What Does ‘Accept All Odds Movement’ Mean?

Whenever you place a bet, there is always the possibility that you will be asked if you want to accept all odds movement. This question is incredibly important, as it can affect how much of a return value can be awarded from your bet, as this question affects how your odds work for the selection. Seen in all types of sports such as horse racing, football and cricket, making your decision on accepting odds movement can be crucial. Particularly if you are value betting, this question can either make or break your strategy.

Here at OddsMonkey, we are going to run through what ‘accept all odds movement’ means, what you should consider when you are asked the question, and how it affects your odds.

What is ‘Accepting All Odds Movement’? 

To ‘accept all odds movement’, your bet will be placed even if the odds change between you adding the selection to the betslip and your bet being placed. This might not happen often in single bets, but they are very common when placing multiples.

As it takes longer to add all your selections to your bet slip, the chances of odds changing in one of the selections are higher. If you do not have the ‘accept all odds movement’ option selected, an alert will be sent to you to let you know about the change in odds.

Due to this question being quite confusing, most bettors assume that this option allows the odds to change right up to the start of the event.  However, this option only refers to changes in odds between adding a selection to your betslip and the bet being successfully placed.

Where is ‘Accept All Odds Movement’ Applied?

Throughout different bookmakers, you will not see the ‘accept all odds movement’ in the same place, as some bookies won’t display this option at all, while others will show it in the betslip. For example, Paddy Power showcase this in the betslip:

Some other bookmakers will allow you to change this option in the overall preferences in the account section. These options allow players to accept all odds movements, accept only higher odds, or request approval depending on the odds change.

Why Do Odds Change? 

If you have checked out other posts by us, such as our horse racing betting guide or football guide, you might be familiar with some of the reasons why odds can change throughout sports. Whether it be injuries, withdrawals or other factors, we are going to look at some of the main reasons why odds change.

1.The likelihood of an outcome has changed: 

To most bettors, this is the most obvious reason why odds would change or be adjusted. For example, a bookie might discover that a player is carrying an injury, or a horse might have fallen in its last race. Especially in horse racing, the weather can massively affect the outcome, as some horses run better on different ground. Therefore, if the weather changes, it can alter the odds, as the likelihood has changed.

2. The volume of betting is unbalanced:

This is the less obvious reason why odds change at bookmakers, as the bookie aims to have roughly even liability on either side of an event, ensuring their profit remains the same regardless of the outcome.

If the betting becomes too one-sided in favour of a competitor, the odds will be adjusted to make the other side more attractive, encouraging bettors to seek value in better odds. Using similarities to arbitrage betting, bettors can try to find discrepancies in odds quickly before a race or event in order to gain value.

Why Can Bookies Change Their Odds?

Bookmakers are allowed to change their odds as it is part of how their system works, and it does not always work against the bettor; sometimes it can work in your favour. Sometimes, the odds for your selection will increase, meaning you are essentially gaining value due to a bookmaker change. Whilst it might be frustrating, expected odds can and do fluctuate in sports betting markets, and this ensures that betting remains fair.

Without this system in place, it would be very easy for punters to take advantage of changing odds, and bettors would be able to hold a variety of selections in their betslips, waiting for the odds to change and placing bets at inflated odds.

When Should You Use The ‘Accept All Odds Movement’ Option? 

Whilst this answer is not definitive, it really depends on the situation when it comes to accepting odds movement. If you are betting on an event because you think that a certain team or side has a chance of winning, it’s possible that you won’t care about the odds that much, so if the odds are lowered slightly, it might still be worth placing the bet. There is no reason why you shouldn’t accept higher odds; however, if you still believe that the team has a good chance of winning.

However, we do recommend going against selecting the ‘accept all odds movement’ option. This is because if the odds change, you will always be given the option to accept the new odds and place your bet anyway.

By not selecting the option, you will have to accept the changes manually, which will only take a few more seconds. This ensures that you can consider whether the odds are better or worse.

Matched Betting with Accept All Odds Movement

As users of matched betting will know, changing odds can mess up the entire process of this betting strategy, as it is all about finding the right odds and creating a matched stake with a back and lay bet.

If the odds change, the expected profit will change, meaning if you are placing a matched bet with ‘accept all odds movement’ on, this can affect the potential profit, and can even take away any potential profit. So, if you are a matched bettor, we suggest turning off the ‘accept all odds movement’ option.

If the odds do change when you are placing a matched bet, then we suggest entering the updated information into our matched betting calculator. Here, you can check if the updated odds will affect your matched bet, and if the profit is not at an acceptable level, then you can remove the selection and find an alternative.

If the odds have changed on the exchange after you have placed your back bet, use the calculator to find what lay bet options are available to create a matched bet.

What is the Difference Between Accept All Odds Movement and Starting Price?

The Starting Price (SP) is used in horse racing and refers to the official odds on a horse at the start of the race. These are standardised across bookies and are roughly based on the average odds being offered across all major bookmakers.

The main difference between ‘accept all odds movement’ and SP is that the ‘accept all odds movement’ only refers to movement between you choosing a selection and actually placing a bet. This means your odds won’t continue to change until they end up at the SP at the start of the race.

Accept All Odds Movement in Sports Betting 

Whilst it might save some time and might seem like a helpful and convenient option, we still recommend turning this option off and manually accepting new odds if they appear. For matched bettors, we highly recommend it, as changing odds can disrupt the matched betting process.

If you are interested in other types of sports betting terms or information, then our matched betting blog is the place to be. Here, we have a football betting guide and a cricket betting guide, amongst many more that provide expert information on various sports betting markets. Both of these pieces are full of essential betting information, allowing you to learn more about betting in your favourite sports.