0-9
1X2: This is a popular market on betting sites in Kenya that represents three outcomes. You either bet on the home team to win (1), a draw (X), or the away team to win (2).
A
Accumulator: This refers to a single slip that features multiple other bets. For instance, you may pick Kakamega to win in one match and predict Kenya Police to draw in another. All selections must be successful for you to win an accumulator bet.
Acca Insurance: Here, insurance is a safeguard by the Kenya bookmaker on your accumulator bet. It means the betting site will pay you if one leg of the Acca loses. Usually, you either get a refund or a free bet.
Asian Handicap: This option levels the playing field between two competing teams. It gives one team an advantage and the other a disadvantage. As a result, there’s no chance for a draw result when the bet is settled.
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Bet: A bet is the wager you place on a match outcome. If you place money on Tusker FC to win against Nairobi CS, you’ve made a bet. Note that you can bet on a wide range of markets and not only the matchwinner.
Bet Slip: This refers to the record that contains your bets. It can be physical or digital. From your bet slip, you’ll find your selections, odds, stake, and potential winnings.
Bet Builder: A bet builder is a feature you’ll find on most Kenyan betting websites. It allows you to create customized bets from multiple selections within one event. The advantage is that you get more flexibility.
Betting Market: Markets on betting sites are the different types of bets for matches. For instance, the 1×2 is the match-winner market, while BTTS is a market that implies both teams need to score. Different markets will feature varying odds and winning potential.
Betting Odds: Odds on Kenya bookmaker platforms are the probability of an outcome happening. They also indicate your potential winnings. For instance, if the odds of Kenya Police to win is 2.0, it means you can win 2x your bet if the result is favorable.
Betting Limits: This has to do with the minimum and maximum number you can wager on a particular betting website. For example, a bookmaker may set a limit of 10 KES — 100,000 KES. It means you cannot wager less than 10 KES and not more than 100,000 KES.
Bookmaker: The bookmaker, or bookie for short, is the sports betting platform you use. You deposit to the bookmaker to record your bets, and if your slip wins, the bookmaker pays you. Some popular bookmakers in Kenya include Sportpesa, 1xBet, 22Bet, and Betway.
Both Teams to Score: Also called BTTS, this is a market that requires the two competing teams to score for the bet to win. Consider a football match between Wazito FC and KCB. If you bet on the BTTS market, you predict that both KCB and Wazito FC will record a goal in the game.
Both Teams To Score & Win: The Both Teams to Score & Win market combines BTTS and match winner. So, you not only predict that the two contesting teams will record a goal, but you also pick the team that’ll win the game.
C
Cash Back Bonus: This is a promotion that rewards you a percentage of your money back. A Kenyan bookmaker may offer a 10% cashback, for example. If you wager 200 KES on your bet slip and it loses, it means you’ll receive 10% of 200, which is 20 KES.
Correct Score: In this market, you predict the exact score of a match. Consider a game between Sofapaka and Gor Mahia; you can bet on Correct Score that the final result will be exactly 3:2. It’s a difficult market to win, but it usually has high odds.
Corners Match Bet: This is a market where you predict the number of corners that’ll happen in a football game. Particularly, you can bet that one team will record more corners than the other. If the number of corners is equal, the bookmaker will push the bet, and you’ll get your money back.
Cash Out: This is a feature you’ll find on top online betting sites in Kenya. It lets you settle a bet and receive money before the events on your slip are over. The feature is advantageous because it helps you secure profit and minimize losses, depending on the cashout amount.
Clean Sheet: This refers to a team (or goalkeeper, precisely) not conceding any goal. For instance, if Nairobi FC wins FC Talanta by two goals to nil, it means Nairobi FC has recorded a clean sheet since FC Talanta couldn’t score any goal.
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Deposit methods: These are the payment methods you use to fund your betting account. Kenya bookmakers will feature multiple deposit methods, including mobile money like MPesa, bank cards, eWallets, crypto, and more. Once you deposit, you can use the money to wager on sports events.
Decimal Odds: This is the most popular pattern for displaying odds in Kenya. It shows odds in decimal format (like 1.5). Your stake times the odds equals your potential winnings. For instance, if the odds is 3.0 and you stake 100 KES, you can win 100 x 3.0, which is KES 300.
Draw No Bet: This is a condition whereby the bookmaker returns your bet if the match is a draw. For instance, if you stake KES 100 on a team to win in a football game and the match ends in a draw instead, you’ll get your money back.
Double Chance: In this market, you bet on a team to either win or draw. You give them a double chance. If the game is between Nairobi CS and Sofapaka and you double chance Sofapaka, it means you expect the team to either win Nairobi CS or draw the game.
E
Each-Way Bet: This is a popular bet type for horse racing. It involves two separate bets: the first is the selection to win, and the second is the selection to place. If the first is successful, you win the two bets.
