Soccer betting markets and what counts for settlement

What a match is: the starting point

The Laws of the Game say a match lasts two equal halves of 45 minutes. That may be reduced only if the referee and both teams agree before the start and competition rules allow it [1]. The referee allows for playing time lost in each half, for example through substitutions, injuries, time wasting and VAR checks. The fourth official shows the minimum additional time, and the referee may lengthen it but not reduce it [1].

The National Soccer League's handbook, which the PSL's website links [2], says much the same. A match is two periods of 45 minutes plus the referee's optional time, and the referee is the sole adjudicator of time, including time added on [3].

Extra time and penalties come after a drawn match, and only when competition rules need a winner. Law 10 says that when competition rules need a winner after a drawn match or a home-and-away tie, the only permitted procedures are the away goals rule, two equal periods of extra time of up to 15 minutes each, penalties, or a combination. Penalties are taken after the match has ended and, in the IFAB's own questions and answers, are not part of the match [4].

A bookmaker's markets can use any of these parts. Sportingbet's football rules settle most markets on regular play and sell separate markets for extra time and penalty shoot-outs [5].

What the competition does with a draw

Whether extra time or penalties happen at all depends on the competition. These are the PSL rules documents its website linked on 9 October 2026 [2]. They carry their own dates, so read the current season's rules before you rely on them.

• League matches. The Premier Division and the National First Division are played home and away, with 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. A league match can end level [3].
• Nedbank Cup (rules dated 21 January 2021). Each tie is a single match. If the score is level, 15 minutes of extra time are played each way, then penalties [6].
• MTN8 (rules dated July 2023; the file name says 2023-24). The first round and the final are single matches, with extra time and then penalties. The semi-finals have two legs: if the aggregate is level after regular time in the second match, away goals decide, then penalties, with no extra time [7].
• Carling Knockout (rules dated September 2023). Single matches, with extra time and then penalties. The once-off Carling Cup match that follows is different: if it is drawn after regulation time, penalties decide it [8].

So a draw after 90 minutes plus stoppage time leads to different next steps in different competitions. A market on who wins the match and a market on who goes through can have different answers for the same game.

Common markets and what settles them

The table uses Sportingbet's published football rules. It is the one bookmaker whose rules we could read in full (see the section on the other bookmakers). Regular play means two 45-minute halves plus added injury or stoppage time [5]. The table gives no prices and names no match.

One illustrative match, market by market

This example is invented, with no teams, date or prices. A cup match is level at 1-1 at the end of regular play. The home side scores in extra time and leads 2-1 when extra time ends. No shoot-out is needed. Under the Sportingbet rules above:

• Match result: the draw wins, because the result is taken at the end of regular play.
• Double chance: home or draw wins and draw or away wins. Home or away loses.
• Draw no bet: on our reading, stakes are refunded on both sides.
• Over 2.5 goals loses and under 2.5 wins. Two goals were scored in regular play, and the extra-time goal does not count.
• Both teams to score: yes wins, because each side scored in regular play.
• To qualify: Sportingbet's rule is written for two-leg ties [5]. If a bookmaker offers the market on a single match and settles it the same way, the home side goes through, because extra time counts. Read the market's own rules.
• Method of victory: the home side, in extra time.

A bet on the home side in the match result market loses here, although the home side went through. That is the difference between the two questions.

When a match is not finished normally

Sportingbet's football rules void most bets on a match abandoned before regular play ends, except bets whose outcome was already determined. That holds even if the governing body lets the shortened result stand for the competition [5].

A suspended match is void for most bets unless it restarts and finishes on the same day, local time. A postponed or cancelled match voids bets struck before kick-off unless it is delayed and played the same day, with an exception for tournament finals played on fixed dates. Team-to-qualify bets stand if the game is postponed, however long the delay [5].

The football rules say they take precedence over the general rules [5]. The general rules count a postponed event that restarts within 72 hours [10]. For football, read the sport's own rules, not only the general ones.

