time you have to place it.
R
Reality check
A pop-up that interrupts a session to show how long you have been logged in, and often how much you have won or lost, so you can decide whether to carry on.
Refer a friend
An offer that rewards an existing customer when someone they invite opens an account and bets. Terms limit how many referrals count.
Request a bet
A bet you ask the bookmaker to price, usually a combination of outcomes in one event that is not on the menu. The name is used by Sky Bet; other bookmakers offer the same through social media or their bet builder.
Return on investment
Profit or loss as a share of the total amount staked. A yield of −5% means you lost £5 for every £100 you bet.
Reverse forecast
Two forecasts on the same two horses, one in each order, so the bet wins if they finish first and second either way round. It costs two stakes.
Round Robin
Ten bets on three selections: three doubles, a treble and three pairs of single stakes about, where a winner's return is restaked on the other selection.
Rule 4
A deduction from winnings when a horse is withdrawn after you placed your bet and there is no time to form a new market. The shorter the withdrawn horse's price, the bigger the deduction, and a horse withdrawn at long odds triggers none.
S
Scoop6
A tote bet on six selected races, usually on a Saturday, where you need the winner of each. The pool can roll over for weeks when nobody wins.
Scorecast
A combination of first goalscorer and correct score in one bet. Both parts have to be right, and the price is set by the bookmaker rather than by multiplying the two.
Self-exclusion
Asking a gambling operator to close your account and refuse you for a set period. You can do it with one bookmaker, or with all online operators at once through GamStop.
Short odds
A low price on an outcome the market rates very likely. Short odds win often and pay little.
Shortening
A price that falls because money is coming for that outcome or news has improved its chances. A horse whose price collapses before the off is called a steamer.
Shots on target
Player or team markets on attempts that would have gone in without a save, including shots stopped by the goalkeeper. Blocked shots and shots off target do not count.
Single
One bet on one outcome. If the selection wins you are paid at the odds you took; if it loses, the stake is gone.
Example£10 on Arsenal to win at 2/1 returns £30 if they win.
Source of funds
Evidence of where the money you gamble with comes from, such as payslips or bank statements. Operators can ask for it when deposits rise or a withdrawal is large, and may hold a withdrawal until it arrives.
Specials
Bets on events outside the usual markets, from the next manager to be sacked to television and political outcomes. Prices often carry big margins, and the rules for settling them deserve a careful read.
Spot fixing
Fixing one event within a match, such as a booking or a throw-in, rather than the result. It is easier to arrange and harder to detect, which is why booking and card markets draw extra scrutiny.
Spread betting
Betting on whether a number, such as total goals or corners, finishes above or below a range set by the firm. Wins and losses grow with every point you are right or wrong, so you can lose more than your stake. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, not as ordinary betting.
Stake factoring
A bookmaker's setting that caps how much each customer can stake on a market, adjusted account by account. A reduced stake factor is how most stake restrictions are applied in practice.
Stake not returned
The standard term on UK free bets: a winning free bet pays the profit without the stake. A £10 free bet at 3.00 pays £20, not £30.
Starting price
The official odds of a horse at the moment the race starts. A bet struck at SP is settled at that price, whatever the price was when you placed it.
Stewards' enquiry
An investigation by the race officials into possible interference or a breach of the rules during a race. The placings can change, and bookmakers settle on the amended result.
Super Heinz
One hundred and twenty bets on seven selections, every combination from doubles to the sevenfold.
Suspicious betting
Betting that does not fit normal patterns, such as heavy money for an unlikely outcome or many new accounts backing the same thing. Bookmakers report it to sports bodies and the Gambling Commission's intelligence unit.
System bet
A set of bets covering every combination of your selections, from doubles upward, so that the bet can still return something when one or two selections lose. Each line costs one stake.
T
Tic-tac
The hand-signal language on-course bookmakers once used to pass prices across the betting ring. Mobile phones have largely replaced it, but the word survives.
Time-out
A short, self-chosen break in which the bookmaker locks your account, from a day to a few weeks. It is lighter than self-exclusion and found in the account's safer-gambling settings.
Tipster
Someone who publishes selections for others to bet on, for free or for a fee. A tipster's record only means something when every tip, losers included, is published with its price.
