What Is Handicap Betting? Handicap Meaning Explained

Handicap betting is a market where the bookie gives one side a head start in goals, points, games or sets (which is the same as giving the other side a deficit), then settles your bet on the adjusted result.

Back the favourite and it has to win by more than the handicap, while backing the underdog means it can lose by less than the handicap, or win outright, and you still collect.

That's the quick version, but the longer one matters more because "handicap" covers a handful of markets that settle in different ways, and a result that lands exactly on a whole number can pay out, refund your stake or lose depending on which one you've backed.

What Does Handicap Mean in Betting?

In betting, a handicap is a head start or deficit applied to a team's or player's score to even up a lopsided contest.

It's the same idea as a golf handicap or the weights carried in a handicap horse race, where the stronger competitor gets pegged back so the contest is closer to even.

Handicaps are written with a sign and a number:

• Minus (-): the favourite, with the number taken off its final score.
• Plus (+): the underdog, with the number added to its final score.

The two sides always mirror each other, so if one team is -1.5 goals, the other is +1.5 goals.

A Worked Example

Say the Warriors are +10.5 against the Storm, and the Storm win the match by 6 points.

• Warriors +10.5: add 10.5 to the Warriors' score and they finish 4.5 points ahead on the handicap, so the bet wins.
• Storm -10.5: take 10.5 off the Storm's score and they finish 4.5 points behind, so the bet loses.

The Storm needed to win by 11 or more for the minus side to get paid, while the Warriors lost the game and still won the bet.

That's exactly why handicaps exist. In a mismatch, the head-to-head price on the favourite is short and the underdog needs a boilover, but once a handicap is applied the question shifts from who wins to by how much, and both sides usually end up carrying similar prices.

Handicap Betting Meaning and Examples

The maths never changes: Adjust the score, compare, settle. What changes from market to market is the type of number used and what happens when the adjusted score finishes level.

Half-Number Handicaps

Most handicaps end in .5, and since nobody can score half a goal or half a point, the adjusted score can't finish level. One side wins and the other loses, with no refunds involved.

Take Manchester City -1.5 goals against Everton +1.5 goals. If City win by two goals or more, City -1.5 wins. If City win by one, the match is drawn, or Everton win, Everton +1.5 gets the money.

3-Way Handicap and the Handicap Draw

A 3-way handicap, often called a European handicap, uses a whole number and adds a third selection called the handicap draw, which wins when the adjusted score finishes level.

Here's how it plays out with France against Australia from the 2022 World Cup, using a (-2.0) handicap on France as the example:

• France (-2.0): wins if France win by three goals or more.
• Handicap Draw (-2.0): wins if France win by exactly two goals.
• Australia (+2.0): wins if France win by one, the match is drawn, or Australia win.

France won that match 4-1, a three-goal margin, so France (-2.0) would have been the winner. It's the same three-outcome setup as the standard win draw win market, just shifted by the handicap.

Asian Handicap

Asian handicap takes the draw out of soccer betting by leaving only two selections. It comes in two forms.

Single-line. You pick one handicap for one side. With France (-1.5) against Australia (+1.5), France -1.5 wins if France win by two or more, while Australia +1.5 wins if France win by one, the match is drawn, or Australia win.

Split-line. Your stake is divided equally between two neighbouring handicaps and each half settles on its own, so you can win both, lose both, or land a mix.

Some sites write these as quarter lines, so France (-1.5, -2.0) also shows up as France -1.75. Here's how that one plays out:

• France win by three or more: both halves win.
• France win by exactly two: the -1.5 half wins and the -2.0 half lands on the number and is refunded.
• France win by one, draw or lose: both halves lose.

Split lines change how a margin that lands exactly on the number is settled, which is why the price sits between the two lines either side.

An Asian handicap of 0 works the same way as draw no bet, where a win pays and a draw hands your stake back. For the latest soccer handicap markets, check out our soccer odds page here at Sportsbet.

Tennis Game and Set Handicaps

Tennis doesn't have a points margin in the usual sense, so the handicap goes on games or sets instead.

