How 1X2 and double chance bets settle
A 1X2 bet has three possible results: home win (1), draw (X) or away win (2), normally judged on the score at the end of normal time including stoppage time. A double chance bet covers two of those three results at a lower price. The licensee's published rules decide the detail.
What the 1X2 market asks
The 1X2 market asks one question: who wins the match? There are three answers. "1" is the team listed first, which is the home side. "X" is a draw. "2" is the team listed second.
You pick one answer. If it matches the result, the bet returns your stake multiplied by the decimal odds. If it does not, the stake is lost. There is no refund outcome in a plain 1X2 bet, which is the main thing that separates it from the lines described in the guide to how handicap bets settle.
The market is also sold under other names: "match result", "full-time result" or "three-way". The settlement is the same whatever the label says.
Which score is used
Under the standard rules that most bookmakers publish, 1X2 is settled on the score at the end of normal time. Normal time means the two halves plus whatever stoppage time the referee adds. Extra time and penalty shoot-outs are not part of it.
This matters most in knockout football. A cup tie that stands at 1-1 after ninety minutes and is then won on penalties settles as X in the 1X2 market. The team that went through did not "win" for the purpose of this bet. Markets such as "to qualify" or "to lift the trophy" are separate questions with their own prices.
The standard is a convention, not a statute. What binds the bookmaker is its own 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", so the rule on normal time should be there to read before you stake anything.
How double chance covers two results
Double chance takes the same three results and lets one bet cover two of them. There are three versions:
- 1X: wins if the home side wins or the match is drawn.
- 12: wins if either side wins, loses on a draw.
- X2: wins if the match is drawn or the away side wins.
The bet pays once, at the double chance price, whichever of the two covered results happens. It does not pay more because the "better" of the two came in.
Scorelines and how each selection settles
The table shows normal-time scores and the outcome for all six selections. It is an illustrative example of settlement logic, not a record of any real match.
| Score after normal time (home-away) | 1 | X | 2 | 1X | 12 | X2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-0 | Wins | Loses | Loses | Wins | Wins | Loses |
| 1-1 | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins |
| 0-0 | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins |
| 1-3 | Loses | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins | Wins |
| 1-1, then the home side wins on penalties | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins | Loses | Wins |
Read across any row and exactly one of the 1X2 columns wins, while exactly two of the double chance columns win. That is the whole structure of both markets.
Why the double chance price is lower
A price reflects a chance. Covering two results means the bet wins more often, so it must pay less each time. You can see the link by working from the 1X2 prices.
Illustrative example. Suppose a match is priced 2.10 (home), 3.40 (draw) and 3.60 (away). The implied chance of each result is 1 divided by the odds: 47.6%, 29.4% and 27.8%. Adding home and draw gives 77.0%, and 1 divided by 0.770 is about 1.30. On the same arithmetic 12 comes to about 1.33 and X2 to about 1.75.
The three implied chances add up to more than 100%. The extra is the bookmaker's margin, and it is carried into the double chance price too. The guide on working out the margin in football odds shows the calculation in full.
Draw no bet is a different bet
Fans often mix up double chance with draw no bet. Draw no bet backs one team only. If that team wins, the bet wins. If the match is drawn, the stake comes back. If the team loses, the stake is lost.
So "home, draw no bet" and "1X" both protect against the draw, but in different ways. With 1X a draw is a winning result at a short price. With draw no bet a draw is a refund, and the win pays at a longer price than 1X. Neither is a safer choice in the long run, because both prices contain a margin.
Postponed and abandoned matches
When a match does not start or does not finish, the bet has no result to settle on. Rule books commonly treat such a bet as void and return the stake, and in a multi-leg slip the void leg is commonly counted at odds of 1.00 so the remaining legs still run. How long a bookmaker waits for a rescheduled match before voiding differs from one rule book to the next.
The law does not fix those details. It fixes the frame around them. 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 a licensee shall settle winning bets "promptly and in accordance with the published rules". Under regulation 22(6) the terms and conditions of a bookmaking operation cannot be amended without the Authority's approval.
Checks to make before kick-off
- Confirm which team is listed first. On a neutral ground, "1" is still the first-named side.
- Read the market label. "Full-time result" and "to qualify" are not the same bet.
- Open the licensee's rules on normal time, postponements and void bets. Section 72(6) of the Act obliges a licensee to make all the rules of its games available to a player.
- Look at the stake. The minimum for an online bet is twenty shillings under section 71(1) of the Act. Decide the maximum for yourself before the match, not during it.
- Make sure the company holds a licence. The page on checking a bookmaker licence on the GRA list explains how.
If totals interest you more than the winner, the next guide covers over/under and both teams to score.
What a correct settlement does not change
Knowing how a market settles protects you from one thing only: being surprised by the result of your own bet. It does not improve the chance of that bet winning. Every price on a 1X2 or double chance market includes the bookmaker's margin, so over many bets the average outcome for the bettor is a loss.
Treat a stake as the price of some extra interest in a match, set it in advance and stop when it is spent. If stopping is hard, the responsible gambling page lists the regulator's free helpline and the self-exclusion process.
Questions and answers
What does X mean on a football bet slip?
X is the draw. In the 1X2 market, 1 is a win for the team listed first (the home side), X is a draw and 2 is a win for the team listed second.
Does extra time count for a 1X2 bet?
Under the standard rules most bookmakers publish, no. The market is settled on the score at the end of normal time, which includes stoppage time added by the referee but not extra time or a penalty shoot-out. Read the rules of the licensee that took the bet, because those rules govern.
What is the difference between double chance and draw no bet?
Double chance pays if either of two named results happens and loses on the third. Draw no bet backs one team: it wins if that team wins, returns the stake if the match is drawn and loses if the team loses.
Why are double chance odds so much lower than 1X2 odds?
Because the bet covers two of the three results, the chance of it winning is roughly the two single chances added together. A more likely result always carries a lower price.
What can I do if I think a bet was settled wrongly?
Raise it with the licensee's customer care centre first; regulation 9 of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 says the centre exists to resolve complaints and refer unresolved ones to the Authority. Section 80 of the Act lets a party to an online gambling dispute appeal to the Gambling Appeals Tribunal within fourteen days from the date of the dispute.