What is an each way bet?
An each way bet is two bets on one selection, a win bet and a place bet. Coral and Ladbrokes describe an each way single as “two bets within one event. The first bet is your selection to win, while the second is for it to place” [1] [2]. They say that “you are doubling your stake” [3] [4]. Sky Bet says each part “is an equal stake, i.e. £1 EW will cost a total of £2” [5].
This guide quotes three bookmakers and names each one. Coral and Ladbrokes name the same company, LC International Limited, as promoter in their cash out terms [6] [7]. Sky Bet's help centre says SBG Sports Limited holds a Gambling Commission of Great Britain licence for customers located in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man [8].
Our reading: the Coral and Ladbrokes pages read for this guide carry near-identical text on each way bets, dead heats, non-runners and Rule 4, so they are not independent confirmation of each other.
None of the each way, bet type, general rules, horse racing rules, dead heat, non-runner or Rule 4 pages read, from any of the three, states that its rules apply only to customers in one place. Sky Bet's licensing page lists separate licences for customers outside the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man [8]. Our reading: the pages may describe rules for more than Great Britain customers, so check the rules for your own account.
How are the place terms set?
The place part is paid at a fraction of the win price. Coral and Ladbrokes say “The odds for the 'Place' are given as a fraction of the odds for the 'Win' and will be displayed to you when you place your bet” [9] [10]. Sky Bet says “The number of places being paid will always be displayed in the Bet Slip” [11]. Its example of how terms are written is “1/5 1st 3 places” [5].
Our reading: those terms mean the place part is paid at a fifth of the win odds if the selection finishes in the first three. Coral says the place stake is paid at “either 1/4th or 1/5th of the odds”, depending on the terms of the race [3].
For horse racing, the terms depend on the number of runners and the type of race. For non-handicap races, Sky Bet's rules list “2 - 4 Runners Win Only”, “5 - 7 Runners 1/4 the Odds 1, 2” and “8 or more Runners 1/5 the Odds 1, 2, 3” [5].
For handicaps, Sky Bet lists the same first two rows, then “8 - 11 Runners 1/5 the Odds 1, 2, 3”, “12 - 15 Runners 1/4 the Odds 1, 2, 3” and “16 or more Runners 1/4 the Odds 1, 2, 3, 4” [5].
Sky Bet adds that the place terms “will be determined by the number of horses coming 'under starter's orders' and not by the number of declared runners” [5]. Coral and Ladbrokes also publish a table of standard terms, and say “Unless otherwise advertised” their horse racing bets follow it [3] [4].
A bet can come out as win only. Coral and Ladbrokes say bets “may be accepted by our staff or systems as Each Way when there are 4 runners or less”, and that “Any bets placed as an Each Way on a win only event will have the entire stake placed on 'to win'” [3] [4].
The runners that start decide the terms. Sky Bet says place terms are “determined by the number of horses coming 'under starter's orders' and not by the number of declared runners when the price was taken” [5]. In Coral and Ladbrokes' example, a bet placed when there were 5 runners, with only 4 coming under starter's orders, means “your whole stake will go onto the selected horse to win” [3] [4].
A race can pay more places than the standard terms. Coral and Ladbrokes say they “often run enhanced Each Way terms on big races that payout on more places” [3] [4]. Sky Bet says extra place concessions “may be offered as part of a promotion” and that it may “change the fractional place terms” when it offers them [5].
Outside racing the terms vary. Coral and Ladbrokes say each way betting is “most common in horse and greyhound racing, and is also usually available in other sports e.g. Football or Golf tournaments” [9] [10]. Their each way pages say the terms differ with “the competition and the market”, and show them with the market name [3] [4].
Sky Bet's “Pick Your Places” bet is an outright each way bet where you choose the places [11]. For horse racing in play, Coral and Ladbrokes say “Bets placed In Play are offered Win Only - no Each-Way betting option is available” [12] [13].
How does the place part settle?
