Some bookies love paying out early on a bet and win or lose they normally get a great amount of publicity for the stunt.
But sometimes it doesn’t go to plan and they’re left red in the face.
One bookie even paid out early on Hilary Clinton to beat trump in the US election – what a clanger!
It is thought that Fred Done, owner of Betfred, was the first bookie to do this sort of thing, but many have followed in his footsteps.
Early payouts have even became a fairly regular sight on the promotions page of online bookmaker’s websites, although these offers aren’t quite what we are look at here.
In this section of the site we track the times that the bookies surprised us all and paid out early on major events, as well as whether they were correct or not – and how much it cost them if they weren’t.
Times the Bookies Paid Out Early
Date | Event | Bookie | Bet Paid Out | Payout Correct? | Actual Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15/04/2024 | Premier League Winner | Betfred | Man City to Win | Yes | Man City |
01/10/2023 | Ryder Cup | Paddy Power | Europe to Win | Yes | Europe |
25/01/2023 | Superbowl Winner | Betfred | Cincinnati Bengals to Win | No | Kansas City Chiefs |
25/01/2023 | Premier League Winner | Stake.com | Arsenal to Win | No | Manchester City |
10/11/2022 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | Paddy Power | Jonbon to Win | No | El Fabiolo |
13/08/2022 | First Premier League Manager Sacked | Paddy Power | Erik Ten Hag | No | Scott Parker |
30/07/2022 | Premier League Winner | Paddy Power | Liverpool to Win | No | Manchester City |
20/10/2021 | Melbourne Cup Winner | Sportsbet | Incentivise to Win | No | Verry Elleegant |
15/05/2019 | Australian Federal Election | Sportsbet | Labor to Win | No | Coaltion |
11/12/2017 | Premier League Winner | Paddy Power & Betfred | Man City to Win | Yes | Man City |
23/08/2017 | Boxing | Paddy Power | Floyd Mayweather to Win | Yes | Floyd Mayweather to Win |
04/07/2017 | Scottish Premiership Winner | Paddy Power | Celtic to Win | Yes | Celtic |
18/10/2016 | Next US President | Paddy Power | Hillary Clinton | No | The Donald |
04/04/2016 | Premier League Winner | Betfred | Leicester to Win | Yes | Leicester |
21/11/2014 | Premier League Winner | Paddy Power | Chelsea | Yes | Chelsea |
10/02/2013 | Premier League Winner | Betfred, Paddy Power, Tote | Man Utd to Win | Yes | Man Utd |
05/11/2012 | Next US President | Paddy Power | Barack Obama to Win | Yes | Barack Obama |
03/04/2012 | Premier League Winner | Betfred | Man Utd to Win | No | Manchester City |
16/08/2009 | PGA Championship | Paddy Power | Tiger Woods to Win | No | Yang Yong-eun |
19/02/2009 | Man Utd Treble | Paddy Power | Man Utd to Win Premier League/FA Cup/League Cup | No | Man Utd Double |
16/10/2008 | Next US President | Paddy Power | Barack Obama to Win | Yes | Barack Obama |
16/08/2008 | Team to be Relegated | Paddy Power | Stoke to be Relegated | No | Stoke Stayed Up |
29/09/2005 | Premier League Winner | Paddy Power | Chelsea | Yes | Chelsea |
10/03/2003 | Premier League Winner | Paddy Power | Arsenal | No | Manchester United |
01/03/1998 | Premier League Winner | Betfred | Man Utd to Win | No | Arsenal |
Who do Bookies Pay Out Early?
Generally, early payouts are seen as a bit of a stunt.
Paying out early, especially on big markets like the Premier League winner, creates a bit of a buzz around the company and usually makes headlines too.
From the bookie’s point of view, they believe they are going to have to pay out on the market in the end anyway (they wouldn’t do the early payout if they thought there was much of a chance of things changing), so they might as well get some good press.
It’s free publicity at the end of the day, and positive publicity to boot, which isn’t easy to come by for a bookmaker.
This might attract new customers, or build relations and therefore loyalty with current customers. If the bookie has a reputation on paying out early on certain markets then the betting community will be more likely to use that bookie for those markets, for instance.
There is another reason they do it though, and it’s a sneaky one.
A bookie will only pay out early on a market that they think is probably wrapped up anyway, so they don’t want to take any more bets on what looks to be a sure thing because, even if the odds are now low, they will still lose money on it.
They could simply close the market or slash the odds to ridiculous levels, but a lot of punters don’t like this behaviour and think that it’s a bit unfair.
By paying out before the market has officially been decided, they get to close betting in a positive light, avoiding any future losses and only losing the money they would have lost anyway.
Of course, this relies on there being no upsets or surprises, but that’s the rationale.
Early Payout Offers

This is an image used from demonstrative purposes and is not an offer that can currently be claimed. You cannot claim this expired offer.
Related to this subject (but not quite the same thing) are the promotional offers run by some bookies in which they pay out early on certain markets if pre-determined criteria are met.
For example, a bet on Chelsea to beat Watford might come with a promotion that stipulates an early payout if Chelsea go 2 goals clear during the second half.
What is happening here, is that the bookie has decided that the chances of Watford pulling it back in this situation are so slim they feel confident enough to pay out with the clock still ticking.
For the punter it’s great, because they get to eliminate the small amount of remaining risk and even potentially get paid out on what ends up being a losing bet, because if Watford did miraculously manage to score 2 goals or more in the second half then the bookie would have made a mistake.
These situations are rare of course, and even when they do occur, the bookie will be insulated to a degree assuming they have balanced their books well enough. Plus, there will only be so many people betting on the market in the first place.
It can be a nice easy win for both parties.