This article is also available in French.
If you are new to sports betting, getting to grips with the terminology can be tough. To confidently wager on sports, it is important to familiarize yourself with the jargon. Whether you are using an online sportsbook or a brick-and-mortar betting shop, there will always be terms exclusive to sports betting markets. The moneyline is one of the most popular, but what is it?
To put it simply, a moneyline bet is a wager on the final result of a sporting event. For example, if you are betting on soccer, you are wagering on a home/away win or a tie. However, there are nuances when making moneyline bets on different sports. Here is a guide covering everything you need to know about moneyline betting.
What is a moneyline bet?
A moneyline bet is one of the easiest and most popular wagers to make on sports. You are simply guessing the outcome of a sporting event. This betting market is available on essentially every sport with our online sportsbook.
Also known as a straight bet, its ease comes with the simplicity of the payout. If you back the winning side, they will settle your bet as a winner. Unlike spread bets, the margin of victory doesn’t matter.
This market is not exclusive to ball sports like the NBA and NFL. You can wager on the moneyline when betting on MMA or boxing. You are simply betting on which fighter will win the bout. The method of victory doesn’t matter. This means even in cases of disqualification wins, your bet will pay out if you backed the fighter who has their hand raised.
Moneyline odds are set according to either side’s likelihood of victory. This means we see some huge underdogs when betting on the NFL, for example. This can lead to massive payouts if one team can pull off an upset.
Terminology to help you with moneyline bets
- Favourite: The favourite is the team or player(s) most likely to win according to the betting odds. The odds for the favourites are always shorter.
- Underdog: The underdog is the inverse of the favourite. A bet on the underdog will always offer bigger payouts than the same wager on the favourite.
- Even money: Sometimes called a ‘pick’em’, this is a bet that returns your exact stake as a payout. This is because the oddsmakers cannot split two teams/players into a favourite and an underdog. Both sides of a two-way will have a price of +100. A $100 bet for even money would return $100 in profit plus your stake.
- Odds–on: A moneyline bet that is odds-on means the first number is smaller than the second in fractional odds. It is sometimes referred to as ‘minus money’ for American odds. A team or player that is “odds-on” is more likely to win a moneyline bet.
Moneyline odds
One benefit of betting with our online sportsbook is that we calculate your returns when you add your pick to your slip and enter your wager. However, it is often easy to work this out yourself.
In this example, we will use the Copa America opening game between Argentina and Canada. Argentina enters this game as the favourites following their World Cup win in 2022. La Albiceleste is the favourite to win the competition. This will be Canada’s first appearance at Copa America and with less talent among their ranks, they are the underdogs in this game.
Betting on Argentina to win is worth 7/20 with fractional odds. Canada is priced at 15/2. If the first number of the fraction is lower than the second, you will win less than your stake. A $100 bet on Argentina at 7/20 returns $135. The same wager on Canada at 15/2 returns $750 plus your stake.
Working out the return of plus-money fractional odds is relatively easy. The betting site will round down to the nearest whole number when not divisible by two. Canada’s 15/2 odds can be cancelled down to 7.5/1 to make your return easily calculable. You simply take your stake and multiply it by the first number, so 100 x 7.5 = 750.
You can also choose American odds. These are easy to spot thanks to the + and – numbers. Odds that are plus money indicate how much you would win from a $100 bet while minus odds inform you how much you would need to wager to win $100. For example, a $100 bet on +300 would win you $300 plus your stake.
What is a push?
There are some nuances when making moneyline bets, depending on the sport. For example, the NBA and NFL have overtime if the game is level after regular time. For this reason, moneyline bets are two-way. This means they do not include the possibility of a tie. In the rare occurrence that a game finishes as a tie after overtime, the bet is a push. This means you receive your stake back.
However, soccer betting does not have this rule. All moneyline bets are settled after 90 minutes. This means that even in knockout format games, the result after 90 minutes stands regardless of the extra-time/penalties result. For example, if you were betting on Copa America and a semifinal ended as a draw after 90 minutes, they would settle your bet as a loss even if the team you backed won the tie.
Pushes can also occur in other circumstances. For example, if the game is abandoned due to weather conditions, online sportsbooks may cancel all bets and refund stakes. Every online betting platform has its own rules for bet settlements, so make sure to read up on the rules before wagering.
How to bet on the moneyline?
Placing a moneyline bet is straightforward. Sign up for an online sportsbook and choose a sport with a moneyline market such as the NBA and you are away. Just be sure to read up on the subtle differences between moneyline bets on sports. If you are new to betting, you can sign up using our welcome bonus. We will match your first deposit up to $500 in bonus funds. This means you can place your first moneyline bet with reduced risk!
Here we will look at some of the most popular sports to place moneyline bets on.
