Draw No Bet Explained for Irish Punters: How DNB Works, How the Price Is Built and When It's Worth It

Updated 24 Oct 2026 · Written by Seán Murphy · Reviewed by Aoife Gallagher

You fancy a team to win, but there's that nagging feeling the game could finish level. Maybe it's Ireland away from home in a qualifier, maybe it's a League of Ireland side that draws every second week. That's exactly the spot draw no bet was made for. You back a team, and if the match ends in a draw you get your stake back instead of losing it. Sounds like a free safety net, but it isn't free: you pay for it through a shorter price. This guide explains draw no bet properly, shows you how the price is built from the normal match odds, and helps you decide when it's actually worth taking.

18+ only. General information, not betting advice. Every price and result below is a made-up example to show the maths. Under Irish law only operators licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) may lawfully take bets from Irish customers. Offshore crypto sites such as Cloudbet (which we link to and which holds a Curaçao licence) are not licensed in Ireland, so no Irish regulator can help you in a dispute. If betting is causing you worry, Gambling Care is free and open 24/7 on 1800 936 725 (Northern Ireland: 08000 886 725).

Draw no bet in one minute

• You pick a team. Home or away, it doesn't matter.
• Your team wins: you're paid at the draw no bet price.
• The match is a draw: your stake comes back. No profit, no loss.
• Your team loses: you lose your stake, same as any bet.
• The cost: the DNB price is always shorter than the straight win price, because the bookie is giving you insurance against the draw.

So draw no bet turns a three-way market (home, draw, away) into a two-way one. The draw simply stops counting. You'll see it listed as "Draw No Bet", "DNB" or sometimes "Home/Away" or "Money line" on sites that also cover American sports. Under the bonnet it's the same thing as an Asian handicap of 0, which we'll come back to.

A worked example in euro

Say a made-up League of Ireland game is priced like this in the normal match result (1X2) market:

The total over 100% is the bookmaker's margin, here a bit over 4%. Now suppose the same site offers the home team draw no bet at about 1.67. Here's what happens to a €20 bet each way it can go:

That table is the whole trade-off. You give up €14.60 of profit when your team wins in exchange for not losing €20 when the game is drawn. Whether that's a good swap depends on how likely the draw really is, and on how fairly the bookie has priced the DNB line.

How bookies work out the draw no bet price

You don't have to take the DNB price on trust. It comes straight from the 1X2 odds, and you can check it in ten seconds with a calculator. The formula is:

DNB price = win odds × (draw odds − 1) ÷ draw odds

Using the example above for the home side: 2.40 × 2.30 ÷ 3.30 = about 1.673. For the away side: 3.10 × 2.30 ÷ 3.30 = about 2.161.

Why does this work? Picture building your own draw no bet with two bets. Put €20 on the home win at 2.40, and a smaller "cover" bet on the draw that returns exactly your total outlay if the game is drawn. The cover stake works out at €20 ÷ (3.30 − 1) = €8.70. If the draw lands, the cover returns €28.70, which is your total stake back. If the home side wins, the main bet returns €48 from a total outlay of €28.70, which is effective odds of 1.673. Same number as the formula. So a DNB line is really a win bet with a draw bet stuck to it.

That matters for one simple reason: if the bookie's DNB price is lower than the formula says, they've slipped extra margin into it. If it's equal or higher, you're getting the market's own price for the insurance. Running the formula before you bet is the easiest habit you can pick up. Our odds calculator shows the margin on any market too.

DNB prices at different kinds of matches

Here's how the formula plays out across four made-up matches, from a heavy favourite to a near coin-flip. All numbers are calculated from the 1X2 prices shown.

Notice the first row. Backing a 1.25 favourite on DNB gives you 1.04. You're risking €100 to win €4. That's almost never worth the bother. Draw no bet earns its keep in tighter games, and it really shines on the underdog: in the second row, the away side goes from 6.50 to 4.95, which is still a big price but now with your stake protected if they hold out for a draw.

Draw no bet vs double chance vs Asian handicap 0

Irish punters mix these three up all the time, and fair enough, they sound similar. They're not the same bet.

Draw no bet and Asian handicap 0 settle the same way. The only real difference is which market a bookie lists it under, and sometimes one is priced slightly better than the other, so it's worth checking both. Our guide to minus odds and handicaps covers the handicap side in more detail.

Double chance is a different animal. It pays out on a draw, so the price is shorter again (1.39 in the example, from 1 ÷ (1/2.40 + 1/3.30)). DNB is for when you think your team will win but want protection from a draw. Double chance is for when you're happy just to say "they won't lose".

When draw no bet makes sense

1. Tight games where the draw is a real possibility

In low-scoring leagues and in evenly matched games, draws happen a lot. If you've done your homework and lean towards one side, but you'd honestly put the draw at 30% or more, DNB lets you bet your opinion without the draw wrecking it.

2. Backing an underdog

This is the classic use. A decent away side at a tough ground might draw just as often as they win. On a straight win bet the draw kills you. On DNB you still get a decent price and a refund on the draw. Look at the second row of the price table again: 4.95 with a safety net is a very different bet to 6.50 without one.

