The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word LIKELIHOOD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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More clues leading to the result LIKELIHOOD
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Safe bet" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case safe bet = likelihood.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does LIKELIHOOD mean?
LIKELIHOOD noun- The probability of a specified outcome; the chance of something happening; probability; the state or degree of being probable.
- The probability that some fixed outcome was generated by a random distribution with a specific parameter.
- Likeness, resemblance.
- Appearance, show, sign, expression.