Sports betting is a popular past time. In England, sports betting providers online advertise openly at local sports venues and even sponsor football teams. In the US, however, sports betting is more of a taboo. Though not done as openly as in England and Europe, sports betting thrives in the USA.

Regardless of the venue, sports betting providers, known as bookmakers, offer two different ways to bet on the outcome of a match. The two methods are spread betting and money line betting.
With spread betting, a favored team gives or spots the team expected to lose (known as the underdog) a certain amount of points. The favorite gives points to the underdog in an attempt to balance the sports betting marketplace interested in the particular sporting event. In a perfect spread bet, the sports betting source has balanced books, meaning an equal amount of money is placed on both the favorite and underdog.

If the betting line is unbalanced, the sports betting bookmakers will move the spread one way or the other in order to encourage the sports betting public to jump on the other side – thus balancing the books. For example, supposing the Pittsburgh Steelers are favored by 7.5 points over the Cleveland Browns. The majority of the money pours in on the Steelers, as the belief is that the Steelers will beat the Browns by more than 7.5 points. The odds makers will move the spread to 9 points, in hopes that the betting public will begin betting on the Browns to lose by less than nine points, or even win. Sports betting bookmakers strive to keep the books balanced so they do not take on undue risk. In a perfect world, sports betting bookmakers make their money by way of commission, as they typically charge a fee on lost bets.

The other method of betting is by way of the money line. The money line pays a premium if the underdog team is selected and they win straight up. Unlike the spread betting method, points are not given to the underdog. When betting on the favorite, it is typical to receive less than double your money in the event your team wins.

Whether betting at sportsbook.com using point spreads or by the money line, it is important to do your homework. Know how much you expect to win, and project the game prior to placing your bets. By doing so, you will have made your own money line or spread, and can find value in either method prior to betting on sporting events.