3. Keeping your bankroll steadier

DNB doesn't change the bookie's edge much, but it does change how bumpy the ride is. We ran a simple simulation: 50 bets of €10 each, on a team with a made-up true 40% chance to win, 28% to draw and 32% to lose, at the example prices, repeated 20,000 times. Straight win bets swung far more: the middle two-thirds of seasons spread across roughly ±€83 around the average, against about ±€50 on DNB. The worst 5% of straight-win seasons were down €164 or more, compared with about €109 on DNB. Smaller swings make it easier to stick to a budget.

4. Building safer legs into a double

Some punters use DNB legs in doubles and trebles so a single draw doesn't sink the slip. Most bookies treat a refunded DNB leg like a void, so the bet carries on at odds of 1.00 for that leg. Check the site's rules first, because a few handle it differently.

When draw no bet costs you

Here's the part most guides skip. Because DNB is built from the win price plus a draw price, it inherits the margin on both. If the draw itself is overpriced by the bookie (they offer 3.30 when the fair price is nearer 3.57), you're paying for insurance that's dearer than it should be.

In the same made-up example with a true 40% / 28% / 32% split, the straight win bet at 2.40 has an expected return of about −4.0% of stake, while the DNB at 1.673 comes out at about −5.1%. Small difference, but over hundreds of bets it adds up. So DNB is not automatically "safer value". It's a smoother ride, sometimes at a slightly higher cost.

Three situations where you'd usually skip it:

• Short-priced favourites. Anything that leaves you under about 1.20 on DNB rarely pays enough to justify the risk.
• Leagues or games where draws are rare. If a draw is unlikely, you're paying for insurance you probably won't use.
• When the DNB price is below the formula. That's extra margin, plain and simple. Take the straight win, or build your own DNB with two bets if the draw price is good.

How DNB settles in the odd cases

• 90 minutes only. In football, DNB normally settles on the result after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties don't count unless the market says so. That's important in cup games, where a team can "go through" after a draw that still gets you a refund.
• Abandoned or postponed matches. Usually void and stake returned if not replayed within a set window. Rules vary by site.
• Cash out. Many sites let you cash out DNB bets in-play. The cash-out offer includes margin, so you'll usually get a little less than the bet is "worth" at that moment.
• Other sports. DNB turns up in rugby, Gaelic games and cricket too, where draws are rarer, so prices are very close to the straight win price.

Draw no bet in Gaelic games and rugby

Draws in hurling and Gaelic football are less common than in soccer, but they do happen, especially in tight provincial games. Some sites price DNB or "handicap 0" lines on GAA, and because the draw chance is small, the DNB price is only a touch below the straight win price. That makes it a cheap bit of insurance in a game you expect to be close. In rugby, draws are rare enough that DNB prices sit almost on top of the straight win odds, so it's worth a look in a tight Six Nations or URC game if the difference is only a few cents.

A quick pre-bet checklist

1. Write down the 1X2 prices for the match.
2. Work out the fair DNB price with the formula above.
3. Compare it with the DNB (or Asian handicap 0) price the site is showing.
4. Ask yourself honestly how likely the draw is. If it's under about 20%, a straight win bet usually makes more sense.
5. Check the settlement rules: 90 minutes, extra time, abandonment.
6. Stick to the stake you'd have used anyway. A refund on the draw doesn't make a bigger stake safer.

Common mistakes Irish punters make with DNB

• Thinking it can't lose. It can. If your team loses, the stake is gone.
• Confusing it with double chance. A draw on DNB gets you your money back, not a win.
• Using it to justify bigger stakes. The insurance only covers one outcome out of three.
• Never checking the maths. Ten seconds with the formula tells you if the line is fair.
• Forgetting cup rules. A draw in 90 minutes is a refund even if your team wins on penalties.

Where to bet draw no bet from Ireland

Most GRAI-licensed bookmakers offer draw no bet on football, and many list Asian handicap lines as well. Offshore crypto sportsbooks such as Cloudbet also price DNB and handicap markets on major leagues, but remember they are not licensed in Ireland, so you'd have none of the Irish consumer protections if something went wrong. Read our guide on whether online betting is legal in Ireland before you sign up anywhere. Whichever site you use, compare the DNB price against the formula and against at least one other site before placing your bet.

Keep it fun

Draw no bet can make betting feel safer than it is. Set a weekly budget, don't chase losses, and take breaks. If gambling stops being fun, Gambling Care is free and confidential on 1800 936 725, 24/7 (Northern Ireland: 08000 886 725). Our responsible gambling page has more support options, including how to block gambling sites and payments.

Our take

Draw no bet is one of the most useful bets on the coupon for anyone who fancies a team but fears the draw. It's at its best in close games and on underdogs, and it keeps your bankroll steadier. It isn't free money: the price is shorter, and it carries the margin from both the win and the draw. Check the price with the formula, compare it with Asian handicap 0, skip it on short favourites, and keep your stakes the same size you'd use on any other bet.