How Does Sports Betting Work?

The most common way to bet on sports is through an online sportsbook. Online (or mobile) wagering allows you to establish and fund betting accounts and make wagers with a couple of clicks on a computer or mobile device.

Because of its convenience and associated promotions, online wagering dominates the sports betting market in the states that legalized the practice. Some states see more than 95% of sports betting volume via the internet.

Mobile sports betting has exploded since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018, which gave states the right to legalize and regulate the commercial activity.

Many of the best online sportsbooks operate in most states’ betting markets. This has been to the advantage of sports enthusiasts who can open betting accounts with multiple online books and “shop around” for the best odds and promotions.

All online sportsbooks accept wagers on major sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis and combat sports). However, some have limited options for niche sports and events.

For sports betting—and gambling in general—everything revolves around the odds. If you’re new to betting, the odds essentially give you the probability of an outcome expressed as a price.

However, the odds don’t reflect the real-life probability.

The top U.S.-based sportsbooks provide American odds, which use positive (+) odds to show how much you could win with each successful $100 bet and negative (-) odds to indicate how much you have to bet to win $100.

For example, if the Buffalo Bills have +700 odds to win the Super Bowl, a $100 bet would win $700 if they capture the title. Conversely, taking the New York Yankees at -150 odds to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series means you need to bet $150 to win $100.

In both cases, a winning bet also sees the bettor’s initial stake returned. Whereas if the bet loses, the patron loses that initial stake.

Positive and negative odds scale with your bet amount. In other words, you don’t have to bet $100 or more.

If you bet $20 on the Bills to win the Super Bowl, you could win $140 (since the odds are +700, your $20 wager is multiplied by seven). If you wanted to win $20 on the Yankees bet, you would have to wager $30 (because the odds are -150, your $20 wager is multiplied by 1.5).

Favorite vs. Underdog

Odds with a negative symbol indicate the “favorite,” which is the side that sportsbooks believe is more likely to win (assuming positive odds—known as the “underdog”—are involved on the other side).

• Example: Golden State Warriors -220 to defeat the Houston Rockets (+190) indicates that the Warriors are the favorite in this matchup, while Houston is the underdog.

If multiple teams/players have a “+” preceding the number, the smaller number denotes the favorite, while the larger is the underdog.

• Example: In soccer, the odds to win the 2022 men’s World Cup showed Brazil +350, France +500, England +550, Argentina and Germany both +600, and so on. Brazil had the lowest number was considered the favorite.

If multiple teams/players have a “-” in front of the odds, the bigger number is the favorite.

• Example: In baseball, the Atlanta Braves are -150 to win the National League East division, while the New York Mets are -120. Because the Braves have the bigger number, they’re favored to win the division.

Moneyline

A straight bet is the most common type of sports wager. It’s simply wagering on the result of a single outcome.

• Example 1: The Toronto Raptors are playing the Boston Celtics in an NBA game. You think the Raptors will defeat Boston, so you make a straight bet on Toronto.
• Example 2: UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou is fighting challenger Ciryl Gane. You believe Ngannou will win the bout, so you make a straight bet on him.

Spread

Spread bets are related to margin of victory. A spread bet involves either “giving away” or “taking” a certain number of points, goals, runs and so on. That number is determined by the sportsbook and reflects the expected victory margin.

Bettors choose whether they’re going to “take” the spread (which means betting the underdog) or “give” the spread (betting the favorite).

• Example: Dallas Cowboys (-5.5) versus Philadelphia Eagles (+5.5). If you think the Cowboys will win by at least six points, you would give (or “lay”) 5.5 points. If you like Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ chances to win the game or lose by five points or fewer, you would take the 5.5 points.

Point spread lines have odds attached to them, and more often than not, those odds are -110 for both teams. The price includes the vig.

As explained above, that means if you want to bet either the Cowboys -5.5 points or Eagles +5.5 points, you would have to wager $110 for a chance to win $100 (or $11 to win $10).

Totals

Also referred to as Over/Under betting, totals bets focus on the final score of a game rather than who wins.

When betting a total, you predict if the two sides will combine for more (Over) or fewer (Under) runs, goals, points and so on, than the total amount posted by oddsmakers.

• Example: A Los Angeles Rams-Seattle Seahawks matchup has a total of 42.5. If you think the Rams and Seahawks will combine for at least 43 points by the end of the game, you would bet the Over. If you expect a defensive slugfest that ends with 42 combined points or fewer, you would wager on the Under.

If you’re interested in diving into Over/Under betting, remember this popular saying as it relates to wagering on totals: “It’s never under until it’s over.” As long as a game is ongoing, it’s always possible to win your Over bet (or lose your Under bet). As most people know, sports can be unpredictable.

Conversely, if you bet on Seahawks-Rams over 42.5 points and the score is 24-21 at halftime, you’ve got a winner and don’t have to sweat out the second half.

Futures

Rather than wagering on a game taking place today or this week, futures bets are just that: bets that will be decided in the future.

Examples include betting on a team to win the World Series; a country to win soccer’s World Cup; a golfer to win next year’s Masters golf tournament; a player to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Futures bets tend to offer greater odds—and thus larger potential payouts—than straight bets. For example, it’s generally less likely to predict the Stanley Cup winner at the start of an NHL campaign than predicting which team will win a random regular-season game.

