The word ‘parlay’ gets thrown around plenty in the betting world. It’s a type of betting that’s become normalised, and very commonplace in most types of sports betting. However, if you’re brand new to betting in any capacity, you may not understand what the parlay meaning in betting terms is.

Well, in this review, we’re going to go in depth into what parlay means in a betting sense, and how you can get started with your own parlay bets. We’ll also briefly share some sportsbooks that offer some great parlay bets for new players, so make sure to tune in. We’re going to talk about all things parlay betting.

What is the Parlay Meaning in Betting?

Essentially, the parlay meaning in sports betting is when you place two or more bets, and combine them into the same wager. Also known as an accumulator, this method is often used to try exponentially increase your combined odds if multiple bets go through.

The player has to win every bet in the parlay to win the entire bet, and if they lose one of the smaller bets, they lose the entire parlay. Parlay bets employ the risk vs reward strategy: they offer far more risk than a straight bet, but far more reward if the parlay is successful.

Ultimately, many parlay bets come down to timing and strategy. You cannot do them too often, and you have to be certain when you do place a parlay bet.

Here is a parlay bet example. Let’s say you wanted to bet on a soccer game, between Manchester United and Newcastle. You could back Manchester United at odds of 1.2, and also back Juventus at odds of 2.4 in a game they have against Inter Milan. This will increase your potential winnings to 3.6 if both bets go through. You may also wish to read our spread betting explained guide, which can also be useful to understand when placing sports wagers or esports wagers; this includes in niche markets such as Osu! betting.

What’s more, parlay bets are widely available – casinos like Spin Palace offer hundreds of markets. You may also wish to use a betting odds calculator to guarantee accuracy.

How To Place A Parlay Bet

Placing a parlay bet may seem intimidating, but it actually is relatively straightforward to make one at a sports or esports betting site. We’ve put together a brief step by step guide below, best outline how you can place a parlay bet effectively.

  • Choose your sportsbook – First off, you’ll need to find a sportsbook to sign up to, that offers good parlay odds. You can choose from platforms such as Bet365, Fanduel, BetMGM or Betway.
  • Choose the sport – Next up, you’ll have to decide on a sport to place your parlay on. Remember, that part of the parlay meaning in betting is that you can’t place a parlay across multiple sports. That’s a different type of accumulator bet.

Betway parlay betting screenshot

Here, we’d recommend betting on a sport you’re familiar with. That way you’re inclined to place your smaller bets more strategically, rather than just betting on the first two games you see.

  • Place your multiple bets – Now, all you have to do is place the bets on whatever you please. Once you place two or more bets at once, they’ll appear in your bet slip. This should be a small pop up window on the bottom right corner of your screen.
  • Create your parlay – The last step you need to take is to accumulate all these bets into a parlay. You should be able to do this in your bet slip across most sportsbooks. Just tick the box, or click the slider, and your parlay will be created.

Now, you just watch your games, and hope your parlay goes through – it is useful to note that some sportsbooks offer a “cash out” option, allowing you to take a profit before all the bets have been settled.

3 Leg Parlay Meaning

The meaning of a 3 leg parlay is simply a wager that has three separate bets attached to it. This number can of course be much higher, but it comes down to how many you can realistically see succeeding; after all, one loss will see your whole parlay fail.

Advantages of a Parlay Bet: Explained

Now, you know the parlay meaning in betting, and you’re aware of how to place one. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean your parlays are going to be successful every time. We’ve put together a brief section, outlining the advantages of placing parlay bets.

  • Higher potential payouts – The biggest advantage of placing a parlay bet is that your payout is significantly higher than it would be for a straight bet. If you were to get a triple parlay bet with $10 per bet, on odds of 1.0, your payout would be $70. However, placing these bets individually would only lead to a $30 profit.
  • Adds a layer of excitement – For the more energized and invested bettors, this is a huge plus for parlays. Everything becomes more exciting. From watching multiple games, to watching the live results affect your bets. It all becomes more thrilling, simply because there is now so much on the line. We always have to keep in mind, we should bet first and foremost to have fun, and parlays can be a lot of fun. Within reason, of course.
  • Diversification – Diversification is an interesting topic, and one we cover at length here at Esports.net. Essentially, diversification involves spreading your bets in order to hedge your losses, and prevent yourself from losing too much if a parlay goes sideways. The outcome is also not dependent on a single event, so mathematically the odds of losing are diversified.
  • Take advantage of promotions – You’ll find many sportsbooks that offer parlays as sign up bonuses, or as regular promotions for their players.. These parlays often involve limited investment of your own money, or none at all. This will give you an opportunity to win big at little cost.

Risks of a Parlay Bet: Explained

We spoke about the parlay meaning in sports betting involving two or more bets to go through. This obviously leads to a huge risk, and the nature of parlay bets are that they are inherently risky. Here’s the major risks to watch out for while placing these bets.

  • High risk of losing – As mentioned before, relying on several bets that are dependent on various different results going through is difficult. You need a large investment into two or more different bets to have a parlay that’s worth the investment, and it can be impossible to know if the parlay will be successful or not.
  • Low probability of winning – Based on the last point, you have to keep in mind the probability of all of the results you wager on happening. A regular bet is a coin toss, a 50/50 chance of it going through. Two bets has 16 different pairings of results that can go through. If you add another, that’s even more. Realistically, the probability that the two results you pick go through are low. That is if it is based on chance, and less on strategy.
  • Complex strategies – To account for a successful parlay that doesn’t rely on strategy, you need to put together a complicated strategy. For a straight bet, there are dozens of factors that go into a sports game to base a strategy on. Now, there are even more, as well as the multiplied odds, which makes strategizing for this type of bet difficult.

Using a Parlay Bet Calculator

A parlay bet calculator can be a hugely useful tool in deciding the risk vs. reward of your selection before placing the bet at a bookmaker. There are plenty of free ones available online and it will work out the potential payout of the combined odds at parlay betting sites.

Summary: A Parlay Bet Can Be Valuable, If Done Right

Parlay bets are interesting beasts. They can be a lot of fun, and can lead to some big winnings, but you cannot deny the inherent difficulty in placing a successful parlay bet at real money online casinos and sportsbooks.

That being said, we hope the parlay meaning in betting is fully understandable, and that you can make the most of the parlays you place. Just don’t place them too often, and have fun with them. So, what are you waiting for? Find yourself a recommended parlay betting site, and try out some out for yourself!