Sports betting general remarks
A General remarks
A1 Basic Rules
A1.1 Parties:
The parties to each bet are the company, on the one side, and the customer (hereinafter “the user”), on the other side.
A1.2 Who is not allowed to bet:
Bets by order and from bookmakers as well as betting agents are not permitted. Bets on events in which the bettor is participating (“participating” in this sense relates to those persons involved as a sportsperson, athlete, as an owner, trainer or functionary of a participating club) or those which are commissioned by any person participating, are not permitted. In addition, bets on league, cup or other events in which the respective club/organisation is participating may not be placed or commissioned by those persons considered to be participating in the respective event. In the case of violation of these regulations, the company reserves the right to refuse payment of any winnings and already invested stakes as well as to cancel any bets. The company takes no responsibility for knowing if the user is a member of one of the mentioned groups. This means that the company is entitled to undertake any necessary measures at any time after the user has become known as being a member of one of the mentioned groups.
A1.3 Unknown Outcome:
The bettor declares not to know the outcome of the event when placing the respective bet.
A1.4 Ambiguous Bets:
The company reserves the right to refuse the whole or part of any bet and to make ambiguous bets void.
A1.5 Liability/data processing:
The company does not assume liability for input, transmission, and/or evaluation errors. In particular, the company reserves the right to rectify obvious errors in particular in the input of bet odds and/or in the evaluation of bet results (e.g. confusion of odds or results, teams etc.) - even subsequently - or to declare affected bets void.
The company also assumes no liability for correctness, completeness or up-to-dateness of the information services provided, for example result messages sent via e-mail and SMS among others. The company also assumes no liability for the accuracy of livescores, statistics and intermediate results in live betting.
The company further reserves the right to cancel bets even subsequently if any such bet was won by the user as a result of a technical fault or error and the company is in a position to prove the technical fault(s)/error(s) by means of technical records. The burden of proof of technical fault or error is with the company. In any such case, the stake of the bet or game shall be re-credited to the player's account. The company reserves the right to hold a user liable for any damage caused to the company as a result of such user knowingly taking advantage of a technical or administrative error when making and/or receiving payments.
A stake is exclusively a respective amount confirmed and indicated by the company.
A1.6 No organized Betting:
Clients must register their bet requests as individuals. Repeated requests containing the same selections from the same or different clients may be subsequently deemed void. Even after the official outcome of the related selections is already known, bet selections may also be deemed void if the company believes that clients are acting in collusion or as a syndicate or the bets in question have been placed by one or more clients within a short period of time.
A1.7 Match or Price Rigging:
In the event that the company suspects any event manipulation it withholds the right, in its absolute discretion, to:
- suspend the offering of any event or series of events in any of its markets; and
- delay and/or withhold payment on any event or series of events in any of its markets, until the integrity of such event or series of events has been confirmed by the relevant sports federation.
Further, in the case of active event manipulation being confirmed as having taken place on any event or series of events by the appropriate sports governing bodies, the company withholds the right, in its absolute discretion, to suspend any bets placed on such events, either by any individual identified as having possessed insider betting knowledge or information or by any other individual who in the reasonable opinion of the company is connected to, acting in conjunction with or in any way involved with such individual.
If the company believes that match or price rigging has taken place, it reserves the right to relay the respective party's saved details (information pertaining to the reservations or suspicions of the respective misdemeanour in question) to sporting bodies, authorities or any other third party, which deals with the investigation of such offences.
A1.8 Age and legal capacity:
When placing a bet or participating in a game, the user declares to have attained the minimum age required for participation in that game according to the respective national legal system and that he has the necessary legal capacity.
A2 Stakes
A2.1 Stake Limits
Each user determines his stakes himself with the exception of the restriction imposed by winning limits in accordance with the calculation of winnings and possible stake limits.
A2.2 Account Balance
A precondition for the effective placement of a bet is that before the closure for the acceptance of bets - subject to paragraph A2.4 below - there must be must be sufficient balance on the account to cover the stake including any applicable taxes according to point A2.2.
A2.3 Full Coverage
If the balance on the account does not provide full coverage and the difference is not remitted in due time, offers for the placement of bets will be accepted by the company only in the order in which they are received for as long as the betting account for each individual bet is completely covered.
