KEY TAKEAWAYS
Draw no bet (DNB) is a two-way market in which a bettor backs one team to win and the stake is refunded if the match ends in a draw. Only the other team winning loses the bet. In effect, it takes the three-way moneyline, with its home win, draw and away win, and removes the draw as a losing result.
The refund is not free. A bet that can only win, push or lose costs more to place than the same team on a three-way market: in the hypothetical example below, Rovers are +100 on the three-way moneyline but −220 as draw no bet, so the bettor risks $220 to win $100 instead of risking $100 to win $100. The price pays for the refund, and the vig is still built into both sides.
This guide explains how DNB is settled, how its price relates to the three-way market, how it behaves in a parlay, and what to check before betting. It builds on how moneyline bets work, and every team and price used here is hypothetical.
What Draw No Bet Means
Draw no bet turns a market with three outcomes into one with two. A three-way moneyline lists the home team to win, the draw, and the away team to win, as described in how 3-way moneyline bets work. With draw no bet, the draw is removed as a losing outcome and the bettor simply picks a team.
The bet still has three possible results. A bettor backing Rovers wins if Rovers win, loses if United win, and gets the stake back if the match is drawn. A refunded stake is a push: no profit and no loss.
The same bet appears under other names, such as tie no bet or DNB. Each sportsbook’s house rules decide what counts as the result, which is usually the score at the end of regular time, and rules on extra time, abandoned matches and postponements vary, so the rules deserve a read before any stake is placed.
The key trade-off is price. A sportsbook that must refund draws instead of keeping the stake can afford to pay less on a win, so the refund is paid for with a worse price. The DNB price on a team therefore implies a higher win probability than the same team on the three-way market, because that probability is measured only among matches that produce a winner.
How Draw No Bet Pricing Works
The DNB price is tied to the three-way prices. Once the draw is removed, each team’s chance is measured against only the matches that produce a winner, which gives draw no bet probability = team ÷ (team + opponent).
Suppose the hypothetical three-way market is Rovers +100, Draw +250 and United +300. Those prices imply 50.00%, 28.57% and 25.00%, a total of 103.57%. Removing the draw gives Rovers 50.00 ÷ (50.00 + 25.00) = 66.67%, which is −200, and United 25.00 ÷ 75.00 = 33.33%, which is +200. That −200/+200 pair is a margin-free reference, and a sportsbook adds its own margin when it posts the market. In this example Rovers are −220 (68.75% implied) and United are +170 (37.04% implied), a total of 105.79%.
Settlement
A $220 bet on Rovers at −220 returns $320 if Rovers win ($100 profit plus the stake), returns the $220 stake on a draw, and loses $220 if United win. Only a United win loses the bet.
Draw no bet in a parlay
When a draw no bet leg ends level inside a parlay, it is usually treated as a void leg, and the parlay is paid at the reduced number of legs. That rule varies by sportsbook, so the house rules decide. For how legs multiply, see how parlay odds are calculated.
Worked Example: Rovers vs. United
Suppose a bettor stakes $220 on the hypothetical Rovers at −220 draw no bet to win $100. If Rovers win, the profit is $100 and the total return is $320. If the match ends 1–1, the $220 is returned and the profit is $0. If United win, the bettor loses $220.
Now compare a $100 bet on Rovers at +100 on the three-way moneyline. A Rovers win pays $100 profit, a draw loses the $100, and a United win loses the $100. On a draw the three-way bettor is $100 worse off than the DNB bettor, but the DNB bettor risked $220 to win the same $100. Neither bet is a recommendation; the example only shows what the refund costs in price.
The Numbers That Matter: Three-Way vs. Draw No Bet
The table compares three hypothetical bets by result. Stakes differ because the prices differ, so read each column as its own bet. The draw row is where the markets separate.
| Result | Rovers three-way (+100, $100 stake) | Rovers DNB (−220, $220 stake) | United DNB (+170, $100 stake) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rovers win | +$100 | +$100 | −$100 |
| Draw | −$100 | $0 (stake returned) | $0 (stake returned) |
| United win | −$100 | −$220 | +$170 |
Break-even also changes. The three-way Rovers bet at +100 needs 50.00% of all matches. The DNB bet at −220 needs 220 ÷ 320 = 68.75%, but only among matches that produce a winner, since draws are refunded.
To see the margin at work, assume for illustration that across 100 matches Rovers win 48, 28 end level and United win 24. The three-way bet returns 48 × $100 − 52 × $100 = −$400. The DNB bet returns 48 × $100 − 24 × $220 = $4,800 − $5,280 = −$480, with 28 stakes refunded. Both lose because both prices include a margin, and the refund does not remove it. Over time, the average bettor loses.
Common Mistakes With Draw No Bet
The first mistake is treating the refund as free insurance. The price is shorter, so a bettor risks more to win the same amount, as the −220 against +100 gap shows.
The second is comparing probabilities across markets as if they measured the same thing. A 68.75% DNB figure and a 50.00% three-way figure describe different bases, decided matches versus all matches, so they cannot be set side by side.
The third is assuming that every sportsbook settles the same way. Some markets cover only the first half or another period, and extra time and abandoned matches are handled differently from one house to the next.
The fourth is reading a draw as a win. A refund is a push, and inside a parlay a push shrinks the number of legs, which lowers the payout.
Practical Tips Before Placing a Bet
Read the house rules first. Check what counts as the result, whether extra time is included, and what happens if the match is abandoned or postponed.
Convert both markets to implied probabilities. Add up the two DNB sides: the amount above 100% is the margin, and a smaller total is a cheaper market. In the example, 68.75% + 37.04% = 105.79%.
Keep the stake affordable at the posted price. A −220 bet risks $220 to win $100, so the downside is larger than the upside, and a budget set in advance keeps the amount within what can be lost. Sports betting carries real financial risk, and legality and minimum age vary by state.
Where to Go Next
Draw no bet is easier to judge once prices turn into percentages, which is covered in what implied probability is. The margin inside both DNB sides is explained in how the vig works, and the way a refunded leg changes a combined bet is shown in the parlay guide linked earlier. For the market that draw no bet is built from, the three-way moneyline article above is the natural companion.
Frequently Asked Questions
