Types of Bets: The Different Ways To Bet on Sports

For most people, the words “sports betting” mean just one thing – fixed-odds gambling. This is no surprise, considering it’s the most popular type of sports betting there is. However, the world of sports betting is in fact incredibly diverse – so you might be surprised to find that there are countless more ways to bet on sports than you’ve imagined.

With so many options, it can also be a little too much to take in all at once. Luckily, you’re in good hands: In this quick guide, we’ll introduce you to the various types of bets in sports and how you can get your game on. Because as they say, variety is the spice of life.

Fixed-Odds Sports Betting

We’ll kick off this guide nice and easy with a sports betting type that most people need no particular introduction to – fixed-odds sports betting. After all, it would be sacrilege to have all common bet types explained and not mention the most popular one. It’s a simple and classic way of betting.

There are two parties to fixed-odds sports betting. On one side, a wager is placed by a bettor on predicted outcomes in a sporting event. On the other hand, someone usually referred to as a bookmaker or bookie accepts this wager. The betting odds are agreed, and once the sporting event is over, the bet can be settled.

Should the bettor win the wager, they’ll get returns based on the odds agreed to. That is, whatever amount they staked, multiplied by the odds. If the bettor loses the wager, the bookmaker wins what was staked.

Let’s take a practical example of how fixed-odds betting looks like. Our sport of choice for this example will be tennis.

Our sample tennis match will be between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. As both men are two of the most successful tennis players in the world, we can pick the outcome to have either of them win the matchup. Hence the odds for each outcome are as follows:

Rafael Nadal to Win -110
Novak Djokovic to Win -110

Let’s say a bettor picks Nadal to win because the match will be played on a clay court and stakes £100. If his predicted outcome comes true and the King of Clay comes out victorious, then the bettor wins £191, which is his initial stake plus the profit earned from the odds. If Novak Djokovic comes out as the winner, however, the bettor loses his entire stake to the bookmaker.

The same system applies to virtually all types of markets under fixed-odds betting. Now, let’s look further into various subtypes of fixed-odds betting.

Moneyline

This type of betting is often referred to as winner, match result, or full-time result. The idea behind this bet is simple and is perhaps the most widely recognised. You simply place a bet on who wins a sports event. Sometimes, additional options include a draw or a tie.

Futures

These bet types often involve long-term betting with fixed odds. For instance, a bookmaker can let you place a bet on who would win the English Premier League, NFL Super Bowl, or NBA Playoffs at the start of the season. Futures are very similar to moneyline bets, with the major difference being that you have to wait a bit before the settlement of your wager.

Handicap Markets

Handicap markets function very much like moneyline bets, with the exception being that one team or player in the sporting event has a predetermined advantage over their opponent. Your wager usually involves deciding if this ‘weaker’ opponent can win in spite of this advantage.

Totals

These types of bets are referred to as totals by punters in the United States. For the rest of the world, they are known as over/under markets. Either way, the premise is simple.

The bookmakers set lines for the number of overall points or goals scored by both opponents in a sporting event, and you can place a bet on if they’ll score over or under the lines. In football, the score lines could be 1.5 (meaning two goals) or 200, as in basketball. Let’s take an example to have these bets explained as clearly as possible.

Suppose the sporting event is a basketball match between the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets. The booker may set the totals line at 200 points. If you think that the game is a high-scoring one that’ll exceed 200 points scored in total, then you place an over bet.

If you believe the game points scored will be fewer than the 200-point line, then you bet under. Your totals bet is won when you correctly predict the outcome.

Props

The props market covers betting types that don’t belong to any category of bets or markets described above. They include all kinds of markets, such as a wager on a specific team or player to score first in a game, how many technical fouls or yellow cards will be given in a game, and even wagers involving transfers.

All of the bets mentioned above can either be played as singles or multiples. You can combine various selections in an accumulator bet, but they all have to be correct for you to win. Some bookies, however, offer chances for you to play accumulators and still win even when not all of your selections win.

Some of these systems are particularly popular with internet betting. Thanks to online sportsbooks, bettors can now enjoy features like Cash Out, which lets you take out a sum of your winnings if you’re unsure about the remaining selection on your bet slip. There’s also the Bet Builder feature, which lets you combine different types of bets and markets to create unique ones.

Of course, this all sounds interesting, but where can you try out fixed-odds betting to your heart’s content? Check out our list of top betting sites for all types of sporting events.

