1X2, double chance and regular time: what counts in your bet

1X2 is a bet on the result of a match with three options: the home team wins (1), a draw (X) or the away team wins (2). It is settled at the end of regular time. A match winner bet has only two options, and it also counts overtime and the shoot-out. Mix the two up and a bet on the team that did win the game can be settled as lost. We cover every bet type on our sportsbook page, and this lesson is part of our Betting academy.

1X2: three outcomes in regular time

A 1X2 bet wins if the result at the end of regular time is the one you picked: 1, X or 2.

Sportsbooks name the market differently. In the Optibet rules (4.4.2.1.1) it is "Mačs" (match): 1 means a win for the first team, X a draw, 2 a win for the second team. OlyBet (12.7) and Betsafe (17.25) call it "Spēles rezultāts" (match result). On a slip it usually appears as three odds in one row.

The key sentence is in the OlyBet rules (12.7): the match result is set at the end of regular time, so all bets on "1" and "2" are treated as lost if the match ends in a draw in regular time. If a football knockout match is 1:1 after 90 minutes and one team wins in extra time, the draw wins in the 1X2 market.

How to turn odds into a probability is explained in our betting basics.

Match winner: when overtime counts

A match winner bet has only two outcomes, and it counts overtime and the shoot-out.

The OlyBet rules (12.8) say: "Money Line/Match Winner/Uzvarētājs" covers the final result of the game including overtime, shoot-outs and penalties, and only the options "1" and "2" are offered, because a draw in regular time does not decide the final outcome. In the LVBET rules these are "2 veidu uzvarētāju tirgi (amerikāņu izredzes)", two-way winner markets, and in hockey they settle on the final result including overtime and shoot-outs (section 38). The OlyBet hockey rules (52.7.1) also say that bets without a draw option (team 1 or team 2) are accepted for the game including overtime and the shoot-out.

So 1X2 and match winner are two different bets on the same game. You can tell which one is on your slip by the number of options: three options mean regular time, and two options usually mean overtime counts too.

Regular time in each sport

In football regular time is 90 minutes plus stoppage time, in hockey it is 60 minutes, and in basketball Latvian sportsbooks count overtime in almost every bet.

Stoppage time is part of regular time at every sportsbook. OlyBet says it directly: goals scored in time added by the referee count as regular-time goals (43.1). Optibet accepts football bets on "90 minūtes (2 puslaiki pa 45 min.)+ kompensācijas laiks", 90 minutes plus stoppage time (4.4.1.1.1).

• Football: regular time is 90 minutes plus stoppage time at every sportsbook, and 1X2 settles on it. Extra time and penalties count only in markets that say so, such as a bet on which team reaches the next round. More on our football betting page.
• Hockey: regular time is 60 minutes at every sportsbook. 1X2 settles after 60 minutes, while a match winner bet includes overtime and the shoot-out (OlyBet 12.8 and 52.7.1, LVBET section 38). More on our hockey betting page.
• Basketball: regular time is 40 or 48 minutes, but Latvian sportsbooks include overtime in winner, handicap and points total bets. The exception is the three-outcome market, which OlyBet (24.2) and LVBET (section 9) settle on regular time. More on our basketball betting page.

Two notes. The OlyBet basketball rules contradict themselves: rule 24.2 settles a bet with a draw option on regular time, while 24.18.1 settles it including overtime. When in doubt, the market name on the slip decides. Sportsbooks licensed abroad can do the opposite: at GG.BET, overtime does not count in basketball markets unless the market says so (7.7.1), and in hockey a winner bet is voided if regular time ends in a draw and the draw was not one of the options (7.23.8). GG.BET operates under a Curacao licence, it is not licensed in Latvia, and Latvia's player protection rules do not apply to it.

An example. A hockey game is 2:2 after 60 minutes, and the home team wins 3:2 in overtime.

• A 1X2 bet on the draw (X) wins at every sportsbook, and a 1X2 bet on the home team loses.
• Double chance 1X wins, because it settles after 60 minutes.
• A match winner bet on the home team at OlyBet and LVBET wins.
• At GG.BET a winner bet on the home team is voided and the stake is returned (7.23.8).

