Two bettors back the same team in the same match. One stakes on Draw No Bet, the other on Double Chance. The match ends in a draw — and only one of them walks away with a profit. Understanding exactly why comes down to how each market treats that one specific outcome.
What Draw No Bet Actually Does
Draw No Bet (DNB) removes the draw from a three-way result market. You’re backing one side to win, but instead of losing if the match is drawn, your stake is simply refunded. As Smarkets’ help center describes it, the bet is void on a draw — it doesn’t win, it doesn’t lose, the money just comes back to your balance.
There are only two real results for your stake:
- Your team wins — the bet wins, paid at Draw No Bet odds.
- The match is drawn — stake refunded, no profit, no loss.
- Your team loses — the bet loses outright.
Because the draw can no longer cost you anything, Draw No Bet odds sit lower than the equivalent straight win odds on the three-way market — the bookmaker has removed a losing outcome for you, and prices that protection in.
Double Chance, Briefly
Double Chance covers two of the three possible results in a single bet — typically “team wins or draw” (1X) or “draw or the other team wins” (X2). Unlike Draw No Bet, a draw under Double Chance is an outright winning outcome, not a refund. Our full Double Chance guide breaks down all three combinations in detail; here the only thing that matters is the contrast with DNB: Double Chance pays on a draw, Draw No Bet merely gives the stake back.
A Worked Example: Same Match, Two Markets
Take a purely hypothetical match between Team A and Team B, with illustrative three-way odds of 1.80 (Team A), 3.50 (Draw) and 4.50 (Team B). From those prices, a Draw No Bet on Team A works out at roughly 1.45, and a Double Chance 1X bet (Team A or Draw) at roughly 1.25. Stake $100 on each.
- Team A wins: Draw No Bet pays $145 (profit $45). Double Chance 1X pays $125 (profit $25).
- Match drawn: Draw No Bet returns your $100 (profit $0). Double Chance 1X still pays $125 (profit $25).
- Team B wins: both bets lose the full $100 stake.
The pattern is clear: Draw No Bet pays more when your team wins outright, but produces nothing on a draw. Double Chance pays less on a win but turns a draw into a genuine profit instead of a break-even refund. Run your own odds through our Double Chance Calculator to see the exact numbers for any match you’re looking at.
Why the Prices Move Like This
The gap between the two markets isn’t arbitrary — it reflects what each one is actually selling. Draw No Bet removes a losing outcome and refunds it; Double Chance removes a losing outcome and turns it into a win. Paying out on three results out of three (win or draw) is worth less per winning scenario than paying out on only two results out of three (win, with the draw merely neutral), so the per-bet price reflects that difference once the bookmaker’s margin is layered on top. Our bookmaker margin guide covers how that built-in margin distorts the “fair” price on any two-way or three-way market, which is worth checking before comparing odds across bet types.
When to Use Draw No Bet Instead of Double Chance
Neither market is objectively “better” — they solve different problems.
- Pick Draw No Bet when you’re confident the favourite won’t lose outright, but a draw genuinely worries you and you’d rather get your money back than risk it on a tight scoreline.
- Pick Double Chance when you think a draw is a real possibility and you want that outcome to pay you, not just protect your stake.
- Avoid both if you’re backing a heavy underdog — the discount on either market barely moves the price, so the straight win bet is usually the simpler, more honest choice.
A useful shortcut: if you’d be satisfied just getting your stake back on a draw, take Draw No Bet. If a draw ending in your favour would actually feel like a win to you, Double Chance is the closer fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Draw No Bet ever pay out on a draw?
No. If the match ends in a draw, a Draw No Bet wager is void and your stake is simply returned — it never produces a profit on a draw, unlike Double Chance.
Which market gives better odds, Draw No Bet or Double Chance?
Draw No Bet odds on a given team are higher than Double Chance odds on the same team, because Double Chance already pays out on the draw while Draw No Bet only refunds it — the bookmaker prices that extra winning scenario into Double Chance by lowering its odds.
Can you use Draw No Bet and Double Chance on the same selection at the same time?
Yes, nothing stops you backing the same team with both bet types in the same match, though doing so simply blends the two payout profiles rather than creating any extra edge — each bet is still priced and settled independently.
Is Draw No Bet only available in football?
No. Draw No Bet appears most often in football because three-way results (win, draw, loss) are common there, but the same refund-on-a-draw structure is offered by many bookmakers on other sports where a draw is a realistic outcome, such as some ice hockey and rugby markets.
George Mahulet has covered African sports betting and iGaming markets for over six years, focusing on how licensing, mobile money integration, and bonus terms actually play out for bettors in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. Before joining Best10Betting, he worked as a data analyst for a Lagos-based fintech tracking mobile payment adoption — experience that shapes his focus on the payment and licensing details other betting content tends to skip. He verifies every bookmaker’s regulatory status directly against the relevant national gaming board before publishing a review, and updates existing reviews whenever bonus terms or licensing status change rather than leaving them static after launch.
