Beginner’s Guide to Bet Builders

James Pacheco
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Author, Betting enthusiast

July 6, 2023

James started working in the betting industry a few weeks before Roger Federer won his first-ever Grand Slam and a few months before Greece shocked Europe’s elite at Euro 2004.

You’ve surely heard of them, whether it’s your mate saying he nailed one, or advertised on TV or online. But what are Bet Builders?
We’re about to tell you what they are, how they came about, how to play them, how the odds work on them, which sports they’re available on. And everything else you need to know if you want to have a go at playing them.

What is a Bet Builder?

A Bet Builder is an accumulator where all the selections making it up are picked from the same game. Like an accumulator, the more legs you add, the more the odds of your Bet Builder go as you tweak your selections to find the perfect bet for you.
In other words, it’s one big bet made up of several bets. In most cases, punters will need all the selections to win in a case of ‘’all or nothing’ but again, there are exceptions to this. Such as when one of those selections needs to be void, for whatever reason.
Bet Builders have only been around for a few years now and are quickly rivalling accas in terms of popularity.

Why have they become so popular?

  • On an emotional level, Bet Builders allow customers placing them to hope for multiple aspects of the same game (game winner, goals, scorers) to come good, which heightens the levels of excitement and enjoyment of sitting down and watching a game.
  • On a monetary level, they’re popular for the same reason as accumulators: you can win at big odds, meaning you can secure large, pay-outs from relatively small stakes.
Sports betting online

How do Bet Builders work

Going back a few years, it would have been unthinkable for there to be bet Builder sites. You could place accumulators (sometimes known as accas, multi-bets or combi-bets) across different games or even across different sports, but not within the same game.

The next development was that you could place Bet Builders, but not directly. It involved a process of contacting the Customer Service department of betting sites with Bet Builder and requesting odds on a bet, made up of a number of selections within the same game.
This was far from ideal.

Not only is contacting Customer Service something of a hassle to punters but it also can be quite time-consuming.
Not just time-consuming, but impractical. The idea of requesting odds on a Bet Builder just a few minutes away from kick-off and getting a quote in time before the game started, was near-on impossible. Now it’s a reality.
The big game-changer was the development by bookies with Bet Builder of software that automatically worked out the odds on the Bet Builder based on the different selections.
Crucially, the software could now take into account ‘related contingencies’. But what are these?
They’re events within a game that are related to one another.

Bet building example

Take the following Bet Builder selections for Liverpool v Everton:

  • Both teams to score.
  • Over 2.5 goals.
  • Over 0.5 goals in the first half.
  • At least one goal in each half.

All the selections are dependent on there being goals in the game.
And it’s not rocket science that the more goals there are in the game, the greater the chance of each legs of the bet winning.

So, if it was 2-1 at half-time, three of the four selections would already be winners after 45 minutes. The customer would only need one more goal in the second half (the ‘at least one goal in each half’ selection) to land a winning Bet Builder.
As we’ll see in the Bet Builder odds section, the software can adjust the odds on the Bet Builder as a whole, based on just how related the different selections are.

Of course, your selections don’t need to be related at all. A Bet Builder in the same game could be made up of the following selections:

  • Liverpool to win.
  • Under 3.5 goals in the game.
  • Over 4.5 Everton corners in the game.

In this case, the software would work out that the different events were less related when calculating the odds.

Best bookies for Bet Builder

Time to look at some of the best bet Builder sites and why we recommend them.

    1. Ladbrokes
    2. Betfred
    3. William Hill
    4. Betway
    5. Parimatch

Ladbrokes

Football Betting Odds Ladbrokes

Arguably the best-known UK bookmaker of the lot, which is hardly surprising given it’s been around as a betting company since 1886. These days it’s separated into two divisions: UK and International.
Since 2018 it’s been owned by Entain, which is listed on the FTSE 100, such is the size and value of the organization.

Ladbrokes offers the full range of products, including Sportsbook, casino, poker, and bingo.
Their Bet Builder product for football is one of the most extensive you’ll find on the market because of the sheer number of betting markets you can include in your Bet Builder. These include the likes of offside markets, player total tackles, and shots outside the box from individual players, all markets which many sites don’t allow you to bet on.

Pros
  • Huge legacy given it’s been around for almost 150 years.
  • Full range of betting products.
  • Massive choice of markets across dozens of sports.
Cons
  • Currently only available in six countries, which doesn’t include the US.
  • Doesn’t currently offer cryptocurrency payments.

