- Fact-checked by Josh Miller
- Edited by Diana Westfield
Handicap betting gives one side a head start on paper so that a lopsided match turns into a fairer contest, with odds worth bothering about. Nobody wants to back a title favourite at 1.20, but give them a goal to make up and the price drifts out to something closer to evens. The free CasinoCalcs Asian handicap calculator settles any line for you; below is how the different versions actually work.
Handicap betting explained with one match
Picture the league leaders at home to a promoted side. The leaders are 1.25 to win outright, which hardly moves the needle. Take them at −1 instead and they now have to win by at least two goals for your bet to land, and the bookie might offer 1.95 for that.
The promoted side gets the mirror image, +1, meaning they start the match a goal up in the bookie’s eyes. Lose 1–0 on the pitch and on the handicap it’s 1–1.
What is a handicap bet in football?
A handicap bet in football starts one team with a goal deficit or a head start before kick-off. Back a favourite at -1 and they need to win by two clear goals; back the underdog at +1 and they win your bet if they win or draw. With a European handicap a level result after the adjustment is its own outcome, the handicap draw. With an Asian handicap, half-goal lines make a draw impossible and whole-goal lines refund your stake on a tie.
European handicap
The European version keeps three outcomes, just like a normal match bet. With the favourite at −1:
- favourite wins by 2 or more: the −1 bet wins
- favourite wins by exactly 1: the handicap result is a draw, a separate market with its own price
- draw or underdog win: the +1 side wins
That middle outcome trips people up. Back the favourite −1, watch them win 2–1, and you’ve lost, because on the handicap the game finished level. The European handicap calculator lays out all three.
Asian handicap
Asian handicaps get rid of the draw. They come in three flavours, and once you’ve seen each one with money on it, it clicks.
Half-goal lines like −0.5 or −1.5 can’t finish level, so the bet either wins or loses. −0.5 is just “to win”, −1.5 means winning by two or more.
Whole-goal lines like −1 hand your stake back when the margin lands exactly on the line. Your team wins 2–1 at −1, and the bookie refunds you rather than calling it a loss.
Quarter lines split your stake down the middle. Put £20 on −0.75 at 1.90 and you’ve really got £10 on −0.5 and £10 on −1. Win by one goal and the first half pays £19 while the second half is refunded, so £29 comes back for a £9 profit. Win by two and both halves pay, £38 in total.
What does spread mean in betting?
On North American sites the handicap is called the point spread, and it works like an Asian line on a bigger scale. An NFL favourite at −7.5 needs to win by eight or more; the underdog at +7.5 covers if they lose by seven or fewer, or win. Baseball’s run line and hockey’s puck line sit at 1.5, which is why you’ll see “what does −1.5 mean” searched so often: it means win by two. Both sides are usually priced around −110, which is 1.91 in decimal.
Spread betting is something else
In the UK “spread betting” means a different product altogether. You buy or sell a number at so much per point, and your profit or loss grows with how wrong or right you are. Buy total goals at 2.9 for £10 a goal: four goals pays £11, but a 0–0 costs you £29, and there’s no fixed ceiling on how much a bad result can cost. Run the numbers through the spread betting calculator before you try it.
Related: draw no bet calculator, odds converter, glossary: Asian handicap.