Postponed game: what happens to your sportsbook bet, your Kalshi contract and your Polymarket shares
Weather, stadium problems, public emergencies and, in rare cases, a medical event on the field can all push a game off its date. Most of the time it is replayed a day or two later and nothing changes for anyone holding a position. The money question only arises when the replay falls outside the window the operator's rules allow, or never happens at all. This guide compares how the two kinds of venue handle that case, with the exact wording where the operators publish it.
The rule in one table
| Venue | Postponed game still counts if… | If it misses the window |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings Sportsbook (NFL) | it starts in the same Thursday-to-Wednesday scheduling week | bet voided, stake returned |
| FanDuel Sportsbook (NFL) | it is played within the same scheduling week | bet voided, stake returned |
| BetMGM | it is held within one week of the original date and location | bet voided, stake returned |
| Caesars Sportsbook | it is held within seven days of the scheduled date | bet voided, stake returned |
| Kalshi (football game winner) | it is rescheduled and begins within 48 hours of the original date | resolves to the last fair price set by Kalshi |
| Polymarket (game markets) | the market stays open until the game is completed | if canceled with no make-up game, resolves 50-50 |
The sportsbook windows are taken from the house rules quoted by Action Network. The Kalshi line comes from its football game-winner contract terms, and the Polymarket line from the standard rules text attached to its game markets. Other sports and other markets on the same platform can use different windows, which is the main reason to read the rules tab before trading rather than after a storm.
Sportsbooks: void means the stake comes back
A sportsbook is the counterparty to every bet. If the game it priced does not happen in time, it cancels the wager and returns the stake, as if the bet had never been placed. There is no winner and no loser, and no profit or loss on that ticket.
Two details catch people out. First, the window is measured differently from book to book: “same scheduling week” at DraftKings and FanDuel means a Sunday game moved to the following Tuesday still counts, while a Sunday game moved to the following Thursday may not. Second, a voided leg in a parlay is usually removed rather than killing the whole ticket, so the parlay pays at the odds of the remaining legs. That is common practice among US books, but it is set by each book's house rules, so check yours.
Prediction markets: why there is no refund
On an exchange, the venue is not your counterparty. When you buy a YES contract at 40 cents, someone else has sold it to you, and their position is the mirror of yours. If the trade were cancelled, each side would need its own money back, but in a liquid market the same contract has been traded many times at many prices. There is no single “stake” to return.
So the rules give the contract a settlement value instead. Kalshi's football terms say that if the game is not started within 48 hours of its original date, the market “will resolve to the last fair price as determined by the Exchange in its sole discretion.” Its more general team outcome terms use the same fair-price fallback when an event is cancelled and not rescheduled in time. Polymarket's game markets use a fixed answer: if the game is canceled entirely, with no make-up game, the market resolves 50-50 and each share pays $0.50 regardless of side.
A worked example
Take a Sunday football game that is postponed on the day and replayed the following Thursday, four days later. You hold one of three positions, each costing about $40 before fees:
| Position | What the rules do | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| $40 moneyline bet at +150, DraftKings | Thursday is outside the Thursday-to-Wednesday week, so the bet is voided | $40 stake back |
| 100 Kalshi YES contracts bought at 40 cents | The replay starts more than 48 hours after the original date, so the market resolves to Kalshi's last fair price; say Kalshi sets it at 55 cents | $55.00, against $40.00 paid plus a $1.68 taker fee |
| 100 Polymarket shares bought at 40 cents | The game is completed on Thursday, so the market stays open and settles on the result | $100 if your side wins, $0 if it loses |
The Kalshi fee uses its published taker formula, 0.07 × price × (1 − price) per contract: 0.07 × 0.40 × 0.60 = $0.0168, or $1.68 on 100 contracts. The fee is charged when you trade and the terms do not provide for refunding it at settlement. The 55-cent figure is an illustration: the fair price could be above or below your entry, which is the real difference from a sportsbook void. A void protects your stake; a fair-price settlement marks your position to an estimate of where it would have traded.