Betfred

Betting Odds Betfred

They haven’t been around for quite as long as Ladbrokes but they did start out all the way back in 1967, as Done Bookmakers, named after founder Fred Done.
Why 1967? Because that was a year after Done himself won a big bet after backing England to win the 1966 World Cup, using his winnings to fund the first shop the company had.
As Done Bookmakers before becoming BetFred in 2004, they were the first-ever betting site to pay out early. They settled bets on Manchester United winning the Premier League in 1998, only for Arsenal to end up beating them by one point. Done Bookmakers, therefore, paid out on both teams!

Their Bet Builder product on football is available on just about every major league in the world, while other bookies with Bet Builder only offer them for a few selected leagues.

Pros
  • Famous for specialising in promotions with Fred Done earning the nickname ‘The Bonus King’.
  • One of the best Customer Service operations in the business.
  • Betting app is right up there with the quickest and most efficient.
Cons
  • Need to have money in your account to be able to use their Live streaming service.
  • Withdrawals are not always the quickest.

William Hill

Betting Odds William Hll

Another giant of the UK betting industry, this one has been around since 1934. These days it’s owned by 888 Holdings and has offices in London, Leeds, Gibraltar, and Malta.
They like using high-profile brand ambassadors for promotions and TV adverts, including former champion jockey Tony McCoy and ex-England footballers Rio Ferdinand and Jermaine Jenas.

Their Bet Builder product has some flexible features. That includes applying a Boost which increases the odds, and adding Insurance to your selection, meaning you can get your money back if one of your selections lets you down.

Pros
  • Daily Bet Boost which allows you to have one bet a day at bigger odds on anything you like.
  • Special football promos with selected bets available at inflated odds.
  • Pay out on more places than other bookies when it comes to horseracing.
Cons
  • Not all payment methods allow you to withdraw as well as deposit, with Paysafe being a good example of that.

Betway

Betting Odds Betway

Has been around since 2006 and is one of the betting companies holding licenses in the most countries, proof of its ambition when it comes to growth and expansion.
They made history in 2015 when they paid out the biggest slots Jackpot ever, with a customer walking away with close to 18 million Euros while playing Mega Moolah.

At the time of writing, Betway only offers Bet Builders on soccer, but they do offer plenty of different leagues and betting markets within the games from those leagues. You can have up to 10 different selections within your Bet Builder.

Pros
  • Available in lots of countries including Italy, Spain, Mexico, South Africa, and the USA.
  • Offer live streaming on selected horseracing.
  • Site is particularly easy to navigate.
Cons
  • Not as many payment methods as other betting sites.

Parimatch

Betting Odds Parimatch

Around since 1994, it started life in Kyiv (Ukraine) back in 1994, although its headquarters are in Limassol (Cyprus) these days.
They made positive headlines when in May 2022 they withdrew their franchise in Russia as a result of their invasion of Ukraine. They then formed a special Parimatch Foundation which donated more than 500,000 Euros to help the Ukrainian people.

Their Bet Builder product catches the eye for offering it across o many different football leagues, including some pretty obscure ones. These include the Peruvian First Division, the Mexican Second Division, and even English Under 21 games.

Pros
  • Livestreaming is available on multiple sports.
  • Wide selection of virtual sports, if you like that sort of thing.
  • Site available in lots of different languages.
Cons
  • Processing of Live Bets can be a bit slow.
  • Verification policy (KYC) can be a bit slow.

Boylesports

Betting Odds Boylesports

An Irish-based bookmaker who operates mostly in Ireland and the UK and who has over 320 retail branches, in addition to their online presence.
They made the news when they got former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard on board as a Brand Ambassador ahead of Euro 2020.

They have a particularly good Bet Builder product when it comes to NFL betting. Just as an example, the Bet 365 Bet Builder really comes into its own on football, like most other bookies, but Boylesports have gone the extra mile to make their Gridiron product as good ait can possibly be.

Pros
  • Some payment methods like Neteller aren’t eligible for welcome offers.
  • 24/7 Customer Service.
  • Imaginative and generous ongoing promos across a variety of sports.
Cons
  • No VIP/Loyalty program meaning very active customers don’t get more rewards than less active ones.

How we rank the best Bet Builders

So those are six of the best Bet Builder sites, but how did we decide those were the six that made the cut?
Here are the key criteria used:

  • Offer Bet Builders across lots of different football leagues.
  • Bet Builders available for sports outside football.
  • Nice selection of betting markets within the individual event.
  • Product is clear, easy, and quick to use.
  • Don’t cut overall odds too much as a result of related contingencies.
  • Offer Boosts, free bets, and other promos on Bet Builders.

