Scorecast Betting Explained
Summary: Scorecast betting combines two bets: the first goal scorer bet and the final score of a match but is considered a single bet rather than a multiple. First off the punter selects a player they think will score the first goal and then they predict the exact final score of the game. For a successful bet, both selections must be accurate.
Placing a Scorecast
Scorecast betting is a popular soccer betting market, particularly in the context of UK football betting. It combines two separate required outcomes into a single bet. You need to pick both the first goal scorer and the final score in one bet. It is usually listed on each sportsbook in the goals section of a single fixture betting page.
You normally have to choose the two separate permutations of the bet individually, but they are combined as one bet on the bet slip, where you set a single stake. You can't set a scorecast as e/w (each way), it's one bet. Before bet builder sites came along, this was about the only same game multiple you could place.
If you're looking for a betting site that offers Scorecasts you can check out the Free Bets listings link from any page on this site. It's an old betting market which we think has been improved by bet builders, but it's still popular.
Scorecast Requirement 1: First Goal Scorer
Your first selection is the most important. You start by choosing the player you think will score the first goal in the match. This can be any player from either team who is eligible to play in the game. Be careful to check the lineup, some bookies might uphold a bet on a non-starting player if they're subbed on.
Our Top Scorers Stats could be useful here, but be aware that high scoring players come with shorter odds offering less value in scorecasts.
Scorecast Requirement 2: Final Score
After choosing the first goal scorer, you also need to predict the exact final score of the game. This means specifying the number of goals each team will score. This is the full-time score when the ref blows for 90 minutes and does not include extra-time goals that might be an element of knockout cup games.
Winning a Scorecast Bet
For your scorecast bet to be successful, both parts of the prediction must be accurate otherwise it's settled as a loss. In other words, the player you selected as the first goal scorer must score the first goal or the whole bet is down. This is even before you wait for the final score, which must also match your prediction. If you guess the right first goal scorer and the correct final score, you win.
Scorecast Odds
Scorecast bets offer relatively high odds because they are difficult to get right. If you win, your payout can be quite good, especially if you've chosen an unlikely combination of first goal scorer and final score. But they're risky, guessing the score is not as simple as predicting form-based results. Teams rarely have predictable scorelines and that's before you've attempted to guess the first goals scorer part as well.
Common scorelines are 1-0 2-1 and the reverse of those so they have lower odds. Draws often carry higher odds along with bigger scorelines like 4-1 and better as these are rarer events.
High scoring players per game and top scorers have short odds, whereas non-scoring players like holding midfielders and defenders will come with bigger odds in a scorecast.
If you're combining high scores with non-scoring players, you're betting very dangerously. These are risky combinations that are very unpredictable, so you're guessing!
Void Scorecasts
What happens if the player to score doesn't play?
Scorecasts are normally single bets, so your scorecast combines the two bet requirements into one single bet. This usually means it does not have separate selections that could be voided individually leaving the second selection live. If a scorecast is void, like your chosen player never played, the whole bet is void. Most reputable bookies will refund the stake in this case.
What happens if the player to score is subbed on?
Subbed on when 0-0: Each bookie has different terms for when the player doesn't start and comes off the bench, but most follow the same or similar rules. If the player doesn't start but is subbed on while the game is still 0-0, the bet is still active. If your player comes on when the game is 0-0, they normally leave these bets live as you could still win that bet, so why deny you the opportunity?
Subbed on after the first goal: If your player is on the bench when the first goal is scored, they normally void the whole bet and refund the stake. There are some bookies however that do it differently and they void the goalscorer part of the bet only. In this case, they go back and check the SP (starting price) of the final score market and use that as a single bet against your original stake, so you're still in with a chance of winning the scorecast but obviously, you miss out on a refund for the player being voided if your score prediction is wrong.
Here are Bet365's rules for this market just to show how varied bookies can be
If a player takes the field after a goal has been scored or does not take part in the game then such bets will be settled as a single on the correct score market at the relevant odds quoted at match kick-off time. If a match is abandoned after a goal has been scored then all bets will be settled as singles on the first goalscorer market at the relevant odds quoted at match kick-off time. Should the first goal of the match be an own goal then bets will be settled on the next goalscorer and the correct score markets. If the only goals in the match are own goals then all bets will be settled as singles on the correct score market at the relevant odds quoted at match kick-off time.
Own Goals in Scorecast
Do own goals count in scorecasts?
No own goals do not count in scorecasts for the player to score first part and this is an important scorecast rule. In its theory, you are choosing a player to score the first goal for their team in the match.
If your chosen player scores an own goal, it does not count. If another player scores an own goal it doesn't count. The bet is then rolled on to the next goal scorer. So if your player scores a first own goal to make it 0-1 but then levels the game for their team to make it 1-1 your bet is still live as long as you picked a final score that is 1-1 or bigger.
Own goals do count towards the final score, however. So in this case it is the number of goals being counted in part 2 of the bet.
What if I picked 1-0 and there's an own goal?
On this very rare occasion, most bookies will void the goal scorer's bet and then it's down to their individual rules to determine how the bet is settled. Some betting sites void the player to score part and keep the final score element active as per the SP on the score you picked. Other bookies just void the whole bet and give you a refund of your stake.
