What Is Request a Bet?

The ‘Request a Bet’ phenomenon can be seen essentially as the precursor to the modern ‘Bet Builder’ tools seen on most online bookmaker pages. Before these tools were built into sportsbook platforms online, the social media hashtag #RequestABet was used, primarily on Twitter, to contact a bookmaker and request a specific bet.

The hashtag was created so that punters could request a customised bet, asking for odds on it. A short while after tweeting, the betting brand would respond via a trader with odds on the bet in question. Common bets were requested for football matches, usually on the numbers of goals, cards, corners, etc. Players also put together their own bets from lists of outright markets, such as ‘to win the tournament’, ‘top scorer’, etc.

Horse racing punters also began using what is essentially a ‘request a bet’ feature to ask for prices on horses so far not listed. They may want odds on races well before the entry stage which aren’t in the published ante-post lists, or odds on a specific horse as yet not listed within a race. Punters also wasted no time in using #RequestABet to ask for more quirky selections, such as a player making a World Cup squad or a young tennis player to win a Grand Slam by the end of the following year.

How ‘Request a Bet’ Works

Outside of logging into a betting account and speaking directly to your bookmaker, ‘request a bet’ is done primarily via Twitter. Customers are asked to tag the bookie’s account with details of the bet they want, often using the hashtag #RequestABet.

If the bet is possible and a trader decides that odds can be offered for it, then the odds compilers will offer a price which is then communicated back to the would-be punter. From there, the punter isn’t obliged to accept the price. They can simply walk away, or decide to go with the bet which can be made live on the site. To ask for a bet via social media, which isn’t already a published option, simply:

• Make sure you are registered with the bookmaker in question
• Log into your account
• Contact your bookie via Twitter with details of the bet you want, using the hashtag if you need to
• Once you receive a response, either accept or reject the bet offer

Send your request as early as you can. Requests submitted via social media may not be read immediately. They are then sent to the trading team at your bookie of choice for them to review, decide on a fair price and communicate back.

An Example of a Request

‘Request a Bet’ features can be used on various sporting events. Unsurprisingly. however, the most popular is football with customers looking to add in various bet types on a game to create one unique bet. An example would be to ask a bookmaker to give out odds on these markets from a theoretical Liverpool v Man City match:

• Manchester City to win
• 7+ corners for Liverpool
• 4+ bookings in the game (both sides combined)
• 3+ goals in the game (combined)
• Andy Robertson to be booked

This way, customers can not only make an accumulator bet out of one match, but can also bet on elements affecting both teams positively or negatively as they see fit. For example, this customer thinks Man City will win, but that Liverpool’s attacking play will result in them getting 8 or more corners during the game.

As of now, Request a Bet features still exist via social media, but bookmakers also offer established markets within their Bet Builder tools that allow punters to peruse all markets and add their own bets together online.