Asian Handicap Betting Guide

Asian handicap betting doesn’t need to be complicated – and this guide will help you through the details of Asian markets if you’re new to sports betting, or just want to revive your knowledge of this bet type.

We hear plenty of punters wondering what is Asian handicap betting, and how on earth do the markets work.

It’s an understandable position to be in if you’ve never bet on Asian lines before. After all, discovering you can bet on one-quarter of a goal in football doesn’t exactly sound straightforward!

But Asian handicaps are a great way of diversifying your bet types, reducing risk and backing favourites at far better prices. And so, we’ve created the ultimate Asian handicap guide to take you through this dynamic market…

What is an Asian handicap bet?

As the name suggests, the Asian handicap bet is particularly popular in the Far East. As with the standard handicap markets offered at the LeoVegas Sportsbook, Asian handicaps are available on various sports.

Just like with other forms of handicap bets, the idea behind the Asian handicap is that one team or athlete is given a virtual head start — if their handicap is positive — or they are penalised runs, points or goals.

Asian handicap bets eliminate the possibility of a draw when used on football betting markets. There are two types of Asian handicap markets — the whole goal Asian handicap and the half-goal. These are self-explanatory, with the virtual head start or penalty being either a goal or just half a goal.

If Arsenal are playing Wrexham in the FA Cup, the Gunners would likely be strong favourites in the odds. The Asian handicap could be a way to boost the price on offer for Arsenal to win that FA Cup tie.

Arsenal -1.5 would be an example of the options offered on the LeoVegas Sportsbook for this game. Here, for the purposes of the bet, the team with the most goals once the handicap is considered wins. Therefore, Arsenal's actual goals tally sees 1.5 taken away. So, if they score three, their total for the bet becomes 1.5 instead. This means they need to win by two clear goals for Arsenal -1.5 to win as a bet.

Sometimes, handicap markets include a combination of a half-goal and a whole goal handicap, so +0 & +0.5, -0 & -0.5 and so on. Here, the stake is split on each half of the bet, giving players more chances.

How does an Asian handicap work?

A bookmaker will create a ‘line’ where they think two teams have a 50/50 chance of winning. This line will favour the underdogs, so if Team A is top of the league and Team B is at the bottom, then the line will be placed giving Team B an advantage.

Bettors can then wager on different points in that line. You bet on a team to win either with (+) or without (-) a goal handicap advantage. These points are full, half and quarter, as shown here:

Full odds

-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, Half odds

-2.5, -1.5, -0.5, +0.5, +1.5, +2.5

Quarter odds

-0,75, -0.25, +0.25, +0.75

It means that if you bet on Team B to win with a +1.5 goal headstart at odds of 2.00, you can still win your bet if they lose 1-0.

Now, the outcome of your bet depends on which odds type you select (full, half, quarter) and whether you back a + or - handicap.

There are five different types of return for Asian handicap betting:

Win - You win the bet and get your profit and stake back

Lose - You lose the bet and lose your stake

Half win - You only win half your stake, the other half is lost

Half lose - You only lose half your stake, the other half is refunded

Stake refunded - Your total stake is returned with no loss or gain

Quarter betting

What makes the Asian handicap different to a normal handicap, however, are the additional ¼ splits within the goals. It means you can bet on Team A to beat Team B, for example, with a -1.75 handicap.

How is this possible? Well, this is where things appear to get complicated, even though they’re not. In quarter betting your wager is split in two, with half the bet backing a win and half backing a draw. Check out the table below for a demonstration on when ¼ bets win and lose on the draw.

How to place a handicap bet at LeoVegas?

So now we know what a handicap bet is — and what the Asian handicap is — how can customers on the LeoVegas Sportsbook place this type of wager?

• Log in to your account at the LeoVegas Sportsbook. Then navigate to your sport of choice.
• Choose a game or match to bet on, then find the handicap betting markets offered.
• Pick the handicap you want to bet on and tap or click it to add to the bet slip.
• Decide how much to stake on the handicap bet and see the potential pay-out offered.
• Confirm the handicap bet, then sit back and wait to see if it is a winning wager.

Sports that are popular for handicap betting

Customers on the LeoVegas Sportsbook like to use handicap betting on various sports.

Here are some of the most popular sports for handicap betting:

• Football
• Rugby union and rugby league
• Tennis
• Basketball
• American football

Essentially, any sport where goals decide the outcome, or some form of points, can use handicaps.

Horse racing also has handicaps, which are not to be confused with handicap betting. In horse racing, the handicap instead refers to the amount of extra weight the horse must carry to even up the field.

