Live betting: what changes once it starts

Live, or in-play, betting is betting on an event that is already under way. Prices update continuously as the game changes, markets are suspended and reopened around significant moments, and a bet is accepted at the price the operator holds at the instant of acceptance rather than the one displayed on your screen.

The book is repricing against a data feed that reaches it before it reaches you. Every broadcast carries a delay, and the feed the book uses is faster than the picture you are watching, so the entire market is running slightly ahead of the customer. Suspension exists to protect the book during the seconds when the picture and the feed disagree most.

Live markets typically carry wider margins than pre-match ones, because the book is pricing quickly with less certainty and less time to correct an error. The convenience of betting during the game is paid for in the price on nearly every ticket.

Which is where it goes wrong. The rejected-and-reoffered price is where most live money leaks. A bet comes back at a slightly worse number with a confirm button already highlighted, and accepting reflexively in the middle of a game is how a considered bet becomes a worse one.

What to do with it. Decide the worst price you will accept before pressing anything, and decline the reoffer if it is beyond that number.