Bookmakers have started to put a fair bit of control into the hands of punters. That is thanks to online betting opportunities to create your own bet. No longer do punters just have to go and settle for what is on offer in a bookmaker’s sports book.

• How To Make A Bet In A Bookies
• How To Place A Bet In A Bookies
• How Do You Place A Bet In A Betting Shop

Often the first bet you place is the qualifying bet and the amount of that bet will be matched (up to a certain amount) with a free bet of the same amount. There are many variations though from the more simple bet £10 get £10 free bet to Bet £10 get £20, Bet £10 get £30 in free bets or even bet £20 get £10.

1. Do you use multi bets? You really shouldn't. You're almost always multiplying the bookmakers profit margin. Pro punters only use multi bets for two distinct reasons.
2. Most bookies keep the stake when you place a free bet, which means you only keep the winnings. If you place a £10 free bet at 1/2 (1.50) and win you are only left with £5 as cash. That might be enough for some, but as it is “free”, most players will try to get more out of it. This is where the risk/reward discussion begins.
3. Follow betting tips. Possibly one of the best strategies to beat the bookies is by following expert.

The Request A Bet phenomenon has grown exponentially. You are able to find many versions of it out there. Sky Bet were one of the pioneers of this and continue to be a popular destination for this exciting form of betting.

What is request a bet?

A Request A Bet, or whatever variation of the name different bookmakers use, is where punters get to create their own bets. The process is pretty simple. If you have a quirky bet in your head and that option isn’t listed on the site, you ask the bookie to price it up for you. If they do they will make the market option live, but if not, well, there was no harm in asking.

How to request a bet?

Most of the bookmakers will simply ask you to go on to Twitter and tag them in a Tweet with details. You simply puy in whatever hashtag they are using for it, and the details of the bet that you want. Then if they are happy to price it up for you, they will send you back a link to strike your bet. Here is Skybet’s Twitter in action:

As you can see from the Skybet Tweet above, they will keep you informed about the sporting events that they are running #RequestABet on. As you can see from the screenshot below in the replies to that Tweet, some had bets priced up, some didn’t.

You can just browse their sportsbook as well. Just land on a sporting event for which they are running #RequestABet on. Then select a RequestABet from other customers. Just bet as you would on any normal market option.

What are Bet Builders?

You will find Bet Builders at bookmakers which is just a variation of the same theme. For example in the Skybet mobile app, they have a bet builder. There are different market options that you can browse through and select to build your bet (think number of corners, goalscorer, number of cards etc). Just make between 2 and 4 selections and then request the bet. It’s basically the same product as the Request A Bet in a different package. You have to wait for their trading team to price up your option.

Bet365 Build A Bet

To request a bet at Bet365 they offer a Bet Builder option. This can easily be found at the top of the market lists for an event, if the feature is available for that event. By accessing the Bet365 Bet Builder you will have ability to edit the different options that you can come up with to fine tune a bet. Read full details of the Bet365 Build A Bet feature here.

Visit Bet365

William Hill #YourOdds

William Hill are another of the major online bookmakers to offer punters the chance to request a price on a wager of your creation. Again you can simply go and ask the bookmaker to price something up for you.

There is a list of sports that William Hill have that will is covered by the #YourOdds feature, such as football and horse racing, but even if you are thinking outside of the list then there really is no harm in just asking anyway.

Visit William Hill

Ladbrokes #GetAPrice

Ladbrokes also run a version of being able to request a bet. So there you can combine your own Match and Play Stats markets. You can pick your bet from a from a whole host of stats like assists, passes, shots, shots on target and tackles, or any combination.

The Ladbrokes #GetAprice is available every weekon all Premier League, Championship, La Liga, Serie A and Champions League matches. Basically, if you can’t find a market that you want, you can ask Ladbrokes to create it for you.

