What is a Banker Bet in Football? – Get Banker Betting Explained

Adam Haynes

Bookmaker reviewer

Updated: 9 November 2023

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A banker bet in football is a leg of an accumulator/multiple bet with the highest probability of success. In this guide to what is a banker bet, we examine such wagers in more detail, how they work and some tips for including them in your multiples betting slips.

What is a Banker in Betting?

Many UK sports betting sites allow you to choose the banker option from online betting slips. It is common to have one banker for every three regular multiple bets, but the option to select more is available (up to 14 total selections). Banker bets tend to be the choice on standard accumulators and other 3+ leg multiple wagers that have the best odds of winning.

These are the “dead certs” that a punter feels more confident in, building their wager around them. Bankers usually offer little to no value as a standalone wager, it is common to nominate “dead certs” or short-priced selections for banker bets.

You may be happy to discover that not all need all legs to win to see a return from a banker wager – just your banker selection and at least half of the remaining choices. Choosing more than one affects the lines covered on your wager, however, and will change the total price of the bet. So getting this mix right is crucial to betting economically.

How Do Banker Bets Work?

As with most forms of betting accumulators or multiples, bankers are chosen from several different markets. For example, this could be five of Premier League matches or seven different horses from the Cheltenham Festival.

Banker selections at football betting sites are generally easy to place. They can be “turned on” whether you are adding your banker selection as part of several accumulator selections or combination bets. To do this, you must first make your selections and then choose the banker bet option to open a customisable betting slip.

Football Banker Bet Example

Here’s a quick example of how a banker bet works when your odds selections and betting options have been decided. For example’s sake, we’ll use odds for five Premier League matches to create a 5-leg football acca bet.

We selected our odds at bet365. You can find your prices on other football betting apps and sites, however. With bet365, you simply make your selections before tapping the Show Options tab and choosing Banker Bet.

Liverpool is the result we feel most confident in, so have chosen that to be our banker.  We need them to win alongside at least one other selection to see some returns, as we selected 1 B (one banker) + 1/4 (one other selection to win). What we get back is based on which selections win for us.

What is a Banker Bet in Other Sports?

Although most popular in football, banker bets are not exclusive to one sport. In fact, they are common in other sports where accumulator bets are popular. You can add one or more banker selections from horse racing, tennis, and golf to accumulators, combination bets, system bets, and more.

Again, your bankers are the selections you should feel most confident about. Whether that’s the latest snooker betting odds for Ronnie O’Sullivan to beat Judd Trump or Liverpool to beat Rangers in the Champions League is up to you.

Pros & Cons of Football Banker Bets

If you are accustomed to placing system bets or accumulator wagers at football betting sites, you may have encountered the banker bet option. Most punters who ask “What is a banker bet” may do so having accidentally stumbled across them on their bet slips.

Football banker bets have upsides and downsides. Here are the pros and cons to note before you nominate a banker on accumulator bets.

How to Find Banker Bets of the Day

One of the best ways punters can find banker bets of the day is by reading blogs on leading sports betting sites. But there are other ways to find top bankers of the day.

Best Bookie for Wagering on the Football Banker Bet of the Day

There are several top bookies for banker bets out there. We consider Betfair and Paddy Power to be great places to get your selections down. These sites have consistently good odds and markets, and valuable blogs and other literature for tips of the day.

However, our experts believe bet365 to be the best bookmaker for wagering on football banker bet of the day. The site also has great odds, markets, and expert insight. However, their tips often appear that little bit better than the rest.

Conclusion

We started this guide with a question – What is a banker bet in football? Now you know what these types of bets are and how they work, you have the option to use them going forward.

Whether you decide to build a bet around match predictions, or simply opt for the football banker bet of the day with a set unit stake, is up to you. But remember – banker bets aren’t exclusive to football. You’ll find them at horse racing betting sites, or bookies that cater to tennis, snooker, darts, and other popular sports.

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Adam Haynes

Bookmaker reviewer

Adam joined bettingsites.co.uk in August 2023, bringing almost a decade of betting knowledge with him. A former writer for Gamblingsites.com, Adam prides himself on spotting a good bet, and loves to share his tips and picks across a wide range of sports and events. Adam is a huge boxing and MMA fan, and started his career writing about both. He is also passionate about his favourite sports teams, which are Glasgow Celtic, Dublin GAA, and Leinster Rugby. At the casino, you're most likely to see him at the poker or blackjack tables. But what he loves more than anything is writing about sports and the gambling industry. You can find his expert insight and commentary right here.

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