Double chance: 1X, 12 and X2

Double chance is a bet on two of the three 1X2 outcomes at once, and it also settles on regular time.

In the Optibet rules (4.4.2.1.2) double chance is a bet in which you predict two of the three possible outcomes at once. Betsafe (17.25) explains it like this:

• 1X wins if the home team wins or the match is drawn;
• 12 wins if either team wins;
• X2 wins if the match is drawn or the away team wins.

Because double chance covers two outcomes, its odds are lower. An illustration: if the 1X2 odds are 2.10, 3.40 and 3.60 and double chance carries the same margin, 1X is priced at about 1.30, X2 at about 1.75 and 12 at about 1.33. This is an example only: each sportsbook sets its own double chance odds. In hockey, too, double chance settles on regular time, and overtime and the shoot-out are not counted (OlyBet 52.7.28).

How the margin is calculated and how much it varies between sportsbooks is covered in the next lesson, Bookmaker margin: how to calculate it and what Latvian sportsbooks charge.

Draw no bet

Draw no bet is a bet on the winner in which the stake is refunded if the match is drawn.

The Optibet help pages say: "Likme tiek pieņemta uz spēles uzvarētāju, bet gadījumā, ja tiek nospēlēts neizšķirts, likme tiek atgriezta ar koeficientu 1" - the bet is on the winner, and on a draw it is returned at odds of 1. OlyBet calls the market "Spēles rezultāts (bez neizšķirta)", and if regular time ends in a draw the bets are returned at odds of 1 (43.19.27). In the Betsafe rules it is "Neizšķirts nav likme", and abroad it is usually "Draw no Bet". In effect it is a handicap of 0, which we covered in the lesson on the handicap.

Correct score

Every sportsbook settles correct score on regular time, but what happens when the final score was not on the list differs.

• Optibet settles such a bet at odds of 1.00 in its general rules (4.4.2.1.6.2), but its hockey rules treat all bets as lost in that case (4.4.1.2.13). The rules contradict each other, so the market name decides.
• LVBET in football: all bets lose in that case, except bets on "Visām citām" (any other score) if that option was offered (section 30).
• OlyBet in hockey treats bets on "Cits rezultāts" (other result) as winners (52.7.34).

If a match is abandoned or VAR changes the result

Bets on an abandoned football match stand only if it is completed within a set time, and the time differs by sportsbook.

• Optibet, Laimz and Klondaika: bets are void if the match is not resumed on the same day (4.4.1.1.2).
• OlyBet: bets are returned at odds of 1 if the match is not completed within 24 hours, except markets already decided (43.2).
• LVBET: bets are void if the match is not resumed within 30 hours (section 30).
• Betsafe: bets on an abandoned match stand if at least 80 minutes were played (17.25).

VAR rules differ as well. Optibet's guide says the bet is re-settled according to the corrected official result, which can mean a winning bet is re-settled as lost. OlyBet uses the result announced right after the event and ignores later changes (6.6). LVBET states it clearly only for bet builder bets: results changed retroactively do not change their settlement (BetBuilder 1.4). Betsafe cancels live bets placed between the incident and the referee's final decision if VAR reverses the original call (17.25).

Where to bet on match results

In Latvia you may only bet with operators licensed by the State Revenue Service.

The State Revenue Service publishes the list of licensed operators. Optibet and Klondaika, both licensed in Latvia, use the same sports betting rules, so the Optibet sections on "Mačs" and "Dubultiespēja" quoted in this lesson apply to both. How regular time affects goal total bets is explained in the lesson on goal totals, Asian lines and both teams to score.

Play within your means

1X2 is a bet like any other, and you can lose money on it. Set a budget before you start and stop when it is spent. Our responsible gambling page gathers the tools that help, and how to join the self-exclusion register kept by the State Revenue Service is explained in a separate article. The addiction support line of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 67037333, is anonymous (in Latvian). Betting is for people aged 18 and over only.