If the selection wins, both parts pay. Coral and Ladbrokes say “If your horse comes first, you will be paid both the 'Win' and 'Place' part of your bet” [3] [4]. If it only places, they say “you will lose the 'Win' part of your bet (and lose that part of the stake) but get paid out on the 'Place'” [9] [10]. Sky Bet says “the Win part of your stake is lost” [5].
The odds guide works through Coral's own worked example, a £10 each way bet at 20/1 on terms of “1/4 1st 4”, which Coral totals at £270 if the horse wins and £60 if it only places [3].
Our reading, with invented figures: take a £5.00 each way bet at 7/1 on place terms of a fifth of the odds for the first 3 places. The total stake is £10.00. The win part is £5.00 at 7/1. The place part is £5.00 at a fifth of 7/1, which is 7/5.
| Invented outcome | Win part: £5.00 at 7/1 | Place part: £5.00 at 7/5 | Total returned | Against the £10.00 total stake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finishes first | £40.00 | £12.00 | £52.00 | £42.00 more |
| Finishes second or third | £0.00 | £12.00 | £12.00 | £2.00 more |
| Finishes fourth or lower | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £10.00 less |
Calculated for this guide using invented figures. Each return includes the stake on that part. They are not offers any bookmaker made.
Our reading: the win part is lost whenever the selection does not win, so a selection that places returns £12.00 on a £10.00 total stake, £2.00 more than was staked. A selection outside the places returns nothing on either part.
What happens in a dead heat?
Coral and Ladbrokes say a dead heat is “when two or more selections tie for a given position”. In a dead heat for first place, “the stake on a winning selection is divided by the number of winners in the dead heat. The full odds are then paid to the divided stake, with the remainder of the money being lost” [14] [15].
The same page covers the place part: “A similar rule to that above applies to the place part of a bet where, as a result of a dead heat, more than the required number of selections are placed” [14] [15].
The page's example is a £10 each way bet at 16/1 in a race “paying 1/4 of the odds for the first three places”, with the horse placing joint third: “£10 / 2 = £5 x (1/4) of 16/1 = £5 x 4/1 = £25 (and the win part of the bet loses as the horse finished joint third)” [14] [15].
Our reading: £25 is £5.00 at 4/1, which is £20.00 plus the £5.00 stake, so the page's figure includes the stake. The £10.00 place stake is halved and the win part is lost.
Sky Bet says dead heat rules work by “dividing the total stake by the number of participants in the dead heat, and then multiplying by the odds at which the bet was placed”, and that “Each Way Bets apply the same logic” [16].
Sky Bet's golf example is an each way bet at “1/4 the odds, 3 places” where three players tie for the one place left. The stake is “reduced to 1/3rd of their original stake”, and “The price taken remains unaffected, it is only the stake that is subject to a reduction” [16].
Our reading: in each of the examples quoted here, the stake on the affected part is divided and the price is kept.
What happens if a horse does not run?
The non-runner pages read do not mention each way bets by name, so this is each bookmaker's general rule for a bet on a horse that does not run. Coral and Ladbrokes say that for “all day-of race bets and any bets stipulated as being 'Non-Runner Money Back', your bet is void and your stake will be refunded”, while “For ante-post bets, non-runners are settled as losers” [17] [18].
Sky Bet says “In most circumstances your bet will be void and your stake returned”, and that an Antepost bet “will be classed as a losing bet”, except that “All Antepost bets for the Cheltenham Festival will be refunded if placed under the Non-Runner No Bet promotion” [19]. It adds that extra place terms are “liable to change in the event of non-runners and/or withdrawals” [5].
If a horse is withdrawn after you bet, Rule 4 can reduce the winnings on the other runners. Coral and Ladbrokes say deductions “are made to the winnings you receive back when the horse you have backed wins or is placed” [20] [21]. Sky Bet says a Rule 4 is “normally expressed as x pence in the pound” [22]. The article text of Sky Bet's Rule 4 page does not mention each way bets.
All three give the same sum: “if you win £10 and there is a 10p Rule 4 deduction you will only receive £9 winnings” [20] [21] [22]. Sky Bet says “your full stake will be returned whatever the level of deduction on any winnings”, and that the one exception is a dead heat: “dead heat rules would apply along with the rule 4” [22].
