How correct score and half-time/full-time bets settle

A correct score bet is settled on the exact final score after normal time. A half-time/full-time bet needs two results in order: who leads at the break and who leads at the end, giving nine possible pairs. Both are judged on the licensee's published rules, which normally exclude extra time and penalties.

By Nairobi Football Editorial (prepared with AI tools under our editorial policy) · Last updated 2026-10-06

Two bets that ask for more than a winner

A correct score bet asks for the exact final score, such as 2-1 or 0-0. A half-time/full-time bet, usually shortened to HT/FT, asks for two results: who is ahead at half-time and who is ahead at full-time. Both are harder to land than a plain result bet, so both are priced longer than the market in how 1X2 and double chance bets settle.

The settlement logic is simple once the two scores are fixed. The first score is taken at the end of the first half. The second is taken at the end of normal time.

Which score is used

Under the wording most bookmakers publish, both markets use the score at the end of normal time. That means the two halves plus the stoppage time the referee adds. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out are left out, and the guide on extra time and penalties in bet settlement explains why a cup tie decided later still settles on its ninety-minute score.

For the half-time part, the score at the end of the first half counts. Goals scored in first-half stoppage time are normally included, because they are part of the first half. Goals after the restart are not.

This is a convention, not a statute. What binds the bookmaker is its own published rule book. Regulation 23(1) of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 requires a licensee to "clearly display betting odds, rules and terms applicable to each bet".

How correct score settles

A correct score bet wins only if the final score matches your selection exactly, with the home side's goals named first. A selection of 2-1 wins on a 2-1 home win and loses on 1-2, 2-2, 3-1 and every other result. There is no partial return.

Lists usually name a set of common scores and add a catch-all line, often called "any other score" or similar. What that line covers is set out in the rules next to the list, so read it before you choose it.

The last row shows the normal-time rule at work: the shoot-out does not change a 0-0 score for settlement.

How half-time/full-time settles

Each of the two parts has three possible results: home lead (1), draw (X) or away lead (2). Combined, that gives nine pairs. The selection is written half-time first, so "1/X" means the home side leads at the break and the match is level at the end.

Both parts must be right for the bet to be settled as won. One part right and one wrong is a lost bet.

The table is an illustrative example of the logic, not a record of any real match. The pairs not shown, X/1, 2/X and 2/2, follow the same pattern.

The full-time part is the whole score

A frequent mistake is to read the full-time part as "who wins the second half". It is not. The full-time part is the overall score at the end of normal time.

Illustrative example. A match is 0-1 at half-time and ends 2-1. The home side won the second half 2-0, and the final score is also a home lead. The settled pair is 2/1, away at the break and home at the end. A bet on 2/2 loses, and so does a bet on X/1.

Counting the combinations

Nine pairs come from three half-time results multiplied by three full-time results, since each half-time result can be followed by any of the three full-time results. Some pairs are rare in practice, which is why they carry longer prices. Of the nine, 1/2 and 2/1 need a team to lose a lead, so they are normally the longest.

Illustrative example. A stake of KES 100 at decimal odds of 12.00 on a pair returns KES 1,200 if both parts are correct. That figure includes the KES 100 stake, so the profit is KES 1,100. If either part is wrong, the return is nil. The minimum online bet in Kenya is twenty shillings under section 71 of the Gambling Control Act, 2025.

Prices and the margin

Every price on these markets carries the bookmaker's margin, in the same way as simpler markets. Add the implied chances (1 divided by each decimal price) across all selections in one market and the total exceeds 100%. The excess is the margin, shown step by step in how to work out bookmaker margin in football odds.

On a list with many selections, such as correct score, the margin on each line is hard to see, because the extra is spread over many prices. A long price does not mean a fair price.

Postponed, abandoned and part-played matches

A match stopped after half-time has a half-time score but no full-time score. A half-time/full-time bet then has only half of its question answered, so rule books commonly void it. Rules vary, so read the section covered in what happens if a match is postponed or abandoned.

The law fixes the frame, not the outcome. Regulation 23(2) says no licensee shall alter the terms of a bet after it has been accepted, "except as permitted by law or approved rules". Regulation 24(1) says winning bets must be settled "promptly and in accordance with the published rules". Section 72(6) of the Act requires a licensee to make all the rules of its authorized games available to a player.

Checks before you stake

1. Read the market label. "Correct score" and "half-time/full-time" are not the same as "full-time result".
2. Find the rule on normal time, and on what the catch-all score line covers.
3. Check which order the pair is written in: half-time first, full-time second.
4. Find the rule for matches stopped part-way, and keep a copy of the rules shown when you bet.
5. Think about totals as well: the guide to over/under and BTTS bets shows how goal lines settle from the same final score.

If you disagree with the settlement

Contact the licensee's customer care centre first, in writing where you can. An unresolved complaint is to be referred to the Authority. For an online bet, a party to the dispute may appeal to the Gambling Appeals Tribunal within fourteen days from the date of the dispute.

Understanding settlement removes surprises, but it does not improve the chance of a bet landing. Gambling is addictive, and long prices on rare outcomes tend to produce long runs of lost stakes. If staking is hard to control, the responsible gambling page lists the regulator's helpline and the self-exclusion process.