How sports bets settle

The kinds of sports bet, how prices are set, live betting, cash out, when bets settle, when they are void and the limits, in plain English.

The Skill.io sportsbook covers football from across Europe and the MLS, plus American football, basketball, baseball, hockey and UFC. This guide explains how prices are set, how bets settle and when a bet is void.

What kinds of bets are there?

Singles are one pick. Parlays are 2 to 10 picks from different games on one ticket, where every pick has to win and the prices multiply. A bet builder combines several picks from one game at one price. There are also player bets, live betting, a Champions League bracket and UFC finish bets.

How are the prices set?

Most prices start from several bookmakers' odds, with their margin taken out and Skill.io's added. Football bet builders and football player bets come from Skill.io's own model, built on each team's and player's recent games.

Can I bet while a game is on?

Yes. Games in play show prices that update as the game goes. A live bet is held for a few seconds and checked again before it is accepted. In football, betting pauses after a goal, a red card, a penalty or a VAR check until prices catch up.

Can I cash out?

On many bets, yes. My Bets shows a cash-out offer on open singles and parlays: what the ticket is worth at current prices, less a margin. There is no cash out on bet builders, player bets, the extra football markets, brackets or UFC finish bets.

How and when do bets settle?

On the official result, usually within a few minutes of the end. Football settles on 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties do not count unless the market says so, like who goes through in the bracket.

Player bets and extra football markets wait for the final match stats, which can take up to about 2 hours. The full rules are in the Terms.

When is a bet void?

When the game is postponed, called off or has no result within 3 days of its start time, when a player bet's player does not play, when a bet went on after a goal, red card, penalty or VAR decision before prices updated, or when a whole-number handicap or total lands exactly on the line.

A void single gives your stake back. In a parlay the void leg drops out and the rest stands. If every leg is void, the stake comes back.

What are the limits?

The minimum stake is $1 and the most you can stake on one bet is $10,000. The most one ticket can pay, stake included, is $1,000,000. A parlay can have up to 10 legs. Some markets have their own limit.