To win to nil
A bet that a team wins without conceding. Both conditions have to hold: a 1–0 win settles it, a 3–1 win does not.
Tote
Betting into a pool: all the stakes on a race go into one pot, a deduction is taken, and the rest is shared among the winning tickets. The dividend is only known after the race.
Trading
Backing and laying the same outcome at different prices to profit from the price moving, before the event or during it, without waiting for the result.
Treble
Three selections joined in one bet. All three must win, and the odds of each are multiplied together.
ExampleThree winners at 2.00, 2.50 and 1.80 turn £5 into £45.
Tricast
A fixed-odds bet to name the first three in the correct order. Combination tricasts cover every order of three or more selections.
Trifecta
A tote bet to name the first three in the correct order. It is the pool version of a tricast.
Trixie
Four bets on three selections: three doubles and one treble. Two winners are enough for a return.
ExampleA £1 Trixie costs £4.
U
Union Jack
Eight trebles on nine selections laid out in a three-by-three grid. The trebles follow the rows, columns and diagonals, like the lines of a flag.
Unmatched bet
An exchange bet waiting for someone to take the other side at your price. It can be cancelled at any time before it is matched.
V
Value bet
A bet whose price is bigger than the true chance of the outcome justifies. Finding one needs your own estimate of the probability, and being right about it over many bets.
Variance
The natural swing of results around the average. Even a bet with positive expected value can lose for long spells, and a losing approach can win for a while.
Vig
American slang for the bookmaker's margin, the charge built into every price. In the UK the same idea is usually called the margin or overround.
Void
A bet cancelled and settled as if it had never been placed, with the stake returned. It happens when an event is abandoned or a selection does not take part. In an accumulator a void leg is removed and the rest stands.
W
Wagering requirement
The amount you must bet before a bonus or its winnings can be withdrawn. In Great Britain it has been capped at 10 times the bonus since 19 January 2026.
Weight for age
An allowance that lets younger horses carry less weight when they race against older, more mature ones. The scale changes through the year and with the distance.
Welcome offer
The promotion a bookmaker gives new customers for opening an account and placing a first bet. In the UK most sports welcome offers are bet and get free bets.
Wincast
A combination of first goalscorer and match result in one bet. The player has to score first and the team has to win.
Y
Yankee
Eleven bets on four selections: six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold. There are no singles, so you need at least two winners.
ExampleA £1 Yankee costs £11.
No term matches. Try a shorter word, or clear the category.
How the glossary is put together
Each entry explains what a term means in practice for a punter in Great Britain, then shows it at work with a number where a number helps. Terms with more than one name list the others, so a search for BOG, SP or BTTS finds the right entry. Bet types that need working out, such as a Yankee or a Lucky 15, link to a free calculator on bettingtools.uk.
Rules and safer gambling terms are written to match the current position in Great Britain, including the 10 times cap on wagering, the financial limit prompt and GamStop. When those rules change, the entries change with them. Slang is there because you will still hear it on a racecourse, and because it is fun, even if few people still say carpet for 3/1.
A glossary explains the words; it does not make any bet a good one. Every price carries a margin, and the plain meaning of a term is no guide to whether a bet is worth placing. Our safer gambling page lists the limits and free support available to anyone betting in the UK.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common betting terms?
The ones you meet on every bet slip: single, accumulator, each way, odds-on, evens and starting price. Add free bet and stake not returned if you are claiming a welcome offer, and back and lay if you use an exchange. Each has its own entry above.
What does SP mean in betting?
SP stands for starting price, the official odds of a horse or a team at the moment the event starts. A bet placed at SP is settled at that price. Best odds guaranteed pays you the SP if it turns out bigger than the price you took.
What does NAP mean in horse racing?
A NAP is a tipster's strongest selection of the day. The name comes from the card game Napoleon. A tipster's second choice is sometimes called the NB, for next best, and newspapers rank tipsters in a table built on their NAPs.
What does each way mean?
An each way bet is two bets of the same stake, one on the selection to win and one on it to place. A winner pays both parts; a placed finish pays only the place part, at a fraction of the odds. A £5 each way bet costs £10 in total.
What does void mean in betting?
A void bet is cancelled and treated as if it had never been placed, so your stake comes back. It happens when an event is abandoned or a selection does not take part. In an accumulator the void leg drops out and the rest of the bet stands.