Same game multi rules decide what your same game multi (SGM) pays when one of its legs cannot be settled, for example because a player takes no part or the game is cut short. There are three common rule types. The void leg is removed and the legs left are re-priced as a smaller SGM, the whole ticket is voided and the stake returned, or the leg stands and loses because the bet was all-in. Your bookmaker's terms say which applies.
The gap between those answers is the whole stake. On an illustrative $20 SGM at $7.40, a goalscorer who pulls out in the warm-up can leave you holding a live two-leg ticket, your $20 back, or nothing.
The three ways a void leg can settle
An SGM is priced as one bet, because legs from one game move together, so a missing leg cannot drop out at its own price, as a void bet does in a standard multi:
| Rule type | What happens to the ticket | What is at stake |
|---|---|---|
| Leg removed, ticket re-priced | The void leg drops out and the legs left are priced again as an SGM | The other legs still have to win, at a lower price |
| Whole SGM void | The bet is cancelled and the stake returned | Nothing, but a winning ticket is refunded too |
| Leg stands, all-in | The leg counts as lost | The whole stake |
The usual trigger is a player who takes no part. Under the strictest form of the whole-ticket type, the stake comes back even when another leg has already lost. Which legs a builder will combine, and how many one ticket can hold, are the bookmaker's own rules too, so check them before you rely on a ticket.
What two state rule books say
Two state rule books, read in October 2026, show how this can be settled, though each binds only bookmakers licensed under its own state's law. The NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules sit under the Betting and Racing Act 1998 (NSW). They treat every bet as all-in unless another basis is agreed or the bookmaker's own terms say otherwise (clause 5.1.1), so a leg on a player who never takes part stands.
Western Australia's Rules of Wagering 2005 start from play or pay, which holds a bet good even if its player does not take part (rule 62(9)). For a bet on two or more contingencies in one event, the shape of an SGM, a contingency that cannot be decided for a reason the bet does not cover means a refund (rule 62(6)(f)). If another part has already been decided in your favour, a steward sets the odds paid instead (rule 62(6)(d)).
A late out does not trigger that refund, because play or pay covers a player who takes no part, so his leg stands. Sports betting explained shows how the NSW rules settle single bets.
Worked recalculation: a goalscorer pulls out in the warm-up
Illustrative prices, not a real match or a current market. You put $20 on a three-leg SGM in a soccer match:
| Leg | Single price |
|---|---|
| Team A to win | $1.80 |
| Over 2.5 goals | $1.95 |
| Player X to score at any time | $2.75 |
| The three multiplied | 1.80 x 1.95 x 2.75 = $9.65 |
| The SGM price | $7.40 |
The SGM pays less than the legs multiplied because they tend to land together: when Team A's striker scores, a Team A win and a high-scoring game both become more likely. If all three win, $20 returns $20 x 7.40 = $148.
Then Player X pulls out in the warm-up and never takes the field. If Team A goes on to win a three-goal game, the ticket settles like this:
| Rule type | How the ticket settles | $20 returns | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg removed, re-priced | At $3.20, the bookmaker's price for the two legs left | $20 x 3.20 = $64.00 | +$44.00 |
| Whole SGM void | Cancelled | $20.00, refunded | $0.00 |
| Leg stands, all-in | Player X's leg loses, so the SGM loses | $0.00 | -$20.00 |
Why $7.40 divided by $2.75 is the wrong check
The tempting shortcut is to divide the old price by the void leg's price: 7.40 / 2.75 = about 2.69, so $20 x 7.40 / 2.75 = $53.82. Where the bookmaker prices the legs left as a new SGM, as in this example, the shortcut does not hold, so check how your terms set the new price.
The $7.40 carried a discount for how all three legs move together, much of it from the striker, whose goal links the other two. With him gone, the pair are less tied together and price closer to their multiplied 1.80 x 1.95 = $3.51.
So the re-priced $3.20 sits between the shortcut's $2.69 and the multiplied $3.51. Had the void leg pulled against the others, the new price could have fallen below the shortcut instead. How SGM odds are calculated explains the discount.
Late withdrawals, emergencies and substitutes
Whether a leg is void usually turns on whether the player took part, so find the exact test in your terms:
- Takes the field. A substitute who comes on for the last two minutes has taken part, and so has a player injured in the first minute or sent off, so the leg stands on what he did.
- All-in. The leg stands whether or not he plays, so a late out loses it, and the ticket with it.
- On the field when it counts. A first scorer leg can need the player on the field for the first score, which voids it for one who comes on later or has already gone off.
Late outs can land after you have bet, because online sports bets must go on before the start (Interactive Gambling Act 2001, s 8A(3) and s 10B) while teams can change right up to it. An AFL club must lodge its official team sheet an hour before the scheduled start. From then until play begins, only one of its three listed emergencies can come in for a player who cannot play (AFL Regulations, 11 February 2026, Regulations 12.1 to 12.3).
