What Is a Goliath Bet and How Does a 247-Line Full Cover Work?

Updated October 2026

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Last updated: 27 October 2026 · Verified against the Gambling Commission’s public register

A Goliath is the largest full cover bet most punters ever place. Eight selections, 247 bets inside the one stake and any return hinges on a chain of legs all landing. The mechanism is straightforward; the cost is not. This page explains the structure, the payout arithmetic, the licence any bookmaker needs to offer it to a customer in Great Britain, and the ten bookmakers on the Commission’s current register that do.

The bet itself: 8 selections, 247 lines

A Goliath is one named bet type on a betting slip. It carries every possible multiple from double upward across eight chosen selections, but no singles. That single design choice puts it at the far end of the full cover family, where the line count multiplies with each new selection.

The 247 number falls out of a combinatorial rule. From 8 selections, the number of distinct combinations of k selections, summed over every k from 2 through 8, totals 247. Those 247 combinations split into doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds, six-folds, seven-folds and one eight-fold. Every leg sits inside at least one line; no leg stands alone.

Six of the lines are doubles (28, taken from C(8,2)). Twenty-eight of them are trebles (C(8,3) = 56; correction — C(8,3) is 56, not 28). A Goliath splits cleanly across the seven multiple tiers, each tier paying independently if its legs all win.

Because no singles are included, the bet needs at least two of the eight legs to win to return anything at all. A 1-from-8 outcome produces zero. A 2-from-8 wins one of the doubles and nothing else. The payout structure rewards breadth across the card.

Settling happens line by line. Each of the 247 lines settles as its own bet. A treble that wins pays treble-odds times its share of the stake; a four-fold that wins pays four-fold odds; and so on. Adding up the winnings across every winning line, then adding back the stake on each winning line, gives the total return. Bookmakers run that arithmetic automatically when the bet is placed, showing a maximum payout if every leg wins.

The unit stake is the figure the punter enters. It applies to each of the 247 lines, so a £1 Goliath costs £247 to place and a £0.10 Goliath costs £24.70. Total exposure is the unit stake multiplied by 247, every time. That exposure is the first number to know about any full cover bet before placing one.

Where the Goliath sits in the full cover family

Full cover bets are a family named by how many selections they cover and which multiples they include. The smaller relatives sit just below the Goliath. Each one adds selection count and line count together, and the line total rises fast.

A Lucky 63 sits at six selections and 63 bets, including singles. Take the singles out and you get the Super Heinz — six selections in 57 bets. A Lucky 31 covers five selections in 31 bets; remove the singles and the Canadian, also known as the Super Yankee, is five selections in 26 bets. A Lucky 15 on four selections in 15 bets reduces to the Yankee at 11 bets when the singles drop out. Below that, the Trixie covers three selections in 4 bets and the Patent covers three in 7.

The names Heinz and Super Heinz are not random. A Heinz sits at 57 lines because 57 varieties of product is the shorthand the brand made famous — coined to match that number — and Super Heinz adds a seventh selection which lifts the count to 120. The Goliath name has no such commercial origin; it is simply a label for the 247-line form.

A full cover bet is defined as all available multiple bets over a given number of selections. The Lucky variants are full cover bets that include singles; the plain-numbered covers (Trixie, Yankee, Canadian, Heinz, Goliath) are full cover bets without singles. Knowing which multiples sit inside the bet is what tells the punter what a return actually depends on.

The payout arithmetic, from stake and odds to total return

A payout calculation comes down to a simple formula: for any single bet, the return equals the stake multiplied by the odds. Net profit, the amount above the original stake, equals the stake multiplied by (odds minus 1). All odds on a British betting slip sit in one of two formats — fractional, written as 5/1 or 11/4, or decimal, written as 6.00 or 3.75. Fractional odds a/b convert to decimal by dividing and adding 1, so 5/1 becomes 6.00 and 11/4 becomes 3.75. Some bookmakers display fractional as default, others decimal; the math is identical either way once conversion is done.

A combination bet — a double, treble, or any accumulator — multiplies the odds of its legs into a single price. A double at odds of 1.50 and 2.00 prices at 1.50 × 2.00 = 3.00. A treble at 1.50, 2.00 and 2.50 prices at 1.50 × 2.00 × 2.50 = 7.50. The return on any single line is that multiplied price times the unit stake.

Illustrative worked example: an accumulator on three legs at odds of 1/2 (1.50), evens (2.00) and 6/4 (2.50), with a £10 stake, settles at a return of £10 × (1.50 × 2.00 × 2.50) = £10 × 7.50 = £75 if all three legs win. Net profit is £75 − £10 = £65. Drop one leg and the bet loses; every accumulator is all-or-nothing on its leg set.

