To give someone is to take away from them or put them at a disadvantage in a competition. Handicap betting has been around since betting itself, with several variations developed over the years. 2022 saw the highest number of punters participate in various handicap betting markets across leagues in England, Malaysia, China, Spain, France, Italy, Spain, and several other countries. However, is handicap betting a profitable strategy for football and sports bettors?
What Is Handicap Betting?
Also known as spread betting essentially makes a wager after placing a handicap on the stronger team. It gives the stronger team a handicap or, the weaker team the advantage to make the game closer than it is. Creating a wager on the game’s outcome becomes harder to predict if both teams are even. An example of a handicap wager on a game between Wolves and Arsenal will give Wolves a slight lead or Arsenal a small deficit. The odds are in decimals, so instead of a 0-0, the teams start with a +1.5 or -1.5 handicap or debt. While teams don’t score goals in .5 or half a plan, it helps avoid drawing results under certain conditions, which is another advantage for a punter.
Features Of Handicap Betting
Some of the features of handicap betting in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australia include handicap wagers that make specific games more interesting. It isn’t helpful for evenly-matched teams, understanding the different types of handicap wagers, bets on the outcome of fun, and the possibility of eliminating draw results.
1. Makes Games More Interesting
The primary purpose of handicap wagers is to make games more interesting. When two unevenly matched teams play a game, the outcome is likely to lie with the favourites. It results in several punters making a wager on the same effect (i.e. the choices to win). Handicap wagers make things more interesting for the punters and balance the bets placed on any one particular outcome for the bookie, resulting in a win-win situation.
2. Isn’t Helpful For Evenly Matched Teams
Knowing when not to place a handicap wager can be as profitable as knowing when to place a handicap wager in the long term. When two already evenly matched teams participate in a game, then the purpose of applying a handicap becomes irrelevant. Because handicap wagers are applied to unevenly matched teams, punters can not make handicap wagers on evenly matched teams. On some game weeks, when evenly matched teams participate, punters that specifically make handicap wagers in the EPL may not be able to make any wagers on some weeks.
3. Types Of Handicap Wagers
Punters have access to several types of handicap wagers when making handicap wagers online. Some of the handicap wagers that punters can participate in include split handicap betting markets, half and full handicap betting markets, Asian handicap betting markets, handicap league betting, and handicap matched betting. Punters should learn regular handicap and Asian handicap wagers before attempting to make bets on other types of handicap wagers.
4. Can Eliminate Draw Results
Draw results aren’t possible for wagers placed in decimals, including 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, etc. However, for handicap wagers not in decimals, but whole numbers such as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., then draw results are possibly similar to a regular football game.
For sporting events with higher scores, such as cricket, or rugby, regular handicaps with higher numbers (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.) are applicable. For events with lower scores, such as soccer games, Asian handicap wagers are suitable (with increments in 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, etc.).
5. Wagers On Outcomes
Handicap wagers are essentially bets on the outcome of a game or sporting event (barring league betting, which is making a wager on different teams in the league). Participating in a handicap betting market can prevent a punter from making wagers in several other betting markets such as goalscorer, assists, no-draw bets, golden boot, BTTS, FTTS, and other betting markets.
For sporting events with higher scores, such as cricket, or rugby, regular handicaps with higher numbers (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.) are applicable. For events with lower scores, such as soccer games, Asian handicap wagers are suitable (with increments in 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, etc.).
