You have a hunch that Liverpool will beat Manchester City in the weekend’s Premier League match. You are right – Liverpool did win, and you placed a £10 win bet on the game. Five minutes later, the match ends in a draw. What happens next? Do you keep your £10 win bet or do you take it off your winnings?
This is what betting “void” means: you win or lose your bet, but you do not gain or lose any money. In the case of your £10 win bet, you did not win or lose any actual money. Instead, the bookmaker credited your account with £10 in “void capital”, and you kept the money as profit. In other words, your “void” is what the industry calls a “void bet”.
Void bets used to be much more common, but they have largely been replaced by “win bets” and “place bets” – where you stake money on an outcome of an event. In the case of your win bet, you are not actually risking any money, and in the case of your place bet, you are risking a small amount of money – the amount that you are going to stake. So, if you have chosen to stake £10 on Liverpool winning the Premier League title, your place bet is actually a £10 stake bet – with the possibility of it turning into a profitable £20 win bet (if Liverpool wins the match and the bet pays off).
Why Do They Call It A “Void” Bet?
The name “void” bet comes from the fact that these bets do not affect your bankroll. After the match, you do not “owe” the bookmaker any money, as you did not risk any money in the first place. This means you do not have to pay any winnings out, and the bookmaker does not have to pay any winnings in (in the case of your Liverpool win bet).
This is in contrast to a “reduced” bet, where you put some money on the table and if the event comes off, you lose what you have staked. If the event does not come off, you do not lose the money you have staked (in contrast to a “full” bet where you would lose the entire amount).
What Are The Downsides?
There are a few downsides to betting “void” instead of “reduced” or “full”. First, you will not know whether or not your bet is going to pay off. If you stake £10 on a football match, and it ends in a draw, you do not know whether or not you are going to win £10 or lose £10. With a “reduced” or “full” bet, you know exactly how much you stand to win or lose. Second, in the case of a “full” bet, you know how much you are risking. If you put down £10, you know you are risking £10. In the case of a “reduced” or “void” bet, you do not know what amount you are risking, so it could be more or less than you initially put down. Third, betting “void” is a less attractive option to people who like to play the odds. People who enjoy gambling sometimes use this type of betting to frustrate themselves, as they do not get the excitement of seeing whether or not they will win. If you are a fan of trying to beat the odds, you might not like using this method for your betting.
Deciding whether or not to risk money on a sporting event is a personal choice. If you choose to bet “void”, you are not risking any actual cash, but you are putting money on the table, just in case the outcome of the game favors you. If you think that a game has the potential to turn out drastically in your favor, you might want to consider risking some money and having some fun – despite the fact that you could end up losing the entire amount.