For the same three selections in a full cover arrangement, the unit stake is £2 per line. The total stake on every available combination sits at £2 multiplied by however many lines the bet carries. Whether that delivers more or less than the accumulator depends on which legs win, how many win, and the odds involved. A path through the smaller lines when the accumulator itself collapses is where the full cover earns its keep.

The bookmaker’s margin sits inside every quoted price. It is what the bookmaker keeps from every unit staked across the market. For a market with two or three mutually exclusive outcomes — a 1X2 football result, a tennis match winner — the margin can be read from the prices. If a football match prices Home at 2.10, Draw at 3.40 and Away at 3.50, the implied probabilities are roughly 0.476, 0.294 and 0.286; summed they total about 1.056; this represents an overround of 5.6% and a margin of about 5.3%. Adding more selections to any accumulator multiplies the margin in the same direction — an accumulator is not a neutral cost.

How a Goliath settles in practice

Settlement runs in two passes inside the bookmaker’s system. The first pass scores each of the eight legs as a winner, loser, void (a non-runner in horse racing, a postponed match) or push (an Asian handicap that lands exactly on the line). The second pass walks the 247 lines and declares each one a winner or loser based on whether all its legs won.

A voided leg is treated as a winner at odds of 1.00 for the purpose of accumulators it sits inside. That effectively drops the line count — a Goliath with two voids becomes a Goliath on six selections. A non-runner in horse racing reduces the bet by Rule 4 deduction in some bookmakers. Each bookmaker publishes its Rule 4 table in its terms.

Payout timing differs from pre-match settlement. A Goliath on horse racing where the final leg runs last settles the morning after the meeting. An in-play leg or a leg settled by official result later than the others still goes into the eventual calculation. A winning return credits to the account once every leg is fully resolved.

Cash Out changes the timing. Where Cash Out is available, the bookmaker offers a real-time valuation of the unsettled bet. The valuation depends on the remaining legs, their live prices, and the bookmaker’s own margin on the cash-out quote. Accepting Cash Out locks in a figure that is typically below the expected value of waiting for settlement.

Which ten UK-licensed bookmakers feature on the comparison

Ten operators appear here, each one verified against the Commission’s public register. Every entry holds a remote general betting standard (real events) licence and offers its market under its own terms. The order reflects editorial selection; the licence data below is the registered truth.

Fafabet. Operated by Taichi Tech Limited under Commission account 57385. Pays Best Odds Guaranteed on UK and Irish horse racing win and each-way bets from 9am on race days, with the starting price honoured where it exceeds the original price. The full cover family fits within the racing and football offering, with each-way stakes doubling the line count.

Betway. Operated by Betway Limited under Commission account 39372. The new-customer free-bet package pays £40 in free bet tokens (four tokens of £10) on settlement of a first bet of at least £10 at minimum odds of 2.0, with a seven-day expiry and debit card deposits only. The full cover market is available on football, racing and other sports once the qualifying bet has settled.

Bar One Racing. Operated by Bar-One Racing Limited under Commission account 56516. The brand has rebranded to BAR 1 Betting, an Irish independent bookmaker with shops across Ireland and horse racing sponsorships at Dundalk, Fairyhouse, Navan, The Curragh, Curraheen Park and Cork. Pool betting and full cover multiples are offered on the racing product.

Unibet. Operated by Platinum Gaming Limited, Gibraltar under Commission account 45322. The site states Unibet has operated since 1999. The sports welcome offer is structured as get £40 in free bets when you bet £20, on a £20 deposit-and-bet minimum at 2.0 (1/1) minimum odds, free bets expiring within seven days of issue for new customers paying by debit card or instant bank transfer. The full cover range covers the major sports plus a same-game multi builder.

DAZN Bet. Operated by DZBT Limited under Commission account 48756. The site offers Cash Out, Bet Builder, daily bet boosts and in-play betting. Cash Out availability is not guaranteed on every market and bets stand at the original terms if the cash-out button is absent. Full cover bets are offered on football, with settlement following standard multiple rules.

Midnite. Operated by Midnite Limited under Commission account 101839. The site shows in-play events, an acca builder, popular accas and price boosts with stated maximum-stake limits. The new-customer offer for pre-match odds of EVS (2.0) or greater within 14 days of sign-up pays £25 in free bets and 50 free spins, valid for seven days. Full cover bets are placed through the standard slip.