A2.4 Partial Coverage
If the stake for a bet is only partly covered by the balance on the account, the bet is deemed to be placed with a stake corresponding to the remaining balance on the account.
A3 Placing a bet
A3.1 Confirmation:
A bet is accepted once the company has confirmed it. A bet is confirmed when it appears in the customers account under “My Bets”. In some isolated cases delays may occur. In the event of a dispute over the time when a bet was placed, the time when the bet was registered by the company shall govern. If the customer does not get a confirmation message for whatsoever reason then the bet is still confirmed if it is shown in the customers account under “My Bets”. In all cases the company assumes the customer’s acceptance of the company’s “Terms and Conditions” when placing a bet.
A3.2 Invalid / Void Bets:
If a bet is declared “invalid” or “void” (e.g. cancellation of the betting event), then this bet will be evaluated as “won” with odds of 1.00. For individual (single) bets, this means that the user will get the amount equal to his stake back. In a multi bet, this means that the total odds will be adjusted accordingly and the multi bet can still be won if all other bets it contains are won too.
A3.3 Late Betting:
If the bet - for whatever reasons - is placed after the beginning of the betting event, the bet is invalid (this does not include live betting). The bet will be evaluated as “won” using the odds 1.00. For “Live Betting”, bets which are received by the company after the result of the respective bet has been determined are invalid and will be evaluated as “won” using odds of 1.00.
A3.4 Deadline:
The deadline for placing bets will in each case be determined by the company.
A3.5 Decline Acceptance:
The company reserves the right to decline acceptance of any bet without giving a reason.
A3.6 Accepted Bets:
Bets placed and accepted in good time - apart from the cases mentioned in these Terms and Conditions - may not be revoked or changed. It is therefore the user's sole responsibility to ensure that all of the details of his/her bets are correct.
A3.7 Early Outcome Information:
If, during the period of acceptance of bets, information becomes known through which the outcome of the bet can be determined, the deadline for acceptance of bets will be determined anew by the company or the bet will be cancelled. Cancelled bets are evaluated as “won” at odds of 1.00.
A3.8 Errors:
The company assumes no responsibility for typing, transmission and/or evaluation errors. In particular, the company reserves its right to correct obvious errors - even after the event - with the input of betting odds and/or the evaluation of betting results (e.g. odds-related, team-related, event-related errors) or declare affected bets void. The company also assumes no liability for correctness, completeness or up-to-dateness of the information services provided, for example live scores and result messages sent via e-mail or SMS. The stake is exclusively the amount confirmed and recorded by the company. In case the erroneous event/market is cancelled all bets are void and will be evaluated as “won” with odds of 1,00, with the exception of when placing a bet with Freebet. Further information on FreeBets can be found here.
A4 Calculation of winnings
A4.1 Calculation:
In the case of bets with fixed odds, the winnings are calculated by multiplying the stake by the fixed odds.
In accordance with the explanation given under A2.2, a deduction will be charged on winnings to users whose permanent place of residence is in Germany and who are in Germany at the time of placing a bet in order to cover taxation of sports betting.
In the case of live bets, the customer is able to accept any changes in odds during the bet placement process. Changes in odds are understood to be those which change between the pick being added to the bet slip and the bet being accepted by bwin. The actual odds are then displayed in the bet confirmation notification. If the user does not receive a bet confirmation notification, the bet is still valid if it is displayed in the “My bets” section of the betting account.
More information can be found on the bet slip in the live bets area.
A4.2 Payout:
Winnings are only paid out up to a maximum of the winning limits (see paragraphs “A4.3” and “A4.4”). If the player places a bet whose payment exceeds the winning limit, the company is not liable for the excess amount. In this case payments of winnings will be reduced correspondingly. This applies also if the company has not warned the bettor against possible excesses of the winning limits at the time of betting.
A4.3 Winning limits:
The winning limits for bets with real money are as follows:
A4.3.1 Per Player and Week:
The winning limits for each player and week (Monday 00:00 until Sunday 23:59 (GMT +2)) are as follows: EUR 250,000.
These limits are only approximate values as they are subject to exchange rate fluctuations.
A4.3.2 Per Player and Bet:
The winning limits for each player and offered bet are as follows: EUR 10,000.