An important thing to remember about futures bets: The odds change. For instance, just because the Los Angeles Lakers have +1500 odds to win the NBA title on the first day of a season doesn’t mean those odds will hold firm for the next seven months. In fact, they most certainly will not.

Injuries, trades and performing below (or above) expectations will affect how a futures market unfolds.

The odds you get when you place your wager will never change—in other words, if you bet the Lakers at +1500, those are your odds all season.

If the betting market drops the Lakers to +400 because they’re playing well, you made a good bet, at least for the time being. But if the Lakers struggle and their odds fall to +5000, well … your bet has lost value.

It’s important to research a team or player before putting your money down. Price shopping is also recommended. Why would you bet the Lakers at +1500 at one sportsbook when another is offering odds at +1800?

Props

While other markets focus on the final outcome of a game or event, prop bets relate to an individual athlete’s performance—or even something that doesn’t show up in the box score.

One example of a player prop would be betting on Joe Burrow’s total touchdown passes in a game (Over or Under 1.5 TD passes).

An example of a prop bet that has nothing to do with the actual action on the field or court would be betting the color of Gatorade that douses the coach of the Super Bowl-winning team.

Here are some of the more popular forms of prop bets:

• Player prop: Relates to a single player’s performance, such as total number of points scored in a basketball game, goals in a hockey game or rushing yards in a football game
• Game prop: Relates to a single game, such as choosing which player will hit the first home run in an MLB game or which team will finish with more passing yards in a football game
• Novelty prop: Usually reserved for big events—namely, the Super Bowl—novelty props can range from the aforementioned Gatorade shower after the game to the coin toss before it.

Parlays

A parlay combines two or more straight wagers into one bet. Parlays are popular because they open the door to win bigger payouts while risking less money. Think of it as sports betting’s version of a lottery ticket.

The number of legs (bets) in a parlay and the odds attached to each of those legs determine how much a bettor can win. The bigger the parlay—and the bigger the bet—the bigger the potential payoff.

However, it’s important to note that parlays are difficult to hit—the degree of difficulty can increase exponentially the more legs you add. All it takes is for one leg to fall short and your parlay is lost, a situation which creates the near-miss gambling effect that can be risky for some players. For example, if you go 6-1 on a seven-team parlay, you might as well have gone 0-7, but a 6-1 result makes it appear you were close to winning.

Here are the two main types of parlays:

• Same-game: A parlay constructed with multiple bets from one game or contest.
• Multi-game: A parlay built with bets from multiple games or contests.

The legs of a multi-game parlay don’t have to be from the same sport.

A third parlay type is called a teaser bet, which is most popular in football (particularly the NFL).

Like a parlay, a teaser is constructed with two or more teams. The main differences: Only point spread bets can be included in teasers, and bettors can shift the point spread by a certain number of points in any direction.

Here’s an example of a four-team, six-point NFL teaser:

• Pittsburgh Steelers (-4.5) versus Cleveland Browns
• Miami Dolphins (-2.5) versus New York Jets
• Arizona Cardinals (+7.5) versus Los Angeles Rams
• Las Vegas Raiders (+3.5) versus Denver Broncos

If you put the Steelers, Dolphins, Cardinals and Raiders in your teaser, you would be able to move the point spread six points in your favor.

So teaser point spreads would be:

• Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) versus Cleveland Browns
• Miami Dolphins (+3.5) versus New York Jets
• Arizona Cardinals (+13.5) versus Los Angeles Rams
• Las Vegas Raiders (+10.5) versus Denver Broncos

Because bettors get to move the point spreads, the payouts on teasers are lower than parlays.

Tip: When executing football teaser bets, it’s important to remember two things. Never tease through zero, and do your best to tease through key numbers in the NFL, such as three, six, seven and 10.

Sports betting payouts are determined by the odds attached to your bet and the amount of your wager. This potential payout is always listed on your betting slip, whether you wager online or at a retail location.

Sometimes the payout shown includes the money you wagered—for instance, if you bet $10 to win $50, the payout would show $60. If it doesn’t, just add the amount you bet to the potential winnings to determine the total payout.

You can also calculate potential odds and payouts before making a bet. This can be done by learning various odds and payout formulas or by using a betting odds calculator.

Some online sportsbooks offer payout bonuses, which can boost your winnings. If and when these bonuses are available, you’ll receive an alert when you log into your online betting account.

Bettors can withdraw funds from their betting accounts at any time. How long it takes for the money to hit your bank account varies by sportsbook and withdrawal method, but it’s generally 2-5 days.

It’s possible to turn a profit betting sports. Unfortunately, it’s very challenging—especially over the long term.

Don’t jump into sports betting with the expectation that you’re going to win every bet you place and make life-changing money (very few do). Sports betting is gambling and carries significant addiction risks.

Always keep track of your bets (a standard spreadsheet works fine) so you can monitor your results. We also recommend betting on sports you’re familiar with from a rules perspective. Furthermore, you should stick to sports that you follow closely regarding news.

Some sportsbooks are slow to adjust lines, especially props, after news about players and coaches. This is just one angle to find playable bets to make.

You can also improve your chances of making money through discipline (i.e., not betting more than you can afford to lose) and researching stats and trends.

There is no magic formula for winning at sports betting, but you can find some angles to increase your chances.