Over/under, Asian lines and both teams to score: how these bets settle

Over/under is a bet on how many goals or points a match produces in total, measured against a line set by the sportsbook. "Over 2.5" wins if at least three goals are scored, and "under 2.5" wins if there are two or fewer. A line ending in .5 has only two outcomes: the bet wins or loses. Which minutes count depends on the sport, and in hockey it also depends on the sportsbook. We cover every bet type on our sportsbook page, and this lesson is part of our Betting academy.

How over/under works

The sportsbook sets a line, for example 2.5 goals, and you bet that the total will be above or below it.

Latvian sportsbooks use two names for the market. Optibet, Laimz, Klondaika and LVBET write "Vairāk/Mazāk", while the OlyBet rules (12.10) say the market appears on the list as "Virs/Zem". On a slip it may also be called "Vārtu skaits" (number of goals) or "Kopējais vārtu skaits" (total goals). The word "total", common among bettors, comes from Russian ("тотал") and does not appear in the rules of the sportsbooks licensed in Latvia.

The most common football lines:

• Over 0.5 wins if at least one goal is scored.
• Over 1.5 wins if at least two goals are scored.
• Over 2.5 wins if at least three goals are scored. Under 2.5 wins if there are two goals or fewer.
• Over 3.5 wins if at least four goals are scored.

If the line is a whole number, such as 2 or 3, a third outcome is possible: the total lands exactly on the line. The stake is then refunded. The Optibet rules (4.4.2.1.3.2) say the bet is settled "ar Koeficientu 1 (viens)", at odds of 1, and OlyBet does the same (12.10.1). The exception is OlyBet's three-outcome markets, where "vienāds" (exactly the line) is an outcome of its own: if the total lands on the line, only the bet on "vienāds" wins, and bets on over and under both lose (12.10.1).

Asian lines: 1.75, 2.25 and 2.75

An Asian line splits the stake into two equal halves across the two neighbouring lines, so a bet can also end as a half win or a half loss.

A line of 2.25 means half the stake goes on the line 2 and the other half on 2.5. The OlyBet rules (12.10.2) describe a line in "0.25 intervāli" (quarter steps) treated as two bets with the same odds. The LVBET rules (section 30, football) list five possible results for such a bet: win, loss, refund, half win and half loss.

How Asian lines settle by the number of goals:

• Over 1.75 (half on 1.5, half on 2): one goal or none - lose, two goals - half win, three or more - win.
• Over 2.25 (half on 2, half on 2.5): one goal or none - lose, two goals - half loss, three or more - win.
• Over 2.75 (half on 2.5, half on 3): two goals or fewer - lose, three goals - half win, four or more - win.
• Under 2.25 (half on 2, half on 2.5): one goal or none - win, two goals - half win, three or more - lose.
• Under 2.75 (half on 2.5, half on 3): two goals or fewer - win, three goals - half loss, four or more - lose.

The OlyBet rules (12.10.3) give three examples with a stake of 200 euros at odds of 1.8:

• over 2.25, two goals scored: 100 euros refunded, 100 euros lost, 100 euros back in total;
• over 2.75, three goals: 100 euros refunded, 100 euros won at 1.8, 280 euros in total;
• over 2.25, three goals: both halves win, 360 euros in total.

Optibet, Laimz and Klondaika write the same line with two values: 2.25 appears as "2/2.5" and 2.75 as "2.5/3" (Optibet rules, 4.4.2.1.3.3). It is one bet at one price, not two bets.

Asian handicap: the same principle

A quarter line works the same way on a handicap: -0.25 means half the stake is on a handicap of 0 and half on -0.5.

In the lesson on the handicap we covered whole lines such as -1 and +1, and half lines such as -1.5 and +0.5. The Asian handicap adds quarter lines, which settle the same way as Asian lines on goals:

• -0.25 (0 and -0.5): the team wins - win, a draw - half loss, a defeat - lose.
• -0.75 (-0.5 and -1): a win by two goals or more - win, a win by one goal - half win, a draw or defeat - lose.
• +0.25 (0 and +0.5): a win - win, a draw - half win, a defeat - lose.
• +0.75 (+0.5 and +1): a win or draw - win, a defeat by one goal - half loss, a heavier defeat - lose.

In money: a 10-euro stake at odds of 1.90 returns 19.00 euros on a full win, 14.50 euros on a half win (5 euros times 1.90 plus 5 euros refunded), 10.00 euros on a refund, 5.00 euros on a half loss and nothing on a loss. Optibet, Laimz and Klondaika also write handicaps with two values: -0.25 appears on the slip as "0/-0.5" (Optibet rules, 4.4.2.1.4.2).

In an accumulator, OlyBet settles an Asian handicap "the same way as in a single bet" (12.9.9). A leg at 1.90 that ends as a half win therefore counts as 1.45 in the accumulator, a half loss counts as 0.50 and a refund as 1.00. If the first leg of a two-leg accumulator at 1.90 and 2.00 ends as a half win, the total odds are 1.45 times 2.00, or 2.90 instead of 3.80. How accumulators and system bets are calculated is explained in the lesson on single, accumulator and system bets.

