Point Spread vs. Spread Betting Explained: What They Mean and How They Differ
Point spreads are among the most popular forms of sports betting in the United States. Meanwhile, spread betting is more common in the UK and Europe and operates on a completely different model. Although the terms sound similar, they refer to two distinct types of wagering.
In this guide, we’ll explain both—starting with U.S.-style point spread betting, then moving on to the UK/European concept of spread betting—so you can understand the key differences between them.
Note: This guide uses examples in both U.S. dollars and British pounds, and includes American, decimal, and fractional odds. The same betting principles apply regardless of currency, and most sportsbooks let you toggle your preferred odds format.
What Does the Point Spread Mean in Betting?
A point spread allows the oddsmakers to provide a small margin of error to even the odds between two teams. Online sportsbooks project the margin of victory of the winning team, and you place your bet on whether you think that margin will be higher or lower than their projections.
How Does a Point Spread Work?
Oddsmakers will develop odds based on thorough statistical analysis and choose favored and underdog teams. Favored teams are signaled with a negative number, while underdog teams are listed with a positive number.
These two outcomes have different meanings depending on your research and which team you have decided to bet on:
- The negative number signifies how many points the favored team has to win the game for a bet to pay out.
- The positive number signifies that the underdog team must either 1) win or 2) lose by less than that amount to pay out.
This point spread will give the underdog a slight advantage. Where you may not find value in betting on an underdog on the moneyline, you can find some value here with point spreads.
How to Read Point Spread Odds
We have the basics of a point spread wager down; now, let’s look at the odds associated with your wager. If you’re familiar with moneylines, you will understand how the odds work, but we can briefly go over this again.
The odds associated with these teams will show the likelihood of that team winning the game.
Again, the minus sign symbol indicates that the team is more likely than not to win. The bigger the negative number, the more likely that team is to win.
The plus-sign symbol again shows the underdog team. The bigger the positive number, the less likely the team will win.
American odds are most prevalent in North America.
When you look at the point spreads for a game, you will see the number represented in either the plus or minus, and then the American odds—most likely somewhere around -105 or -110, but sometimes you may see upwards of 20 points on either side—will be next to them in brackets.
Point spread odds aren’t in the same ranges you would see with moneylines, as massive underdogs exist. A margin of error is associated with point spreads, so oddsmakers don’t tend to be too risky with this betting type.
American odds show you your potential winnings on a $100 wager if you’re betting on underdog odds. If you bet on a +7.5-point spread with odds of +105, you would win $105 on a winning $100 wager.
The favored team’s odds will show us how much we need to wager to win $100. For example, if the -7.5 point spread had (-115) odds, you would need to wager $115 to profit $100.
It’s that simple.
Point Spread Betting by Sport
Point spreads can be displayed differently or look different depending on which sport you are betting on. Sometimes, point spreads even have different names, depending on the sport.
Here are real examples of point spreads in each professional sport so you can know what they look like.
American Football Point Spread
NFL point spreads are arguably more popular than moneyline wagers or totals for regular Sunday betting. With point spreads, you can bet on underdogs with more confidence. You may even see spreads in the double digits depending on the quality of the teams in question.
Popular point spreads are set as field goal or touchdown differential (3 or 7). If you are betting on the Indianapolis Colts (+3.5) and the Detroit Lions (-3.5), you know the Lions are favored and need to win by more than four points to cover, and the Colts are the underdogs and need to win or lose by three or less to cover.
Basketball Spread Betting
Even though basketball is high-scoring, we typically don’t see large spreads in the NBA due to the teams' parity. Teams tend to be closely matched and can score quickly to cut into a lead.
You may see -1.5/+1.5 spreads or even a few points more, but nothing too high unless a team is a considerable underdog.
Puck Lines
Hockey is one of those sports that doesn’t record points, so to speak; they record goals. In the NHL, we call point spreads puck lines. They work the same as point spreads in other sports; they use different names.