Sporting Index. Operated by Sporting Index Limited under Commission account 27343. This is a hybrid bookmaker mixing fixed-odds with spread betting. The new-customer offer is a £10 fixed-odds bet at minimum odds of 1/2 unlocking three £10 fixed-odds free bets, three £5 Total Goals spread bets, three £5 Winning Favourites spread bets and a £1 Race Index spread bet. The qualifying bet cannot be placed in play or cashed out early. Full cover bets apply to the fixed-odds side of the product.

BetMGM. Operated by LeoVegas Gaming PLC under Commission account 39198. The sports welcome offer for new UK customers depositing £10 and placing a sports bet within seven days pays four £10 free bets, structured as two football accumulators of four or more selections and two sports multiples of two or more, valid for seven days with minimum odds and opt-in required. The full cover family is fully supported across football and other sports.

Fitzwilliam Sports. Operated by SBKI Limited under Commission account 48760. Prices are built on Oddschecker’s average price for each selection. Apple and Google mobile apps carry the product. Full cover betting is available with average-priced legs that tend to track the broader market.

Octobet. Operated by Octopus Game Limited under Commission account 62545. Best Odds Guaranteed applies to UK and Irish horse racing, capped at £150 per customer per race. The full cover range is offered across racing and football with each-way multiples fully supported.

A live check is one search away: the Commission’s public register at the address gamblers check directly can be searched by business name, trading name, domain or account number. A licence number printed on a footer or app description is the starting point, not the proof — the register is the test.

The legal frame in Great Britain

The Gambling Commission, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, licenses the whole commercial market under the Gambling Act 2005. The 2005 Act covers Great Britain — England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland sits outside the Act under its own older law; a GB-licensed operator is not the same as a Northern Ireland-licensed operator.

Since the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, an operator whose remote facilities are used in Great Britain needs a Commission licence wherever it is based, under sections 33 and 36 of the 2005 Act as amended. A Curaçao, Maltese or Gibraltar licence is not a substitute. The point of consumption rule is the whole frame: it is where the customer is, not where the company is registered, that decides which licence applies.

There is no state monopoly and no cap on the number of licences. An operator holds a licence for a category and offers markets under its own rules and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The relevant categories for a Goliath bet are remote general betting standard (real events) and the related pool betting categories. A betting exchange sits under a separate licence category (betting intermediary). Financial spread betting, where losses can exceed the deposit, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority rather than the Commission.

No statutory list of permitted bets exists. An operator decides what markets to offer within its licence category, and the Commission’s enforcement sits on the rules in the LCCP rather than on a positive list of events. Esports are treated like any other event; virtual events are a separate licence category; bets on politics, TV shows and novelty markets are offered by GB bookmakers and no statutory prohibition was found. In-play betting is offered by GB bookmakers; the controls are operator-level licence conditions and customer-protection duties rather than a blanket rule.

Age and identity sit on the operator side. The minimum age is 18. Since 7 May 2019, name, address and date of birth are verified before a customer can deposit or gamble, including with a free bet or bonus. Anonymous play is not possible at a licensed site.

Advertising, bonuses and the promotional floor

Advertising is not licensed by the Commission. It runs through the CAP Code (non-broadcast) and BCAP Code (broadcast), enforced by the ASA, alongside the LCCP marketing conditions. CAP Code section 16 sets the social responsibility floor: marketing must not be of strong appeal to under-18s, and no one who is or seems to be under 25 may be featured gambling or play a significant role, with an exception for marketing placed where a bet can be made directly. That rule concerns who may appear in an advertisement, not who may bet.

Promotional rules in force since 19 January 2026 cap wagering requirements on bonuses at 10x — a £10 bonus at 50x would require £500 of bets; under the cap no more than £100. Mixed-product promotions, offers that demand gambling on two or more product types such as betting, casino, bingo and lottery, are banned. Whether the cap applies to free bets with no wagering condition, and any cap on the money value of a bonus, are not established.

The whistle-to-whistle rule is an industry code, not statute: since 1 August 2019 betting advertisements are not shown on TV from five minutes before a live sporting event to five minutes after it, before the 9pm watershed (horse and greyhound racing excluded). The Premier League clubs’ withdrawal of gambling sponsorship from the front of matchday shirts (from 2026/27; sleeves and hoardings remain) is voluntary, not law.

Tax

The player pays no tax on betting winnings in Great Britain. General Betting Duty is the operator’s tax on gross profits, currently 15%; from 1 April 2027 a new remote betting rate of 25% applies within it, while remote bets on UK horse racing, bets on self-service betting terminals in licensed premises, pool betting and in-person betting stay at 15%. Spread betting has its own rates — 3% on financial spread betting and 10% on other spread bets. Until 1 April 2027 the remote rate stays at 15%. Whether operators pass duty on through odds is not established, and any claim that the customer is charged duty is a misreading.

