What Is Sports HandicapBetting?
Handicap betting is also known as spread betting or line betting.
It is a way to make a sports competition more fair from a betting perspective.
This is done by giving certain competitors a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage to level the playing field.
There are two types of handicap betting: European handicap betting and Asian handicap betting.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the two types of handicap betting, which are equally applicable to other sportsbooks as well as Bitcoin games.
European Handicap Betting
Let’s take the English Premier League (EPL) soccer match between Manchester United and Arsenal as an example.
Let’s assume that Manchester United is the favorite to win the match.
In this case, the bookmaker might offer a handicap bet to balance the match from a betting perspective.
Let’s say the bookmaker sets a handicap of -1 for Manchester United and +1 for Arsenal.
This means that Manchester United must win the match by at least one goal for the bet to be successful.
In other words, Manchester United will start the match with a virtual score of -1.
On the other hand, Arsenal, with a handicap of +1, starts the match with a virtual score of 1.
Therefore, if you bet on Arsenal, you will win the bet if the match ends in a draw or if Arsenal wins.
Even if Arsenal loses by just one goal, the result will be a draw for betting purposes due to the +1 handicap.
So if the final score is Manchester United 1, Arsenal 0 and you bet on Manchester United, you will lose the bet due to the -1 handicap.
However, if you bet on Arsenal, you would win the bet due to the +1 handicap, as the result would be Manchester United 0, Arsenal 1 for betting purposes.
Thus, handicap betting offers a way to make betting on uneven matches more interesting.
It adds complexity and excitement because you have to consider not only who will win the match, but also how much they will win.
Asian Handicap Betting
Asian Handicap Betting is a popular form of betting in soccer where a handicap is applied to level the playing field when a difference in ability is perceived between two teams.
Unlike traditional handicap bets, Asian Handicap has a higher chance of success compared to traditional odds by removing the draw option.
They also often include decimal handicap points, such as 0.25, 0.75, etc.
Let’s take an EPL match between Manchester United and Arsenal as an example to better understand.
Let’s assume that Manchester United is the stronger team and is expected to win.
0.25 handicap (sometimes referred to as 0, 0.5)
If the bookmaker has set a handicap of -0.25 for Manchester United and +0.25 for Arsenal:
If you bet on Manchester United: If Manchester United wins the match, you win the full amount of your bet.
However, if the match ends in a draw, you will lose half of your bet and half will be returned.
If you bet on Arsenal: If Arsenal wins or the match ends in a draw, you win the full amount of your bet.
If Manchester United wins the match, you will lose your bet.
0.75 Handicap (sometimes called 0.5, 1)
When the bookmaker has set a handicap of -0.75 for Manchester United and +0.75 for Arsenal:
If you bet on Manchester United: If Manchester United wins the match by 2 or more goals, you win the full amount of your bet.
If Manchester United wins by exactly one goal, you will lose half of your bet and half will be returned.
If the match ends in a draw or Arsenal wins, you will lose your entire bet.
If you bet on Arsenal: If the match ends in a draw or Arsenal wins, you win the full amount of your bet.
If Manchester United wins by exactly one goal, you will win half of your bet and half will be returned.
If Manchester United wins by more than 2 goals, you will lose your bet.
An important point in Asian handicap betting is to understand the nature of a “split handicap” when dealing with quarter (0.25, 0.75, etc.) handicaps.
The bet is essentially split in two, and these two bets are treated independently, which can result in a “half win” or “half loss”.
In conclusion, if you are new to handicap betting, it is recommended that you start with European handicap bets and only move on to Asian handicaps after you have a good understanding of the settlement method.