Bet Builder Rules

Just like with lots of other things in sports betting, there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to Bet Builder Rules. Or to put it another way: how long is a piece of string? In summary: the rules applying to Bet Builders vary massively from one site or Bet Builder app, to another.
Here are a few of the rules and how they can vary:

  • Not all sites offer Bet Builders outside football
  • The number of selections in your Bet Builder can be anything between two and 10. Some sites offer a (theoretically) unlimited number of selections.
  • Some betting sites may limit the odds at which your Bet Builder can be placed, while others don’t.
  • ome bookies may allow a combination of particular selections, while another bookie may refuse to allow those very same selections in the same Bet Builder.
  • Some bookmakers allow you to use the Cash Out feature on Bet Builders, while others don’t.

Bet Builder Odds

When placing an accumulator across different matches within the same sport or different sports, it’s very easy to work out what the acca’s odds are.
Let’s say you were placing the following bets:

  • Novak Djokovic to win Wimbledon @ 2.5.
  • Real Madrid to win the Champions League Final @ 1.9
  • Mumbai Indians to win the IPL @ 6.0.

In this case, you just multiply them all by one another, so: 2.5 x 1.9 x 6.0 = 28.5.
But because of the related contingencies factor, it’s not as straightforward with Bet Builders.
A Bet Builder made up of Liverpool beating Everton at 1.6 and Everton having three or more cards at 2.0 would probably come to 3.2 (as normal) or very close to that.
But when betting on different markets with the related contingencies factor, customers would see the overall odds significantly reduced.

For example, Liverpool winning, Liverpool scoring three or more goals, and Mo Salah scoring are all related.
So that’s where the software comes into place to come up with the total odds of the Bet Builder as a whole, depending on how connected they are.
It obviously wouldn’t be fair, or practical for the bookmaker, to just multiply the three together.

Bet Building Pros and Cons

Bet Builders won’t be for everyone but they’re becoming more and more popular. Here are some of the pros and cons to them.

Pros
  • A successful Bet Builder with five or six selections could pay out at huge odds.
  • Gives customers complete control about what to include in their selections.
  • In a bid to encourage customers to play them, bookies often offer free bets or other promos around them.
  • Keeps customers engaged in several aspects of a game, not just the final result or the number of goals. In other words: they’re fun!
Cons
  • You’ll rarely or never get true ‘betting value’ when wagering on a Bet Builder.
  • Limits on stakes, pay-outs and odds can annoy high rollers wanting to risk a lot to win an exorbitant amount.
  • Not available on all sports, the way that accas are.

What is the difference between a Bet Builder and an Accumulator?

We’ve touched on this already but here it is again.
A Bet Builder is made up of two or more selections and is all based around one event A: a football, NFL or basketball match, for example.
An accumulator is based around two or more completely separate events and will never include more than one selection A from any of them. Accumulators can be across the same sport or across different sports.
Another difference as just discussed is that the odds of a Bet Builder aren’t (necessarily) all the selections just multiplied by each other; the odds of an Accumulator are just that.

Read more about acca betting here

Bet Builder v Request a Bet

The latter involves putting a combination of selections together from a single event or multiple events and requesting odds on them from the bookies’ team of Traders, via Customer Service. This is normally done via e-mail, phone, Live Chat, or increasingly, Twitter.
A Bet Builder is all done at the customer’s end, on the site or app. In this regard, it’s a quicker and more straightforward way of building your…Bet Builder.

Bet Builder Tips

Everyone will have their own opinions about the best way to go about placing your Bet Builders. But here are a few tips that should be useful to everyone:

  • Don’t be too greedy. If you already have four selections, you’re happy with, it might be worth leaving at that because that extra one you added at the last minute may well be the one that lets you down.
  • Bet Builders are risky by nature, more so than placing singles. So, keep the stakes sensible.
  • Keep an eye out for ‘bet-one-get-one-free promos’ on Bet Builders as they give you more chances to win down the line.
  • If you feel the Bet Builder’s odds are too stingy because of the related contingencies factor, then don’t bet. You’re giving away too much value.

Summary

So that should tell you everything you need to know about Bet Builders if you’re new to this all.
They’re a fun way to thoroughly enjoy a game because you’re cheering on any number of different things to happen and as discussed, you only need to get a few of these right a year to see some serious pay-outs and profits.
The flip side of this of course is that it’s very often a case of: get one wrong and you’re gone. As fun and potentially profitable as they can be, with a bit of luck, betting on singles is a more effective way of trying to show a long-term profit.

FAQ

It depends on the bookie. Some limit it to 5 selections to make sure they don’t have massive pay-outs if it wins. Others let you have considerably more.

Yes, that’s the whole point of them. That’s in contrast to accumulators where the selections all come from different games.

This is down to individual preference but the likes of Ladbrokes, Parimatch, and Betfred all have excellent Bet Builder products.

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