What do + and - mean in sports betting?
|
Last Updated: Jun 14, 2024
|
Fact Checked By:
Hunter Hewitt
The plus (+) and minus (-) with sports betting apps, sites or retail sportsbooks can refer to either the point spread or betting odds.
Spread
In terms of the spread, the " - " always refers to the favorite and the " + " always refers to the underdog. For example, you can bet the Dallas Cowboys as a -7 point favorite to beat the Green Bay Packers or the Packers as a +7 point underdog. If you bet the Cowboys -7 and they win by more than seven points, you win your bet. Similarly, if you bet the Packers +7, as long as they lose by less than seven points or win outright, you win your bet.
Odds
It's a similar case for the betting odds, though favorites don't always have a " - ," especially in sports like baseball, hockey or soccer where final results are often decided by one run or one goal. It's especially the case in soccer since matches can end in draws, whereas a winner is declared in almost every other sport because of overtime rules. However, in most cases, the favorite will have a " - " in front of its moneyline odds while the underdog will always have a "+ ."
For an example of moneyline betting odds, you can bet the Eagles as a -150 favorite to win or the Giants as a +180 underdog to win. If you bet $100 on the Eagles to win at -150, you would net a payout of $166.70. If you bet on the Giants to win at +180, the payout would be $280 because they are an underdog.
For something like soccer, Arsenal could be a +150 favorite against Everton as a +190 underdog, while the draw would be set at +220. In this case, the payout would be decent for every situation mainly because the teams are even and there are three possible results compared to just two for something like football (unless they go scoreless in overtime). In this case where both teams have a " + " in front of their odds, the team with the lower number is the favorite. The lower number also means a lower payout, which is always the case for betting the favorite on the moneyline. A $100 bet on Arsenal +150 would net $250, while a $100 bet on Everton +190 would net $290. Going further, a $100 bet on the draw at +220 would payout $320.
Now that you know what plus and minus mean in sports betting, be sure to claim some of the best sportsbook promos available, including:
Read More Sports Betting Q&As
A futures bet is a bet on a future event, usually before a season starts.
Yes. Where legal, the Super Bowl is one of the most popular sporting events to bet on in the world, if not the most popular.
A hedge is a method to reduce risk and secure winnings for a specified bet.
If you've never bet before, there are surely a lot of words and phrases you've never heard before and even if you have bet before, you may not know...
Vig, or vigorish, is the cut or amount charged by a sportsbook for taking a bet, also known as juice.
Yes. Tennessee sports betting was legalized in 2019 and launched in 2020.
Yes. Sports betting is legal in North Carolina, but it will be fully operational on March 11, 2024, with pre-registration beginning on March 1, 2024.
Pennsylvania passed legislation to allow sports betting in 2017 and sportsbooks began taking bets in 2019.
Yes. Indiana passed a bill to allow sports betting in 2019 and wagering started in October with online betting opening a couple months later.
Yes, sports betting is legal in the state of Ohio.
Yes. Sports betting is legal and regulated in Arizona as of football season in 2021.
Yes. Pennsylvania passed legislation to allow sports betting in 2017 and sportsbooks began taking bets in 2019.
Yes. Michigan passed legislation to allow sports betting in December 2019 and the first physical sportsbooks opened in March 2020.
Yes, sports betting is live in Massachusetts.
Yes, sports betting is legal in Maryland. It launched on November 23, 2022.
Sports betting is legal in Ohio, and takes bets as of January 1, 2023.
Yes. Sports betting is legal in Virginia and residents began betting via FanDuel in January 2021.
NFL Week 1 odds came out on all the best sportsbooks following the release of the 2024-25 NFL schedule in May.
Yes. Colorado legalized in-person and mobile sports betting in November 2019.
Yes. New Jersey was one of the first states to legalize sports betting and online wagering after the 2018 Supreme Court decision.
Yes, FanDuel pays out real money. Whether you use the DFS portion of the website, sportsbook, or online casino, you will be paid out in real money.
Yes. Illinois passed sports betting legislature in 2019 and launched at legal sportsbooks in March 2020.
Yes. Sports betting can be a career if you make it your full-time job and put in the hours.
Bonus bets in sports betting are often connected to deposits and are also referred to as bonuses.
FanDuel Sportsbook is legal in 22 states. These states are AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, VT, WV, WY.
