Understanding Sports Betting Odds

Keen to experience a slice of sports betting action? We bet you are. With so many awesome sporting events taking place around the world, sports betting is an epic way to turn up the thrill of watching live sports.  

See, by betting on your favourite team, player or even horse, you're becoming even more invested in the outcome of the event. If they win, then you won't just get to celebrate backing a champ – you'll also get to pocket some bucks. 

But to understand how you could make money from watching sports, you need to understand odds. These numbers act as the secret language of sports bettors around the world and represent which outcomes are predicted to be the biggest money makers in an event. 

So, saddle up, folks, because we're about to take you on a whistle stop tour around the different odds set in sports events, how they work, and – most importantly – how to calculate your returns. 

What are odds? 

Odds (AKA the price of a bet selection) tell you two things: 

1. How likely something is to happen (according to the bookies) 
2. How much cash you could win if your bet lands 

Odds are a simple way of demonstrating the implied probability of an outcome. The higher the odds, the less chance a bet has of winning, but the higher your returns if it does. 

Notice we said, “implied probability”? That's because anything can happen during an event, meaning the odds may change at a minute's notice. Despite this, odds are still your best bet to correctly guessing who will come out on top during the sports event. 

How are odds set? 

If you haven't guessed already, there's some serious math involved in live sports betting. Fortunately, all the number crunching is done by bookmakers, so you can concentrate on the fun part of sports betting! 

The bright sparks over at the bookmakers dive into all the statistics behind each participant in a sports event to come up with their predictions on who is most likely to win. Everything is covered during this research phase. 

We're talking track records, public opinion, what's happening in the participant's life and more. Even the weather conditions are taken into account (especially useful when betting on horse racing). 

Statistics crunched, a margin is then added by the bookmaker so they can take their fair cut of providing the fun. Look out for these margins when placing your bets online – some bookmakers take more of a cut, meaning their odds won't be as competitive. 

Don't go thinking you need to research different sports betting sites though! Nuh-uh. Here at Bally Casino, we're Big on Rewards, which means you can find incredible odds without even leaving our sportsbook site. Just swing by our Sports section to browse our offerings, then add them to your bet slip to get in on the action. 

The different types of betting odds explained 

Start playing on any online sports betting markets and you'll find three types of betting options: fractional, decimal and American. At Bally Casino, we give our buds the opportunity to flick between all three. 

Fractional 

Play on an online betting site in the UK and Ireland and you’re going to find fractional odds as the default type. These odds are displayed as fractions (shocking, we know). 

If the odds of something happening is 6/1, it means that for every £1 bet, you get £6 back. So, a winning £10 wager gets £60 profit, plus the stake back for a total of £70. Backing an outcome at 12/5 works as 10 x (12/5), paying out £34 overall. 

Decimal 

Take a trip across the pond to play at our American sports book site and you'll find decimal odds are the top pick. This type of odds is popular across more than just the U.S., though. Decimal odds are also popular in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and plenty of bettors in the UK use them too. 

Unlike fractional odds, decimals factor in your stake to make calculating returns easier. Placing a £10 bet on a winning outcome at 4.0 returns £40, as it is just 10 x 4. 

This also applies to bets below 2.0, or even money. If you bet £10 on a 1.5 shot, the payout will be £15 (10 x 1.5). 

American 

We couldn't bring the iconic American gaming experience to your fingertips without sharing a taste of our own odds system. 

U.S. odds are shown with either '+' or '-' signs. If the number is +300, this is how much profit would be paid out from a $100 bet. Anything with a '-' next to the number indicates how much needs to be wagered to win $100. 

Try out American odds when you're next betting on the National Football League to get a true taste of the American betting experience. 

How to turn betting odds into percentages 

Want an easy way to read a betting line? We got you. Converting the odds into percentages is a simple way to view the probability of something happening. 

The higher the percentage, the more likely an event is predicted to be and the more chance you have of your sports bet paying out. 

The golden formula for finding the percentage is 100 divided by the decimal odds. But don't sweat it if you're working with fractional odds. To convert fractional betting odds into decimal, use the following formula: (A/B) + 1. For example, fractional odds of 8/5 would convert into 2.60 (8 divided by 5, plus 1). 

Now you know the decimal odds of 8/5, you can plug it into our golden formula to find the percentage probability of your bet winning. Here it would look like 100 divided by 2.60 = 38.46% chance of winning the bet. 