What a Goliath costs the bettor

Two numbers carry the cost: the total stake the punter commits, and the expected loss the bookmaker’s margin hides inside the prices. Both depend on the same three inputs — unit stake, number of lines, and the price of each leg — but they say different things.

The total stake is the unit stake times 247. A £1 Goliath costs £247; a £0.50 Goliath costs £123.50; a £0.10 Goliath costs £24.70. The figure prints on the betting slip at placement. It is the floor of the cost: whatever happens to the legs, this is the amount at risk.

The expected loss is harder to read but more important. It is the margin built into every quoted price, multiplied by the total stake, expressed as an average across many bets. A bookmaker running a 5% margin on football 1X2 markets and offering a Goliath on the same selections will, on average across many placed Goliaths, keep around 5% of the total stake once the bet is settled — and the bettor loses around 5% on average across the same set of bets. There is no guarantee for any single bet; this is an average over many.

The third cost sits with each-way betting. Each-way doubles the line count because it places an identical-stake bet on the place part as well. A £1 Goliath each-way costs £494, not £247, with place terms decided by the bookmaker for the event type — typically a quarter of the win odds for handicaps of a quarter or longer in field sizes common to horse racing. The bookmaker’s terms page lists each-way fractions by sport.

A free bet token changes the cost in a different direction. Where the bookmaker offers a free bet rather than a cash stake, the free bet stake is usually not returned with a winning bet — only the profit comes back. The free bet value at average odds can be estimated as the free bet amount multiplied by (odds minus 1), divided by odds, then multiplied by the market’s payout share. On a £10 free bet at average odds of 4.00 on a market with a 95% payout share, the expected value is around £10 × 3.00/4.00 × 0.95 = £7.13 on average, across many bets. The free bet still has cost — it is not equivalent to cash.

A Goliath combining a free bet token, an each-way structure and a high-margin market multiplies the cost complexity. None of the rules reverses any of the others; they stack.

Where Goliath bets fit in a betting strategy

Bankroll is the first discipline. A Goliath at £1 per line commits £247 to a single card. Most staking plans allocate one to two percent of bank to any single line; a Goliath of seven-point-five percent of bank would be considered large for a single placement. The shape of the bet, an 8-leg full cover with no safety net on the single level, asks for a bank that can absorb a sequence of losers.

Selection logic is the second. A Goliath is not a license to pick eight likely winners on a Saturday; it is a structure for converting a decent number of short-priced selections into a long-odds payout. The legs run best at prices between roughly 1.20 and 2.00 — short enough to be likely, long enough that the lines pay meaningful multiples. Selecting eight legs at odds shorter than 1.20 each leaves the bet unlikely to pay a notable return; eight legs at odds longer than 5.00 each leave the bet unlikely to return at all.

Sector specialisation changes the picture. Football across multiple leagues on one Saturday is a common Goliath shape. Horse racing across multiple meetings is another. The mix should not run across radically different forms — a horse race, a Premier League match and an NFL game don’t share a model for predicting outcomes. A Goliath needs a coherent basis across the legs.

Timing gates the payout. The eight legs do not settle at the same time. In football, the legs spread across the Saturday and Sunday card. In horse racing, they spread across multiple meetings. Settling only finishes when the last leg is off. A single postponed match in football or a non-runner in racing delays the payout; a voided leg reduces the line count and changes the math.

Bonuses on top of a Goliath ask their own question. A welcome offer requiring turnover at a multiple of the bonus at minimum odds above a threshold typically takes a lot of betting through the bonus balance. The wagering cap of 10x (see above) means a £10 bonus needs £100 of qualifying bets at minimum odds. A Goliath can swallow that requirement, but only if the qualifying odds are short enough to count — minimum price clauses (often 2.00 or higher) cut half the legs out of qualifying stake. Always read the terms.

Responsible gambling in Great Britain

GAMSTOP is the national multi-operator online self-exclusion scheme, a mandatory licence condition for online operators since 31 March 2020. Self-exclusion runs for six months, one year, five years, or five years with auto-renewal. After the minimum period the exclusion stays in place for a further seven years unless the customer asks GAMSTOP to remove it. GAMSTOP covers online sites and apps; betting shops use a separate service.

A financial vulnerability check (LCCP condition 3.4.4, in force since 30 August 2024) applies to licensed remote betting when a customer’s deposits minus withdrawals exceed £150 in a rolling 30 days (since 28 February 2025). It is a public-record check — for example, bankruptcy or county court judgments — not an income check and not a credit reference check. Financial risk assessments (the affordability checks of public discussion) are announced in a staged plan, with no start date established.

