Introduction
If you're placing Lucky 15s with the wrong bookmaker, there's a good chance you're throwing money away.
Most punters don’t realise just how much difference the bookmaker can make to your Lucky 15 returns. It’s not just about odds – it’s about how they handle bonuses, Best Odds Guaranteed, Rule 4s, and payouts when only one selection wins. Get it wrong, and you could miss out on hundreds, even thousands of pounds.
In this guide, we’ll break down the numbers and show why bet365 consistently delivers the best value on Lucky 15s. Before you place another bet, make sure you're not leaving money on the table.
bet365 Lucky 15 Bonus – 15% Extra When All Four Win
While some bookmakers offer a 10% bonus when all four selections in your Lucky 15 bet win, bet365 stands out with a 15% bonus – the highest on the market. That extra 5% might not sound like much, but it can mean a significant difference in returns, especially on larger wins.
To put this into perspective, here’s a comparison of what you’d get back from each bookmaker if you placed a £1 per line Lucky 15 (total stake £15) on four horses, each at 7/1, and they all won:
Bookmaker | Returns | Difference |
---|---|---|
bet365 | £7,544 | - |
William Hill | £7,216 | -£328 |
Unibet | £7,216 | -£328 |
Betfred | £7,216 | -£328 |
Coral | £7,216 | -£328 |
SkyBet | £6,560 | -£984 |
Paddy Power | £6,560 | -£984 |
Betfair | £6,560 | -£984 |
888Sport | £6,560 | -£984 |
Ladbrokes | £6,560 | -£984 |
BetVictor | £6,560 | -£984 |
As the table shows, our lucky 15 on bet365 returned £7,544 – made up of a £6,560 base return plus a 15% all-winners bonus worth £984. That’s £328 more than bookmakers offering a 10% bonus and nearly £1,000 more than bookmakers offering no bonus at all.
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Best Odds Guaranteed on Lucky 15s – Why It Matters
One of the most important factors when placing a Lucky 15 is whether the bookmaker applies Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG). With bet365, BOG covers all UK and Irish horse racing bets placed after 08:00 on the day of the race – including Lucky 15s. So if you take an early price and the Starting Price (SP) drifts higher, bet365 will pay you at the better odds.
While many bookmakers offer BOG on singles, fewer extend it to multiples like Lucky 15s – and those that do often include restrictions. Betfred, for example, excludes Lucky 15s from BOG altogether. Paddy Power applies BOG but caps payouts at just £1,000 per day. Sky Bet and BetVictor delay BOG until 09:00, so bets placed before then wouldn’t qualify.
To show how much this matters, let’s revisit our earlier scenario: a £1 per line Lucky 15 (total stake £15) placed at 08:00 on four horses, each priced at 7/1. All four win, but one drifts to an SP of 14/1.
Bookmaker | Returns | Difference |
---|---|---|
bet365 | £13,412 | - |
William Hill | £12,829 | -£583 |
Unibet | £12,829 | -£583 |
Coral | £12,829 | -£583 |
888Sport | £11,663 | -£1,749 |
Ladbrokes | £11,663 | -£1,749 |
Paddy Power | £7,560 | -£5,852 |
Betfred | £7,216 | -£6,196 |
SkyBet | £6,560 | -£6,852 |
Betfair | £6,560 | -£6,852 |
BetVictor | £6,560 | -£6,852 |
In this situation, bet365 returns a massive £13,412 – thanks to both best odds guaranteed and their 15% all-winners bonus. That’s more than double the payout from bookmakers like Betfair, who offer neither BOG nor a bonus. Sky Bet and BetVictor also returned just £6,560, as their BOG doesn’t apply until 09:00 and they don't pay a bonus either.
