If an AFL game is a draw, a head to head bet pays half its return under a dead heat rule, refunds the stake under a void rule, or loses if the draw had its own price. Your bookmaker's terms say which rule applies. Line and total bets are not affected and settle on the final score, like the other AFL betting markets.
A drawn game is uncommon, 10 in 1,026 home-and-away games from 2022 to 2026 on the AFL's results, and finals go to extra time instead, which raises a different question: which score your bet uses.
How often AFL games are drawn
| Season | Home-and-away games | Draws | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 198 | 1 | 0.5% |
| 2023 | 207 | 2 | 1.0% |
| 2024 | 207 | 3 | 1.4% |
| 2025 | 207 | 1 | 0.5% |
| 2026 | 207 | 3 | 1.4% |
| All five | 1,026 | 10 | 1.0% |
None of the 56 finals from 2021 to 2026, nine a season plus 2026's two new wildcard finals, was level after four quarters.
A draw is likelier in a close game. On an illustrative normal model with a 36-point spread, the margin lands on exactly 0 about 1.11% of the time when the line is 0, 0.88% when it is 24.5 and 0.45% when it is 48.5. That makes fair draw prices of 1 / 0.01108 = $90, 1 / 0.00879 = $114 and 1 / 0.00447 = $224. In a three-way market, an illustrative $51 draw price implies 1 / 51 = 1.96%, about 1.8 times the model's chance even in an even game.
Head to head bets on a drawn AFL game: the three rule types
A head to head bet on a drawn game settles one of three ways:
| Rule type | A bet on either team returns | Where it is set out |
|---|---|---|
| Dead heat | Half the face value: stake x price / 2 | The NSW rule book, for a market with no draw price (clause 5.1.8) |
| Void | The stake, as if no bet had been struck | A bookmaker's own terms for a two-way market |
| Draw priced in the market | Nothing: the draw was a selection and won | The NSW rule book, where a draw price was offered (clause 5.1.7) |
The NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules cover bookmakers authorised in NSW. Bookmakers licensed elsewhere publish their own draw rule, so find it in the terms before you bet.
Example: Illustrative prices for a made-up game: Team A at $1.36 and Team B at $3.25, a 104.3% book (1 / 1.36 + 1 / 3.25), with $40 on each. The face values are $40 x 1.36 = $54.40 and $40 x 3.25 = $130.00. On a draw, a dead heat pays $54.40 / 2 = $27.20 on Team A, a $12.80 loss, and $130.00 / 2 = $65.00 on Team B, a $25.00 profit. A void returns $40 on each, and where the draw had its own price, both bets lose.
The break-even price is $2.00, since half of $2.00 is $1.00 per $1 staked: on a draw, a dead heat pays more than a void on any longer price, usually the outsider's, and less on any shorter one.
The rule also changes what a fair price is. With illustrative chances of 72% for Team A, 27% for Team B and 1% for a draw:
| Rule | Team A fair price | Team B fair price |
|---|---|---|
| Dead heat: 1 / (win + draw / 2) | 1 / 0.725 = $1.38 | 1 / 0.275 = $3.64 |
| Void: (1 - draw) / win | 0.99 / 0.72 = $1.38 | 0.99 / 0.27 = $3.67 |
| Draw priced separately: 1 / win | 1 / 0.72 = $1.39 | 1 / 0.27 = $3.70 |
On the favourite the rule is worth about a cent; on the outsider, about six. Compare head to head prices across bookmakers that use the same rule. Dead heat rules explains the split across sports.
AFL draw betting rules for lines and totals
On a draw the margin is 0, so a line bet is decided by the start alone, and a total is just the two scores added. Say the game ends 11.10 (76) to 11.10 (76), illustrative scores:
| Bet | How it settles |
|---|---|
| Team B +9.5 | Wins: 76 + 9.5 = 85.5, ahead of 76 |
| Team A -9.5 | Loses: 76 - 9.5 = 66.5, short of 76 |
| Under 165.5 total points | Wins: 76 + 76 = 152 |
| Over 165.5 total points | Loses |
A half-point line cannot land level with the score, and the NSW rule book sets a points start at half a point unless agreed otherwise (clause 5.1.3). AFL line betting works through lines on every result.
Margin markets with a draw outcome
A big win little win market sells four team outcomes, each team by 1 to 39 or by 40 or more, and a level score is a possible fifth outcome even when no draw price is shown. If the market lists the draw, a level score pays that selection alone and all four bands lose. If it does not, the outcome sits in the terms, which can let every band lose or refund the stakes. AFL margin betting prices the bands, and the draw, against the line.
