27 Best Bets to Make With Friends (Fun Ideas for 2026)
Betting with friends is half the fun of watching a game, going to the pub, or even sitting through a long car journey. The other half? Remembering who actually won, and getting paid. Below are 27 of the best bets to make with friends — split into sports, prop bets, life bets, and forfeits — plus a quick word on how to track them without arguing.
Classic sports bets
These are the easiest to set up because the result is on the scoreboard. No arguing about who won.
- Match winner. Pick a team. Whoever's team loses pays. The oldest bet in the book.
- First scorer. Each person picks a player. First goal, touchdown or try wins the pot.
- Exact final score. Closest score wins. Brutal but addictive.
- Over/under on a stat. Total goals, total threes, total fouls — pick a line, pick a side.
- Player prop pool. Everyone picks a player; whoever's player puts up the most points wins the pot.
Prop bets that make any game watchable
Prop bets are the great equaliser. They turn a boring game into a tense one and they're perfect for people who don't even follow the sport.
- Colour of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach.
- How long the national anthem lasts (over/under in seconds).
- Will the commentators mention a specific player's injury within the first quarter?
- Total ad breaks before half-time.
- First team to a yellow card / technical foul.
- Whether the manager swears on camera.
Life bets (no sports required)
Some of the best bets to make with friends have nothing to do with sport. These are the ones that turn a normal evening into a story.
- Who can go the longest without checking their phone at dinner.
- Who finishes a Couch-to-5K first.
- Who hits 10,000 steps every day for a month.
- Who can cook the best meal under £15.
- Who guesses the closest to the bar tab.
- Who can grow the worst moustache by the end of November.
- Who lands a date first on a dating app.
- Who finishes a book first.
- Who saves the most money this month.
Forfeits and dare-stakes (when nobody wants to bet cash)
Money isn't the only stake. Loser pays a forfeit is how most friend groups actually bet — and the forfeit is what makes it memorable.
- Loser buys the next round.
- Loser sets the winner's phone wallpaper for a week.
- Loser sends a specific text to their group chat.
- Loser does the washing up for a week.
- Loser wears the rival team's shirt to the next match.
- Loser writes a glowing LinkedIn recommendation for the winner.
- Loser cooks dinner — winner picks the cuisine.
How to actually track bets with friends
The reason most friendly bets get forgotten isn't the bet — it's the bookkeeping. People say "tenner on it" and by next week nobody can agree on what was said. A few ground rules help:
- Write it down the moment you agree. Memories rewrite themselves; screenshots don't.
- Define the win condition. "Whoever's team wins" is fine. "Whoever plays better" is a fight waiting to happen.
- Settle outside the app. Revolut, PayPal, bank transfer, cash — whatever works. You don't need a bookie to settle a fiver.
BENDS exists for exactly that. You log the bet, invite the people involved, declare a winner when it's over, and we tally up who owes who. We don't take or hold any money — friends pay each other directly. That's it.