Ian Bruce became interested in betting in 1987, when he landed a winning Yankee on his first attempt. That stroke of luck (and he its that's exactly what it was) sparked an interest in understanding the strategies behind successful wagers. Over the years, he has become one of the UK's most prolific writers on betting and gaming, and is best known for his systematic approach to winning. Ian's career in the industry now spans over three decades. His favorite betting method is Dutching because, in his words, "It's the one I win with more often than not."
Get to know Ian Bruce better
Pavel dedicated seven years to working with Unibet, the flagship brand of Kindred, before ing SportsCasting.com in 2024. He holds an MBA in Marketing and, as a Senior Editor, ensures the accuracy and reliability of the site's content. Pavel is committed to promoting responsible gambling, stressing the importance of setting limits and making informed choices to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.
All posts by pavelpudakovFor anyone who has ever wondered, “What is a cover bet?” the answer is fairly straightforward. A cover bet is one that will return your stake if your chosen selection fails to win but manages to secure a place that is covered by the of the bet. In this article, we’ll explore how the cover bet works, why it can be useful and some alternatives that are also worth considering.
The Cover Bet Meaning Explained
It should be noted at the outset that a cover bet is not the same thing as a “full cover bet”. The use of the word cover in both cases can often confuse things, so allow us to set things straight by defining each of these bets in turn. This will show that the two bets are, in fact, quite different.
Full Cover Bet Definition
The full cover bet is one that covers several selections for all possible combinations for multiple bets. For example, a Yankee covers four selections for all possible doubles and trebles and for one fourfold accumulator. There artoplist ide six possible doubles, four possible trebles, and one fourfold, so the Yankee full cover wager costs eleven bets in all.
Cover Bet Definition
A cover bet, as discussed in this article and commonly available at horse racing betting sites, is quite different. Here, you make just one selection and hope that it wins. If it wins, the bet is settled as a winner. However, if the selection doesn’t win but manages to get a place that’s covered by the wager, you will get your stake money back.
A cover bet can, therefore, be viewed as one that has a built-in element of insurance. In fact, some bookmakers actually refer to this type of wager as an Insurance Bet, an Insure Bet or something similar.
What Sports Does It Apply To?
A cover bet is most often available in sporting events where there are a decent number of competitors taking part. That means it’s most common in sports like horse racing, greyhound racing and golf. However, it can also be offered in larger markets for other sports, such as first goalscorer markets in football.
The core principle of the cover bet meaning, described earlier, will apply to all sports, but the implementation of that principle will vary. For example, a horse racing cover bet will pay if the horse wins and refund your stake if it finishes in second or third place, depending on the rules of the wager you place. But in a first goalscorer bet in football, the bet might refund your stake if the selected player fails to score the first goal, but manages to score the last.
Because the exact implementation of the insurance betting principle can vary from sport to sport and also from market to market, it’s important to check the rules of the wager you’re considering making before you put any money on the line.
Cover Bet in Horse Racing Examples
Let’s illustrate how the cover bet works in practice by looking at a couple of examples of the cover bet in horse racing. In this sport, you’ll often be able to choose from several different markets where the bet covers different numbers of places. Consider the following:
Cover Bet 2 Places
In the Cover Bet 2 Places market, you select a horse to win the race in question. If the horse wins, your bet will be settled at the odds taken (see Betting Odds Explained). If it only finishes in second place, your stake will be refunded. If it finishes outside the first two places (that is, in third place or worse), the bet will lose.
The above image shows the Cover Bet markets for a horse race. The first horse named is Clinton Land and its odds for a Cover Bet 2 Places wager are 18/1. Bet £10 at that price and you’d get £190 back if it wins, or your £10 back if it finishes in second place.
Cover Bet 3 Places
Here, the same principle applies, but the bet will cover you for the first three places. Bet on a horse, and if it wins, the bet will be settled at the odds taken. If the horse finishes in second or third place, your stake will be refunded. Because this wager covers an extra place, the odds you get for the selection will be lower.
For example, in the horse race mentioned a few moments ago, the odds for Clinton Lane in the Cover Bet 3 Places market shown above are 16/1, and not 18/1, as they were in the Cover Bet 2 Places market.
The Benefits of Making a Cover Bet
The question of “What does cover bet mean?” has been answered, but why make one in the first place? There are several benefits of making a cover bet instead of a straightforward win bet, so let’s take a quick look at three of the biggest:
Greater Chance of a Return
The main benefit of a cover bet is that it gives you a bigger chance of getting a return. While a win-only bet would lose if your selection loses, the cover bet guarantees your money back if it achieves a qualifying place. For example, in a horse race with 12 runners of equal ability, a win bet would only give you a 1 in 12 chance of getting a return, but a Cover Bet 3 Places bet would give you a 3 in 12 chance.More Betting Opportunities
Because insurance betting refunds your stake when your selection comes close to winning, it allows you to consider selections that are a little more risky. And that means the cover bettors get more betting opportunities to look at. For example, you might fancy a particular golfer to win a big tournament like The Open 2025, but you aren’t quite confident enough to bet on the outright win. In that case, you could consider making a cover bet on the player and know that you’ll get your cash back if he finishes with a place covered by the wager. Cover betting has, therefore, turned what would probably be a no-bet scenario into a viable possibility.Simplicity
Old-school bettors sometimes used to make their own version of an insurance bet by placing a smaller side bet in the same market as their main win bet. That’s still a workable strategy, but you need to be quick with your mental arithmetic to work out your stakes before the odds change. A modern cover bet is a lot more -friendly. Simply bet on one selection in the cover bet market and wait. There’s no need to make separate bets to give you the desired insurance.
Potential Drawbacks
As good as it is, the cover bet isn’t perfect, and there are a couple of drawbacks that you need to be aware of. We wouldn’t let them put you off, but you should at least recognise them before deciding whether or not the cover bet is right for you.
Shorter Odds
The odds you’ll get for a cover bet will always be lower than the odds for a simple win-only bet. That’s because of the insurance element that the bet provides, and the greater the amount of insurance, the lower the odds will be. A Cover Bet Place 3 wager will, therefore, offer lower odds than a Cover Bet Place 2 wager, and a Cover Bet Place 4 wager will offer even less. We have no problem with this, but it’s important to understand that the insurance element isn’t being provided for free by generous online betting sites. You are actually paying for it by taking lower odds than you would get in the win market.Not Universally Available
The cover bet is a relatively new wager, so it isn’t universally available. The good news is that it’s available at many of the biggest betting sites, so you can make a bet365 cover bet or explore Betfred insurance betting markets quite easily. The bet is also catching on fast, and as more people discover the cover bet meaning, more bookies are creating markets to make this incredibly popular wager available to them.
Alternatives to the Cover Bet
As we said a moment ago, the cover bet isn’t currently available at every online betting site. Fortunately, there are a few alternatives to the bet that you can consider if your favourite bookie hasn’t yet caught the cover betting trend.
Each Way Betting
The most obvious alternative to a cover bet is the each-way bet. This will cost you twice as much as a win-only bet, but if your selection wins, both parts of the bet succeed. The win part will be settled at the full odds, and the place part will be settled at a fraction of those odds (often 1/4 or 1/5). That means you’ll get a return even if your selection only manages a place. The big difference is that the place return might not cover your entire outlay as a cover bet would.
Place Betting
Another alternative is place betting, where you bet on a selection to get a place. In this case, your bet will win just by your selection placing in the event, and that bet will be settled at the full place-only odds. This is a very handy bet if you’re confident that your selection will go close but you aren’t entirely confident that it will win.
Dutching
A third alternative to a cover bet is an approach called dutching. This involves placing separate bets on two or more outcomes in the same market and adjusting your stake on each so that a certain return is achieved if any one of them succeeds.
For example, you could bet on one horse to win and then place bets on the two biggest dangers so that you get a known return if any of the three horses wins the race. You need to adjust your stake on each bet according to the odds available to get the same return, but it can be very useful If you don’t mind doing a little arithmetic.
Conclusion
The cover bet is a relatively new wager that returns your stake if your selection fails to win but still manages to get a place. It’s a very simple bet to make and gives you a better chance of getting a return. However, the insurance element of the bet means you’ll also get lower odds than you would in the standard win market.
FAQs
What is a cover bet in horse racing?
How does a cover bet work?
What does insure bet mean?
What does cover bet 3 places mean in horse racing?
Can you bet on a horse not to win?