Deposit limits (RTS 12) require operators to offer a gross deposit limit on a fixed timeframe; the first changes have applied since 31 October 2025, a second phase was postponed to 30 September 2026. Limits remain the customer’s choice — there is no state-set ceiling. A Goliath placed within a self-imposed deposit cap still counts against the cap in full.

Help is available. GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline. GambleAware supports treatment and education. NHS gambling clinics run across the regions. Gamblers Anonymous runs mutual-aid meetings. None of these services is a substitute for self-exclusion or a bank-managed block, but each is reachable through the standard channels.

Credit cards and payments

Credit cards are banned for gambling in Great Britain — since 14 April 2020, under LCCP condition 6.1.2 — including credit-card-funded payments through an e-wallet. Debit cards and bank-based payments are not covered by that ban. Identity verification at the point of first deposit is mandatory for any licensed operator, so anonymous play is not available. Source-of-funds questions at higher spend are routine under money-laundering rules. Cryptocurrency deposits, named-account rules and any state list of permitted payment methods are not established at the regulatory level — describe payments from each operator’s own terms.

Customer protection at GB-licensed operators — and what unlicensed sites do not offer

A GB-licensed operator running a Goliath bet sits inside the full consumer frame. That frame includes GAMSTOP coverage, a Commission complaints route, an approved alternative dispute resolution body (IBAS for betting), and British consumer redress if funds are wrongly withheld. The 10x bonus cap and the £150 financial vulnerability check apply. The bonus cap means a £10 sign-up offer, if it carries a wagering requirement, can require at most £100 of qualifying bets — which itself is the ceiling on how much that particular promotion costs in playthrough.

An unlicensed site offers none of those protections. No GAMSTOP coverage; the self-exclusion does not travel. No Commission complaints route; no approved ADR body. No British consumer redress if funds are withheld. The 10x bonus cap and the £150 vulnerability check do not apply. Section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005 makes it an offence to provide gambling facilities in Great Britain without the licence the Act requires — on summary conviction, up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment, a fine up to level 5, or both; six months in Scotland. The section applies to the operator, not the customer.

Enforcement is disruption, not blocking: cease-and-desist notices, search-engine referrals, work with registrars, hosts and payment providers. The Commission has been given, or is about to receive, court-order DNS blocking powers — never write that ISP blocking is in operation. Honest framing for the customer: licensed = checks, limits, GAMSTOP, bonus cap, and verification before the first bet; unlicensed = none of those protections and possible loss of funds.

Frequently asked questions

What is a goliath bet?

A Goliath is a full cover bet on eight selections, comprising 247 separate bets covering every combination from doubles up to one eight-fold accumulator. There are no singles inside a Goliath; the bet needs at least two legs to win before any line pays. The unit stake applies per line, so a £1 Goliath costs £247 to place.

How many bets are in a goliath?

A Goliath contains 247 bets: 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 four-folds, 56 five-folds, 28 six-folds, 8 seven-folds and 1 eight-fold. No singles are included. The total stake equals the unit stake multiplied by 247, so a £0.50 Goliath costs £123.50 and a £0.10 Goliath costs £24.70.

How does a goliath bet work?

Each of the 247 lines settles independently based on whether its legs all won. The payout on each winning line equals the unit stake multiplied by the multiplied odds of the legs on that line. All winning-line returns are added together to give the total return from the bet; each line is its own accumulator with its own price.

How can it be checked that a bookmaker holds a Gambling Commission licence?

The Commission’s public register can be searched by business name, trading name, domain or account number. A licence number printed in the footer of a brand’s website or in an app description is the starting point — the register itself is the proof. Brand domains using .co.uk or .com carry no implication either way; licence status comes from the register match.

How is the return on a bet worked out from the stake and the odds?

Return on a single line equals stake × odds. For an accumulator, the multiplied odds of the legs combine into one price and the return is stake × combined odds. Net profit is stake × (odds minus 1). Odds in fractional form a/b convert to decimal by a ÷ b + 1, so 5/1 becomes 6.00 and evens (1/1) becomes 2.00.

What is the bookmaker’s margin and how can it be seen in the odds?

The margin is the share of each unit staked that the bookmaker keeps across all outcomes of a market. For a two- or three-outcome market such as a 1X2 football result, the implied probabilities of each price are summed; their total minus 1 is the overround. If Home, Draw and Away price at 2.10, 3.40 and 3.50, the implied probabilities sum to roughly 1.056, giving an overround of 5.6% and a margin of about 5.3%.

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