Double chance bet meaning: what 1X, X2 and 12 pay on your slip

1X, X2 and 12 follow the 1X2 market, where 1 is the home team, X the draw and 2 the away team. 1X pays if the home side wins or the match is drawn. X2 pays if the away side wins or it is drawn. 12 pays if either team wins, and loses only on the draw.

Betway Ghana's rules describe the same three options without the shorthand. They read as a win for team one or a draw, and a draw or a win for team two. The third is a win for team one or a win for team two. Some apps print the club names instead. Hearts of Oak against Asante Kotoko then shows as Hearts or Draw, Draw or Kotoko, and Hearts or Kotoko. Pulse Ghana's February 2026 piece on EPL and GPL betting lists the same three base results, home win, draw and away win, that every double chance line is built from.

Double chance odds come straight from the 1X2 line. Take an illustration, not a quote from any operator. Hearts v Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium is priced 2.10 for the home win, 3.20 for the draw and 3.60 for Kotoko. Divide one by each price and you get the implied chances: 47.6%, 31.3% and 27.8%. They add up to 106.7%, and the 6.7 points above 100 are the bookmaker's margin.

Hearts or draw covers 47.6% plus 31.3%, which is 78.9%. One divided by 0.789 gives 1.27, so expect 1X at about 1.27. Draw or Kotoko is 59.1%, about 1.69. Either team to win is 75.4%, about 1.33. The margin is baked into every one of those numbers, which is why the two prices added together never give you back the single.

In cedis: GH₵50 on 1X at 1.27 returns GH₵63.50, a profit of GH₵13.50 if Hearts win or draw. GH₵50 on X2 at 1.69 returns GH₵84.50. The same GH₵50 on the home win alone at 2.10 returns GH₵105 but loses on a draw. Two outcomes for a lower return, or one outcome for a higher one; that is the whole trade.

Double chance and draw no bet are the two ways to protect against a stalemate, and they get confused. With draw no bet you pick one team, and if the match ends level your stake is refunded. With double chance the draw is a winning result, not a refund. That is why 1X pays less than the home team draw no bet: the double chance line turns the draw into a payout, and the bookmaker prices that in.

On an EPL Saturday, picture Arsenal v Chelsea at 1.95, 3.50 and 3.70. GH₵20 on Arsenal draw no bet at 1.45 returns GH₵29 on an Arsenal win, hands back the GH₵20 on a draw and loses on a Chelsea win. GH₵20 on 1X at about 1.25 returns GH₵25 on either an Arsenal win or a draw. Pick draw no bet when you want your money back on a draw, and 1X when you want to be paid for it.

A double chance bet is settled on the result after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Betway Ghana's rules state that all match markets are based on the result at the end of a scheduled 90 minutes of play unless otherwise stated. Extra time, a penalty shootout and golden goal are not included. A cup tie level at 1-1 after 90 minutes settles as a draw for 1X and X2 even if the away team goes through on penalties.

A match abandoned before the 90 minutes are completed is void under the same rules, and the stake comes back. Check the rules page of your own operator before you build accumulators, because the wording differs from site to site. The comparison of betting sites in Ghana notes which brands sit on the Gaming Commission register. The mobile money betting sites page covers getting a GH₵50 stake in and a GH₵84.50 return back out. Betting is for adults aged 18 and over; the Gaming Commission's line is 0800 454 545 if it stops being a game.

• Betway Ghana: sportsbook rules (90-minute settlement, double chance, abandoned matches)
• Pulse Ghana, 19 February 2026: Football betting in Ghana, EPL and GPL games
• Gaming Commission of Ghana: licensed operators register