Guide · 7 min read
How to read a bet slip: every field explained
The bet slip is the small panel where a bet becomes real. It tells you exactly what you are betting on, at what price and for how much. This guide walks through every field with one example, explains singles and accumulators, the statuses you will see afterwards, and where a betting fee can hide in Austria.
Updated 22 October 2026
Contents
The bet slip, field by field
Every bookmaker's slip looks a little different, but the fields are the same everywhere. Here is a typical single bet, drawn schematically rather than copied from any one bookmaker:
| Field | Example | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Event | Sturm Graz v Rapid Vienna, Sat 18:00 | The match. Check the date and kick-off time so you don't pick the return fixture by mistake. |
| Market | Match result (1X2) | The question you are betting on. The market decides the settlement rule, for example 90 minutes only or including extra time. |
| Selection | 1 (Sturm Graz) | Your answer to that question. 1 is the home team, X the draw, 2 the away team. |
| Odds | 2.10 | What you get back per euro staked if you win. The odds at the moment the bet is accepted count, not the odds when you clicked. |
| Stake | €10.00 | The amount taken from your balance. |
| Potential return | €21.00 | Stake × odds. It includes your stake, so the profit is €11.00. |
| Bet ID and time | #48213…, 14:32:05 | Your receipt if there is ever a question about settlement. Note it down or take a screenshot. |
The single most useful thing for a beginner to remember: return is not profit. The potential return already contains your stake. Profit = return − stake. Odds work the same way in every format; if a slip shows fractions or American odds, our guide to odds formats converts them, and implied probability shows what the price says about the chance of winning.
return = stake × odds = 10 × 2.10 = €21.00profit = stake × (odds − 1) = 10 × (2.10 − 1) = €11.00
Filling in a bet slip, step by step
- Click the odds. The selection lands on the slip, usually on the right on a desktop and at the bottom on a phone.
- Check it. Right match, right market, right selection? With handicap or over/under markets it is easy to click one line too high or too low.
- Type the stake. The potential return updates immediately. Watch for the minimum and maximum stake.
- Set how odds changes are handled. Many bookmakers ask whether to accept changed odds automatically: all changes, only higher odds, or none. For beginners, "none" or "only higher" is the safest choice, because otherwise a bet can be accepted at a worse price without you noticing.
- Confirm, then check. A bet only exists once it appears under "My bets" or "Open bets" with your odds and your full stake.
Single bet or accumulator
If you put several selections on the slip, the bookmaker usually offers two ways to bet them:
- Singles: each selection is its own bet with its own stake. Three selections at €10 each cost €30, and each one wins or loses on its own.
- Accumulator (acca, combo, parlay): all selections form one bet. The odds are multiplied and every selection has to win.
Odds 2.10 × 1.80 × 1.50 = 5.67. Potential return €56.70. If a single selection loses, the whole bet is lost.
If one selection is voided, it usually counts at odds of 1.00. The acca continues as 2.10 × 1.50 = 3.15, and the potential return drops to €31.50.
Because the bookmaker's margin in each price is multiplied too, accumulators cost you more on average than singles; why accumulators lose works through the numbers. Sure bets always use singles: each leg is a separate bet at a different bookmaker.
Bet statuses and what they mean
| Status | Meaning | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Open / pending | Accepted, not settled yet. | Nothing yet. |
| Won | Your selection happened. | Stake × odds, minus any fee. |
| Lost | Your selection did not happen. | Nothing. |
| Void / cancelled | Treated as if the bet never existed, for example after an abandoned match or an obvious pricing error. | Your stake back. |
| Cashed out | You closed the bet early at the bookmaker's offer. | The cash-out amount, whatever the result. |
| Half won / half lost | Quarter lines in Asian handicap split the stake in two. | Each half is won, lost or refunded. |
| Rejected / not accepted | The bet never came into being, for example because the odds changed. | Nothing is deducted. |
For sure bets, "rejected" and "void" sound alike but arrive at different times. A rejection shows up immediately; a void can come after the match. Why bookmakers void bets is covered in voided bets and palpable errors, how a cash-out is priced in cash out vs hedging, and quarter lines in Asian handicap.
