Sports betting is a form of gambling in which you attempt to predict the outcome of a sports match. Bets are typically placed through a person or company known as a bookmaker. Depending on the result of the match, a bet can result in a win, partial win, loss, or be refunded. The amount of any payout depends on the odds set by the bookmaker at the time the bet is placed.
Bookmakers offer a wide variety of betting options on sporting events. The most straightforward type of bet is predicting the winner—whether it be one team, a player, or a draw. Depending on the sport, there are many additional options. In football, for example, you can predict the exact final score, halftime score, total number of goals, and more.
Handicap betting is another popular type—both Asian and European—where one team (usually the underdog) is given a point advantage. The bettor must predict the outcome after this virtual adjustment.
Multiple bets, or accumulators, are also widely used. These combine several individual bets into one. All selections must be correct for the bet to win, but the potential payout is higher due to the multiplied odds.
Custom bets are gaining popularity as well. These allow you to create personalized wagers based on events listed by the bookmaker—or even events from your personal life.
It’s hard to imagine modern sports without betting—especially when it comes to sports betting on football matches, events, athletes, and entire teams. Sports betting has been around for more than a few decades, not only complementing the sports industry but becoming one of its largest sectors by engaging billions of fans worldwide. The reason is clear: simplicity, accessibility, and minimal reliance on chance. Unlike roulette or card games, sports betting involves competition between two parties—a player and a bookmaker. In this scenario, your knowledge and intuition are your greatest tools for placing accurate bets and forecasting outcomes.
A bookmaker acts as the market maker in sports betting, where most outcomes are binary—a team either wins or loses. The bookmaker accepts wagers and sets the spread and margins in a way that ensures profitability, regardless of the result. The Federal Wire Act of 1961 was an attempt by the U.S. government to crack down on illegal bookmaking. However, this law does not apply to other forms of online gambling. As such, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Wire Act does not extend to all internet-based gambling activities.
Making a Bet on a Match or Event
Millions of sports fans are passionate about betting, and betting companies have long been among the primary sponsors of football clubs, sports leagues, and major events. Many fans place bets to enhance their excitement during a match. Others wager in hopes of making a profit—because if you have strong knowledge about a sport or detailed insight into specific teams, you can outperform the bookmaker.
Moreover, betting platforms offer a wide variety of disciplines—from football, basketball, boxing, and tennis to horse racing and esports. The range of bets includes predicting match outcomes, total goals scored, a knockdown in a specific round of a boxing match, or even the number of corner kicks in a football game.
The Most Popular Sports Bets
Football is the most popular sport in the world, and football betting is the most in-demand type of sports wager. Every day, dozens of matches take place across different leagues and tournaments. The most well-known competitions include the top five European leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France), the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League, and national team fixtures.
But you can also bet on other games, such as leagues in lesser-known countries, lower divisions in Europe, or even club friendlies. In these cases, it's important to understand that limited information may be available about the teams or events—so your intuition might play a bigger role in your betting decisions.
Bets on boxing, car racing, basketball, baseball, horse racing, and esports are also widely popular.
Thanks to modern technology, players from around the world can now place live, in-play bets on sports events. This means you can track a match or race in real time and place a bet—whether on a team or athlete to win, the number of goals in a game, or the winner of a race. In these cases, you may have a higher chance of beating the bookmaker, but be aware that the odds are usually lower.
Types of Sports Betting
There are several ways to classify types of sports bets, but we'll cover the most common categories. The basic types of sports betting include:
- Bets on the outcome
Betting on the win of one team (or athlete) or a draw is the oldest and simplest form of sports betting. It’s often the best option for beginners and is represented in the betting line as 1X2: 1 — home team win, X — draw, 2 — away team win. It’s a straightforward format: if your selected team or player wins, you receive a payout.
- Double Chance
This option is ideal for cautious bettors. The wager covers two of the three possible outcomes. For example: 1X — home team win or draw, 12 — either team wins, X2 — away team win or draw. The odds for these bets are usually lower, but if you're uncertain about the outcome, double chance is a safer alternative.
- Bets on the Exact Score
In this type of bet, you must correctly predict the exact final score of a match. It is most commonly used in football, where fewer goals are typically scored. Predicting the exact score in basketball, for example, is virtually impossible due to high scoring. Even in football, this type of bet is often a shot in the dark—making it similar to a lottery. However, it remains a popular option among bettors.