These limits are only approximate values as they are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. If it turns out that a player has opened several accounts and has placed bets on them contrary to the General Terms and Conditions and the company should decide not to cancel all related bets, the winning limit applies to the total of the winnings gained from these bets.
A4.4 Different Winning Limits:
The company reserves the right to determine winning limits different from those specified in paragraphs “A4.3.1” and “A4.3.2” and/or determine specific winning limits for individual players.
A4.5 Special winning limits
Special winning limits apply for pre-event match betting on specific sports, events and bet types and are determined as follows:
| Sport | League/Competition (PRE-EVENT ONLY – ALL LIVE BETTING EUR 10,000) | Bet type (all bet types concerning events are only for results after regular time, not for specific periods) | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football |
|
|
EUR 250,000 |
|
EUR 100,000 | ||
| Tennis |
|
|
EUR 100,000 |
| Basketball |
|
|
EUR 250,000 |
|
EUR 100,000 | ||
|
|
EUR 100,000 | |
| Ice Hockey |
|
|
EUR 250,000 |
|
EUR 100,000 | ||
| Baseball |
|
|
EUR 250,000 |
|
EUR 100,000 | ||
| American Football |
|
|
EUR 250,000 |
|
EUR 100,000 |
Multi bets: in the case of different winning limits applying for picks forming a Multi bet, the lowest winning limit will be relevant for the total winning limit of the Multi bet.
If winnings should be credited to the user's account that exceed the limits stated in this paragraph, the company reserves the right to reclaim the credited amount exceeding the stated limits.
A4.6 Reduced Stake:
If a user makes several equal bets (also the combination of single and multi bets), whose total winnings exceed the winning limit according to paragraphs “A4.3” or “A4.4”, the company is entitled to reduce the stake to the necessary extent in order to comply with the winning limits.
A4.7 Players Loss Protection:
Should a player lose EUR 5,000 or more within a period of four weeks, the company reserves the right to take suitable measures to protect the player from further losses.
A5 Live Video
The live betting section regularly offers videostreams with live coverage of sports events. Click here for the Terms and Conditions.
B Betting result
B1 Common betting rules
B1.1 Specific Sport Rules (B2):
There are exceptions or variations to these rules for certain sports and bets. The bettor should therefore always consult the sport-specific rules of each sport - found under “Special rules” - as the sport-specific rules will take precedence over the general betting rules.
B1.2 All bets stand:
Unless otherwise stated – in the exceptions below, in the betting offer or in the special rules of each sport – the principle “all bets stand” applies to all bets. This means, that if the athlete (or team, horse, etc.), on whom/which the bet has been placed, fails to participate – for whatever reason – the bet is lost if the betting event takes place. Only in exceptional cases will bets be declared void, particularly in the following cases:
- The event/tournament is cancelled.
- The event/tournament is declared void.
- The venue is changed.
- The event/tournament is interrupted or postponed and started or restarted more than 72 hours after the original start date.
- Live bets: In live betting (also see rule B1.8), if there is a “non-runner” then all bets on this selection are void.
- Head to Head (H2H) bets: If one or more participants withdraw before they have started the event/tournament.
B1.3 Order of teams in fixtures:
In general, the order of teams in fixtures is based on the official schedule of the respective competition. In exceptional cases, the official away team of an event may be listed as the home team. "All bets stand" shall still apply.
B1.4 Determined bets:
All bets that are determined (i.e. the outcome is already decided) are valid and will be settled accordingly regardless of subsequent abandonment of the event/tournament at any time.
B1.5 Amendment (24 hour rule):
The company recognises only those results which have been achieved on the playing field or platform. Results amounting from disciplinary measures from a sports' court or another court of law are not considered. In case of violation of sports laws, the company reserves the right to freeze the winnings and withhold payment.
Exception: All bets referring to the final result of the event/tournament will be settled on the official result published by the governing authority of the respective sport/league/event - usually right after the end of the event. If the official result is changed within 24 hours after the end of the event by the respective governing body then the company reserves the right to correct settlement accordingly (i.e. already paid out winnings will be made undone after which bets will be settled according to the amended result). If an event/tournament is not completed for whatever reasons (e.g. bad weather, crowd problems, etc.) but there is an official result given by the governing authority within 24 hours then only bets on the winner of the event/tournament will be settled accordingly. If no result is declared by the governing body of the sport/league/event within 24 hours after the end of the event all bets which were not completed at the time of abandonment will be deemed void. This also applies to long term bets. Any changes to rankings made after 24 hours after the end of the event for whatever reasons, will not be taken into consideration when the outcome of the bet is decided.