Visit Ladbrokes

How to request a bet on Sky Bet

1. Log in to your Sky Bet Account via their mobile app (alternatively register with the bookmaker first)
2. Get active with the Request A Bet Option for an event
3. Select from the different options to make your custom bet
4. Hit the Request A Price Button
5. If the bookmaker is able to price your wager immediately they will, or you may have to wait until they respond

Alternatively you can Tweet your bet @RequestABet and #RequestABet with the details.

So there is a quick an easy process to get your bet to the Sky Bet trading team. The operator offers RequestABet on Football, American Football and Basketball. There are selected markets for each sport that you can choose from, like BTTS, Match Result, Correct Score and Penalty Markets for Soccer; Rushing Yard, Total Points and Sacks for American Football.

Visit Skybet

888Sport #MarketMaker

In order to request a bet on 888Sport, it’s off to Twitter you go. You use the hashtag for 888Sport’s version of request a bet is #marketmaker. They launched their version as a trial just ahead of the 2018 World Cup. This follows in much the same vein as the other players in the industry. You can land on Twitter @888sport with #MarketMaker.

Visit 888sport

Coral #YourCall

Coral are one of the purveyors of this and their version is called #Yourcall. On all Premier League, Championship, Champions League, La Liga and Serie A matches you can create a bet from the following markets: Match result, Both Teams To Score, Total Match Goals, Total Match Corners and Total Match Booking Points. To request a bet on Coral you just need Twitter.

Plus you have the options based on named players in the match as well, such as shots, tackles, assists and a player to be carded. Coral also offer the feature on NBA Basketball matches including Money Line, Total Points, assists, rebounds, 3-point goals, blocked shots and steals.

Visit Coral

Paddy Power #AskPaddyPower

If you can think of a market that Paddy Power haven’t listed on their site then you can go and ask them to price it up for you. With Paddy Power whatever you can think up pretty much flies as they state that they will offer you up a price on virtually anything. So even if you think you have a crazy old creation going on, the chances are that Paddy Power will take a look at it and offer you something. To request a bet on Paddy Power, just Tweet them and find out!

Visit Paddy Power

Betfred #PickYourPunt

You get some power put into your hands thanks to Betfred #PickYourPunt. To use the request a bet on Betfred, you can easily access the service through their mobile app. Select the football match that you want to work on then add your different selections like Real Madrid to win, 10+ corners and Eden Hazard to score.

How To Make A Bet In A Bookies

You request the price through the app or just fire off the request to @Betfred with the hashtag #PickYourPunt and they will respond with a link you can click to place the bet with.

Visit Betfred

BetVictor #PriceItUp

The BetVictor #PriceItUp tool is easily accessible from their toolbar on their website. Click it and you will see the list of fixtures that you can use the feature on. To request a bet at Betvictor Click on a selected match. Then you will see the options and selected markets that you can play with. Think up your bet and then try to get it backed directly via the app or the website. You can get a bet immediately priced up. Then you just throw your chosen stake at it.

Visit Betvictor

Betway #BetYourWay

Betway also offers their customers the ability to create a bet of their own choice. To request a bet at Betway is straight forward. It is another which is simply done through the Twitter platform as many of them are. You have to use the hashtag: “#BetYourWay”, and mention their “@BetwaySupport” handle.

An example of this is @BetwaySupport #BetYourWay
Tottenham v Liverpool
Tottenham to win + BTTS + Over 2.5 goals

They offer the tool on most sports, leagues and events. As soon as they have processed your request, then they will simply let you know that you can go and see it on their website. Any processed requests at Betway #BetYourWay can be found at the #BetYourWay markets in the sportsbook. You will see other bets from other punters there (both on the desktop and mobile app) which have been added. You will find them all listed there and you are free to bet on any of them. If you don’t have a Twitter account then you can visit their Facebook Page and mention #BetYourWay and provide the details of your bet request.

