Anytime goalscorer bets: how they settle and why own goals do not count

An anytime goalscorer bet wins if your named player scores at any point in the match period the rules cover. In most rule books an own goal is not credited to the player who put it in, so it wins no selection. Wording varies by operator, so read the published terms.

By Nairobi Football Editorial (prepared with AI tools under our editorial policy) · Last updated 2026-10-20

What the bet asks

An anytime goalscorer bet asks whether a named player scores at least once during the period the market covers. Each player is a separate selection with its own odds. If the player scores, the selection wins; if he does not, it loses.

This differs from the first goalscorer market, where only the opening goal counts. In the anytime market the order of goals does not matter, which is why the odds are shorter for the same player.

Why own goals usually do not count

An own goal is put into a team's own net by one of its own players. The scoreboard credits the goal to the opposing team, but no player of that team scored it. A bet on "player to score" asks about a player's own scoring, so most goalscorer wording excludes own goals from every selection.

That has two effects. A forward whose side wins 1-0 through an opponent's own goal has not scored, so his selection loses. The defender who deflected the ball into his own net did not "score" in the betting sense either, so a selection on him does not win.

This is the common pattern, not a universal law. The exact clause is written by each operator, and a few markets define scoring differently. The regulations make the operator's published terms the governing text, as explained below.

A worked case with an own goal and a real scorer

Suppose a match ends 2-1. The first goal is an own goal by a defender, the second is scored by the home striker, and the third by an away midfielder. Under the usual wording, the striker and the midfielder each have one credited goal, so both selections win.

The defender who put the ball into his own net has no credited goal, so a selection on him loses. The own goal still counts in the final score of 2-1, which matters for a bet on the result or on total goals, but it does not help any goalscorer selection. The same match can therefore settle differently across markets, because each market has its own definition of what counts.

Where the settlement rule actually sits

Regulation 22 of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 requires a bookmaking licensee to submit terms and conditions in simple language that state all significant conditions that may affect a punter's decision. They must be readily accessible to the public while betting continues.

Regulation 23(1) requires the licensee to clearly display the "betting odds, rules and terms applicable to each bet", and regulation 24(1) requires winning bets to be settled "promptly and in accordance with the published rules". So the question "does it count?" is answered by the operator's own goalscorer rules, not by general habit. Read that clause before relying on any guide, including this one.

Common situations and what the rules must say

Stoppage time is a separate question, covered in the injury time guide, and extra time is covered in the extra time and penalties guide.

Illustrative example

Illustrative example. A bettor places KES 200 on a striker to score anytime at odds of 2.50. The return if the selection wins is the stake multiplied by the odds, so KES 200 x 2.50 = KES 500. That includes the KES 200 stake, so the profit is KES 500 - KES 200 = KES 300.

The odds here were chosen to keep the arithmetic clear. Real prices include a bookmaker margin, which is explained in how to work out bookmaker margin.

How the price reflects the bet

Odds on a player to score anytime are a bookmaker's price, not a statement of chance. The implied probability of decimal odds is 1 divided by the odds. At 2.50 that is 1 / 2.50 = 0.40, or 40%, before any margin is removed.

Because the price carries a margin, the true chance the bookmaker assigns is lower than the implied figure. A selection also cannot win through an own goal, so the odds are set on the rules as written. Two operators can quote the same number for the same player while settling an edge case differently, which is why the odds alone never tell you what a bet covers.

Anytime goalscorer legs inside combined bets

A goalscorer selection is often one leg of a larger bet. If the player does not score, that leg loses and the whole combined bet loses with it, however the other legs finish. How a void leg affects the rest is set out in the bet builder guide.

Checking the rule and raising a dispute

1. Open the operator's market rules for goalscorers, not only the general terms.
2. Read the own goal clause and the clause on players who do not play.
3. Check the basis of play: regular time with stoppage time, or including extra time.
4. Keep a screenshot of the slip, because regulation 23(2) protects the terms of a bet once accepted.

A dispute over settlement is to be handled under dispute procedures approved by the Authority (regulation 24(2)). Section 80 of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 lets a party to an online gambling dispute appeal to the Tribunal within fourteen days from the date of the dispute.

These bets are for adults aged 18+. Gambling is addictive: play responsibly, and set only a stake you could lose.