B1.6 Postponed rule:
For any cancelled or postponed betting event, any bets struck prior to the scheduled kick-off will be void. All bets stand on any match that is delayed prior to the scheduled kick-off time and takes place on the same day (local time). The only exceptions are matches that take place within a fixed date tournament framework e.g. Olympics, European Championships Finals, World Cup Finals, French Open, Wimbledon etc. then bets will stand (does not apply to non Tennis qualifying matches taking place outside of the fixed date tournament framework.). See Individual Sport rules for superseding rules. If the start date of an event is not known at the time a bet is offered, this event will be marked with the extension “date to be confirmed”. For all these events and markets, the correct start date will be entered as soon as it is known. Bets on such an event are valid even if the estimated start date does not match the actual one.
B1.7 Multi Bets:
B1.7.1 Not All Starters:
If in a multi bet, the starter on whom the bet has been placed does not participate in an event (except the “All bets stand” principle (B1.2)), or if one of the selected events is called off, abandoned or cancelled or does not take place for other reasons, and the respective betting events are not held within 72 hours, these bets are evaluated as “won” at odds of 1.00 which means that the multi bet can still be won depending on the other results that are part of it.
B1.7.2 Related Bets:
The customer may not combine (parlay) related bets on the same event. Related bets are two or more different bets that have related contingency.
Example:
- Bet 1: “Which team will score the next goal?” contains the following results to bet on:
- “Team A”
- “Team B”
- “No Goal”
- Bet 2: “When will the next goal be scored?” contains the following results to bet on:
- “Time X”
- “Time Y”
- “No Goal”
- As the option “No Goal” has an effect on both bets, these are deemed “related” to each other.
Related bets do not necessarily contain the same result or refer to the same action. As the relation of bets is not always as obvious as in the example above, the company reserves the right to determine which bets are related to each other. If a multi bet containing 2 or more related picks has been accepted in error, then the company reserves the right to declare this bet invalid (see rule A3.2 Invalid / Void Bets).
B1.8 Ex-aequo Placings and Dead Heats (tie):
Ex-aequo placings arise when more than one athlete or team achieve the same placing. If not otherwise stated, should an event finish in the case of ex-aequo placings or a tie (dead heat) – and provided a corresponding betting option has not been offered – the following regulations dealing with the amount of winnings are enforced: The odds for the winning options (which are based on the European decimal form) will be divided by all pick variations won and then multiplied by the respective initial stake. These cases will be displayed in your betting account under “My bets” with the addition “d/h” (dead heat).
If not otherwise stated, this rule applies for all cases where two or more betting options are deemed to be winning options.
Example: A ski event ends in a draw between athlete A (odds of 4,60) and athlete B (odds of 9,00). Users who bet EUR 10 on athlete A win EUR 23 (Odds x stake / number of picks which are deemed correct = 4,60 x 10 / 2). Users who bet EUR 10 on athlete B win EUR 45 (9,00 x 10 / 2).
B1.9 Live Bets:
B1.9.1 Explanation:
Live bets are offered exclusively before and during an event on a dedicated live bets platform. The odds are continuously updated to reflect the current status of the game. In order to avoid a bet not being accepted due to changes in odds, the customer can accept changes in odds using the options “Accept all odds changes” or “Accept higher odds” when placing a bet.
More information can be found on the bet slip in the live bets area.
B1.9.2 Results:
For live bets the results that are known immediately after the conclusion of a betting market will be the ones used to evaluate the winning outcome(s). Subsequent modifications (e.g. results decided by a jury after the game) do not influence settlement of the live bet on offer. Live bets are settled on the company’s own statistics which are based on the actual run of play. Unless otherwise stated, in live betting all bets on “Non-runners” will be void.
B1.9.3 Common Rules:
For live betting, the “Common Betting Rules” (B1) concerning game evaluation also apply. Exceptions are special bets, which are decided before the actual interruption. These are declared valid.