Handicap
A handicap bet adjusts the score of a chosen team by adding or subtracting a fixed number of points or goals. In essence, the selected team must win by a specific margin—or avoid losing by more than the handicap allows. There are various types of handicap bets, including Asian and European formats, each offering different strategic opportunities.
Handicaps are most commonly used in football, so here’s an example from that sport:
Let’s assume you placed a bet on a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the final result was 0:2. Now, let’s look at which type of handicap might be most suitable for beginners.
1. “Plus” Handicap
This means additional goals are added to your chosen team’s final score. Using the above example, if you bet on Real Madrid with a +3 handicap (typically written as F1(+3)), your bet wins—the virtual score becomes 3:2. However, if you bet F1(+1), the adjusted score becomes 1:2, and your bet loses.
2. “Minus” Handicap
In this case, goals are subtracted from the final score of the team you bet on. Using the same example, if you bet on Barcelona with a -1 handicap (F2(-1)), the adjusted result is 0:1, and your bet wins. If you bet F2(-2), the result is 0:0 and your stake is refunded. A bet of F2(-3) would be a loss.
3. “Zero” Handicap
This type of bet is quite similar to the double chance. However, in the event of a draw, the bettor doesn’t earn a profit but simply gets their stake refunded. To win, the selected team must beat the opponent by any margin. The odds for zero handicaps are usually higher than those for double chance, making it one of the most attractive betting types for beginners.
4. “Strict” Handicap
The previously mentioned handicap types are flexible, meaning that if the adjusted score results in a draw (e.g., F2(-2)), the stake is refunded. In contrast, strict or fractional handicaps eliminate the possibility of a draw outcome. For example, a bet of F1(+1.5) would lose if the margin is insufficient, but F1(+2.5) would win in the same scenario.
Some bookmakers offer what’s known as European handicaps. These operate under a similar principle but do not use fractional values. In European handicap betting, a draw is always considered a loss.
5. Asian Handicap
Asian handicaps use quarter-goal increments, and the stake is split equally between two separate handicap values. While it may sound complex, the following examples should help clarify:
If you place a $10 bet on F2(-1.25), it is automatically divided into two $5 bets: F2(-1.0) and F2(-1.5). If the team wins by 2 goals or more, both bets win.
A bet on F2(-1.75) is split between F2(-1.5) and F2(-2.0). If the team wins by 2 goals, the F2(-1.5) portion wins, and the F2(-2.0) portion results in a push (your stake is refunded).
In the case of a bet on F2(-2.25), half the stake is placed on F2(-2.0) and the other half on F2(-2.5). If the team wins by exactly 2 goals, the F2(-2.0) bet is refunded, and the F2(-2.5) bet is lost.
6. Half and Match Bets
In this case, the player attempts to predict two outcomes: who will be leading at the end of the first half (or period), and who will win the match overall. For example, it’s possible to bet that one team will lead at halftime, while another will win the match. To receive a payout, both predictions must be correct. These bets can also be placed using the double chance format.
7. Total
A total bet involves predicting whether the combined number of certain events in a match will be over or under a specified amount. In football, common total bets include goals, fouls, yellow/red cards, penalty shots, and corner kicks. In tennis, totals may be based on sets or games. Other sports offer totals on different measurable statistics. You can often find bookmakers who offer total bets on virtually any sport-related figure that’s tracked in official stats.
Totals are typically offered in the formats “Total Under” (TU, U, Under) and “Total Over” (TO, O, Over). This means the predicted result—such as the number of goals in a match—must be either below or above the selected threshold.
You can place total bets on both the overall match statistics and on outcomes for a single team.
8. Asian Total
In Asian total betting, quarter values are used, and the stake is split into two equal parts, placed on the nearest whole and half numbers. For example, in a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, a $10 bet on TU(2.25) is divided into two $5 bets: TU(2.0) and TU(2.5). In this case, the TU(2.0) portion is refunded if exactly 2 goals are scored, while TU(2.5) wins if fewer than 3 goals are scored.
9. European Total
In European total betting, there is no option for a refund. Using the same example, a bet on TU(2.0) would lose if the match ends with exactly 2 goals.