Betfred performed slightly better at £7,216 thanks to a 10% bonus, but they don’t apply BOG to Lucky 15s – resulting in a return over £6,000 lower than bet365’s. Paddy Power returned £7,560, but their £1,000 BOG cap significantly reduced the payout. Ladbrokes and 888Sport applied BOG but offered no all-winners bonus. Meanwhile, William Hill, Coral and Unibet came closer to bet365’s total thanks to BOG and a 10% bonus – but still fell short by over £500.
When you combine both Best Odds Guaranteed and a 15% all-winners bonus, it’s clear why bet365 is the standout choice for Lucky 15 punters. You’ll benefit from better odds if a horse drifts – and still get the extra payout when all four win.
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Rule 4 Deductions – bet365’s Advantage
Seasoned punters are no strangers to Rule 4 deductions – the standard bookmaker policy for adjusting payouts when a horse is withdrawn from a race. The size of the deduction depends on the odds of the withdrawn runner. For example, if an even-money favourite is withdrawn, Rule 4 will reduce winnings by 45%. But even when longer-priced horses are pulled out, deductions still apply.
In particular, a 5% Rule 4 is applied when a withdrawn horse was priced between 10/1 and 14/1 – and most bookmakers enforce this deduction automatically. bet365, however, takes a different approach: they do not apply 5% Rule 4 deductions. This means if a horse in a race is withdrawn at 14/1, and that would normally trigger a 5% reduction in winnings, bet365 will simply waive it.
It may sound like a small detail, but those 5% deductions can quickly add up – especially in a Lucky 15 where multiple races might be affected by non-runners. While other bookies quietly chip away at your profits, bet365’s punter-friendly policy ensures your return isn’t unfairly reduced.
Let’s return to our running example: a £1 per line Lucky 15 (total stake £15) placed at 08:00 on four horses, each priced at 7/1. All four win, one drifts to 14/1 SP, and now each race sees one horse withdrawn at 10/1 (5% R4) and another at 11/1 (5% R4) – triggering a 10% Rule 4 deduction in total at most bookies. A 5% deduction is triggered with Coral, Ladbrokes & William Hill (who waive the first 5p R4 in each race) but no deduction with bet365.
Bookmaker | Returns | Difference |
---|---|---|
bet365 | £13,412 | - |
William Hill | £11,390 | -£2,022 |
Coral | £11,390 | -£2,022 |
Ladbrokes | £10,354 | -£3,058 |
Unibet | £10,062 | -£3,350 |
888Sport | £9,148 | -£4,264 |
Paddy Power | £5,745 | -£7,667 |
Betfred | £5,219 | -£8,193 |
SkyBet | £4,745 | -£8,667 |
Betfair | £4,745 | -£8,667 |
BetVictor | £4,745 | -£8,667 |
bet365 has pulled even further ahead – returning a full £13,412 on the same bet, untouched by 5p Rule 4s. Every other bookmaker applied a deduction. William Hill and Coral returned £2,022 less, Ladbrokes were down by £3,058, and Unibet and 888Sport fell short by £3,350 and £4,264 respectively. At the bottom of the table, Sky Bet, Betfair and BetVictor trailed by £8,667.
When you stack up the 15% all-winners bonus, Best Odds Guaranteed, and waived 5p Rule 4 deductions, it’s clear why bet365 is the go-to choice for Lucky 15 bettors. They consistently give you more back – and take less away.
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Double Odds One Winner (Consolation Payout)
One of the biggest attractions of a Lucky 15 is the consolation payout when only one of your four selections wins. bet365 honours the traditional concession of double odds one winner, meaning if you land just one winner and the rest lose, you get paid at twice the odds. This can often cover your total stake, turning a loss into at least a break-even outcome at odds over 7/1. For example, suppose you place a £1 per line win-only Lucky 15 (total £15 stake) on four horses each at odds of 7/1. If only one horse wins and the rest lose:
- bet365 will pay that winner at 14/1 (double odds). Your return from that single winning bet would be £15 (14/1 returns £14 profit + £1 stake), which repays your £15 stake in full. In other words, you break even instead of losing money.