B1.10 Playing Times:
In all sports that apply to a certain playing time, the result after regular playing time (including injury/added time) is decisive. Any extra time or penalty shoot-outs etc. will have no influence on the settlement of any bets. Any exceptions will either be announced as they occur or are part of the special rules of the specific sport.
bwin cannot guarantee that the regular playing time of an event meets the 'normal' playing time of the respective sports (e.g. for football club friendlies). Aberrant playing times will be communicated if the information is available. In any case, all bets will stand.
B1.11 Disqualifications:
For all bets referring to the final result of the event/tournament, any player/starter/team that is disqualified for whatever reasons within 24 hours after the end of the event/tournament will be deemed a loser.
B1.12 Types of bets
B1.12.1 Odd- or Even- betting:
If the result is “0” then bets will be settled as “Even”.
B1.12.2 Handicap/Spread:
The event must be completed for bets to stand.
B1.12.3 Total betting (all bets containing the betting options “Over” and “Under”):
If the event is abandoned before its completion then all bets will be void, unless the highest possible total to bet on has already been attained in which case all bets stand.
B1.12.4 Head-to-Head (H2H) betting:
- Single Event: If one or more participants withdraw before they have started the event then all bets will be void. If a participant is disqualified or does not finish the event for whatever reasons, then this participant will be deemed a “loser”. If all participants of the Head to Head bet are disqualified or do not finish the event, then all bets are void. In case of 2 or more participants finishing in the same position the “Dead Heat” rule (B1.7) applies.
- Tournament: This rule applies for all tournaments played in knockout or round robin system or mixtures of both. The winner will be the participant who is placed highest in the tournaments final ranking. If there is no official final ranking, the last successfully completed match/stage will be considered the final position. If two or more participants should finish the tournament on the same position or their last successfully completed match/stage should be the same, dead heat rules apply. If one or more participants withdraw before they have started the tournament then all bets will be void.
B1.12.5 Medal betting:
All bets on the number of medals will be settled on the official medal table at the end of the event (e.g. Olympic Games, World Championships, …). Any changes made by any governing body at a later date do not count for betting purposes.
Team medals: Any medals won by a team/nation per competition count as one medal regardless of the number of team members.
B1.12.6 Nominated Finalists:
The finalists are the players/teams who really contend the final regardless of how they get there, including decisions made by any governing bodies.
B1.12.7 Any other/The field:
In case a bet contains the betting option "any other", "the field", "any other rider not listed" or similar, this option includes all participants except the ones mentioned by name within the list of betting options - no matter if there are odds available for these participants or not.
B1.12.8 Enhanced Odds Specials:
For all bets that refer to the results of more than 1 event, each involved event has to be started within 72 hours after its scheduled time of beginning for the bets to be valid.
In case at least one of the involved events is not started in time or not finished providing an officially declared winner, all bets for the respective ‘enhanced odds specials’ will be void.
This rule does not apply for any bets that are placed as multi bets.
B1.12.9 Money Back Specials:
For all bets offered within the ‘Money Back Specials’ section the following rules apply:
- Maximum stake: Users can place up to EUR 50 (or equivalent amount in the respective user’s currency) on each market unless otherwise stated.
- If the displayed condition is met, stakes for losing bets will be refunded.
- If bets are placed exceeding the maximum stake, only the maximum stake will be returned.
- Refunded losing bets will be displayed in the account as ‘cancelled’.
- ‘Money Back’ bets can only be placed as single bets. In case a ‘Money Back’ bet is placed within a multi bet, no refunds will be credited for this bet.
B1.13 Postponed Matches
For any cancelled or postponed match, any bets struck prior to the scheduled kick-off will be void. All bets stand on any match that is delayed prior to the scheduled kick-off time and takes place on the same day (local time). The only exceptions are matches that take place within a fixed date tournament framework eg Olympic Games, Tennis Tournaments, European Championships Finals, World Cup Finals etc then bets will stand. (Does not apply to non Tennis qualifing matches taking place outside of the fixed date tournament framework.) See Individual Sport rules for superceeding rules relevant to those sports.
B2 Special Rules
Click here to see the Special Rules for particular sports.