Esports: Short for electronic sports, eSports are video games where players around the world compete. You can bet on the winners of the different games and other outcomes.
Enhanced Odds: This refers to boosted odds that are higher than the regular. For instance, a bookmaker may offer 2.0 odds for FC Talanta to win a match. With enhanced odds, you may get up to 4.00 instead.
European Handicap: This is a type of handicap betting where you give one team a goal advantage or disadvantage against another. It’ll level the playing field if one team is much stronger than the other.
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Fixed Odds: As the name says, this refers to odds that don’t change. If the odds on a particular market are fixed, it won’t change regardless of what happens to the build-up of the match. Usually, odds become fixed once you submit your bet slip.
First Corner: This is a market where you bet on which team will get the first corner. So, if Nairobi SC is playing against Kenya Police, and you bet on Kenya Police for the first corner, it means you predict Kenya Police to take the very first corner of the match.
First Half Bet: These are markets that involve outcomes of only the first half of the match. It’s different from the second-half and full-time bets.
Fractional Odds: These are odds displayed in fractional format (like 5/1). The first number is how much you can win, while the second is how much you’ll bet. So, for 5/1, it means betting 1 KES can get you 5 KES if you win.
Free Bet: This is a promotion offered by Kenyan bookmakers that allows you to place bets for free. The free bet will usually come with a fixed value, like 5 KES or 10 KES, depending on the bonus.
Full-Time Result: This includes markets that consider outcomes at the end of the match. It’s important to note that it doesn’t include extra time and penalties if those apply when the full-time result is a draw.
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Goal scorer: This involves betting on what players will score in a sports game. For instance, you may predict that Benson will score for Gor Mahia in a particular match. Then, you can bet on him with the Goal Scorer market.
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Half Time Result: With half time result markets, you bet on outcomes that are settled after the first 45 minutes. It can be match winner, goals, corners, and others.
Half Time Full Time: This is a combination bet where you predict a particular outcome at half time and also at full time. For instance, if Kakamega is playing, you can predict that they’ll win at half time and also win at full time.
Half Time Score: This is a correct score market where you bet on the exact scoreline for a match at half time. For example, you can bet that a game between Muranga and KCB will be exactly 1:2 after the first 45 minutes.
Half With Most Goals: This is a market where you bet on which half will record the most ghosts. So, you have two options: the first or second half. If you think the players will score more in the first half, you bet on it as the half with the most goals.
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In-Play Betting: This is also known as live betting. It involves placing bets on a game while it’s ongoing. If a Kenyan premier league match starts at 7 PM, you can place in-play bets after 7, once the game begins.
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Jackpot: The term jackpot means a large prize or pool that players can win. It usually increases over time, and players can win all or part of it. Some Kenyan bookmakers award jackpots to winners in lottery style.
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Live Betting: This is the same as in-play betting. It’s a feature that allows you to bet while a match is ongoing. It is different from pre-match betting, where you have to submit the bet slip before the game starts.
Live Streaming: This is a feature that allows you to watch the sports event as it happens. Some Kenyan bookmakers offer free live streaming, while others work with subscription services to provide the option.
Loyalty Programme: This is a rewards program where bookmakers give players bonuses and perks for using their platform. Typically, the more you wager on a betting site, the more rewards you receive from the loyalty program.
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Maximum Bet: This refers to the highest amount you can wager when betting with a bookmaker. For instance, if the maximum bet is 100,000 KES, it means you can’t set more than 100,000 KES on your slip when betting.
Minimum Bet: This means the lowest amount you can stake when betting with a bookmaker. For instance, if the minimum bet is 10 KES, it means you can’t set less than 10 KES on your bet slip.
Mobile App: This is an application you install on your smartphone to access a betting platform. Most bookmakers in Kenya have mobile applications for Android and iOS devices, which are popular among bettors.
Mobile Betting: This generally refers to betting using your smartphone phone, whether Android or iOS. It covers accessing betting platforms via mobile browsers and applications.
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No Deposit Free Bet: This is a free bet promotion you receive from a bookmaker without making any deposit. You can use it to place bets and win subject to the betting platform’s specific terms and conditions.
No Goal: The No Goal market requires betting that a team won’t record any goal. You can bet on no goal for one team or both teams and for one half or both halves.
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Odds: In online betting, odds represent the probability of an outcome happening. They also show your potential winnings. Odds can be in decimal, fractional, or American format. The most popular in Kenya is the decimal format.
Oddsmaker: This is another name for bookmakers and sportsbooks. Hence, an oddsmaker is the betting platform that sets the odds for you to bet on. They ensure the probability is balanced for the different markets.