You’ll find spreads between 0.5 and 5.5 goals at most at NHL betting sites, as hockey is such a low-scoring game. You may find a puck line on a Montreal Canadiens (-1.5) and Boston Bruins (+1.5) game you want to bet on. This line signifies that the Canadiens are favored and will need to win by two or more goals, and the Bruins are the underdogs. If you bet on the Bruins, they can lose by one goal, and you will still win.
Run Lines
Baseball is another sport that doesn’t track points; they track runs. Point spreads at MLB betting sites are aptly named run lines. Run line spreads usually are in the 0.5 to 2.5 range, but runs can be scored in bunches in baseball. All a team needs is one hot inning, and we're looking at a vastly different ball game.
If you’re looking at the Arizona Diamondbacks (+1.5) versus the Pittsburgh Pirates (-1.5), the Pirates are favored, meaning they will need to win by two runs. If you bet on the Diamondbacks, they could lose by one run or win the game outright for that bet to cash.
Asian Handicap
Asian handicap betting in soccer (football) is the closest equivalent to point spread betting. It levels the playing field by giving the underdog a head start in goals (e.g., +1.5) or assigning a goal deficit to the favorite (e.g., -1). Unlike standard spreads, Asian handicaps can include quarter-goal increments and often allow for partial wins or refunds.
Let’s say you make a wager on your favorite team with a -0.75 line. Your bet is split equally between -0.5 and -1. Here are the different scenarios based on the match’s outcome:
| Game Outcome | Your Bet Results | Win/Lose |
|---|---|---|
| Team wins by 2+ goals | You win both halves | Full win |
| Team wins by exactly 1 goal | You win the -0.5 part, but the -1.0 part is a push | Half win |
| Team draws (ties) or loses | You lose both | Full loss |
Now that we've covered point spread betting as it's used in U.S. sports, let's turn to spread betting — a very different concept popular in the UK and Europe. We’ll use football (soccer) as an example of how it works.
What is Sports Spread Betting?
Spread betting online has the potential for more risk and reward compared to normal fixed-odds betting.
With spread betting, you "buy" on a market if you think the outcome will be above the spread or "sell" if you want to go the other way. It’s the equivalent of buying or selling company shares, except that the model is applied to sports betting.
Examples of Sports Spread Bets
Let’s look at some examples to understand how spread betting works.
Unlike fixed-odds betting, where you get an exact payout if your selection wins, your spread betting return will vary depending on how “right” or “wrong” your bet is.
Example of a Buy Bet
Using football as an example, let’s look at a “buy” bet.
If Liverpool is playing Everton and the spread for the Reds is 1.45–1.65 goals, the bookmaker indicates they expect the Reds to be 1.5 goals better than the Toffees.
If you think Liverpool will win this game by two or more goals, you'll choose the "buy" option, which involves buying at 1.65 (the bigger number).
Let’s say you decided to buy Liverpool for £20 per goal. You would have the following potential winning outcomes:
- Liverpool win by two goals = £20 x 0.35 = £7
- Liverpool win by three goals = £20 x 1.35 = £27
- Liverpool win by four goals = £20 x 2.35 = £47
- Liverpool win by five goals = £20 x 3.35 = £67
The calculations are made by multiplying your unit stake (£20) by the difference between the number of goals scored and the buy price (1.65). As you can see, the potential winnings increase depending on Liverpool's level of supremacy.
The flip side is that Liverpool might only win by one goal or actually fail to win the match. The more off the mark you are with your prediction, the more money you'll lose. The oddsmaker also has a small margin built in between 1.45 and 1.65.
Example of a Sell Bet
Let’s look at a more volatile market to explain how a "sell" bet might work.
In the Liverpool vs Everton match, the time of the first goal has a spread of 29-32 minutes. Bettors anticipating an early goal in the game at Anfield might decide to “sell” at 29 because they think a goal scored in the 28th minute or earlier will yield a profit. The earlier the goal, the bigger the overall payout.