Benches add a second risk: NRL sides in 2026 named six interchange players and could use four, so two named bench players can finish without playing, as NRL try scorer betting measures. Player did not play rules compares these tests for single bets and props.
Shortened, abandoned and postponed games
When the whole game stops, every leg is hit at once, and how far it got decides the outcome:
| When play stops | How an SGM tends to settle | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Before the start, or mid-game with no leg decided | Void, stake returned: NSW clause 5.1.10 refunds a cancelled or abandoned event, and WA rule 62(7) an abandoned one | Whether a declared result is used instead |
| Mid-game, after a leg has already lost | Usually a loss, because the ticket can no longer win | Whether voiding the game refunds the lot |
| Mid-game, after a leg has won, with the rest undecided | The ticket is voided, or re-priced on the legs already won | How the new price is set (in WA a steward sets it) |
| Postponed | Void unless rescheduled within a window, or the bet waits for the new date | The window: three calendar days under the NSW rules (5.1.6), while WA's let bets stand (62(8)) |
Where a league declares a result for a shortened game, the terms can split one ticket, settling a result leg on it and refunding a score-based leg. Postponed and abandoned games works through those cases for single bets and standard multis.
Legs that cannot settle as written
A missing player or a stopped game is not the only reason a leg settles differently from how it reads:
- Dead heats. A leg such as Player X to have more shots than Player Y can end level. Under a leg-by-leg dead heat rule, as in the NSW rule book (clauses 5.1.8 and 5.1.9(b)), a two-way tie halves the ticket: one due to return $148 returns $148 / 2 = $74 (illustrative). A market that priced the tie loses on it instead (5.1.7). Dead heat rules covers the method.
- Own goals and penalty tries. Under the NSW rule book, unless the market priced that outcome, a first goalscorer leg settles on the next goal if the first is an own goal (clause 5.2.7.3). A first try scorer leg likewise settles on the next try if the first is a penalty try (5.2.5.1(a)).
- Extra time. Each leg settles on its own market's clock. Under the NSW rule book a result counts extra time unless the market priced a draw (clauses 5.1.2 and 5.1.7), but soccer settles at the end of normal time (5.2.7.3). So a side that wins a cup tie in extra time loses its win leg. NRL same game multis shows one golden point score settling legs in opposite directions.
Read the terms before you use an SGM promotion
SGM promotions, such as a stake-back if one leg fails, carry their own terms, and a void leg can take a ticket outside them. Before you build a ticket for an offer, check:
- Is there a minimum number of legs, and are they counted when you bet or when the ticket settles? A four-leg ticket built for a three-leg minimum survives one void leg; a three-leg ticket may not.
- Is there a minimum price, for the ticket or for each leg? A re-price can drop the ticket under it, as the worked example fell from $7.40 to $3.20.
- For a refund when one leg fails, does a void leg count as failed, won or neither?
- Is the refund paid as a bonus bet, and up to what amount? A bonus bet is not cash, and a bonus bet that loses pays nothing.
A saver pays back part of some losses, as its terms set. Same game multis sets out the common promotion shapes, and same game multi promotions shows how to value one.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A saver offer does not stop a same game multi from losing.
Mistakes that cost money on void legs
With the worked example's numbers:
| Mistake | What it can cost | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Assuming a late out refunds the ticket | Under re-pricing your $20 still rides on two legs at $3.20; under an all-in rule it is gone | Find the participation rule, and wait for the final team if a player is in doubt |
| Checking the new price by dividing | You expect $53.82 when the re-priced ticket pays $64.00, or the reverse | Price the smaller SGM in the bet slip before the start |
| Adding a leg only to reach an offer's minimum | One void leg can drop the ticket below the minimum and out of the offer | Build with a spare leg you want on its merits, or skip the offer |
Risk: Betting involves risk. Knowing the void rules tells you how a ticket settles when a leg cannot be decided; it does not make any leg more likely to win.
Where SGM Saver fits
For saver and stake-back offers already on your own bookmaker accounts, B337's SGM Saver strategy builds and places the same game multi on games you choose, once the bookmaker confirms the offer covers it. You set the most legs, a minimum and maximum combined odds and the player markets it may use, or pick a game's legs yourself, priced live when the bet goes on. Your bookmaker's terms still decide how a void leg settles.
SGM Saver covers AFL, NRL, NBA and soccer at seven bookmakers, bets only before the game starts, and works only while B337 runs on your computer, which must be on, awake and online. It is part of Full Automation, arranged with the team, with the price and any charges on top confirmed before you pay; bets placed through B337 use credits. The SGM Saver page lists the controls.
Many bookmakers restrict or prohibit automated betting in their terms, and a bookmaker can limit your stakes, void bets or close your account; that risk is yours. Automation can bet far more, far faster, than by hand, which is why a deposit limit with each bookmaker matters.
For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A saver offer does not stop a same game multi from losing, a re-priced ticket still needs every remaining leg to win, and there is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.