Line Betting Explained

Line betting is when the bookie gives the competing teams a handicap. For example, the line in an AFL match might be set at 14.5. This means the bookie believes there is a 14.5-point difference between the two teams.

As a result, you can place a stake on one team to win by more than 14.5 points or the other team to lose by fewer than 14.5 points. In sports betting lines, the plus indicates how many goals or points the team can lose by, while the minus indicates how many goals or points the team must win by.

Rather than placing a game outright wager that’s settled by the winning team, a line depends on the number of points scored by each team. In any game, you can place a real money stake on the line that the bookie sets.

Let’s look at an AFL line betting example to see how it works.

If you bet on Port Adelaide to cover the line, they will need to defeat the underdog, West Coast, by at least 15 points for your bet to be successful. 

However, if you fancy West Coast Eagles to cause an upset, your bet will win if they don’t lose by more than 14.5 points.

As such, you can understand a line bet as a way of levelling the playing field, making things more interesting when betting on heavy favourites.

The reason for the half-point is to prevent what is known as a push bet. A push bet occurs when the final score is on the line, and as half points can’t be scored in most games, it’s an easy way for the bookie to prevent pushes.

Line betting is a really popular method of sports betting in Australia. If you’re a fan of American sports, you can place a line bet on many matches and fixtures, including an AFL game, NRL final, basketball playoff, or even an NFL game.

Thanks to the points or goals handicap, line betting is a good opportunity to make more money while placing wagers on your favourite team. You can check the potential returns before placing a line bet on an event, which can help you determine the value of the odds.

You can place betting lines at many trusted and licensed online bookies in Australia. The likes of Ladbrokes, Neds, Bet365, and Unibet are good options for placing a line bet and offer a broad range of markets and great value odds as you bet on your favourite sports throughout the season.

You can use sign-up bonuses exclusively available to new bettors, which provide additional funds for your bets, but be mindful of wagering requirements before signing up.

As well as those already introduced, you can place line bets on rugby union, which is a great opportunity to back the Wallabies at the World Cup and other international tournaments.

Line betting is also popular in the United States, particularly in American football (NFL) and basketball (NBA). You can even place line bets on baseball (MLB) and ice hockey (NHL).

In American betting parlance, betting on the line is commonly known as the point spread. A point spread gives the underdog a head start on the favourites, as in sports betting lines.

Line betting is used often by soccer bettors, whether you’re betting on domestic A-League fixtures or Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur side in the English Premier League.