Had the Polymarket game been canceled outright with no make-up date, the same 100 shares would have paid $50 whether you held YES or NO, a $10 gain on a 40-cent entry and a $10 loss on a 60-cent one.
Suspended, shortened and tied games
A suspended game started and then stopped, which is a different case from a postponement. For football, Kalshi settles on “what has occurred as of that point” if play stops after 55 minutes or the league declares the game complete; if it stops earlier and is not scheduled to resume within 48 hours, the fair-price rule applies. BetMGM and Caesars treat a football game as official after 55 minutes of play. DraftKings cancels bets on a halted game not completed within 48 hours of the scheduled start unless the market outcome is already decided.
Ties are handled inside the contract. If a Kalshi football market lists a “Tie” strike, that strike resolves YES. If it does not, YES and NO holders are each paid $0.50 per contract. Polymarket writes the tie outcome into each market's rules; in some spread markets, for example, a tie resolves to one named side.
Season-long and futures markets
Futures follow the same logic on a longer clock. Under Kalshi's team outcome terms, a season cancelled before any part of the outcome is determined resolves all contracts to the last fair price, while a season that is partly played and then cancelled resolves on the official standings or determinations issued by the league at that point. A single postponed game inside a season usually changes nothing for a futures position, because the outcome depends on the season, not the date of one game.
What to check before you trade
- The window. Same scheduling week, seven days and 48 hours are very different; find the number for your sport and venue.
- The fallback. Void and refund, last fair price, or a fixed 50-50. Each produces a different amount from the same position.
- Venue changes. FanDuel voids NFL bets on a change of venue; DraftKings keeps them if the home team stays the designated home team.
- Fees. Exchange trading fees are charged on entry, so a fair-price settlement near your entry price still leaves you down by the fee.
What this guide does not cover
We quote the NFL and football rules because they are published in the most detail; baseball, tennis and soccer each have their own conventions, and tennis retirements are covered in a separate guide. Sportsbook house rules vary by state and change during a season, and prediction market rules are written per market. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice, and none of it is a reason to place a bet.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get my money back if a game is postponed?
At a sportsbook, usually yes, if the game is not played inside the book's window (the same scheduling week at DraftKings and FanDuel for the NFL, seven days at Caesars, one week at BetMGM). The bet is voided and the stake returned. On a prediction market there is no refund at your entry price: the contract settles on the result if the game is played in time, or at a price the exchange's rules set if it is not.
What does Kalshi do if a football game is postponed?
Under Kalshi's football game-winner terms, if the game is rescheduled and begins within 48 hours of the original date, the market settles on the result. If not, it resolves to the last fair price as determined by Kalshi.
What does Polymarket do if a game is canceled?
Polymarket game markets typically stay open until a postponed game is completed. If the game is canceled entirely with no make-up game, the market resolves 50-50, so each share pays $0.50.
Is a postponed game the same as a suspended game?
No. A postponed game never started; a suspended game started and stopped. Rules differ: for football, Kalshi settles on what has happened if play stops after 55 minutes, and several sportsbooks treat a football game as official after 55 minutes.
LIVE MARKETHow many Fed rate cuts in 2026?Trade on Polymarket →Related
- How do prediction markets resolve?
- Tennis retirements and walkovers on prediction markets
- Odds converter
- Kalshi legality tracker: all 50 states
- How do parlays work, and why they lose
Sources
- Kalshi, Football game winner contract terms (FOOTBALLGAMEWIN).
- Kalshi, Team outcome contract terms (TEAMOUTCOME).
- Action Network, NFL betting rules for canceled and postponed games.
- Polymarket market rules for an MLB game market, as mirrored by Polyguana.
- BetG8, Kalshi vs Polymarket fees, for the 0.07 taker fee formula.
18+ only. This guide explains published rules. It is not legal, tax, financial or betting advice. If gambling stops being fun, help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER.