Dead Heat Rules in Sports Betting

Under Dead Heat Rules, the sportsbook divides your stake by the number of tied competitors. For example, if two participants tie for first place, half of your stake is graded as a "win" at full odds, and the other half is graded as a "loss."

If you have ever checked your account after a golf tournament or horse race and found a payout significantly smaller than expected, you have likely encountered this rule. Below, we break down exactly how to calculate your returns and which sports are most likely to trigger a dead heat.

An example of this would be if you had placed a bet on a boxing match, for example Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk, and after 12 rounds of brawling the judges decided that the fight was a draw.

Dead heat rules would then be applied. Let’s take a look at some hypothetical odds to understand this further:

• Fury: +140

• Usyk: -160

If you had bet $50 on Usyk winning the fight on a 2-way market (no draw available), your bet on Usyk would become half of your original stake ($25), in this case $40.63, which would result in a net loss of $9.37.

In the same vein, if you had bet $50 on Fury to win the fight, the same would be applied. Your wager would therefore be halved, meaning that you would see a total return of $60 and make a net profit of $10.

Sports Most Affected by Dead Heats

Let’s look at which different sports are the most affected by dead heat rules. 

Dead Heat Rules in Horse Racing

The most likely sport that dead heat rules will be applied to is horse racing. Imagine you have placed a bet on Toast Rider to win the Kentucky Derby. He leads the race from the start, but in the last corner Magic Star appears from nowhere and both horses finish at the same time. The horses can’t be separated from each other in the photo finish, meaning a dead heat is declared.

If you’d bet $10 on Toast Rider to take the crown with +400 odds, your stake would become $5 and you would take home $25 ($15 profit).

Dead Heat Rules in Golf

Golf and dead heats go together like peanut butter and jelly, because players can finish tied for places in tournaments. This will depend on the number of golfers that tie for a specific position, and this can affect the payouts if a dead heat were to happen. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical tournament and what it would mean for a wager:

If you place an each-way bet on Nick Faldo to win the tournament (at +700, three places) and the standings finish as above, your bet would be settled in the following way. 

With three players tied for third place (1st and 2nd finished clear of the field), your bet would be divided like this:

• If a bet was placed on Nick Faldo, bettors would have their stake reduced by one third. The price would remain untouched, and only the stake would be reduced.

• In addition, if the bet was made and four places were offered, the stake would be reduced to two thirds of the original stake.

• If four golfers had tied for third, the bet would be reduced to one quarter of the stake and so on. 

If you’ve been searching for sportsbooks to bet on golf and can’t decide where to place your bets, check out our review of the best golf betting sites that will help you in your decision-making. And if you don't know where to get started with betting on golf then take a look at our guide on how to bet on golf.

Dead Heat Rules in Cricket

Cricket is rising in popularity in the States and with it so are the betting markets. Here are the bets and scenarios in cricket matches that would result in dead heat rules:

• Top Team Batsman / Runscorer: Two or more players score the same runs.

• Top Team Bowler / Wicket Taker: Two or more players take the same number of wickets.

• Highest Series Single Innings: Both teams score the same amount of runs in a single inning.

• To Win the Match / Top Team Runscorer: Two or more players score the same number of runs.

• Top Team A/B Runscorer double / Top Team Runscorer / Top Team Wicket Taker Double: Two or more players score the same number of runs.

• Top Tournament Wicket Taker: Two or more players score the same number of runs or wickets.

• Match Betting: The match ends in a tie.

• Match Betting - Double Chance: The match ends in a tie.

• Match Betting -Draw No Bet: The match ends in a tie.

• Top Match Batter: Two or more players score the same amount of runs.

• Match Top Bowler / Wicket Taker: Two or more bowlers register the same amount of wickets or runs conceded.

• Top Batter in Innings: Two or more players score the same number of runs in the innings.

• Top Bowler in Innings: Two or more bowlers have the same figure of wickets taken and runs conceded.

• Team of Top Batter: The number of runs scored by the top batter on both teams are the same.

• Team of Top Bowler: The number of wickets taken by the top bowler on both teams are the same.

• First Innings Lead: Both sides have recorded the exact same score after the first innings are complete.

• Highest Individual Score: Two or more players have produced the same score.

• Team A Top Bowler: Two or more bowlers have taken the same number of wickets and runs conceded.

As you can see, numerous bets in cricket can result in dead heat rules, so keep that in mind when placing wagers. 

