The Lucky 15 bet is very popular with horse racing and greyhound racing bettors. It isn’t restricted to these sports, but this is where you tend to see it used most often.
It’s not a simple bet, but it allows for some strategic thinking – especially when Lucky 15 Bonuses come into it.
When we talk about Lucky 15 Bonuses, the term covers a couple of different offers which I will explain below. Before covering the offers though, here’s a quick rundown of what a Lucky 15 is.
Lucky 15s require four selections, but your stake is multiplied by 15 to create the following bets:
| Bet | Count | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Singles | x4 | 4 x stake |
| Doubles | x6 | 6 x stake |
| Trebles | x4 | 4 x stake |
| Fourfold/Acca | x1 | 1 x stake |
| Total | x15 | 15 x stake |
The idea is to cover your selections from as many different angles as possible in order to maximise returns and minimise losses. You could make all of these bets individually but it would take ages, so bookmakers have them packaged up and ready to go as a multiple or combination bet.
However, this obviously results in a much larger stake too, so many punters bet with smaller stakes.
For example, a £1 Lucky 15 would cost £15, while a 10p Lucky 15 would cost £1.50. If you usually stick a tenner on a single it would cost £150 as a Lucky 15! So keep an eye on your stake sizes people.
The fact that these multi bets exist has also led to offers being created for them. I will explain how Lucky 15 Bonuses work below as well as recommending a few bookies with offers I rate.
Current Lucky 15 Bonuses
If all your selections win in a Lucky 15, 31 or 63 with Betfred, you could have a cash bonus applied to your winnings. There is a 10% bonus for a lucky 15, a 20% bonus for a Lucky 31, and a 25% bonus for Lucky 63s. This applies to win and each-way bets on horse racing, greyhound racing, virtual horse racing and virtual greyhound racing.
| Bet Type | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Lucky 15 | 10% |
| Lucky 31 | 20% |
| Lucky 63 | 25% |
Place a Lucky 15, 31 or 63 with Betfred and you could have the odds of your selection multiplied if you have just one winner. Depending on your bet type, you could get 3, 4, or 5 times your original odds paid in cash.
| Bet Type | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Lucky 15 | 3 x Odds |
| Lucky 31 | 4 x Odds |
| Lucky 63 | 5 x Odds |
How The Bonus Works
There are two promotions associated with Lucky 15 Bonuses, one aimed at successful bets and one aimed at less successful ones. Both are typically built into the bookmaker’s systems so they trigger automatically assuming your bet meets the qualifying requirements.
The first is a percentage bonus on top of your regular winnings if all of your selections are correct. It’s not all that different to an acca bonus really.
If all four of your selections come in, your winnings will receive the pre-determined bonus amount. It could be anything, but around 10% seems average.
So an overall stake of £10 returning £1,000 in winnings would see that £1,000 boosted by £100. The overall payout including the stake would therefore be £1,110.
If the bookie includes Lucky 31s and Lucky 63s as part of the promotion the bonus amount may scale up to account for the larger bet:
- 10% bonus to all-correct Lucky 15 bets
- 20% bonus to all-correct Lucky 31 bets
- 25% bonus to all-correct Lucky 63 bets
It’s rare to see minimum stakes with Lucky 15 offers since the winnings can be quite high even from smaller stakes, but do check this.
Odds Multipliers
In cases where your bet doesn’t do very well and you only manage a single winner, some Lucky 15 Bonuses include an odds multiplier.
This will multiply the odds of that one winner so your loss isn’t as heavy as it otherwise would have been. Think of it like a commiseration prize, taking the sting out of a bad bet.
The specifics of this promotion will vary between bookmakers but the idea is the same.
Let’s imagine you wagered 50p per bet for a total outlay of £7.50. The selection that won was priced at 3/1 and your bookie offers a 3x multiplier in this scenario. You lose the 50p stakes for all of your other bets, but for that one win the 3/1 odds are multiplied to 9/1. So instead of winning £1.50 you win £4.50, plus the 50p stake for a total return of £5.00.
Without the offer you would have lost £6.00, but instead you only lost £2.50.
As before, in cases where bookies also include Lucky 31s and Lucky 63s this multiplier often scales up with each larger bet. So the odds might multiply like this:
- 3 x the Odds for One Winner on Lucky 15s
- 4 x the Odds for One Winner on Lucky 31s
- 5 x the Odds for One Winner on Lucky 63s
It’s to account for the larger stake you need for the bigger bets.
Common Terms and Conditions
I can’t tell you the exact terms for the offer you might be looking at because they are all slightly different. Each bookmaker has their own offers and create their terms in a way that suits them.
However, there are some that come up regularly in one form or another.
The most obvious thing to check is that the Lucky 15 Bonus actually applies to the sport you want to bet on. Often, they are restricted to horse racing only. While Lucky 15s can be placed on many sports, these specific offers are often only designed for one.
Another thing to be aware of is whether these offers are also applicable to Lucky 31s and Lucky 63s. Sometimes the bookie will run the same promotion on all three bet types but sometimes it won’t. Find out first and then work out the type of bet you want to place.
Thinking about the percentage bonus winnings paid on top of regular winnings, these will almost certainly only be applied to the winnings, not the stake and the winnings. They usually only trigger if all of your selections are correct too. So 3 winning horses in a 4 horse Lucky 15 would not trigger the percentage bonus.
It would be unusual for bets made with free bet tokens or bonus funds to count towards these promotions. Typically, only cash bets will trigger the Lucky 15 Bonus.
Cashed out bets will void the offer but if any selections don’t run the bet is reduced accordingly in most cases. Whether or not the bonus still applies will depend on the bookie in question.
Bets on virtual racing don’t always count towards this type of bonus because virtual racing is run using an RNG. The maths behind what you see on the screen is basically the same as a slot machine, so the way this bonus has been structured won’t always work for that. Some bookies allow it but others don’t.