Draws inside multis and same game multis
The NSW rule book settles a tied leg in a multi the way it would settle a single, then multiplies the revised prices together (clause 5.1.9(b)); other bookmakers' multi terms can differ. With illustrative prices: $20 on a three-leg multi, Team A's head to head at $1.36 plus two other legs at $1.90 and $2.10 that both win, and Team A's game drawn:
| Draw rule on the AFL leg | Multi price | $20 returns |
|---|---|---|
| None: Team A won instead | 1.36 x 1.90 x 2.10 = 5.4264 | $108.53 |
| Dead heat: the leg at half its price | 0.68 x 1.90 x 2.10 = 2.7132 | $54.26 |
| Void: the leg removed | 1.90 x 2.10 = 3.99 | $79.80 |
| Draw priced: the leg loses | 0 | $0.00 |
With Team B's $3.25 as the drawn leg instead, the dead heat price is 1.625 x 1.90 x 2.10 = 6.48375, a $129.68 return on $20, more than the $79.80 a void would pay.
A same game multi takes the draw on several legs at once. A head to head leg goes to the draw rule, a line leg on the team receiving points wins, and totals and player legs settle as normal. A margin band leg loses where the draw was a listed outcome; otherwise the terms can let it lose or refund it.
The SGM terms then decide whether the drawn leg drops out and the remaining legs are priced again, the leg is settled under the draw rule, or the whole ticket is voided. Same game multi rules covers those rule types.
Finals, extra time and stopped games
Under AFL Regulation 2.8, in the Regulations dated 11 February 2026, a final still level when normal time ends goes to extra time, which the Regulations call Additional Time. After a 6 minute 30 second break, two three-minute periods plus stoppages are played, with the teams changing ends before each one. If it is still level, Further Additional Time of the same shape follows, repeated as often as needed for one side to be ahead when a pair ends. The rule covers every final, the Grand Final included, and AFL Grand Final betting covers that day's markets.
The official result includes extra time; your bet may not. By default the NSW rule book includes extra time in the result (clause 5.1.2) and in line bets (clause 5.1.3), unless agreed otherwise. Where the market offered a draw price, though, it takes the score before extra time, and every bet but the draw loses (clause 5.1.7). Online bookmakers set their own rules, market by market.
Example: Illustrative scores. A final is 12.8 (80) each at the end of normal time. In extra time Team B kicks 1.1 (7) and Team A 0.2 (2), so Team B wins 13.9 (87) to 12.10 (82). Team B's two-way head to head goes to the draw rule on the normal-time score and wins after extra time. Team B +6.5 wins either way. Over 165.5 total points loses on normal time, 160, and wins after extra time, 169.
The total is the market most changed by extra time, because points scored in it can push a total over the number but never back under it.
A home-and-away game stopped before half time that cannot restart within 60 minutes, or another period the AFL sets, is deemed a draw even if one side was ahead (Regulation 33.2(b)). Your terms decide whether a bet follows that declared draw or is refunded, so check them. The NSW rule book refunds bets on an abandoned event (clause 5.1.10) but settles bets on the governing body's official result (clause 5.1.11), with no AFL clause saying which applies here. Postponed and abandoned games covers each rule type.
Checking your bookmaker's draw rule
- Look at the head to head itself. If it lists a draw price, a draw beats both team bets.
- Search the sports terms for "draw", "tie" and "dead heat", and for any clause on Australian rules football.
- For a final, search "extra time" and "normal time", market by market.
- For a margin market, check whether the draw is listed and what happens to the bands if it is not.
- For a multi or same game multi, check how a tied leg is revised.
Mistakes that cost money when an AFL game is drawn
Each one, costed on the illustrative prices above:
| Mistake | The cost, on the prices above |
|---|---|
| Expecting a refund on a drawn favourite | A dead heat turns $40 at $1.36 into $27.20 |
| Backing a team in a three-way market as if it were two-way | A draw loses the bet outright |
| Assuming a draw voids the leg | A dead heat on the $1.36 leg pays $54.26, not the $79.80 a void would |
| Taking the after-extra-time score for granted | The over 165.5 loses on the normal-time score |
Comparing prices across bookmakers on the Terminal
Two bookmakers can price one AFL game under different draw rules, and at different prices. On B337's Terminal, which compares 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, the AFL head to head, line and total from each bookmaker get a column apiece, beside the price history (flucs). The draw rule behind each price is in that bookmaker's terms. Not every game is priced by every bookmaker, and the board collects prices on a repeating cycle, so the figure to trust is the one in your bookmaker account when you bet. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A draw can turn a winning view into a part-refund or a loss, and the price you take decides only what a winner pays, never whether it wins. There is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.