William Hill bet rules
How William Hill settles horse racing bets: Rule 4, each-way terms, Lucky 15, 31 and 63 extras, dead heats and the most you can win. Taken from William Hill's own published rules and checked on 30 October 2026. This site is not connected to William Hill.
Use the calculator with these rules
At a glance
- Rule 4: the standard scale below, but a 5p deduction is waived. Only the parts of a multiple that include the withdrawn horse are reduced. No more than 90p in the £ in total.
- Lucky 15, 31 and 63: one winner is paid at double the odds, and all winners earns a bonus of 10%, 20% or 25% on the winnings. Details below.
- Each-way: 1/4 odds for four places in handicaps of 16 or more runners. If horses are withdrawn, the revised terms apply.
- Biggest win in a day: from £100,000 to £1,000,000, depending on the race class.
- Dead heats and non-runners: the same as the calculator works them out.
Rule 4 deductions
If a horse is withdrawn after the final declaration and before the off, winning bets are reduced under Tattersalls' Rule 4. In a multiple, only the parts of the bet that involve the withdrawn horse are reduced.
| Price of the withdrawn horse | Deduction in the £ |
|---|---|
| 1/9 or shorter | 90p |
| 2/11 to 2/17 | 85p |
| 1/4 to 1/5 | 80p |
| 3/10 to 2/7 | 75p |
| 2/5 to 1/3 | 70p |
| 8/15 to 4/9 | 65p |
| 8/13 to 4/7 | 60p |
| 4/5 to 4/6 | 55p |
| 20/21 to 5/6 | 50p |
| Evens to 6/5 | 45p |
| 5/4 to 6/4 | 40p |
| 8/5 to 7/4 | 35p |
| 9/5 to 9/4 | 30p |
| 12/5 to 3/1 | 25p |
| 16/5 to 4/1 | 20p |
| 9/2 to 11/2 | 15p |
| 6/1 to 9/1 | 10p |
| 10/1 to 14/1 | 5p |
| Over 14/1 | None |
- If two or more horses are withdrawn, the total deduction is never more than 90p in the £.
- If the total deduction is 5p in the £, it is waived. No other bookmaker we have checked says this.
- On ante-post bets there is no Rule 4, except when a horse is balloted out and the stake is refunded.
- In a re-run race, bets at William Hill prices on horses in the re-run stand with a Rule 4 deduction. Ante-post and Starting Price bets get no deduction.
For a full explanation of Rule 4, see rule4.co.uk.
Lucky 15, Lucky 31 and Lucky 63
William Hill sets out extra payments on these bets in its betting rules. They are part of how the bet is settled, not a limited-time offer.
| Bet | Only one winner | All winners |
|---|---|---|
| Lucky 15 (4 horses) | Paid at double the odds | 10% added to the total winnings |
| Lucky 31 (5 horses) | Paid at double the odds | 20% added to the total winnings |
| Lucky 63 (6 horses) | Paid at double the odds | 25% added to the total winnings (6 of 6) |
Lucky 63 also has a 10% addition for 5 winners out of 6.
The conditions:
- Only one selection in each race.
- Horses or greyhounds at Starting Price or a William Hill price. Ante-post prices do not qualify.
- Level stakes on every bet.
- All selections must run.
- In an each-way bet, the “only one winner” payment applies only to the win part.
- Any bonus William Hill advertises on Yankees, Canadians and Heinzes does not apply to Lucky 15, 31 and 63.
What the calculator includes: the double-odds payment for one winner, and the all-winners bonus on win-only bets. What it leaves out, because the rules do not say how it works: the all-winners bonus on each-way bets, the 10% for five winners out of six on a Lucky 63, and anything involving a dead heat or a non-runner. In those cases the calculator tells you so.
Try a Lucky 15 with William Hill rules
Each-way terms
William Hill takes each-way bets on races of five or more runners. These are the terms it calls the industry standard, unless special terms are shown when you place the bet.
| Race | Runners | Fraction of the odds | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any race | Fewer than 5 | No place part: the whole stake is on the win | |
| Any race | 5 to 7 | 1/4 | 1st and 2nd |
| Not a handicap | 8 or more | 1/5 | 1st, 2nd and 3rd |
| Handicap | 8 to 11 | 1/5 | 1st, 2nd and 3rd |
| Handicap | 12 to 15 | 1/4 | 1st, 2nd and 3rd |
| Handicap | 16 or more | 1/4 | 1st to 4th |
- The runners that count are the horses that actually take part. If a horse is withdrawn and the number of runners drops, your each-way bet is settled on the revised terms, however early you placed it. Their example: a 16-runner handicap that has 15 runners pays three places.
- Each-way multiples are two separate bets: the win parts are multiplied together and the place parts are multiplied together.
- A £5 each-way bet costs £10 in total.
Try the each-way finder with William Hill terms
Dead heats
The stake on a horse is divided by the number of horses in the dead heat and the full odds are paid on that share. William Hill's example: £10 at 10/1 in a dead heat of two returns £55.
Non-runners
Single bets: the stake is returned. In a multiple, the stake runs on to the remaining selections, so a treble becomes a double.
First past the post
If the stewards change the result before the weigh-in, win bets and the win part of each-way bets are paid on both the official result and the first past the post. This is for UK and Irish races only, and does not apply to the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, the Derby, the Scottish Grand National, ante-post bets, forecasts and tricasts, void races and special markets. It does not apply to horses that are placed and then demoted.
Most you can win in a day
These limits are on your winnings, not counting your stake, for one customer in one day, however many bets and channels. Where a multiple has horses with different limits, the lowest applies.
| UK and Irish racing, main win or each-way market | Biggest win |
|---|---|
| Group, Graded, Listed and Class 1 and 2 races, and Irish Premier Handicaps | £1,000,000 |
| Class 3 and 4 races (UK only) | £500,000 |
| Class 5, 6 and 7 races and other UK and Irish races | £250,000 |
| Other markets (Bet Builder, specials, money back, betting without, forecasts, tricasts) | £50,000 |
| Other racing | Biggest win |
|---|---|
| All other countries, main win or each-way market | £100,000 |
| Major international meetings (Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Dubai World Cup, Breeders' Cup) | £1,000,000 |
| Charity and Arabian races | £25,000 |
| Future races: Cheltenham Festival, English Classics, Grand National | £1,000,000 |
| Future races: all other UK and Ireland | £250,000 |
| Tote bets into the Totepool | No limit |
| Tote bets not entered into the Totepool | £10,000 |
| Racing without a full service | £25,000 |
The calculator cannot know the class of your race, so it warns you when your winnings are over a limit and asks you to check the race.
What is not here
William Hill does not publish a smallest stake in these rules. Offers such as Best Odds Guaranteed, price boosts and free bets are separate promotions, so this calculator does not include them.
Where this comes from
- Rules for All Sports Bets on William Hill Sportsbook (the Fair Deal Rules, effective 20 December 2025)
- UK and Irish Horse Racing, in William Hill's Sports Betting Rules (Sports Betting Rules)
- Bonus and Consolation Bets: Rules
- Terms and Conditions: UK, Jersey and Gibraltar Customers (version 2026/1.4)
Checked on 30 October 2026. Bookmakers change their rules, so this page can go out of date. It is a plain summary and not the bookmaker's own wording. William Hill's own rules decide what you are paid. 18+ only. BeGambleAware.org.