A split stake changes how a result pays, not what the bet costs: the sportsbook's margin is in both halves.

Which minutes count: football, hockey, basketball

In football every Latvian sportsbook counts 90 minutes plus stoppage time, but in hockey three sportsbooks include overtime in the goal total and three do not.

Stoppage time is part of regular time at every sportsbook. OlyBet puts it plainly: goals scored in time added by the referee count as regular-time goals (43.1). Extra time and penalty shoot-outs are not counted in football goal totals (43.19.28).

What each sportsbook's rules say about goal and point totals:

• Optibet, Laimz and Klondaika (one rulebook for three brands): football is 90 minutes plus stoppage time (4.4.1.1.1). In hockey the default is 60 minutes (4.4.1.2.1), but for goal totals the rules say otherwise: the total is the goals of both teams "ieskaitot pagarinājumu", including overtime (4.4.1.2.8; in the Laimz rules the same rule is 2.4.1.2.8). In basketball overtime counts (4.4.1.3.1).
• OlyBet: regular time in football (43.1), goal totals in hockey settled on regular time (52.7.5 and 52.7.6), overtime counts in basketball (24.1 and 24.18.2).
• LVBET: regular time in football (section 30). In hockey all bets settle on the regular-time result, "tostarp kopējais rezultāts un handikaps", including totals and handicaps (section 38). Overtime counts in basketball (section 9).
• Betsafe: regular time in football (17.25), regular time in hockey (17.31), overtime counts in basketball (17.9).

An example. A hockey bet on "over 6.5", the score is 3:3 after 60 minutes, and the home team wins 4:3 in overtime.

• OlyBet, LVBET and Betsafe count only the six regular-time goals, so "under 6.5" wins.
• Optibet, Laimz and Klondaika also count the overtime goal, seven in total, so "over 6.5" wins.

If a match is decided by a shoot-out and the market includes overtime, LVBET (section 38) and Betsafe (17.31) add one goal to the winning team. In LVBET's own example, a game that ends 3:3 and is decided in a shoot-out has a total of 7 goals. Optibet applies this rule to its winner market that includes overtime and the shoot-out (4.4.1.2.4).

Sportsbooks licensed abroad can do the opposite. The GG.BET rules settle basketball markets on regular time, and overtime does not count unless the market says so (7.7.1). GG.BET operates under a Curacao licence, it is not licensed in Latvia, and Latvia's player protection rules do not apply to it.

So before a hockey or basketball totals bet, read the market name on the slip: if it does not mention overtime, check that sportsbook's rules. More on these sports on our pages on hockey betting and basketball betting.

Both teams to score

"Both teams to score" with "yes" wins if each team scores at least one goal, and it settles on regular time.

The Betsafe rules (17.25) define the market as settled on whether the match ends with each team having scored at least one goal. Betsafe also offers a variant, "Abas Komandas gūs vārtus Bez neizšķirta" (both teams to score, no draw). Only OlyBet states how own goals count: they are credited to the opposing team (43.19.25). The other sportsbooks' rules do not address the case.

This bet answers a different question from the goal total. With a 4:0 result, both "over 2.5" and "both teams to score - no" win. With 1:1 it is the other way round: "both teams to score - yes" wins and "over 2.5" loses.

Both teams to score and over 2.5 in one bet

Sportsbooks sell this combination as a single market, because two linked selections may not be placed in one accumulator.

If both teams score, the match has at least two goals, so the two outcomes are linked. The LVBET general rules say bets with an obvious correlation between the selections are not allowed on one slip, and such a bet is paid at odds of 1.00. The OlyBet rules (11.1.2) say an accumulator may not include events that affect each other. That is why the combination is offered as a ready-made market or in a bet builder, such as Optibet's "Likmju Konstruktors", which combines several selections from one match into one bet. How ordinary accumulators work is explained in the lesson on single, accumulator and system bets.

Where to bet on goal totals

In Latvia you may only bet with operators licensed by the State Revenue Service.

The State Revenue Service publishes the list of licensed operators. Goal totals, Asian lines and "both teams to score" are offered, among others, by Laimz, licensed in Latvia, whose rules include overtime in hockey goal totals (2.4.1.2.8), and Betsafe, whose rules explain whole, half and quarter lines in Latvian. If you bet during matches, our guide to live betting will help, and odds and the margin are covered in our betting basics.

What counts in a 1X2 or double chance bet is covered in 1X2, double chance and regular time: what counts in your bet.

Play within your means

A bet on the goal total is a bet like any other, and you can lose money on it. Set a budget before you start and stop when it is spent. Our responsible gambling page gathers the tools that help, and how to join the self-exclusion register kept by the State Revenue Service is explained in a separate article. The addiction support line of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 67037333, is anonymous (in Latvian). Betting is for people aged 18 and over only.