The world of sports betting is filled with important lingos that can have a significant impact on your wagers or bankroll. Some of such terms are action and no action in sports betting, which have to do with the settlement of wagering outcomes on sportsbooks.
In this article, I’ll cover what action and no action mean when betting and how they apply to different sports. Let’s dive right in!
When you place a bet on a sports event, and it takes place as expected, whether in favor or against your prediction, the bet is said to have action or is considered active or valid. For example, if you place a wager on Liverpool to win an EPL match against Tottenham, your bet is said to have action as long as the match is played and ends as scheduled.
On a more general note, the term “action” is commonly used to indicate that a wagerer has a bet on an event. For example, if you bet on Erling Haaland to score in a game between Manchester City and Arsenal, it’ll be said that you have action in that game.
When you have action on a bet, it means you’ve successfully placed a wager, and the sportsbook has accepted it. Whether you’re using a sports betting website or app, you’ll usually place your wagers by:
After submitting, the bookmaker will confirm your bet by displaying all the relevant details, including your wager amount, potential payout, and the selections you made. Your confirmed bets will typically appear in the “Pending,” “Running,” or “Open Bets” section of the sportsbook’s app or website. This section is like a receipt that shows all active bets you’ve placed. You should always check there to confirm whether your bet is active.
A no action bet is a wager considered void by your sportsbook. For example, if you bet on, say, a friendly match between Liverpool and Coventry, and the match was canceled or maybe interrupted due to poor weather conditions, that bet will be voided. When this happens after you’ve placed your wager, the bookie will usually refund you.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, the rules that guide action and no action vary with different sports. With baseball, a bet can be considered no action if a match is postponed, interrupted, or canceled, if the pitcher is changed, or if the game doesn’t reach the minimum number of innings, usually 4-5.
Specifically, the outcome of baseball games is usually heavily dependent on pitchers. This is why bets can be considered as having no action when the pitcher is changed. However, most sportsbooks usually provide bettors with an option that allows them to proceed with the wager regardless of any pitcher changes.
When placing your wager, you can choose either the “listed pitcher” option or the “live/action” option. The live action betting option allows your bet to proceed regardless of any unexpected changes. Conversely, the listed pitcher option means your bet will remain valid only if there are no changes in the originally listed pitcher for the match. Otherwise, your wager is considered no action.
Golf events are usually held for three to four days and some tournaments can even take longer. The long duration of this sport makes it susceptible to weather influence. This means that in situations where extreme weather disrupts an event, bets placed on such can be considered void.
For some sportsbooks, the no action betting immediately applies if the event is beginning to extend beyond seven days. In situations where certain golfers pull out midway into a tournament, bets relating to them will also be voided. All these, however, largely depend on your betting operator’s terms and conditions regarding these situations. Generally, when a golfer withdraws from an event, every bet relating to them will be voided and refunded.
Being an individual sport, bets in tennis are also largely related to the players. So, if any player withdraws from a match or tournament, all wagers relating to them will be considered no action. Delays, interruptions, or cancelations of a match can also lead to no action bets.
Again, different operators deal with these situations differently. So ensure you’re familiar with your sportsbook’s T and C’s regarding action and no action in tennis.
Generally, postponements, cancelations, or interruptions of matches would lead to no action for player bets.
In addition, player prop bets are tied to specific players, whether in individual or team sports. So, if the player is not playing, any wager on them will usually be voided. However, it’s not certain what every bookie might do in this situation, as some might still keep the wagers valid regardless of the player’s presence. So, be familiar with your chosen sportsbook’s rules on no-action and action sports betting.
As mentioned, cancellation, interruption, or postponement of a match in any sport will generally lead to voiding bets related to that event. This is more common for outdoor sports like football, cricket, golf, etc., which can be easily influenced by weather.
Overall, different unforeseen circumstances can impact the success of a sports event, which in turn impacts the progress of wagers on them. However, it is noteworthy that these situations are more likely for one sport than for another, and the way individual sportsbooks deal with them usually differs. This is why it’s essential to choose a reliable bookmaker with betting made easy terms and conditions.
Generally, if your bet is considered no action, your full stake will be refunded. This is applicable to all sports. However, if the no-action bet is part of a parlay, it’ll only be refunded if the parlay wins. If your parlay doesn’t win, maybe one of the other outcomes didn’t go as you predicted, you’ll lose your entire stake, even if one of the bets in the parlay was classified as no action.
On the other hand, if your parlay wins, with only the no action bet remaining, the sportsbook will adjust the parlay odds. They’ll remove the no-action option from the wager and recalculate your payout based on the odds of the remaining winning legs. In other words, the no-action bet is still refunded; it is just calculated with the remaining odds in the parlay.
The action and no action rule can be quite tricky when dealing with player props and futures bets. For example, let’s say you place a futures bet on a player to win the MVP, and they go out injured for the rest of the season after only playing one game. Some sportsbooks might void the bet, while others may not, depending on their terms and rules. However, if you’re betting futures on a team rather than a player, you won’t encounter this problem.
In summary, the term “action” in sports betting is used to refer to a bet on a game. It also means that the bet is not voided because the event wagered on goes on as scheduled. It can also be used by sportsbooks to reference action betting odds, that is, the odds they’ve set out for each option. “Action” can also mean the betting volume on these options.
“No action” on the other hand, refers to a wager that a bookie cannot settle because an unexpected incident has impacted the event being bet on. While general rules often apply to these situations, whether or not a bet is considered action or no action depends on the sports and the sportsbook’s terms and conditions. So, it’s important to get familiar with these terms to avoid unpleasant surprises.
