Unmatched bets are exchange bets still waiting for someone to take the other side. On a betting exchange you aren’t betting against a bookmaker: every back bet needs a matching lay from another customer. If nobody wants your price yet, your bet waits in the market unmatched, where it can stay, be partly matched or be cancelled. This guide explains how unmatched bets work, what happens to them at kick-off and how traders use them.
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On a betting exchange, your bet only counts once it's matched. Here's how matching works, and how liquidity and the in-play delay affect you.
You don't bet against a bookmaker. Every back bet needs a lay from another customer at the same price. If nobody wants your price yet, your bet waits in the market as unmatched.
Say the best back price is two point nine, but you ask for fifty pounds at three. Your bet joins the queue. Then another customer lays thirty pounds at three. So you're thirty matched and twenty unmatched. If the team wins, you're paid on the thirty only, sixty pounds profit before commission. You can cancel the other twenty until it's matched.
When the match goes in-play, exchanges usually cancel unmatched bets unless you chose to keep them. Check the setting, because a forgotten bet kept in-play can get matched after a goal.
Liquidity is the money waiting at each price. Say you back five hundred pounds at two, but only two hundred waits there. You also take one point nine nine and one point nine eight, for an average of one point nine nine two.
In-play, bets wait a few seconds before they reach the market. Your price may still be there, or it may have moved, or the market may suspend and cancel your bet. So look for money several times your stake, trade when the game is quiet, remember TV pictures lag behind, and check your open bets before you leave. Please bet responsibly.
Key points
- A bet is only matched when another customer accepts the same price on the other side.
- You can cancel an unmatched bet at any time before it is matched.
- Bets can be partly matched, with some of your stake live and the rest still waiting.
- Check what happens to unmatched bets when the event goes in-play, because on many exchanges the default is to cancel them.
How unmatched bets work
The exchange shows the best prices available to back and to lay, with the money waiting at each one. Ask for a price that is on offer and your bet is matched straight away. Ask for a better price than anyone is offering and your request joins the queue at that price as an unmatched bet.
Bets at the same price are matched in the order they were placed. If you ask for a worse price than the best one available, you normally get the better price.
Worked example
The best price to back Crystal Palace to beat Everton is 3.30 (prices for illustration only). You would like 3.40, so you ask to back £40 at 3.40.
- Your £40 waits in the queue at 3.40 as an unmatched bet. It isn’t live yet.
- Another customer lays £25 at 3.40, so your bet is now £25 matched and £15 unmatched.
- If Palace win, you are paid on the matched £25 only: £25 × 2.40 = £60 profit before commission.
- You can cancel the remaining £15 at any point before it is matched.
What happens at kick-off
When a football match goes in-play, the exchange usually cancels any unmatched bets unless you chose to keep them. On Betfair, for example, the bet slip lets you decide whether an unmatched bet lapses at the start, stays in-play or, in some markets, is taken at the starting price. Check the setting before kick-off, because a forgotten bet kept in-play can be matched after a goal at a price you no longer want.
In-play, exchanges also add a short delay before a bet is accepted. Prices can move during that delay, which is another reason an in-play request may stay unmatched.
How traders use unmatched bets
- Asking for a better price. Leaving an unmatched bet a tick or two better than the current price can improve your entry, at the risk of never being matched. Our trading ladder guide explains ticks.
- Setting an exit in advance. After backing at one price, a trader can leave an unmatched lay at a shorter price, so the exit happens automatically if the market gets there. This is the basis of back to lay.
- Scalping. Scalpers leave unmatched bets on both sides of a market, aiming to be matched on each for a tick of profit.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting them. Check your open bets before you leave a market.
- Treating them as live. An unmatched bet won’t pay out, even if the result goes your way.
- Waiting for a price that has gone. If the market moves away, your bet may never be matched, so decide whether you still want the trade at the new price.
- Overlooking part matches. Work out your position on the matched stake only. The unmatched part changes nothing until it is matched.
Related guides
- Football trading explained
- The Betfair Exchange (Lesson 8 out of 25 in the Masterclass)
- Green up
- Exchange commission
18+ only. Betting should stay fun. Set a budget before you start, only bet what you can comfortably afford, and take a break whenever you need one. For free, confidential support, visit BeGambleAware.org or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.