What is a Bore Draw?

A bore draw is a tie in which neither team scores and the match ends goalless (0:0). The tie is called a bore draw due to its dull nature since no team gets a goal.

A bore draw is common in games with teams with excellent defence records and those with the same abilities and style of play.

Some betting sites offer insurance where you can get your stake back in match result, both teams to score and other bets if the game ends 0-0.

Bore Draw Explained

nil nil draw two footballs in place of zeros

When neither team in a given match wins, the game finishes in a draw. You will always hear bettors and sports fans say that it was a goalless draw, and therefore the game was dull or boring. Bore draws occur when two competing teams find it challenging to break down the defence of the opponents.

In most cases, games that result in bore draws include teams that feel comfortable with a point, so they don’t set out to attack. Instead, they concentrate on preventing their opponents from scoring. Such games usually have no or little action, making them dull for spectators to watch.

That isn’t a rule, however, plenty of 0-0 draws can be exciting games, its just a goal wasn’t scored.

Practical Examples

word and number zero repeated in patternNo football competition or league is safe from a bore draw, no matter the amount of talent available. Many top leagues across Europe, including the English Premier League, have some of the best attackers the football world has to offer.

However, goalless outcomes still occur, and they aren’t exceedingly uncommon. Here are two examples from the English Premier League:

  • Arsenal vs Birmingham City in 2004: In the 2003/2004 season, Arsenal’s Invincibles had many memorable performances and results. But this game wasn’t one of them. There were no shots on target for either side throughout the game, leading to a scoreline of 0:0. Arsenal’s unbeaten run was on the line, but they only managed to add a point due to the bore draw.
  • Bolton Wanderers vs Manchester City in 2007: These two sides produced only one shot on target between them. Bolton Wanderers dominated the match but couldn’t break down Manchester City’s defence despite firing high balls into the box. It was statistically one of the most boring games of the Premier League era.

Betting Markets

no goalscorer market example

Betting on a bore draw may not be the best option for many punters since it occurs rarely and it’s challenging to predict. However, it’s a market that can, in most cases, offer some real value if you use it correctly alongside proven draw betting tips.

A bore draw market is so underused since few bettors and fans will predict their favourite teams to draw. Indeed, many bettors will back their team to win, with most of them preferring to favour one side to defeat the other rather than backing the pair to play out a stalemate. Some of the most common bore draw betting markets are:

  • Correct Score: The correct score is one of the best bore draw betting markets with significant profits. If you are sure that a bore draw will occur in a given match, then you can place a correct score bet that includes 0:0, depending on your game analysis.
  • Total Goals Exactly: It is easy to predict the number of goals in a bore draw game. After analysing previous games for both teams, and if you feel that a bore draw is a possible outcome, you can place an over/under bet. For a bore draw match, you can just bet on under 0.5 goals.
  • No Goalscorer – This offers more value that betting on 0-0 or total goals exactly as own goals are excluded in this market.  Therefore if a match ends 1-0 and the only goal was an own goal you would win with a no goalscorer bet but not with a correct score or total goals bet.
  • Half Time/Full Time: A HT/FT bet is a popular market where you predict the score of both halves of the game. In terms of bore draw, you can place a zero score at half time and full time. Both halves of the bet must be correct for you to win; therefore, you can get competitive odds.

The Bore Draw Offer

Bore draw is most often used in relation to promotions. This offer will refund your stake as real money or a free bet. If your refund is in the form of real money, you can withdraw it, and if you receive a free bet, you can use it to place a future wager.

When you can find it the offer will apply to match result bets and can in some instances apply to other markets like BTTS, correct score and goalscorer bets.