Over/Under: This is a market where you bet on whether the total score of an outcome will exceed or be below a set number. Consider goals, for example. If the Kenyan bookmaker sees 2.5, and you bet on over, it means you predict the total goals to exceed 2.5.
Own Goal: This is a goal scored by a player against their team. For instance, consider a match between Posta Rangers and Shabana. If a Shabana player puts the ball in their own net instead of that of Posta Rangers, it’s an own goal.
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Parlay: A parlay is another name for an accumulator. It’s a bet that combines multiple individual wagers. All the individual picks must win for the parlay bet to be successful.
Payout: This refers to the money players receive when they request withdrawals on betting sites. As a result, it involves winnings you make from successful bet slips.
Promotion: This is an offer from a bookmaker that carries a particular reward. The welcome bonuses on most Kenyan betting sites are promotions. Free bets, reloads, cashback, loyalty rewards, and others are also examples of promotions.
Promo Code: This is a string of characters (usually letters and numbers) that players enter on a betting site to claim a promotion. The bookmaker sets the promo code, and you must use it if you wish to claim a particular bonus.
Punter: This refers to players on a betting site that submit bets. Punters are also called bettors. To become a punter on a Kenya betting website, you have to first register an account.
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Quarter Bet: This involves betting on the outcome of a particular quarter in a sports game. It’s common with sports like American football and basketball, where time is measured in quarters.
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Referral Bonus: A referral bonus is a promotion bookmakers offer to existing players if they recommend others. For instance, a Kenyan bookmaker may offer a free bet referral bonus. If you recommend your friend or family member to register an account on the site, you’ll claim the free bet bonus.
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Stake: This is another word for bet or wager. A stake is the KES amount players enter on bet slips before submission. Your state also indicates the potential winning, as higher amounts equal bigger payouts if the bet slip wins.
Special Bets: These are unique betting markets that a bookmaker might offer as a promotion. Special bets usually go beyond traditional outcomes and allow more innovative prop bets.
Sportsbook: A sportsbook is the best website or platform you use to place your bets. It’s another word for bookmaker or oddsmaker. Some popular sportsbooks in Kenya include Sportpesa, 1xBet, 22Bet, and Betway.
T
To Score In Both Halves: This is a market where you bet on a team or player to record a goal on both halves of the match. For instance, if Bandari is playing against Kenya Police, you can bet that Kenya Police will score in the first half and also in the second half.
To Win Either Half: This is a market where you bet on a team to win any of the halves. For example, if Gor Mahia is playing Nairobi SC, you can bet on Gor Mahia to win the first or second half. They don’t have to win both for your bet to be successful.
To Win Both Halves: In this market, you bet on a team to win both halves of the match. So, for your bet to be successful, the team you pick must be winning at the end of the first 45 minutes and also at the end of the 90 if it’s a football game.
To Win From Behind: This is a market where you bet on a team to win a match after initially going a goal down. Therefore, the team you bet on must first concede a goal and then go on to win the game after the final whistle. It’s a common market for in-play betting.
U
Underdog: This refers to the weaker team in any matchup. For instance, if Gor Mahia is playing against Wazito FC, the underdog will be Wazito FC since Gor Mahia has the stronger team. Generally, the underdog usually has the higher odds in the match-winner market.
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VAR: This is short for Video Assistant Referee. It’s a technology in football that monitors the match and helps the on-field referee make clearer decisions with video footage. VAR is most often used for penalty decisions.
Virtual Sports: This refers to computer-generated sports simulations. It’s also simply known as “Virtual” among Kenyan bettors. The teams in Virtual Sports are usually the same as those in real life, but a software determines the results.
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Wagering Requirement: The wagering requirement is a condition on bonuses you must satisfy before withdrawing winnings. It signifies how many times you’ll wager the bonus amount. For instance, a 10x requirement on a 100 KES bonus means you’ll bet up to 1,000 KES (100 x 10) before you can receive payouts.
Welcome Bonus: A welcome bonus is a promotion bookmakers offer new players. Most welcome bonuses on Kenyan betting sites are match rewards, whereby the platform will give you a percentage of your first deposit up to a maximum KES amount.
Win To Nil: This is a market where you bet that a team will win their opponent without conceding any goal. For instance, consider a match between AFC Leopards and FC Talanta. If you bet Win to Nil on AFC Leopards, it means you predict the team to win without FC Talanta scoring any goal.
Winning Margin: The winning margin refers to the difference in points or goals at the end of a match. For instance, if the result of a basketball team is 100: 90, it means the winning margin is 10 points (100 – 90). You can bet on the winning margin with some Kenyan bookmakers.
Withdrawals: This refers to the process of getting paid by a bookmaker. You’ll request withdrawals if your bet wins. Kenyan betting sites usually have multiple payment methods, so you’ll choose any that works best for you.