Handicap Betting otherwise referred to as Line Betting, is where you have a '+' or '-' handicap applied to your selection at the end of the match. If your selection is now winning with the handicap applied, your bet is a winner!

E.g. Australia +2.0 means you would add 2 goals to Australia's score at the end of 90 minutes.

As a quick guide, the win conditions for these selections are as follows:

• France (-2.0) – France must win by 3 goals or more.
• Handicap Draw (-2.0) – France must win by exactly 2 goals.
• Australia (+2.0) – France must win by 1 goal, the match ends in a draw or Australia win the match.

Often you will see Alternate Handicaps which will work in the same way but have a different goal amount assigned. This may be (+1.0), (+3.0) or a reversal of the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ symbols.

When betting on Handicap Draw, the handicap is applied to the favourite team which already has the negative handicap. 

Sportsbet is proud to offer both Handicap Betting and Asian Handicap betting, in these examples we will use the France v Australia match from the 2022 World Cup.

Asian Handicap

There are two types of Asian Handicaps, in both cases you choose between 2 options.

In this first example you can select France (-1.5) or Australia (+1.5).

The win conditions of this first market are as follows:

• France (-1.5) – France must win by 2 goals or more.
• Australia (+1.5) – France must win by 1 goal, the match must end in a draw or Australia must win.

In the second example you can select France (-1.5, -2.0) or Australia (+1.5, +2.0).

When you place a bet on an Asian Handicap of this variety there are two handicaps listed per selection. You are placing half of your stake on each of the two handicaps listed in the brackets.

• France (-1.5, -2.0) – This option means that you have placed half of your stake on France (-1.5) and half your stake on France (-2.0).
• Australia (+1.5, +2.0). – This option means that you have placed half of your stake on Australia (+1.5) and half your stake on Australia (+2.0).

It is possible to win both handicaps, lose both handicaps or win one handicap but not the other. The win conditions for these selections are as follows:

• France (-1.5, -2.0) – If France wins by exactly 2 goals you will win the (-1.5) Handicap and have the stake on the (-2.0) handicap returned. If France wins by 3 goals or more both handicaps will be settled as winners.
• Australia (+1.5, +2.0) – If France wins by 2 goals, the (+2.0) handicap will have the stake refunded while the (+1.5) handicap will be settled as a loss. If France win by 1 goal, the match is a draw or if Australia win, both handicaps will be settled as a win.