Spread betting is a growing and fun way to place a bet that has attracted the interest of both sports followers and traders. This article will help you understand the concept better. Thus, whether you are a beginner on the topic, or want to deepen your knowledge, this article answers the questions: What is spread betting? How does spread betting work? And how is it used in sports?
This article will mostly concentrate on spread betting's use in sports betting. However, traders also use it to speculate on price changes in the stock market.
What is Spread Betting?
Spread betting involves placing bets on event outcomes and goes beyond the fixed odds of simple predictions. In contrast to conventional betting, the difference between the outcome and the spread determines your profit or loss.
In an NFL game, bookmakers might set a spread where the assumption is that the Kansas City Chiefs would win over the Buffalo Bills by 7.5. This would mean that for the Chiefs to cover the spread they would need to win by more than 7.5 points. A final score of 28-20 in favor of the Chiefs would cover the spread. Thus, the bettor would win the bet. However, in another example, a score of 24-20 in favor of the Chiefs would mean that the Chiefs would not have passed the spread line; hence, the Buffalo bettors would win.
What Does Spread Mean in Betting?
If you are wondering what is a spread in betting, the “spread” is basically the margin of victory or loss that the bookmaker predicts. In other words, the bookmaker predicts the margin of victory or loss for a team. By balancing the playing field between two teams with varying skill levels, it makes wagers on either team equally alluring.
The point spread has become the common vernacular in sports discussions. It is truly becoming a great equalizer for sports betting by compensating for perceived differences between teams. The NFL point spread and college football betting heavily rely on this format, and is a common betting for the NBA and NCAA basketball. In baseball betting, people call the spread the run line, while in hockey, they call it the puck line.
Moneyline vs. Point Spread
When discussing spread meaning betting, it's essential to understand how it compares to the moneyline. In spread betting, the emphasis is on the margin of victory, while in moneyline wagering, one simply bets on which team will win without consideration of the score.
For instance, imagine the Chiefs are at -150 and the Eagles at +130 on the moneyline for a Super Bowl game. A $150 bet on the Chiefs will give you a win of $100, if they win the game. Conversely, a straight $100 bet on the Eagles will give you an outright win of $130, if they win the game. In contrast, this illustrates the difference between betting against the spread. It depends on the expected margin of loss and involves betting on outright winners with the moneyline.
If you want to know what is the spread in betting, it is vital to understand the difference between these terms.
How is a point spread determined?
When setting a point spread, oddsmakers mainly consider the skill difference between the teams. They can rely on their power rankings in the league. Yet, additional factors such as recent performance, home-field advantage, injuries, and weather conditions also contribute to the equation. To truly understand what is spread betting, it's important to recognize how these various elements affect the odds.
Key Terms in Spread Betting
- Covering the Spread: When a team outperforms the spread of the bookmaker. For example, the Chiefs enter the game with a -7.5 point advantage and win by 10 points. They cover the NFL point spread. Bettors who backed them to cover the spread would profit, as the team surpassed the bookmaker's expectations.
- Push: When the outcome lands exactly on the spread, the bookmaker refunds the wager.
- Juice: To understand what does spread mean in betting, it’s important to know the definition of juice. Bookmakers charge a fee called juice and usually represent it in spread bet odds like -110.
- Over/Under: It means placing a wager on whether the final score will exceed or fall short of the amount specified by the bookmaker.
Conclusion
Spread betting is an exhilarating way to bet on sports by predicting the margin of a victory instead of simply the winning participant. Whether you bet on the NFL point spread, college football, or Super Bowl, understanding key concepts like covering the spread, push, and juice is essential. With this information, you can make better decisions and therefore wager in a better way.
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Last updated: March 31, 2025
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Reviewed by Felipe Morgante
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