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 10/15/20% scale applies, but the clock starts from your bet's creation. The pool phase is another matching mechanism: it gives you a counterparty without going through a direct match, so there is no matching instant for the countdown to start from. The rules below otherwise 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:
Within 5 minutes of matching: 10%. You have just been matched and you change your mind straight away. Your opponent still has all the time they need to reposition. It's the least costly cancellation.
Example: you stake 10,000 KTK, your bet is matched in 3 seconds, and you cancel two minutes later. Penalty = 10% = 1,000 KTK. You get 9,000 KTK back. Your opponent gets their 10,000 KTK back in full.
Within an hour of matching: 15%. Your opponent has already built their position around yours. Slightly higher penalty.
Example: you cancel 40 minutes after matching. Penalty = 15% = 1,500 KTK. You get 8,500 KTK back.
More than an hour after matching: 20%. The maximum penalty. The match has stood long enough that unwinding it costs the other side.
Example: your bet is matched Monday at 10am and you cancel Monday at 2pm. Penalty = 20% = 2,000 KTK. You get 8,000 KTK back. How far away the event is does not enter the calculation.
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: it is simply withheld from your refund. 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.