What is Money line Betting?
Money line betting is one of the most simplistic forms of betting out there – but for anyone new to sports betting, it might be unclear exactly what money line betting is or how it works.
Our guide to money line betting at the LeoVegas UK Sportsbook tells you all you need to know.
About money line betting
Money line betting is the standard form of gambling most US bookmakers offer. As such, in other parts of the world, money line betting is sometimes known as American odds instead. For many sports fans, money line betting is a much easier way to assess probability in betting odds. This type of betting is particularly popular for some of the top US sports, such as basketball, baseball, and the NFL.
Money line betting involves placing a wager on a team or athlete to win their match or event. Unlike a point spread betting market, the margin of victory does not matter in money line betting. As long as the team or athlete you predict will win does so, then the money line bet will be a winner.
What is a money line bet?
As mentioned above, money line bets are straightforward ways to place sports bets. Punters will pick from two or three possible outcomes in the appropriate market, so there is no need to try to predict the final score of a game or match – just who will win. This helps to explain why money line bets are some of the most popular to place at LeoVegas.
As with any other type of market at LeoVegas, many factors are considered when we set out money line betting market odds. Among them are form and fitness news.
For those who have never placed a money line bet, how do you place a money line bet at LeoVegas?
How to place a money line bet at LeoVegas
Placing a money line bet at LeoVegas works much the same way as any other type of wager. However, anyone who is unsure about how to place a money line bet at LeoVegas can follow our guide below:
- Navigate to your chosen sport and pick a match for your money line bet.
- Decide which option is the most appealing from the money line options offered.
- Tap or click on the sporting selection to add it to your bet slip.
- Add how much money you want to stake on the bet and see the potential payout.
- When satisfied, tap to confirm the bet, and then wait and see if it becomes a winner!
Money line betting odds formatting
One of the things that can be confusing for sports bettors is the different formatting of sports odds.
Money line odds are normally relatively easy to understand, but there are a few ways to display prices:
- Decimal
- Fractional
- American
The latter, American odds, are often also referred to as money line betting odds.
Many sports betting websites allow users to decide which format they prefer for odds. The prices will be the same, but there is flexibility over how they are displayed when browsing markets.
Let’s take money line – or American – odds as the first example. These will be displayed as either a positive or a negative number. If the price offered is evens, it will be shown as either +100 or -100, indicating a chance for the user to double their money on this type of bet.
Basketball is one of the best sports for money line betting at LeoVegas, so we will start with an NBA example. In this scenario, the Miami Heat are playing at home to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Our traders have determined that Miami should be priced as the slight favourites in the betting odds.
Money line odds for Miami Heat against LA Lakers in the NBA:
- Miami Heat: +150
- LA Lakers: -145
This means that basketball fans who bet £100 on Miami will win £150 if the Heat triumphs in the game.
The negative bet indicates that players need to wager £145 to return a profit of £100. In this example, players can either lose £145, win £100, or the wager is a push.
As with all sports bets at LeoVegas, players will also receive their stake back for winning wagers.
Decimal odds for Miami Heat against LA Lakers in the NBA:
- Miami Heat: 2.50
- LA Lakers: 2.45
Fractional odds for Miami Heat against LA Lakers in the NBA:
- Miami Heat: 6/4
- LA Lakers: 29/20
The fractional and decimal odds listed above are the same – they are displayed differently.
Which sports have money line betting available at LeoVegas?
Various sports at the LeoVegas Sportsbook may have money line betting available, including the following:
- NFL
- NBA
- NHL
- MLB
- Football
- Tennis
- Boxing
- UFC
How does money line betting work in basketball?
We gave an example of how the money line betting works in basketball above, but let’s go a bit deeper into how the odds can be calculated so that NBA fans can work out exactly how much they might win.
When money line odds are used for money line betting, a positive figure means that the team or the athlete in question is the underdog. When a negative number is used, they are the favourite.
In money line betting for basketball, the figure shown is how much would have to be staked on a bet for the player to receive winnings of £100.
How does money line betting work in American football?
Money line betting works in much the same way for American football as it does for basketball. Both sports having overtime in play helps to make the outcome of a tie far less likely (more on that later).
In the NFL, points spread bets are popular, but this means that sports bettors must work out a margin of victory for their preferred team when browsing the odds at LeoVegas.
The good thing about how money line betting works in American football is that players simply have to predict which team will be celebrating victory at the end of a game.
Let’s say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing at home to the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. The Bucs are made the favourites in the betting, so more money must be staked to win £100 on the bet.
What happens if a money line bet ends in a tie?
One of the main questions that people with less experience in money line betting are likely to be asking at this stage is a fair one: what happens if a money line bet ends up in a tie?
As we know, ties are rare results in most US sports, such as basketball and American football, partly due to overtime being used to try to split the two teams and find a winner.
On rare occasions when a tie happens, a bet on the money line will be returned. This is known in the business as a ‘push’; users will simply see their stake returned to their account as cash. For sports like football (UK), on which players can bet on the game ending in a draw, players would not usually get their original stake returned.
Approaches and strategies for money line betting
There are a lot of money line betting strategies out there, but none can guarantee success. Nevertheless, there are a few recommended approaches to money line betting that are worth giving a go.
As with any other market, finding value is the key to money line betting options. It is not necessarily better to win a higher number of bets, with people aiming to record overall profits instead. For example, betting on a big favourite on the money line is unlikely to result in much profit.
Predicting when the money line might be about to move and betting ahead of the price changing can be a good approach. Naturally, the line often just moves because of what people are betting on. Becoming more attuned to the public's mood can help spot money line moves in advance.
As always, the golden rule when money line betting is never to risk more than you can afford to lose.
Money line betting and accumulators
Accumulators are one of the most popular types of sports bets out there. There is a chance to win a lot of potential profit from this type of bet, though it is worth noting that accumulators can be hard to win.
Money line betting and accumulators go together really well. They’re good options as they’re simple to put together on sites like LeoVegas.
With each money line bet added to the accumulator, the customer can see exactly how much potential payout is up for grabs as they change the amount of stake they are willing to risk.
The potential payout will rise as the stake increases, also going up for every extra money line bet that is added due to the increased chance that the bet will fail to win.
Trying out relatively low-stakes accumulators is a great way to start with money line betting.