Handicap betting: how it works in football, hockey and basketball

A handicap is a bet where goals or points are added to or taken from one team's result before the bet is settled. A -1 line means the team has to win by at least two goals; +1 means the team starts the match one goal up. The one thing worth knowing first: a bet on the same -1 line can win, be refunded or lose, depending on whether the market is 2-way or 3-way. Almost every Latvian bookmaker offers handicap markets, and the examples below show how they are settled.

What a handicap is

A handicap is a bet on a win with a condition: a set number of goals or points is added to or taken from one team's score, and only then is the bet settled.

The Optibet rules (4.4.2.1.4) describe a handicap as a bet on the margin by which one side won or lost, and that margin can be positive, negative or neutral (0). A minus means the team gives goals away: a favourite at -1 starts the match as if it were losing 0-1. A plus means the team receives goals: an underdog at +1 starts the match 1-0 up.

Bookmakers offer handicaps because they turn a mismatch into a more even bet. A favourite's win at odds of 1.25 is not worth a bet to many people, but the favourite winning by two goals is a different prediction with different odds.

Half-goal lines: -0.5, -1.5 and +1.5

A line with a half (-0.5, -1.5, +1.5) has only two outcomes - the bet wins or loses, because a draw after such a handicap is impossible.

A favourite at -1.5 has to win by at least two goals:

• 1-0 - after the handicap -0.5-0, the bet loses
• 2-0 - after the handicap 0.5-0, the bet wins
• 2-1 - after the handicap 0.5-1, the bet loses
• 3-1 - after the handicap 1.5-1, the bet wins

The other side, the underdog at +1.5, wins in every other case: a draw, an underdog win, or a favourite win by one goal. A -0.5 line means the same as a plain bet on the favourite to win.

Whole lines: 2-way and 3-way handicap

When the handicap is a whole number (-1, -2, +1), the result after the handicap can be a draw, and the type of market decides what happens to the bet.

A 2-way handicap has only two choices - one team or the other. If the result after the handicap is a draw, the stake is returned. The Optibet help page says so directly: on a 2-way handicap, a draw after the handicap means you get your stake back.

On a 3-way handicap, a draw after the handicap is a separate outcome you can bet on. The example in the Optibet rules (4.4.2.1.4.1) has three choices: Team A (-3), Draw and Team B (+3). The draw wins if Team A wins by exactly three goals, for example 3-0, 4-1 or 5-2. The Betsafe rules (17.25) call this market "Handikaps (3-iznākumu)" and use the same example. If you backed either team and the handicap produces a draw, the Optibet help page is brief: your bet loses.

A -1 line on the home team in football, every outcome:

• Home team wins by 2 or more (2-0): 2-way "home -1" wins · 3-way "home (-1)" wins · 3-way "draw (-1)" loses · 3-way "away (+1)" loses
• Home team wins by one (1-0): 2-way "home -1" - stake returned · 3-way "home (-1)" loses · 3-way "draw (-1)" wins · 3-way "away (+1)" loses
• Draw (1-1): 2-way "home -1" loses · 3-way "home (-1)" loses · 3-way "draw (-1)" loses · 3-way "away (+1)" wins
• Away team wins: 2-way "home -1" loses · 3-way "home (-1)" loses · 3-way "draw (-1)" loses · 3-way "away (+1)" wins

The second row is the one people get wrong. A one-goal win returns the stake on a 2-way market, but on a 3-way market the same bet on the home team loses, and whoever picked the handicap draw wins. Some Latvian betting guides mix the two cases up.

In money: 10 euros on "home -1" in a 2-way market at odds of 1.70 returns 17 euros at 2-0, gives your 10 euros back at 1-0, and loses at 1-1. The same 10 euros on "home (-1)" in a 3-way market usually comes at higher odds, say 2.10, and returns 21 euros at 2-0 - but at 1-0 the bet loses. The higher odds are the price of losing the refund.

