KINGSTON, Jamaica – Following the controversy that developed over last weekend regarding fixed odds betting, the local operator in Jamaica, BetMakers, has issued the rules with its various exemptions.
FIXED ODDS
RULES AND EXCEPTIONS
STANDARD FIXED ODDS
Fixed Odds have been enjoyed for decades around the world following a simple rule, ‘the payout displayed on a betting ticket is a fixed and final payout’, EXCEPT:
- In the event of a dead heat, OR
- If there is a scratch (or multiple scratches) AFTER the bet is placed. If the scratched horse price is $31.00 or under, deductions will apply depending on the price of the horse(s) that is scratched (see below table).
The reason for these exceptions are to protect the integrity of the race and to prevent the manipulation of races. Again, this is standard across the globe.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EVENT OF A DEAD HEAT:
In the event of a dead heat for Fixed Odds bets, the reduced return shall be calculated as the face value of the bet (the total payout) divided by the total number of runners involved in the dead heat.
In the instance of a standard two way dead heat, that results in the face value of the ticket being halved, if there was to be a triple dead-heat, the face value is divided by three.
For further clarification, if one of the two horses involved in a dead heat is odds on, that will result in less money being returned than the original stake that was wagered.
WHY AND WHAT ARE DEDUCTIONS FOR SCRATCHES
Deductions are required in fixed-odds betting for integrity and to create the correct mathematical equation for the horse’s real chance in the race, which in turn allows for refunds to be given for scratches.
The severity of deductions are directly based on the price of the scratched horse at the time of scratching.
For example:
- Customer holds a ticket worth $100,000 on the face value placed prior to a late scratch.
- A horse at $2.00 is scratched after that bet is made
- Deductions on a $2 chance are 40 cents in the dollar (as per table below)
- Therefore there is $40,000 deducted from the face value of the ticket, meaning the payout for the ticket is now $60,000
- The price that the winning horse was wagered at has no bearing on the deduction calculation, only scratched horses factor in those calculations
And please note, the scratch time for fixed-odds is the time it is processed through the fixed-odds betting platform which is a manual process and not instantaneous to when it is announced. Essentially when the horse comes off the fixed odds boards is when the horse is scratched, which at that time the market has recalculated. All bets after that time are not subject to deductions, unless there is a further scratch after that bet is placed.
| Fixed Odds ($) | Amount to be deducted per $ on face value of ticket
Win ($) |
Amount deducted on a $100,000 ticket |
| 1.01 | 0.76 | $76,000 |
| 1.20 | 0.69 | $69,000 |
| 1.40 | 0.60 | $60,000 |
| 1.60 | 0.51 | $51,000 |
| 1.80 | 0.45 | $45,000 |
| 2.00 | 0.40 | $40,000 |
| 2.20 | 0.36 | $36,000 |
| 2.40 | 0.33 | $33,000 |
| 2.60 | 0.30 | $30,000 |
| 2.80 | 0.28 | $28,000 |
| 3.00 | 0.26 | $26,000 |
| 3.50 | 0.22 | $22,000 |
| 4.00 | 0.19 | $19,000 |
| 4.50 | 0.18 | $18,000 |
| 5.00 | 0.15 | $15,000 |
| 5.50 | 0.13 | $13,000 |
| 6.00 | 0.12 | $12,000 |
| 7.00 | 0.10 | $10,000 |
| 8.00 | 0.08 | $8,000 |
| 9.00 | 0.07 | $7,000 |
| 10.00 | 0.06 | $6,000 |
| 15.00 | 0.03 | $3,000 |
| 20.00 | 0.02 | $2,000 |
| 30.00 | 0.02 | $2,000 |