Dead Heat Rules in Soccer

In soccer, dead heat rules apply when betting on certain scenarios, such as the top goal scorer or most clean sheets for the season. It is common for soccer games to end in ties, so dead heat rules would not apply and multiple teams generally can't finish in the same place in a league table due to factors such as goal difference. Even if two teams finish the league with the same points and goal difference at the top of the table, an extra game would be played to decide first place, meaning there will always be a winner.

Here’s an example of a scenario where dead heat rules would apply when betting on soccer. Let’s say you back the following three players to be the MLS top goal scorer and the end the season tied:

• Wager 1: A $15 bet on Lionel Messi at +150 odds to be MLS top goal scorer.

• Wager 2: A $30 bet on Tai Baribo at +2000 odds to be MLS top goal scorer.

• Wager 3: A $6 bet on Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting at +500 odds to be MLS top goal scorer.

The $15 wager that backed Lionel Messi at +150 after a three-way dead heat would then have an adjusted stake of $5.00, paying out $12.50.

Tai Baribo and the $30 bet at +2000 odds would result in an amended stake of $10.00, which would pay out $210.

The last bettor who wagered $6 on Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting at +500 would have their stake changed to $2.00, getting $12, and return a total of $12.

Find out more about the best soccer betting sites.

Dead Heat in Novelty Markets

You may be aware that you can bet on events that aren’t sport-related, like who’s going to be the next President or win the next American Idol series, and dead heats can happen here, too.

For example, imagine a world where Post Malone and Beyoncé both entered American Idol and the series ultimately ends with both stars winning. Dead heat rules would apply and payouts would be made with adjustments made.

If you're looking for novelty bets, the best place to find them is at prediction market sites. See what are prediction markets and how to use them.

Sportsbooks Dead Heat Rules

Sportsbooks have varying policies regarding dead heat rules, so it's essential to be aware of these. If an event ends in a dead heat, you may be disappointed if a sportsbook's handling differs from what you're accustomed to. 

Here's how the best sports betting sites will handle a dead heat:

FanDuel Dead Heat Rules

FanDuel’s policy on dead heats can be found under the house rules. It states that dead heat rules apply “to bets on a market where there are more winners than expected. In the event of a dead heat, your returns are calculated using the following method:

If an event ends in a dead heat, half of the stake remains at full odds, while the other half is abandoned, and if more than two dead heats happen the stake is divided accordingly. When a parlay has been made at FanDuel and is affected by a dead heat, the original parlay stake is adjusted accordingly.

BetMGM Dead Heat Rules 

BetMGM’s dead heat policy states that “In an "Outright" or "Place" bet, should two or more participants be considered to have obtained the same result and the organizing association does not distinguish in their classification the “Dead Heat rule”.

Additionally, there are further details available about how dead heat rules apply to cricket and golf, and the different circumstances that would warrant dead heat rules coming into effect.

DraftKings Dead Heat Rules

DraftKings states that in the event of a dead heat, odds will be divided proportionally among the winners. If a dead heat were to happen in a two-way tie, a bet would become half of what was initially projected in the bet slip when it was made.

Suppose the dead heat involves more than one finishing position. In that case, DraftKings will handle the wager by dividing the odds of each winning selection by the number of competitors who tied by finishing positions. 

bet365 Dead Heat Rules

At bet365, you can find out all you need to know about dead heat rules in the bet settlement and returns section of its Help Center. Here it outlines that in the event of a dead heat, the stakes are proportioned according to the number of dead heats and paid at full odds.

How To Calculate Payouts in Dead Heats

If a dead heat were to happen in a certain sports match or event, the stake would be divided by the total take by the number of participants in the dead heat, followed by multiplying the odds that were present on the bet slip when the bets were made.

Here is a hypothetical situation where multiple bets have been made on the most touchdowns made in an NFL season:

• Christian McCaffrey: $100 stake at +800 odds

• Tyreek Hill: $60 stake at -120 odds

• Derrick Henry $50 stake at +3000 odds

Three bets have been made on the following players, and at the end of the season, each player has the same number of touchdowns, resulting in dead heat rules being applied. Here is what it would mean for the bettors:

Best Tips for Dealing with Dead Heats in Sports Betting

Dead heats can have some serious effects on your bets, as they will likely reduce your returns. The best approach is to diversify your betting portfolio to mitigate losses in the event of a dead heat.

Here are some useful tips to take into consideration before placing any bets at a sportsbook site:

1. Always check a sportsbook's policy on how they handle dead heats.

2. Diversify your betting portfolio when betting on markets where a dead heat is more likely.

3. Research previous races/matches/events for patterns that might point to dead heats.

4. Be cautious of events that may lead to dead heats, such as golf tournaments.

Understanding dead heats is half the battle. Prepare yourself using the tips above to maximize your potential wins.