Other sites often call the 3-way handicap a European handicap. The Optibet, Betsafe and OlyBet rules do not use that name: OlyBet calls it "Tradicionāls handikapa neizšķirts" (traditional handicap draw). Lines with quarters, such as -0.25 or -0.75, are the Asian handicap, which gets its own lesson.

Handicap 0 and draw no bet

A 0 handicap in a 2-way market is the same as draw no bet: you back a team to win, and if the match ends in a draw, your stake is returned.

Latvian bookmakers label this market differently:

• Optibet: "Likme bez neizšķirta" - on a draw the bet is returned at odds of 1 (help page)
• OlyBet: "Spēles rezultāts (bez neizšķirta)" - if regulation time ends in a draw, bets are returned at odds of 1 (OlyBet rules, 43.19.27)
• Betsafe: "Neizšķirts nav likme" - if the match ends in a draw, the bet is returned (17.25)

The odds on this market are lower than on a plain win bet, because a draw does not cost you the stake. In a 3-way market, a 0 line changes nothing - it is a plain bet on 1, X or 2.

Handicaps in hockey and basketball

In hockey a handicap is settled on the regulation-time result by default; in basketball, overtime counts.

Regulation time in hockey is 60 minutes. OlyBet (52.7.13), LVBET (section 38) and Betsafe (17.31) settle handicap bets on regulation time unless the market says otherwise. If you back the favourite at -1.5 and it wins 3-2 in overtime, regulation time ended 2-2, so the bet loses. If the handicap produces a regulation-time draw and the market has no draw option, bets are voided (Optibet rules, 4.4.1.2.14), so a 0 handicap in hockey is a bet on a regulation-time win with the stake back on a draw. More on hockey markets on our page on hockey betting.

Basketball works the other way: Optibet (4.4.1.3.1), OlyBet (24.1), LVBET (section 9) and Betsafe (17.9) settle handicaps including overtime. The exception is GG.BET - an offshore bookmaker without a Latvian licence, whose rules (7.7.1) do not count overtime in basketball unless the market says so. The same -5.5 line can be settled differently by the two. Basketball handicap examples are on our page on basketball betting.

How to read the line on a bet slip

A slash in a handicap line means different things at different bookmakers, so read the market name before you bet.

On an Optibet, Laimz or Klondaika slip, the line "-1/-1.5" is one bet split in half across two lines: half the stake is on -1 and half on -1.5 (Optibet rules, 4.4.2.1.4.2). In the rules' example, Morocco at -1/-1.5 wins 1-0: the half on -1 is returned, the half on -1.5 loses, and the whole bet is settled at odds of 0.5.

In the OlyBet rules (12.9.5), "(-1/+1)" means something else - it is the draw in a 3-way handicap. Same symbol, two meanings. The check is simple: if the market name says "3 virzienu", "3-iznākumu" or "tradicionāls", the middle option is the handicap draw.

If a handicap selection is part of an accumulator and a 2-way line ends in a draw after the handicap, that selection is usually settled at odds of 1 and the rest of the bet stands. How accumulators and system bets are calculated is covered in the previous lesson on single, accumulator and system bets.

What a handicap changes and what it does not

A handicap changes the odds and what has to happen for the bet to win, but it does not change the probability of the result and does not remove the bookmaker's margin.

A favourite at -1.5 with odds of 2.10 is not a better bet than the favourite to win at 1.40. They are two different predictions with different probabilities, and both include the bookmaker's cut. A handicap lets you say more precisely what you expect from the match, but it does not make the prediction more likely to be right. How odds relate to probability and margin is covered in our sports betting basics.

Where to bet on handicaps

Optibet and Klondaika are Latvian-licensed bookmakers with the same sports betting rules, so the Optibet handicap sections quoted in this article apply to both. Before your first bet at any bookmaker, check what it calls its 2-way and 3-way markets.

A handicap is a bet like any other, and you can lose it. Set a budget before you start and stop when it is spent. Our responsible gambling page lists the tools that help, including Latvia's self-exclusion register. Betting is for people aged 18 and over only.