What is Request a Bet?

How a Request a Bet Works

To place a Request a Bet, you submit a combination of selections to a bookmaker — typically via a dedicated feature in their app or website, or through customer services. You might, for example, ask for a specific player to score, both teams to score, and the match to finish with over 3.5 corners in the first half, all rolled into one bet. The bookmaker's traders then calculate a price and return a quote, usually within a minute or two. You are under no obligation to accept it.

Settlement rules vary between bookmakers. Because RABs are priced individually by traders rather than drawn from a standard market, the rules governing voids, postponements, or abandoned matches can differ significantly. One bookmaker may void the entire bet if a key player does not take part; another may settle on the remaining legs. Always read the specific terms before placing. Minimum and maximum stakes also vary, and some bookmakers restrict or withdraw the feature for customers they have identified as consistently profitable.

A Worked Example

Suppose a tipster advises a RAB on a Premier League match: Mohamed Salah to score anytime, Liverpool to win, and under 4.5 goals — three selections the bookmaker combines into a single quoted price of 7/2 (4.50 in decimal odds). A £10 stake would return £45 (£35 profit plus the £10 stake) if all three legs land. The bookmaker has priced the combination at its own discretion, so the implied probability built into that 7/2 quote may be higher or lower than what you would calculate by multiplying the individual leg probabilities together.

This gap between the bookmaker's quoted price and a fair combined probability is important. If the true combined probability of all three legs landing is, say, 20% (fair odds of 4/1), but the bookmaker offers only 7/2, there is negative expected value in the bet. Conversely, if the bookmaker misprices a leg — perhaps overestimating Salah's scoring probability — the combined price could represent value. Without access to each leg's individual price, verifying this is difficult, which is a significant limitation for anyone trying to assess the quality of a RAB tip.

Why Request a Bets Matter When Judging a Tipster

RABs present a particular challenge for anyone trying to evaluate a tipster's track record objectively. Because the price is quoted on demand and varies between bookmakers, it is very difficult to verify the odds a tipster claims to have obtained. This makes independent proofing harder than with standard markets, where prices are widely recorded and comparable. A tipster who regularly advises RABs should ideally provide screenshots or a third-party proofing service that captures the quoted price at the time the advice is published.

There is also the question of replicability. Followers of a tipster may find they receive a materially different price from their bookmaker, or that the bookmaker declines to offer the combination at all. If a tipster's profit is built substantially on RABs, treat the headline figures with caution until you understand how consistently followers have been able to match the advised odds. A strong ROI from a small sample of RABs should be given less weight than the same ROI achieved across single or accumulator bets in liquid, well-recorded markets.

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