Why a penalty exists
On traditional bookmakers, canceling a placed bet is generally impossible. On Ktkarena, we accept that you can change your mind - but we have to protect your opponent.
Note on the POOLED status. If your bet is absorbed by the pool phase (status POOLED), the same cancellation rules apply as after direct matching - with an escalating penalty based on the time remaining before the event. The pool phase is simply another matching mechanism: once the event is CLOSED, you're matched and the rules below apply in full.
Imagine the situation from your opponent's side: they bet against you on "Real Madrid wins". If you can freely cancel at the last minute because you sense the match is going badly, you have an unfair advantage. Your opponent committed their KTK assuming you wouldn't back out.
The penalty exists to:
- Discourage strategic cancellations (canceling when you see you're going to lose).
- Compensate your opponent for the lost time and opportunity (even if they're refunded 100%, they have to place their bet again and look for a new match).
- Keep the P2P market fair. If anyone can walk away freely, the system stops working.
The penalty scale: 10% / 15% / 20%
The penalty is calculated as a percentage of your initial stake, based on the time remaining before the event:
More than 24h before the event: 10%. You still have time to place your bet again, and so does your opponent. It's the least costly cancellation.
Example: you stake 10,000 KTK on Monday at 10am on Wednesday's 9pm match. You cancel Monday at 2pm. There are 55h left before the match. Penalty = 10% = 1,000 KTK. You get 9,000 KTK back. Your opponent gets their 10,000 KTK back in full.
Between 1h and 24h before the event: 15%. Your opponent's time to react gets shorter. Slightly higher penalty.
Example: you cancel Wednesday at 7pm for a match that starts at 9pm. There are 2h left. Penalty = 15% = 1,500 KTK. You get 8,500 KTK back.
Less than 1h before the event: 20%. The maximum penalty. At this point, your opponent has very little time to place their bet again.
Example: you cancel at 8:50pm, the match starts at 9pm. Penalty = 20% = 2,000 KTK. You get 8,000 KTK back.
Important. The penalty applies to your stake, not the potential winnings. If you stake 10K at 2.0 odds and you cancel, the penalty is on the 10K (not on the 20K you could have won).
How to cancel step by step
- Open the app, go to My bets (wallet icon then "My active bets").
- Tap the bet you want to cancel.
- At the bottom of the detail screen, you'll see a "Cancel this bet" button (in red).
- A confirmation window appears with:
- The penalty amount (calculated in real time).
- The exact amount you'll receive (stake - penalty).
- A warning about the consequences.
- Confirm by tapping "Yes, cancel".
Your KTK immediately leave escrow and return to your wallet (minus the penalty). You receive a confirmation notification. Your opponent also receives a notification: "Your opponent has canceled. You're refunded 100%."
What happens to your opponent
They're refunded in full. 100% of their stake returns to their wallet immediately.
They're notified. Immediate push notification: "Your opponent canceled their bet on [event]. 10,000 KTK have been returned to you."
They can place a new bet on the same event if the event hasn't started yet. A new match happens through the cascade, just like the first time.
The penalty does NOT go to your opponent. Many bettors ask us about this. No: the penalty goes to the Ktkarena guarantee fund, which protects bettors in case of a technical bug or an exceptional default. If we paid your opponent with your penalty, you could create unhealthy incentives. My opponent canceled their bet: what to do.
During the pool phase: cancellation locked
Just before the event closes (typically the last 15 to 60 minutes depending on the event's duration), the event enters the pool phase. During this window, user-side cancellation is temporarily locked - even for matched bets.
Why? Because during the pool phase, the system iteratively and atomically calculates how to gather the residuals into the mutualized pool. If you could cancel your bet during this calculation, the other participants' odds would change in cascade and fairness would break.
The lock is temporary: a few minutes at most. As soon as the event moves to CLOSED status (after the pool phase), you regain the normal post-matching cancellation options (with an escalating penalty based on the time remaining before the event). Details of the pool phase.