Oh, and one more thing. Fixed odds are so great because you get to bet on other areas of interest that aren’t strictly speaking sports, such as esports (video game betting), entertainment, and even politics.

Parimutuel Betting

Moving away from fixed odds, let’s take a look at another type of bet; parimutuel betting. The main idea behind parimutuel betting is to take out the bookmaker, or in another case, reduce their margins.

Naturally, all stakes are combined into one big pool of money. Once the sporting event is over, all winning bettors split the prize pool while the bookmaker takes a certain percentage from the pool. Now, the distribution of the prize pool is determined by how much every bettor stakes. A bettor who stakes 200 pounds will earn double of what someone with 100 pounds would. In essence, parimutuel betting involves players making bets against each other for a sports event, instead of against the bookmaker.

Parimutuel betting is a particularly popular system of betting with certain sports and markets, for example, dog races and the always-popular horse racing. However, it’s available in other sports where participants finish in a ranked order as well.

In-Play/Live Betting

In-play betting, also known as live betting, is an aspect of online betting that has really gained popularity over the years for its novelty and how exciting it can be. In-play betting is a form of fixed-odds betting, but it comes with its own twist.

Where traditional bets are usually placed before the sporting event starts, in-play betting involves bets that are placed when the game is already on. In-play betting comes with many advantages. For one thing, you have better information about the game because you can watch it unfold.

These bets are also quicker, and many bookmakers give nice bonuses on live selections. Additionally, there’s the availability of unique markets you wouldn’t find on a regular basis. Some of them include:

• Next team to score – a wager on which team will next score a point, goal, or touchdown.
• Next player to score – this wager is placed on the next player in the game to score a point or goal.
• First to reach X points – for games like basketball or hockey, this wager is placed on a player or team to reach a specific number of points first.
• Team to win next half/innings/quarter/set – this can be found in virtually every sport with split segments. It’s a wager on what team, or sometimes player, will win the next half, quarter, set, or innings.
• Player to get fouled out/booked/sent off – a wager on what player or team will get a sanction from the referee.

Besides these conventional markets, you can also find traditional ones, like spreads, moneylines, and totals. The best part? You can find live betting on almost every betting site on the internet.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Betting on fantasy sports is another exciting opportunity in online sports betting. It’s one of the more recent offerings but holds as much popularity as most of the traditional types.

Daily fantasy sports involve entering a contest with other players, often by paying an entry fee. You and other players then build a roster or team of real players, and your team earns points based on the performances of these real players in real sporting events. At the end of the season, the teams with the highest points are awarded the prize pool.

You can find daily fantasy sports on virtually any sport. One of the most popular types currently is the Fantasy Premier League.

Spread Betting

While there are spreads when betting on fixed odds, spread betting is an entirely different concept. With spread betting, the margin between winning and losing depends on the magnitude of the prediction. In other words, it’s not about simply making the right prediction. It is about how right your prediction is.

For instance, the Los Angeles Lakers face off against the Milwaukee Bucks. The market in question is the totals market. In fixed-odds betting, the line is set at 190 points, meaning when you back over, you win if the game ends with both teams scoring anything above that number. It doesn’t matter if the score totals 193 or 240.

With spread betting, however, accuracy is the watchword. It can look complex, but in simple terms, you win back your stake on every point that is correctly predicted. As there are no odds, your winnings depend on an exact number of points. In the same vein, you lose your stake for every point if your prediction goes the other way.

Spread betting is extremely risky because you can lose a lot of money if your prediction falls far behind. Its attractiveness lies in the fact that you can equally win a lot of money if your prediction is correct.

Exchange Betting

Exchange betting takes out the traditional role of the bookmaker. There are two parties to exchange betting, with one betting on an outcome (this is called backing) while the other bets on an opposite outcome (this is referred to as laying or lay betting).

It’s basically betting between two people. If you lose, the other party takes the entire pool prize and vice versa.

FAQ

How much should I bet?

There is no single correct answer to this question, as different people are in different financial situations. Moreover, many factors will determine how much you should bet, such as your tolerance for risk, the type of bet you want to make, and others. Either way, we advise that you bet responsibly and only stake what you are comfortable losing.

Which bet types are the riskiest?

Typically, you should avoid parlays, permutation bets, and of course, spread betting. This is because they generally have a higher risk than other types of bets and you stand to lose more money.