What Does Moneyline Mean In Sports Betting?

• Moneyline (ML) is a bet where you wager on which team or athlete will win in a two-way matchup (two possible outcomes).
• Alternative terms for Moneyline include "Match Winner," "Head-to-Head," "Two-Way Bet," and "Win-Loss Bet."
• A Moneyline bet cannot have more than two outcomes; if a draw is an option, it's called a “Three-way Bet” or “Match Odds” (1X2).
• Betting on a three-way outcome while thinking it’s a Moneyline bet can lead to losing your stake if the result is a draw.
• Moneyline betting is popular in American sports like the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, where games in regular time that end in a tie go into overtime or extra innings.
• "Moneyline" also refers to a type of odds format used in the United States, known as “Moneyline Odds.”

Moneyline (ML) is a bet where you wager on what team or athlete you think will win in a two-way matchup (a bet with two outcomes). Other ways of referring to Moneyline are “Match Winner,” “Head-to-Head,” “Two-Way Bet,” and “Win-Loss Bet.” Some sites refer to three-way bets (the game can result in a tie or draw) as Moneyline; this is misinformation because a Moneyline bet can never have more than two outcomes. If you bet and there is an option of a draw, it’s called a “Three-way Bet” or “Match Odds” (1X2). If you’re betting on 1X2 and think it’s a Moneyline bet, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise when your stake isn’t refunded if the result is a tie (draw).

With Spread Betting and Over/Under, Moneyline is one of the most common ways of betting in America due to the prevalence of the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB. In these sports, games that end with a tie in regular time always have extended playtime in the form of overtime or extra innings to produce a winning team.

In sports betting, the word “Moneyline” is also featured in the odds format used in the United States, which is called “Moneyline Odds,” which you can read more about here. On this page, I’ll explore the moneyline betting option a little more, with examples and calculations, and discuss the purposes of other betting options alongside two-way moneyline bets.

Meaning of Moneyline Bets Including Examples

The purpose of sports betting is to risk money by predicting the outcome of an event with the goal of making a profit. Sportsbooks provide the opportunity for bettors to wager on outcomes in different events. A moneyline bet is one of the many betting options available at sports betting sites.

The odds in a Moneyline bet consist of two sides, the home and away team, represented by a plus (+) and minus (-). The plus is called the positive odds and is used for the underdog, the team with a lower chance of winning. The minus is called the negative odds and is used for the favorite, the team with a higher chance of winning. Here are a couple of examples:

Event	Home Team Odds	Away Team Odds	Example Pick
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills	+130	-150	Kansas City Chiefs to Win at -150 odds.
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears	+110	-120	Chicago Bears to Win at +110 odds.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys	-135	+125	Dallas Cowboys to Win at -135 odds.

The “@” you’ll see in sportsbooks means that the away team plays at (@) the home of the home team. E.g., New England Patriots @ Philadelphia Eagles, where the Patriots are visiting the Eagles.

Different Versions of Moneyline Bets

In some sports, for example, during the Olympics, when many individual athletes compete against each other in the same race, the term “Moneyline” is not commonly used in matchups. Instead, sportsbooks use the term “Head-to-Head,” which creates a betting opportunity where bettors can wager on what athlete will finish ahead of another individual athlete.

Besides Head-to-Head, other ways of referring to Moneyline are:

• Match Winner
• Two-Way Bet
• Win-Loss Bet

How to Calculate Moneyline Bets for Favorites and Underdogs?

If we take one of the examples of NFL matches from earlier, we had Kansas City Chiefs -150 @ Buffalo Bills +130.

• Buffalo Bills is the home team and is the underdog with positive odds (+). The plus sign indicates how much money you can win for every $100 staked.
• Kansas City Chiefs is the away team and is the favorite to win with negative odds (-). The minus sign indicates how much money you must stake to win $100.

Event	Home Team Odds	Away Team Odds	Stake Size and Payout Home Team	Stake Size and Payout Away Team
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills	+130	-150	You’d need to wager $150 to win $100.	A $100 stake would pay $130.