Game handicap. The handicap applies to the total games each player wins across the match. With Player A at -3.5 games and Player B at +3.5, Player A needs to win at least four more games than Player B across the match, whoever wins the match itself.

If Player A wins 6-4, 6-3, that's 12 games to 7 and a five-game margin, so -3.5 wins. If Player A wins 7-6, 6-4, it's 13 games to 10, a three-game margin, and Player B +3.5 wins despite losing in straight sets.

Set handicap. Here the handicap applies to sets. A player at -1.5 sets has to win 2-0 in a best-of-three match, or 3-0 or 3-1 in a best-of-five, while the opponent at +1.5 sets only needs to pinch a set in a best-of-three to get the result.

If the scoring itself is the hold-up, our guide to how tennis scoring works sorts it out, and how to bet on tennis runs through the rest of the market list.

Points Handicaps in Footy, Basketball and the NFL

In the high-scoring codes the handicap is a points margin. Take Melbourne at -9.5 against Carlton at +9.5: Melbourne have to win by 10 points or more, while Carlton get the result if they lose by nine or fewer, draw or win the game.

NFL and NBA handicaps settle the same way, and our guide to NBA handicap betting covers how basketball lines tend to behave.

Handicap vs Line Betting

Handicap betting and line betting are the same thing. Both apply a head start to one side and settle on the adjusted score. The difference is mostly the sport and where you are:

• Line: the word Aussie punters use for AFL, NRL and NBA, where the market is a points margin.
• Handicap: the usual term in soccer and tennis, and the one attached to the 3-way and Asian versions.
• Spread: the American name for the same market, mostly heard around the NFL and NBA.

If you're mostly backing footy or basketball, our line betting guide goes deeper into AFL, NRL and NBA lines, pushes and alternative lines.

How Handicap Bets Are Settled

A few settlement rules catch punters out, so they're worth knowing before you get on.

Whole numbers and pushes. Whole-number handicaps turn up most often in soccer and NFL markets and in alternative handicap markets, and when the result lands exactly on one, the push rule applies unless a handicap draw is on offer.

A push works like a void, so single bets are refunded, a multi is recalculated without that leg, and a same game multi is voided. If a handicap draw is offered, that selection wins instead.

Soccer and regular time. Sportsbet's win draw win and draw no bet markets settle on the score after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, so for a handicap on a cup tie that could go to extra time, check the market rules on the bet slip to see which score it uses.

Overtime in other sports. In sports that can go to overtime, such as basketball and the NFL, handicaps are generally settled on the final result including overtime. Rules can vary by sport and market, so check the market rules on the bet slip if you're unsure.

Live betting. Handicap markets are offered while games are in play, but Australian law means live sport bets can't be placed online, so you'll need to call Sportsbet's live betting line.

Why Handicap Lines Move

Handicaps can shift between the market opening and the start of play, often on the back of team or injury news.

A key striker ruled out can move a soccer handicap, and an injury concern can do the same to a tennis game handicap, but whatever the market does afterwards, your bet stands at the handicap you took.

Handicap Betting FAQs

What is Handicap in Betting?

A handicap is a head start or deficit added to one side's score to make an uneven contest closer to even. The favourite carries a minus handicap and has to win by more than that number, while the underdog carries a plus handicap and can lose by less than that number, or win.

What does a +1.5 Handicap mean?

The team at +1.5 has one and a half goals or points added to its final score. In soccer, a +1.5 bet wins if the team wins, draws or loses by exactly one goal, and loses if the team is beaten by two or more.

What does a -1 Handicap mean?

The team at -1 has one goal or point taken off its score, so a win by two or more is a winner. A win by exactly one depends on the market: a 3-way handicap pays the handicap draw, while a market without a handicap draw treats it as a push and refunds single bets.

What is a Handicap Draw?

The handicap draw is the third selection in a 3-way handicap. It wins when the adjusted score finishes level, such as France at (-2.0) winning by exactly two goals.

Is Handicap Betting the same as Line Betting?

Yes. Aussie punters tend to say "line" for AFL, NRL and NBA and "handicap" for soccer and tennis, but both markets work the same way.