Imagine you sold for £5 per minute on this spread betting market. You might see some of the following outcomes:
- 1st Goal in the 7th minute = 22 x £5 = £110
- 1st Goal in the 15th minute = 14 x £5 = £70
- 1st Goal in the 25th minute = 4 x £5 = £20
- 1st Match Goal in the 40th minute = -11 x £5 = -£55 (you lose £55)
- 1st Match Goal in the 67th minute = -38 x £5 = -£190 (you lose £190)
The calculations here are made by subtracting (or adding) the minutes of the first goal from the “sell” price of 29. As you can see, a nice early goal would result in a handsome profit.
But beware: You'll lose if the score is still 0-0 after the 29th minute. Because this is a spread bet, the losing amount will rise by £5 every minute until the deadlock is broken.
Benefits & Risks of Spread Betting
Sports spread betting can be highly volatile, depending on how much you stake and the market you're betting on.
There’s plenty of risk attached to this form of betting, although betting apps sometimes allow you to set something called a stop-loss, which limits how much can be lost (or won) on a particular trade.
- You can trade your positions in-play
- The more “right” you are, the more you win
- Stop-loss can also limit losses
- Bookmaker's margin is transparent
- Oddsmakers are accurate with spreads
- Losses can be substantial if you're way off the mark
Spread Betting vs. Fixed-Odds Betting
The key difference between sports spread betting and traditional betting is the absence of the fixed-odds element.
Going back to the previous example, in a fixed-odds scenario, a £5 bet on Liverpool at evens involves staking £5 and getting a return of £10 if they win, or a return of £0 if they fail to win.
With spread betting, you could buy Liverpool’s advantage at 1.65 goals for a unit stake instead. There's more risk involved and potentially more reward, so it’s only worth placing a spread bet if you have a strong feeling about a particular outcome.
It's also worth noting that you need to have enough funds in your account to cover any potential losses when spread betting.
Popular Football Spread Betting Markets
You can expect to find these markets when placing spread bets on football.
- Supremacy: This market requires predicting the goal difference between two teams. You bet higher or lower than the spread set by your football bookmaker. Your profit is the unit difference between the betting site’s spread and the final result, multiplied by your stake.
- Total Goals: This is a bet on the cumulative number of goals scored in a match. You decide whether the total goals will be higher or lower than the bookmaker's prediction.
- Shirt Numbers: Unique to spread betting, this market involves adding the sum of the shirt numbers of all goal-scorers in a game. You bet on whether the final total will be over or under the spread.
- Bookings Points: Bets are placed on the total points allocated for yellow and red cards in a game (e.g., 10 points for a yellow, 25 for a red), and you decide whether the points total will be above or below the spread.
- Corners: Bet over/under the spread for the number of corners awarded during a match. This market can also be split into bets on the number of corners in each half.
Spread Betting Strategy Tips
As we've established, spread betting is a high-risk, high-reward style of wagering. But you can improve your chances by following a few tried-and-tested spread betting strategies.
Start With Low-Volatility Markets
It’s better to begin spread betting on markets without risking big losses. For example, a total goals spread bet is similar to its fixed-odds equivalent, and you’re unlikely to lose your unit stake several times.
Understand Your Worst-Case Scenario
It’s easy to feel confident about a bet and focus only on how much profit can be generated. However, the flip side is that a spread bet can go very wrong, so it’s essential to know how much you might lose if your prediction is way off the mark.
Don’t Chase Losses
This logic applies to all forms of betting, but with spread bets carrying more risk, you must take a step back if things aren’t going your way. Use the stop-loss option to your advantage to limit how much you can lose.
Consider Selling More Than Buying
The majority of spread bettors will buy more than they sell. To minimize liability, betting sites will move the line upwards in this case, so it can sometimes pay to go against the grain and sell on certain markets. Keep an open mind to the sell market when placing your sports spread bets.
