In-play betting explained
In-play betting is placing a bet on a sporting event after it has started, at odds the bookmaker keeps recalculating as the match unfolds. You will also see it called live betting or betting in running. Pre-match prices settle over days; an in-play price can shift within seconds of a goal, a point or a fall, because the bookmaker is repricing the chance of each outcome from the current match state.
Where you meet in-play odds
Live prices come from pricing models fed by a data stream from the venue, with traders overseeing them. When something big happens, such as a goal, a penalty or a red card, most bookmakers suspend the market briefly while the odds are reset.
There is also a short gap between pressing “place bet” and the bet being accepted, and its length varies from operator to operator. If the price moves inside that gap, the bet may be offered at the new price or refused outright.
Your stream is behind the bookmaker’s feed.
A television or streaming picture typically runs several seconds behind the live action, so by the time you see a score on screen, the market has usually already absorbed it and reopened at a new price.
How a live price changes: a worked example
Say a county side is 6/4 before throw-in. Implied probability is 4 ÷ (6 + 4), which comes to 40%. Ten minutes in they go two points up and the price shortens to 4/6, or 6 ÷ (4 + 6), which is 60%. Nothing about the margin is free either: add up the implied probabilities across every outcome in the live market, and whatever lands above 100% is the bookmaker’s overround.
In-play betting is often confused with cash-out, though they are different things. Cash-out settles a bet you already hold early, at a price the bookmaker sets, while in-play betting is a fresh bet struck during the match.