Where the Austrian betting fee shows up
Since 1 April 2025 the Austrian betting fee (Wettgebühr) has been 5% of the stake, under § 33 TP 17 of the Gebührengesetz 1957. The bookmaker owes it and pays it to the tax office monthly. Many bookmakers absorb it; some pass it on. On a slip, that can look like this:
- No mention: stake €10, potential return €21.00 at odds of 2.10. The bookmaker absorbs the fee.
- Deducted from the stake: €10 is taken from your balance but €9.50 is bet. The potential return is 9.50 × 2.10 = €19.95.
- Charged on top: for a €10 stake, €10.50 is taken.
- Deducted from the return: a winning payout is cut by 5%. €10 at 2.00 returns €19.00 instead of €20.00. According to comparison sites, Interwetten handles it this way in Austria.
Divide the potential return by the amount actually taken from your balance. That is the price you really get. Example: €10 taken, potential return €19.95, odds shown 2.10: 19.95 / 10 = 1.995. If the number is below the odds shown, the bookmaker passes the fee on. If the slip shows the return before the deduction, you will only see it in the amount credited after the match.
On a casual bet a few cents hardly matter. On a sure bet, where the edge is often only 1 to 2%, the fee decides between a small plus and a small minus. The full rules, including income tax, are in Austria betting tax.
And in Slovakia?
At Slovak-licensed bookmakers such as Tipsport, Fortuna, Niké or Tipos, the law does not provide for a tax deducted on the slip. The licensed operator pays the gambling levy out of its own gross gaming revenue under the Gambling Act (Act No. 30/2019), and winnings from operators licensed by the regulator ÚRHH are exempt from income tax (Act No. 595/2003, § 9(2)(l)). A Slovak slip (tiket) therefore normally shows the stake (vklad), the odds (kurz) and the potential win (možná výhra) without a tax line. Still run the bet slip test above to see whether a bookmaker charges a fee of its own. More in Slovakia betting tax.
Keep your slips
The slip is your evidence if a bet is settled wrongly. For every bet, note the date, bookmaker, event, market, odds, stake, status and bet ID, or save a screenshot. Bet tracking shows a simple record that takes a minute a day. If you save a sure bet in ArbVantage, both legs are stored together in your tracking and settled automatically after the match, as far as the app can grade the result.
FAQ
What is the difference between return and profit on a bet slip?
The potential return is stake times odds and includes your stake. The profit is the return minus the stake. With €10 at odds of 2.10, the return is €21.00 and the profit is €11.00.
What does void mean on a bet slip?
The bet is treated as if it never existed and you get your stake back. Typical reasons are an abandoned match or an obvious pricing error. In an accumulator, a voided selection usually counts at odds of 1.00 and the other selections carry on.
How can I tell from the slip whether the Austrian betting fee is passed on?
Divide the potential return by the amount taken from your balance. If the result is below the odds shown, the bookmaker passes on the 5% fee. Also look for a separate fee line, or a credited payout lower than stake times odds.
Should I accept odds changes automatically?
For beginners it is usually better to accept no changes, or only higher odds. Otherwise a bet can be accepted at a worse price without you noticing, and on a sure bet that can wipe out the whole edge.
Sources
- RIS: Gebührengesetz 1957, § 33 TP 17 (Austrian betting fee)
- Unternehmensserviceportal (USP): Wettgebührenabrechnung (betting fee returns)
- BMF: form Geb 6, Wettgebühr (5% since 1 April 2025)
- Slov-Lex: Act No. 595/2003 on income tax, § 9(2)(l)
- Slov-Lex: Act No. 30/2019 on gambling
- Financial Administration of Slovakia: taxation of winnings and prizes
As of October 2026. The calculations are illustrations under the stated assumptions. Not betting, legal or tax advice. 18+.
Betting involves risk, sure bets included: odds move, bets get voided and accounts get limited. Only stake money you can afford to lose. If betting stops being fun, our responsible gambling page lists free help in Austria and Germany.