- Most other bookmakers simply pay the normal odds for one winner (7/1 in this case). That single winning bet would return only £8 (£7 profit + £1 stake). The other 14 bets lose, so you’d end up getting back just £8 from a £15 outlay – a loss of £7.
This difference is crucial for casual punters: with bet365 your one winner at decent odds can rescue your bet, whereas with many rivals you’d still be out of pocket. Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, 888sport, Ladbrokes, Coral and BetVictor are among those who do not offer any one-winner bonus on Lucky 15s. As a result, with these bookies one winner yields only the regular odds and a loss on the bet.
It’s worth mentioning that a couple of other major firms do still offer a one-winner bonus: for instance, William Hill and Unibet also promise double odds for one winner. Meanwhile, Betfred goes further by offering treble the odds for a single winner on a Lucky 15. However, Betfred’s triple-odds perk comes with a trade-off – as mentioned earlier, Betfred does not provide Best Odds Guaranteed on Lucky 15s. Overall, bet365’s double-odds concession is among the best available and, importantly, is combined with all the other advantages above. For the average punter, this means if your Lucky 15 has a sole winner, bet365 will pay significantly more than most competitors.
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Conclusion
Choosing where to place your Lucky 15 bet can hugely affect your returns. bet365 distinguishes itself as the top bookmaker for Lucky 15s by combining multiple generous concessions that no single rival fully matches. To recap, with bet365 you get:
- Double odds if only one selection wins – cushioning your losses and returning your stake if you only manage one winner at 7/1 or greater.
- A 15% bonus on all-correct Lucky 15s – the highest in the market, exceeding the 10% offered by some bookmakers and significantly better than those offering no bonus at all.
- Best Odds Guaranteed on Lucky bets – meaning you’ll always be paid at the biggest odds for each winner (vital if a horse’s SP is higher than the price you took). Many competitors either don’t offer BOG on Lucky 15s or impose harsh time restrictions/payout limits that can hurt your potential win. bet365’s BOG from 8am and high payout cap of £1,000,000 ensure you don’t miss out.
- No 5% Rule 4 deductions – bet365 won’t chip away at your winnings when minor non-runners occur, unlike most other bookies that quietly take 5% off each affected leg. Over multiple races this can preserve a lot of your profit.
Crucially, bet365 is the only major bookmaker that offers all of these advantages together. Some others might have one or two (e.g. one-winner double odds, or a smaller bonus, etc.), but none package everything as comprehensively. For the punter, this means bet365 gives the best overall value on Lucky 15s. Whether you’re a casual bettor who appreciates the safety net of double odds for one winner, or a serious backer chasing big wins with all four up, bet365’s terms ensure you maximize your returns in every scenario. In tough outcomes (just one winner), they limit your losses; in dream outcomes (four winners and a big SP drift), they amplify your gains.
In short, if you enjoy Lucky 15 betting, bet365 is the standout choice. Their generous one-winner payout, superior all-winner bonus, commitment to Best Odds Guaranteed, and fair handling of Rule 4 all tilt the odds in your favour. Over time, these can make a noticeable difference to your betting balance. When every other bookmaker might pay you less – or even leave you with a loss – on the exact same Lucky 15, bet365 consistently pays you more. That is why bet365 is widely regarded as the best bookmaker for Lucky 15 bets today. Your winning Lucky 15s will be luckier and your near-misses less painful when you place them with bet365. Good luck, and happy punting!
Sources: The comparisons and examples above are based on current Lucky 15 bonus terms and conditions from leading UK bookmakers, as researched by The Tipster League. These show how bet365’s Lucky 15 concessions (double odds one winner, 15% bonus, BOG from 8am, no 5p Rule 4) outshine those of competitors like Sky Bet, Paddy Power, William Hill, Betfair, Betfred, and others. All figures (e.g. returns of £7,544 vs £6,560, or £13,412 vs £5,597) were calculated using those bookmakers’ stated terms and demonstrate the real monetary impact of bet365’s superior policies.
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