Asian handicap example

Luton play Chelsea in the FA Cup and, because of the disparity between the two teams, are given a +1.25 and +1.50 handicap in the Asian markets to balance out the odds. Chelsea are 5/6 to win with a -1.25 handicap, and 27/25 to win with a -1.5 handicap.

You bet £10 on Luton’s Half odds. Luton win, draw or lose by just one goal and you’ll win your bet. You bet £10 on Chelsea’s Half odds. Chelsea need to win by two or more goals to ensure you win your bet. Any other outcome and you lose. You bet £10 on Luton’s Quarter odds. If Luton win or draw, you win your bet. If Luton lose by exactly one goal, you only win half of your bet. You bet £10 on Chelsea’s Quarter odds. If Chelsea lose or draw, you lose your bet. If Chelsea win by exactly one goal, you only win half your bet.

The quarter bet in Asian markets is meant to add an extra layer of protection in your wager, much like the concept of Each Way betting in horse racing.

Asian handicap calculator

You can calculate your risk and profits from an Asian handicap bet in the Leo Vegas bet slip, simply by clicking on your desired odds and entering a stake. Below we’ve set out when you will win and lose a bet, depending on the outcomes of the most common Asian lines:

Minus Handicap

Plus Handicaps

Best sports for Asian handicap

As we mentioned above, football is the best sport for Asian handicap betting. The reason for this is that draws are a regular occurrence in football, unlike most other sports. In fact, sports such as rugby, hockey, American football and basketball almost never have draws, so there is no real need for the Asian markets.

But in football the Asian lines are ideal for levelling up the playing field and giving your bet a chance even when backing underdogs. It also means you can extract value from heavy favourites while also covering your bet somewhat if they don;t quite hit your expectations.

Asian Handicap FAQs

What is an Asian handicap? An Asian handicap is a bet type that seeks to even out the odds of heavily-weighted sporting events, such as a football match, and get rid of the draw outcome. It is useful for players wanting to wager on heavy favourites or big underdogs.

What does Asian handicap mean?

Asian handicap means a bet type that originated from Indonesia in the 1990s, which seeks to eliminate the draw outcome in sports such as football.

Can I bet Asian handicap on football?

Yes. Football is the most commonly-used sport for Asian handicap betting, as draws are a regular outcome.

How to calculate Asian handicap win

The best way to calculate if you have won or lost an Asian handicap bet is to check our outcomes table in the betting guide above.

Do handicaps include extra/overtime?

One question customers of the LeoVegas Sportsbook are likely to be asking about handicap betting is whether a period of overtime or extra time will be considered for this type of wager.

Usually, handicaps are for the initial period of the match only, so ET/OT would not be counted. The final score at the end of the game is what would be used to decide if the handicap is a winner.

However, sometimes the handicap-betting markets will stress that ET/OT will be included, too.

What is the difference between handicaps and Asian handicaps?

The difference between handicap markets and the Asian handicap is something for customers to get to grips with as they try to pick out some winning wagers when browsing the LeoVegas Sportsbook site.

In short, Asian handicaps are designed to eliminate the possibility of a draw. This is not the case for the standard handicap-betting markets that are available for sports, such as football. Asian handicaps can therefore be a very popular pick as many find them to be more straightforward to understand.

There are a few different types of returns for Asian handicap betting for people to get their heads around:

• Win: You win the bet and get both your profit and stake back.
• Lose: You lose the bet and lose your full stake.
• Half-win: You only win half your stake, but the other half is lost.
• Half-lose: You lose half your stake, but the other half is refunded.
• Stake refunded: The total stake is returned with no loss or gain.

Many sports bettors like to use both handicap bets and Asian handicap wagers at different times. The beauty of handicap betting markets at the LeoVegas Sportsbook is that there are plenty of options to pick from, so it is possible to try out a few ways to bet on the handicap and decide which of them is preferable.

How are odds calculated for handicap bets?

Various things are considered when the odds are calculated for handicap bets at LeoVegas.

As with any other sporting market, the prices offered weigh up factors such as the form book, team news and injury updates. Odds will also naturally move depending on what people are betting on.

The aim with handicap-betting markets is to make backing either team or athlete equally as appealing.

With matches where one party is a very strong favourite, it is unlikely that people will be that keen to have a bet on the action. The handicap is designed to level up the playing field.

Why handicap bets are often single bets rather than accumulators?

For accumulators, football fans tend to prefer simple, straightforward bets that are easy to follow.

Examples of solid accumulators would be a certain number of teams to win or a handful of games to feature both teams scoring. Handicap accumulators would require more mental maths to work out.

It is not that handicap bets are impossible to add to accumulators. Just people prefer other wagers.

Indeed, as handicaps are often used to add more value to either siding with an underdog or backing a favourite, it would probably not make too much sense to add risk by making it an acca