The formula for calculating the return of Moneyline bets:

• For Favorites (-): {$stake} / (-1 * {positive odds} / 100) = {payout}
• For Underdogs (+): {$stake} * {negative odds} / 100.

The formula for calculating the implied probability of Moneyline bets:

• For Favorites (-): {negative odds} / ({negative odds} + 100) * 100 = implied probability.
• For Underdogs (+): 100 / ({positive odds} + 100) * 100 = implied probability.

Calculating the Sportsbook Juice on Moneyline Bets

If you want to calculate the sportsbook juice (vigorish) on Moneyline bets, you follow the formula for calculating implied probability:

• For Favorites (-): {negative odds} / ({negative odds} + 100) * 100 = implied probability.
• For Underdogs (+): 100 / ({positive odds} + 100) * 100 = implied probability.

Once you have the two percentage probabilities, you add them together, which gives you a value over 100%. Simply deduct 100% from that total, and you’ll be left with the Moneyline juice.

If you want to learn more about sports betting odds and sportsbook juice, I recommend this page about the meaning of odds, including vigorish and other dynamics.

Purpose of Spreads Alongside Moneyline Betting

• Spreads introduce a fictional handicap (advantage/disadvantage) to balance betting between teams.
• Spread betting offers near even odds (around -110) for both teams.
• The margin of victory, not just the outright winner, determines the outcome.
• Sportsbooks provide a variety of handicaps, called “lines,” at different odds.
• A favorite with a -9.5 handicap must win by at least 10 points for the spread bet to succeed.

You’ll have a massive favorite in many games; odds can be around -500 (~83.3% chance of winning). In these cases, the Moneyline is not attractive to bet on because a win for the favorite doesn’t yield much money, and the underdog winning is so unlikely.

To make such a game attractive for bettors, sportsbooks offer spreads to create a fictional “handicap” with an even playing field for both teams. Both sides have odds of around -110 (close to 50%). This type of wager is not decided by the outright winner but rather by the point or goal margin of victory.

This is called “Spreads” or “Spread Betting,” where you can wager on even odds (around -110) even if there is a huge favorite. Both teams get a handicap, either a positive (+) or a negative (-) handicap. The handicap could be -9.5/+9.5 points for the Favorite/Underdog team in an NBA game. Depending on the Moneyline betting odds, the handicap could be anything between -0.5/+0.5 up to -20.5/+20.5 or higher. Most often, a sportsbook can offer many different handicaps at different odds. These different handicaps are referred to as “lines.”

If you bet on a spread where the favorite has -9.5, they need to win with a margin of victory of 10 points or more for your wager to win.

Difference Between Moneyline (12) and Match Odds (1X2)

Moneyline betting only offers two outcomes since it’s a two-way bet for an outright winning team in a game between two teams.

Match Odds betting has the availability of a tie or draw as part of the pick selections in the market.

It’s important not to confuse these two markets. I’ve seen “experts” on sports betting on other websites about Moneyline betting confusing these two basic betting options. The odds for the home and away teams will significantly differ when the odds for a tie are priced into the equation. Also, if you bet on one of the teams to win in 1X2 and the match ends with a tie, then the overtime is not included, and there’s no refund for your bet since it’ll get settled as a loss.

Example comparison between Moneyline Betting and Match Odds (1X2):

• Moneyline: Team A (Home) and Team B (Away) are playing, and you can bet on the home team (1) or the away team (2) to win.
• Match Odds: Team A (Home) and Team B (Away) are playing, and you can bet the Home Team (1), or if the match ends, a Tie/Draw (X), or the Away Team to win (2).

While Moneyline betting is most common in basketball, American Football, and Baseball, Match Odds or 1X2 betting markets are most common in soccer. If you check an MLS game on a sports betting site, you’ll see that the primary market is not ML but Match Odds since the format of league football is regular time only, where a match can end as a tie.

FAQ Meaning of Moneyline in Sports Betting