The size depends on the withdrawn horse's price. Sky Bet says “The shorter its price, the bigger its chance of winning, and the larger the Rule 4 deduction is” [22]. Coral and Ladbrokes' horse racing rules say that if two or more horses are withdrawn before the start the deductions are summed, “up to a maximum of 90p per pound won” [12] [13].
Our reading: none of the Rule 4 pages read gives a worked example of a deduction on an each way bet, so this guide does not work one through.
What about each way in a multiple?
Sky Bet says “an each way bet is still only 2 bets - 1 for ALL selections to win and 1 for ALL selections to place. This means that if one of your selections does not go on to win or place - the whole bet is lost” [11]. In its example of a 6 horse each way accumulator where 5 horses won and the other placed, “you would still only receive a place part accumulator at reduced odds” [11].
Coral and Ladbrokes tell accumulator customers: “If you want to convert certain selections into Each Way bets, tick the 'E/W' box below your selection” [1] [2]. For special enhanced-price multiples they say that, “Unless otherwise stated (onsite and/or within specific marketing)”, “Win bets only are accepted” and that each way bets taken in error “will be settled to win” [9] [10].
The Coral and Ladbrokes pages read do not set out how an each way accumulator settles when some selections win and some only place, so this guide does not describe it for them. For how accas, Lucky 15s and other multiples are priced and settled, see how accas and other multiple bets settle.
Who sets the rules for each way bets?
Gambling Commission condition 4.2.6 applies to “All general betting and betting intermediary licences, except remote betting intermediary (trading rooms only) licences” [23]. It requires the full rules those licensees make available to set out “the core elements for the acceptance and settlement of bets”, including “the circumstances under which the operator will void a bet”, “treatment of place, forecast bets etc” and “treatment of withdrawals, non-runners, and reformed markets” [23]. The condition does not mention each way bets by name.
Sky Bet's horse racing rules say “All bets are governed by Tattersalls Rules of Betting”, which “will govern the settlement of bets if anything occurs that is not covered by our stated rules” [5]. Our reading: the three bookmakers' pages differ in what they cover, so read the rules of the bookmaker you use before you rely on any of this.
Where can you set limits and get help?
To cap what you put into an account, deposit limits and account tools sets out what licensed businesses must provide. If you want to stop gambling with licensed online businesses, how GAMSTOP works explains the scheme.
Safer gambling and help lists the National Gambling Helpline and other support services. If betting is causing harm, you can talk to someone today.
Sources
The numbers in the text point to these pages. Each was opened on the date shown.
- Coral, Available Bet Types (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, Available Bet Types (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, What is Each Way Betting, and how does it work? (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, What is Each Way Betting, and how does it work? (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Sky Bet, Horse Racing Rules (Sky Bet Help Centre). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, Cash Out Guide (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, Cash Out Guide (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Sky Bet, Licensing and Regulation (Sky Bet Help Centre). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, General Rules for Sports Betting (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, General Rules for Sports Betting (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Sky Bet, Each Way Bets (Sky Bet Help Centre). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, Horse Racing Rules (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, Horse Racing Rules (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, Dead Heat Rules (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, Dead Heat Rules (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Sky Bet, Dead Heat (Sky Bet Help Centre). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, Non-Runners (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, Non-Runners (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Sky Bet, Non Runners (Sky Bet Help Centre). Read 28 October 2026.
- Coral, Rule 4 Deductions (Coral sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Ladbrokes, Rule 4 Deductions (Ladbrokes sports help). Read 28 October 2026.
- Sky Bet, Rule 4 Deductions (Sky Bet Help Centre). Read 28 October 2026.
- Gambling Commission, LCCP Condition 4.2.6: Display of rules – betting. Read 28 October 2026.
About this guide
Published by Avenmark Media. A separate pass re-opened every source above and checked each claim against it, on . A second, independent check compared a sample of the claims with the same sources. How we research and correct our pages.
Found a mistake? Email [email protected]. We correct the page, change its updated date and say what changed.