With many jurisdictions relaxing their gambling regulations to legalize sports betting, the online sports gambling market has gone mainstream. This online gambling segment has attracted the attention of millions of sports fans across the world, giving rise to a new lingo that many casual punters might have a hard time with. But don’t worry, because we’ve got your back!
This sports betting terms glossary will help you understand some of the key terms that you might come across when betting online on sites like Betway and on social media.
Sports Betting Terms Definitions
Action – Placing a wager on an event or game
Arbitrage – When a punter places bets on every possible outcome of a game. A punter can do that for a guaranteed win, but it features small margins since not every bet you make will be profitable.
Alternate Lines – These are lines that differ from the point spread or the main posted lines. For instance, if the point spread in a basketball game is 4.5 points, most bookmakers offer alternate lines with different odds than what’s on the main line.
Edge – It’s the advantage that a player might feel through their extensive research about the team or game.
Favorite– That’s the expected straight-up winner in a sports event or game.
Futures bet – A bet on something that’s expected to happen in the long run instead of betting on a single game or event. For example, the Betway app allows you to make preseason bets on which team will win the NBA championship or who will be the net MVP.
In-game bet– Also known as a live bet, an in-game bet is a wager made while the game is ongoing.
Odds – it’s the measure of how much a punter can win on any wager. These odds can be provided as whole numbers (+124) in American format or fraction (1.40) format.
Over/under – It’s a betting market commonly available in leading sportsbooks, which involves wagering on whether a game will exceed a predetermined number of goals. For instance, you can bet on whether a game will end in Over 2.5 goals or under 2.5 goals.
The spread (point spread) – It’s the number created by the oddsmaker to level the playfield for the opponents. The favorite is shown with a negative sign, while the underdog gets a positive spread.
Prop Bet – A wager made on an event that might happen during a game, but isn’t tied to the outcome. Such bets are often closely related to minor events in the game like who will win the coin toss, the number of corners, the player that will score a touchdown, and more.
Straight-up bet – A wager that involves predicting which team will win a game. You can also bet on a draw when betting on games like soccer.
Underdog – The weaker team or expected loser in any sports event or game. Oddsmakers give the underdog higher odds than the favorite team, usually indicated by a positive figure on the spread.