Money Line Bet: What It Means and How It Works

Among various betting markets that top betting sites offer, this bet stands out as the go-to for both casual bettors and professionals. It’s a direct and simple wager, which you’ll find available at any sportsbook online. With all formats, decimal, fractional, and American, covered, moneyline can be confusing depending on where and how you bet. Without much ado, let’s uncover the ins and outs of the moneyline bet. 

What Is a Moneyline Bet?

A moneyline bet is the simplest form of sports wager—betting on which team or player will win the game. The moneyline doesn’t consider how many points a team wins by. If your selection wins, your bet pays out. That’s it—straightforward and easy to understand.

Despite its simplicity, moneyline betting can become more nuanced depending on the odds format.

How Does a Moneyline Work?

Although moneyline odds are primarily based on the American odds format, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t know how it works with decimal and fractional odds as well. Not to confuse you with all the sports betting terms without providing explanations, let’s elaborate.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are widely used in Europe, Canada, and Australia, offering a clear way to see how much you’ll win on a successful bet.

For example, let’s say you’re betting on a football match, and Team A is the underdog to win with odds at 2.50, while Team B is listed at 1.60. The formula to calculate potential winnings is simple:

• Winnings = Stake × Decimal Odds

So, if you bet $100 on Team A and they win, you get $250 back (which includes your original stake). If you bet on Team B at 1.60, you’d receive $160 in total.

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are popular in the UK and Ireland, typically displayed as 5/2, 4/1, or 10/11. They show the potential profit relative to the stake.

For example, let’s say you see the odds:

• Team A: 5/2 (for every $2 bet, you win $5)
• Team B: 4/7 (for every $7 bet, you win $4)

A $100 bet on Team A would pay out $350 in total (your original $100 + $250 profit). A $100 bet on Team B at 4/7 would return $157.14.

Fractional odds might look confusing at first, but they’re just another way to express the same probability as decimal odds.

American Odds

American odds, which are actually referred to as moneyline odds, are the standard in the US. These odds are displayed as positive (+) or negative (-) numbers:

• Positive odds (+200, +150, etc.) show how much profit you’d make on a $100 bet. For example, if a team is +200, a $100 bet would return $300 ($200 profit + $100 stake).
• Negative odds (-150, -200, etc.) show how much you need to bet to win $100. If a team is -150, you’d need to bet $150 to make a $100 profit.

For example:

• Team A: +250 → A $100 bet wins $250 (total return: $350)
• Team B: -140 → A $140 bet wins $100 (total return: $240)

This format is most common in American sportsbooks and is directly tied to probability—favorites have negative odds, while underdogs have positive odds.

Moneyline Betting in Different Sports

Moneyline betting is used across all sports, but each has unique dynamics that affect how odds are set. Take a look at what we mean:

Football	Involves three-way moneyline betting: win, lose, or draw. Some sportsbooks offer a draw no bet option, refunding stakes on draws.
Basketball	Straightforward moneyline bets where you pick the winner. With high-scoring games, odds are often close. Live betting is popular due to frequent momentum shifts.
Tennis	Simple two-outcome moneyline bets where you pick the match winner. Value depends on odds discrepancies and player form.
American Football	Bettors pick the outright winner, but strong favorites often have very low odds. Many prefer spread betting, but underdog moneyline bets can offer big payouts.
Baseball	The preferred betting method in MLB due to the low-scoring nature of the game. Underdogs can provide strong value, especially with unpredictable pitching performances.
Ice Hockey	Similar to baseball, with low-scoring games and closely matched teams. NHL moneyline bets offer only two outcomes: win or lose (no ties due to overtime/shootouts).
Combat Sports (MMA, Boxing)	You bet on the outright winner of the fight. Heavy favorites often have extremely short odds, making underdog bets or method-of-victory props appealing.
Esports	Features games like CS:GO, Dota 2, and League of Legends on top esports betting sites. Odds shift based on team form, patches, and player performance, making moneyline bets volatile.
Niche Sports	Includes darts, snooker, table tennis, and even competitive eating. Fewer bettors mean sportsbooks sometimes miscalculate odds, creating opportunities for sharp wagers.

Other Popular Bet Types

Moneyline is a straightforward and effective way to bet on sports, but this doesn’t always provide good value for bettors. With uneven matchups neither betting on a long-shots or strong favorite with too low odds doesn’t guarantee a winning ticket. But there are other wagers that bettors can make that provide excellent value: 

• Point Spread Bets: With uneven matchups, bettors wager on a team to cover the spread–win with a certain number of goals or points, which significantly increases the odds compared to a standard moneyline.
• Over/Under (Totals) Bets: If picking the winner doesn’t offer enticing odds, you can bet on total point, goals, run, scored in a game to be over or under a set number that the sportsbook offers.
• Accumulators/Parlays: For bigger payouts combine multiple bets into one. They can be all moneylines or you can combine    All selections must win for the bet to pay out, but the potential returns are significantly higher than single wagers.
• Prop Bets: Wagers on specific events within a game, like a player scoring a goal, the number of three-pointers made, or whether a certain milestone will be reached.
• Futures Bets: Long-term wagers on outcomes like championship winners, season MVPs, or total team wins.

While moneyline betting is the simplest, many bettors enjoy spreading their wagers across different bet types on online sportsbooks to maximize potential profits and strategy.

Conclusion

Moneyline betting is simple yet effective as it provides a direct way to back your favorite team or athlete. By understanding the different odds formats and how they apply across sports, you’ll be well-equipped to make smarter bets and maximize your chances of success.