Turning American betting odds into a percentage is a different ballpark, though. To turn positive odds into a percentage, use this formula: 100 / (odds + 100) x 100. For negative odds, use this instead: Odds / (odds + 100) x 100. 

We know, we know, that’s a lot of formulas we've just thrown at you. Here's a TDLR just for you: 

• Decimal odds -> percentage: 100/odds 
• Fractional odds -> percentage: 100 / ((A/B) + 1) 
• Positive American odds -> percentage: 100 / (odds + 100) x 100 
• Negative American odds -> percentage: Odds / (odds + 100) x 100 

Popular sports bets 

Now you're up to speed on sports betting odds, let's talk about the most popular bets placed by sports fans around the world. 

Moneyline 

The most basic type of sports wager in town; The Moneyline bet is as simple as you picking who will win. The odds represent the probability of each participant (player, team, or even horse) winning. There are no handicaps, and no spreads. Just straight up betting on the winner. 

Point Spread  

Also known as spread bets, point spread is a popular sports bet over in the U.S. and covers how many points a team is going to win by. Take Lakers -5.5 vs. Celtics +5.5 as an example. If you bet on Lakers, then they need to win by 6 or more. If you choose to bet on Celtics, then they can either lose by 5 or win outright. 

Handicap  

If there's a clear favourite among the sports bookmakers, then they can choose to level the playing field by awarding points to the underdog. 

Say Arsenal are suggested to beat West Ham at the next football match, bookies may choose to give West Ham a two-goal lead. If you bet on 'Arsenal -2', you're putting money on Arsenal still beating West Ham even after the handicap of minus two goals is applied. That means Arsenal would need to win by three goals for the bet to win. 

Over/Under 

The bookies set a number, and you bet whether the total points/goals/runs will be over or under that. Example: Over/Under 2.5 Goals. Bet over? You need 3+ goals. But bet under? You'll need 2 or fewer. 

Accumulators (Parlays)  

Known as parley bets in the U.S., an accumulator (or acca) bet is multiple sports bets combined. If they all win, you could land the big bucks. If even one loses? Bye-bye stake. 

To form an accumulator bet online, just take your pick of multiple sports odds available at Bally Casino, then add them to your bet slip. 

Futures  

Got a feeling about who'll win next month’s game? Then a futures bet might be for you. This wager asks sports bettors to predict who will win an event that's due to play in the future. 

The odds for futures bets are likely to change the closer you get to an event, since bookmakers will have up-to-date statistics on who's more likely to win or flop. 

Proposition bets 

Instead of betting on the final result, prop bets are where you bet on specific things happening - such as how many goals a player will score or whether a racer will get the fastest lap. This type of bet is often placed on an individual player/participant rather than a team. 

Teasers  

A teaser bet lets you adjust the point spread in multiple bets, but in exchange, you get lower odds. 

Betting odds tips 

You may be up to speed with betting odds and popular sports bets, but we aren't going to let our buds get started without some tips for protecting their bucks. 

Here are five top tips to remember when betting online. 

1. Know your odds – Don't bet on something you don’t understand. If you find it easier to read a different type of odds, then switch the format via 'Settings'. 
2. Research before you bet – Gut feelings are cool, but stats are better. 
3. Pick the best sportsbook site for you – Not be biased, but Bally Casino is known for delivering epic entertainment to sports bettors in the UK and North America. Just sign up to see for yourself. 
4. Don't chase losses – One bad bet? Fine. Chasing it with five reckless bets? Not fine. 
5. Manage your online bankroll – Bet responsibly. Odds are, you aren't a billionaire (yet), so play within your means. 

Start betting on sports today at Bally Casino 

And there you have it! Now you know everything there is to know about understanding online sports betting odds, it's time to take your new knowledge for a spin. 

So, go on. Sign up to our online Bally sports betting platform to bet on your favourite sports including football betting, golf betting, horse betting and more. With hundreds of betting opportunities, real time live bets and a handy bet builder available, there's plenty of thrills to be found right here. 

You can even find awesome betting offers, too, with free bets and regular promotions available. Who knows, bet online or on our mobile device app and you might just land the big bucks. 

Find more insights about the world of online sports betting over at the Bally Casino blog, where you.ll also find how-to playing guides for our epic collection of live casino games.