Betting on soccer moneylines
Soccer is one of the most popular sports for betting on moneylines. All soccer moneyline bets are three-way. This means it includes the outcome of a draw. That additional outcome means they often make the odds more rewarding for wins compared to two ways. Remember, they will settle moneyline bets on soccer games with extra time and penalties after 90 minutes.
Example: Argentina’s moneyline over Canada at 7/20. Draw at 18/5. Canada moneyline at 15/2
Betting on NFL moneylines
All moneyline bets for the NFL are two-way. This means you are betting on a victory for either the home or away side. This means the odds are usually the inverse of soccer with the outcome of a tie omitted. All NFL moneyline bets include overtime. This means your bet rolls over to OT until the game has finished. A tie results in a push. Most sportsbooks will allow you to bet on ties as Specials, though they are extremely rare.
Example: Kansas City Chiefs moneyline over Baltimore Ravens at 5/8. Ravens moneyline over Chiefs 5/4.
NBA Moneyline Betting
NBA moneyline bets are also two-way. They work in the same way as NFL bets, in that overtime is included. However, unlike the NFL, modern NBA rules do not allow for ties. They will play five-minute overtime periods until one team has a higher score than the other.
Example: Dallas Mavericks moneyline over Boston Celtics 21/10. Celtics moneyline over Mavericks 2/5
Betting on MMA/Boxing moneylines
MMA and boxing moneylines are usually two-way. Draws are rare in MMA, but some sportsbooks do offer MMA moneylines as three-ways, so be sure to check before you wager. They will automatically award a push if the fight is a no-contest or they do not offer an option for a tie. The method of victory does not matter, so in cases of technical decisions or disqualifications, the fighter with their hand raised is the winner.
Example: Jared Cannonier moneyline over Nassourdine Imavov 1/1. Imavov moneyline over Cannonier 4/5.
Betting on the moneyline vs. the spread
Moneyline bets and spread bets have some crossover but are different markets. The spread is a line set by the sportsbook before the game that gives a virtual handicap or advantage to a team. Moneyline favourites will receive a points handicap and the underdog will receive an advantage. The crossover comes from the correlation between the likelihood of either team winning the game and the margin they will win the game by.
For example, let’s use the NFL season opener as an example. The Baltimore Ravens will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs side are the odds-on favourites for this game at 5/8. Sportsbooks have set the spread at 2.5. As the favourites, the Chiefs will have a -2.5 handicap and the Ravens a +2.5. A decimal is used to prevent the case of a push. However, some lines will not include decimals. The sportsbook issues a push if the over/under falls on the line set.
If you were to back the Chiefs against the spread, they would need to win by three clear points or more for your bet to win. If you backed the Ravens, they would need to lose by two points or fewer or win the game by any margin for your bet to win.
Spread betting is popular when betting on the NFL. This is because you can back the favourites without giving up the shorter odds the moneyline would offer. It also means you can wager on the underdogs without the need for an upset.
Total bets also have crossover with both markets. The total is a line set by the sportsbook on the total number of points to be scored in the game. Games with a higher betting total will typically have higher point spreads and vice versa. The Ravens/Chiefs total is at 46.5 with our online sportsbook, which is a relatively average scoring game. Both teams are also not worlds apart in the moneyline odds. This is why the spread is low at 2.5
Tips for moneyline betting
While the sportsbook odds tell us a lot, there are steps you can take yourself to wager more confidently. Here are some tips for placing a successful moneyline bet.
- Research team news: While sportsbooks will often take team news into account if you can catch wind quickly, then you can leverage the odds. This can be particularly helpful when betting on soccer. Say, for example, they have multiple starting defenders out through injury. This could weaken their chances and give the underdog more hope of causing an upset. Domestic European soccer competitions are also liable for upsets. Top teams will often rest key players when playing teams who are lower down the pyramid. For example, English Premier League sides Wolverhampton Wanderers and Luton Town lost to teams one and two levels below them on the pyramid in the EFL Cup last season.
- Study trends: As well as team news, the history between two sides can help guide you to your pick. Study head-to-head records to see how previous games have played out. The more recent the better. When betting on football, it is also useful to look at the team’s records on the road. In games that are tighter on paper, away teams are likely to be slight underdogs. Winning streaks can also be good to ride. Teams who are in form often play with more confidence.
- Listen to the experts: As helpful as it is to do your own research, some of us simply don’t have the time. Luckily, thousands of experts analyze sports to give strong betting predictions. You can often find those who are in the know, working closely alongside teams to get information on team news before major outlets.
- Bet Responsibly: No bet is ever a dead cert, no matter the odds. The best piece of research you can do is work out how much you can wager to make a profit and not make big losses if it does not go your way. By budgeting properly, you are more likely to be in profit when betting over an extended period. Make sensible bets by doing your research and budgeting and you will reap the rewards.
