Point spread bet is another American term which is not exactly spread betting in the usual sense.
It is usually used for events where there are only two opposing teams or players and where the result can be expressed in points, goals etc, for example football.
A point spread bet can be seen as a form of handicapping the favourite to even out the odds. The handicap is set so that your win will be the same no matter which team you bet on.
So for example let’s say you have a match between the Bears against the Lions. The Bears are favourites. Depending how much stronger the odds taker thinks they are, they must win by a certain number of points for you to win if you bet on them. Conversely if you bet on the Lions, you can still win your bet even if they lose, provided they do not lose by a certain number of points.
The bet may be expressed like this:
Bears -8 -120
Lions +8 -120
The first number is the points. The second number is the odds, expressed as moneyline odds.
If you bet on the Bears, they must win by more than 8 points for you to win $100 on a $120 stake.
If you bet on the Lions, they must either win, or lose by less than 8 points, for you to win $100 on a $120 stake.
If the Bears win by exactly 8 points the bet is void and your stake will be returned.
Where this differs from normal spread betting is that the bettor does not win more if his or her selection did even better than expected. So if you backed the Bears and they won by 10 points, with this point spread bet you would still only win $100 plus your $120 stake.
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September 14, 2008
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