Visit Betway

Unibet #RequestAPrice

Unibet also offer their customers the chance to price up a bet. They do it a little different through so bear that in mind. If you want to request a bet on Unibet, you will need to go into the Unibet Community. There’s a link right at the top of their sportsbook. Then start a thread in the forum about the bet that you want requested. They will then keep in touch with you through there to let you know about the status of the bet that you want.

Visit Unibet

Betfair #OddsOnThat

The variation of this is #OddsOnThat at Betfair. Again you will be heading over to Twitter to ask for a price in order to request a bet on Betfair. This is simply tagging them @betfair with #oddsonthat and it’s a simple as that. Again you can just browse to the #OOT market filter on a sporting event to see what bets have already been matched up by the operator from requested bets.

How To Place A Bet In A Bookies

Visit Betfair

MoPlay #MyPlay

To request a bet on MoPlay you can do it quickly through their app. You can just “flick the switch” as they say on there, picking your selections for a game in a bet builder. You can customer the bet to your liking on a match. Any combinations that you pick will be priced up immediately. The option for creating a MyPlay bet is only available on football and basketball.

Think up a bet and get it priced!

So punters do now have the freedom to basically tap into a creative spark and come up with a bet. Punters are able to create whatever they want now and ask for it. You have nothing to lose in asking and back in 2017, a punter struck gold with the format.

They had requested a “Robert Lewandwoski to score a header and Arsenal to miss a penalty” bet at Sky Bet. The operator priced the bet up at 400/1. It was tempting enough for a lot of other punters to jump on. Lewandowski indeed scored a header. Arsenal’s Alexis Sancehz missed a spot kick.

The punter who had requested it won just over £2,000. However, the requested bet cost Sky Bet £350,000. So you can call the shorts just as you want them.

This increasingly popular new feature of being able to request a bet is allowing punters to get as creative as they like for their online betting. The ability to create your own bet is largely focused on football matches and from stats involved in them such as the number of corners, both teams to score and how many assists a named player in a match will make. You can throw things like this together, and as many as you want, into a single bet.

The Twitter Trend

The one thing that all of the different request a bet features across different bookmakers have in common is that you can go and hit up Twitter to request a price. Each bookmaker is naturally running a different hashtag for their request a bet feature so all that you would do is look for the specific hashtag and which handle to Tweet it to and just send it off. Generally what happens is that the bookmaker will then reply to your Tweet along with a link where you can go directly and place the bet.

Back Bets Created By Others

What you will notice at bookmakers, such as at William Hill there are even dedicated sections for the special markets that punters have created already. So if you are lacking the time to go and create one of your own, then you browse through other bets that have already been requested by and matched for punters and just strike a bet as you would on a regular sports betting market and make the most of those!

How Do You Place A Bet In A Betting Shop

You can see above the active bets available that have been created through #YourOdds at Skybet.

Request a Bet – FAQ

How do I request a bet?

1. In most cases you will need access to Twitter
2. Check the boomaker for their handle and hashtag
3. Alternatively some bookies have bet builders available like Skybet have on their app
4. You select pre-set options to create a bet
5. In both cases you have to wait until the traders give the green light with a price

Can I cash out on request a bet?
You are able to find cashout options for requested bets. This will vary from bookmaker to bookmaker though. Skybet for example, apply it to RequestABet Specials Up to 10/1, RequestABet Specials 11/1to 28/1, RequestABet Specials 33/1 to 66/1, RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above, Previous RequestABet Winners, 1st Half RequestABets and Popular RequestABets.

How do I activate request-a-bet?
You are not the one who actually activates the request a bet. You simply create the bet. Then the traders at the respective bookie will assess it and decide whether or not to price it up.

What is request a bet insurance?
Skybet run RequestABet Insurance. This is only for selected matches and not every game listed on their site. Terms will change but as an example of the insurance, they ran it for an England v Switzerland match. It basically offered terms where if only one of your selections in a built RequestABet lost, stake was refunded.