The NFL is one of the biggest sports organizations in the world, and certainly the most successful American one. To be expected, as football is, by far, America’s favorite sport. However, for a long time, the sport did not get much traction outside the US.
Recently, though, “American” football has become an international sensation. Countries like Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and even Japan, have found a lot to like about the game. Understandably, betting on the NFL has become a lot more popular in these nations.
With online sportsbooks growing ever more popular, a lot more people have decided to wager on NFL matches. That is why, we’d like to explain NFL betting odds to newbies. However, we won’t just talk about the basic moneyline odds. We are going to go over the three main types of odds you will come across in different parts of the world.
Moneyline Odds – the U.S.A.
It is only fair to start with gridiron’s country of origin, the United States of America. Most US bookies will use what is called “moneyline” odds. Moneylines make use of positive and negative numbers in the hundreds to determine the favorite and the underdog. The way it works is simple:
- The Favorite: the favorite is represented by a negative number in the hundreds, for example, -230
- The Underdog: the underdog is represented by a positive number in the hundreds, for example, +210
For the favorite, the number represents the amount of cash you have to wager in order to win a $100 prize. So, in our hypothetical, you’d wager $230, and if the favorite team wins, you’d take home the initial wager, plus an additional $100.
As far as the underdog is concerned, the number represents the amount of cash you’d win if you wagered $100. So, if the underdog wins, you go home with $310.
Decimal Odds – Europe
In European countries like Germany, you are more likely to come across decimal odds for sports betting. Similarly, to moneyline odds, the decimal number represents the amount of cash you will win for each $1 you wager. So, if the decimal odds place a team’s odds at, for example, 2.00, and you wagered 100 Euro on them, the payout would equate to 200 Euro, for a total profit of 100 Euro.
When you are betting on two teams using decimal odds, the favorite will always be marked by the smaller decimal value. For example, if Team A’s odds are 1.4, and Team B’s are 4.1, then you know that Team A is the favorite to win the game.
Fractional Odds – the UK
Finally, we reach the United Kingdom, where most bookies use fractions to determine odds. In this case, the fractions determine the amount of cash you will win for the amount of cash you bet. The upper number denotes the amount of cash you can win, whereas the lower is the amount of cash you have to bet in order to win. Again, the higher the number, the less likely it is that the team is the favorite to win the game.
