Most punters focus on traditional sports betting. However, bookies are constantly expanding the list of options they offer. Some will allow you to wager on pretty much anything, as long as there is a publicly known and defined outcome. Examples include weather, TV shows, celebrity awards, and politics.
“Request a Bet” is a feature that allows punters to propose specific or customized bets outside the bookie’s standard offer. The sportsbook will then review the request and decide whether to set a price on it.
This was a complicated process in the past, as gamblers would have to walk into the betting shop or relate the details of their unconventional wagers over a phone call. Nowadays, most bookmakers with this feature allow punters to request a bet easily via social media channels, especially X (formerly Twitter).
The bookies that offer the “request a bet” option will require you to use a unique hashtag for this purpose. For instance, William Hill’s code is #YourOdds. To ask for a customized wager, you need to send out a tweet with the description, tag the bookmaker, and include the hashtag.
Here is one example:
“@William Hill Real Man City vs Liverpool (English Premier League): Man City to win, Haaland to score within the first 15 minutes, over three cards, and seven corner kicks #YourOdds.”
After tweeting this, the bookmaker’s representative will contact you and inform you whether your custom bet is accepted. In case of a positive response, you’ll receive the odds and a link for the requested wager.
You can request odds on unusual markets, like election winners, award shows, or even a youth prospect’s future success. However, your request depends on whether impartial experts can verify and confirm the outcome.
Bookmakers can easily balance their books for traditional markets like football match results by receiving bets on all possible outcomes. But requested wagers usually involve complex or specific scenarios. Sportsbooks usually lack reliable data and can’t balance the market. For this reason, you might receive less favorable odds compared to standard bets.
Still, the lack of value isn’t a concern for most punters since these types of wagers are occasional. Also, they come with fairly substantial prices due to their obscure nature and might result in a significant profit if they win.
Requesting your bets comes with certain limitations. A website where you can bet on anything may decline custom wagers depending on the surrounding conditions. Let’s take a look at such scenarios.
Licensed betting sites are responsible for the wagering markets they offer and must follow specific rules. Some bookies will provide odds on request for unconventional markets, like predicting the name of a celebrity’s child. However, they will all usually draw the line when they deem a wager immoral.
For instance, bookmakers will not accept a bet on people’s deaths, wars, or plagues. One of the reasons behind this is to avoid catastrophes, such as a bettor going the extra mile to make their wager come through. Therefore, such stakes only seem to be available on illegal websites that allow punters to bet on anything with crypto.
Another scenario where a sportsbook may decline your wager is in certain amateur sports. These competitions are regulated less strictly, and there are concerns about influence on the result. Also, bookmakers usually don’t have enough data to provide efficient coverage.
Bookmakers like PremierBet sports can reject specific wagers for several reasons, including those related to business, regulatory issues, and morals.
In case of business reasons, they might deem the wager to be risky or unprofitable. They also could discover that you have way more information and knowledge on the market than they do.
Regulatory bodies, especially in countries with strong gambling regulation, will provide strict rules about the types of markets a bookie can list. If the sportsbook doesn’t act within these rules, it can lose its license.
Also, the bookmakers will avoid offering markets that are considered immoral in order to protect their reputation and avoid controversy that could hurt their brand.
The “request your bet” feature is a game-changer. It solves several sports betting challenges, such as limiting punters to traditional markets. You can go beyond regular options by creating custom wagers and staking on almost anything you can think of.
While there are limitations and considerations to keep in mind, it is an ideal option for bettors who want excitement, personalization, and control. If you want to bet on anything, we recommend visiting one of the websites thoroughly reviewed by our betting content experts.