All bets on a match are void if it is not played in the correct format, for example not as a 90-minute match in two halves, or if a team starts a competitive 90-minute game with fewer than 11 players [5].

The Laws of the Game allow shortened halves by agreement if competition rules allow it [1], so a shortened match is possible. They add that an abandoned match is replayed unless the competition rules or organisers decide otherwise [1].

The NSL handbook has its own rule for matches abandoned for floodlight failure or for safety and security reasons. The remaining minutes are to be played on a date the clubs agree within 48 hours of the abandonment, subject to the League's approval, and the two parts count as one match [3]. A bookmaker's rule for suspended or abandoned matches may still void your bet, so read it.

The other bookmakers we review

We could read Sportingbet's football rules in full. On 9 October 2026 we could not read the football rules of six other bookmakers. Betway, Hollywoodbets and World Sports Betting did not load from the network we used: the secure connection returned a certificate for a different domain, and we went no further. 10bet showed a security check and SportyBet blocked the request. Easybet answered with a page saying it is only available in South Africa. We worked around none of these.

Supabets was not part of that 9 October reading, so this guide says nothing about its football rules.

The app-store listings we re-opened name some markets. Betway's lists Match Result (1X2), Double Chance, European Handicap and Both Teams to Score [12]. 10bet's lists 1X2, over/under, double chance and first goal [13]. Neither listing says what counts for settlement, so we cannot say whether those bookmakers treat extra time as Sportingbet does.

Before you place a soccer bet

1. Read the market's rules on the bookmaker's own site, not only the market name. We compared one bookmaker, so we cannot say how others settle the same market.
2. Look for the words regular time, 90 minutes or full time, and for whether extra time and penalties are named.
3. For a cup tie, choose between a market on the 90-minute result and one on who qualifies. They answer different questions.
4. If the rules are unclear, ask support in writing which part of the match counts, and keep the reply.
5. If that does not settle it, check the bookmaker's licence and contact the provincial board that issued it. If the board has not been able to assist, the NGB says to escalate the complaint in writing to [email protected] [14].

Sources

The numbers in the text point to these pages. Each was opened on the date shown.

1. The IFAB, Laws of the Game 2026/27: Law 7, The Duration of the Match. Read 9 October 2026.
2. Premier Soccer League, PSL website: footer links to the NSL Handbook and competition rules. Read 9 October 2026.
3. National Soccer League, NSL Handbook, as adopted and approved on 2 December 2025 (rules 8.1, 13.1 and 14.16 to 14.22). Read 9 October 2026.
4. The IFAB, Laws of the Game 2026/27: Law 10, Determining the Outcome of a Match. Read 9 October 2026.
5. Sportingbet South Africa, Help: Sports Betting Special Rules, Football. Read 9 October 2026.
6. Premier Soccer League, Nedbank Cup Rules 2021 (document last saved 21 January 2021). Read 9 October 2026.
7. Premier Soccer League, MTN8 Rules, dated July 2023 (the file name says 2023-24). Read 9 October 2026.
8. Premier Soccer League, Carling Knockout Rules, September 2023. Read 9 October 2026.
9. Sportingbet South Africa, Help: What does 3Way mean?. Read 9 October 2026.
10. Sportingbet South Africa, Help: Sports Betting General Remarks (the page is marked last updated 05/10/2017). Read 9 October 2026.
11. Sportingbet South Africa, Help: What are handicap bets?. Read 9 October 2026.
12. Apple App Store (South Africa), Betway app listing on the Apple App Store. Read 9 October 2026.
13. Apple App Store (South Africa), 10bet app listing. Read 9 October 2026.
14. National Gambling Board, Frequently Asked Questions. Read 9 October 2026.

About this guide

Published by Avenmark Media. A separate pass re-opened every source above and checked each claim against it, on 9 October 2026. A second, independent check compared a sample of the claims with the same sources. How we write and correct our pages.

Found a mistake? Email [email protected]. We correct the page, change its updated date and say what changed.