All Betting Odds American, British, European Explained

Sports Betting – Standard Odds Formats

There are three sports betting odds formats utilized by online books. U.S. sites offer American odds, which is expressed as a moneyline. This is a format you may or may not readily understand, but it is the standard format used by U.S. sportsbooks. Along with American odds, at offshore websites, you may also encounter British odds (fractional) or European odds (decimal). In this article, we’ll explain each format and offer you connections to more information.

American Odds – Moneyline

These odds are favored by sportsbooks in America. Here’s a look at the odds on a game between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Moneyline odds are expressed with the visiting team listed first and the home team second. The team that has a plus sign placed in front of its odds is the underdog while the team with a negative sign before its odds is the favorite.

New Orleans Saints +320
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -303

In sports betting online, with the above odds, if you wager on the Saints the +320 represents your profit on a $100 bet. If New Orleans beats the Bucs, you’ll receive your original bet back ($100) and a $320 profit for a total of $420. In this contest, if you wager on the favorite Buccaneers, who are at -303, you’ll have to bet $303 to win $100. Thus, if Tampa wins, you’ll receive your original wager back ($303) and a profit of $100 for a total of $403.

British Odds – Fractional

When it comes to the trio of sports betting odds formats, fractional odds are easy to understand, as the first number is the possible profit, and the second number is the amount you must wager. Below, we’ve converted the moneyline odds in our NFL example.

New Orleans Saints 16/5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1/3

In this example, for every $5.00 you wager on the Saints, you’ll realize a $16.00 profit. Like the moneyline wager, betting $100 ($5.00 x 20 = $100) will result in a $320 profit ($16 x 20 = $320). As far as the favorite team, Tampa Bay, is concerned, for every $3.00 you bet, you’ll earn $1.00. Because these are fractional odds, if you wager $303 ($3.00 x 101 = $303), your profit would be $101 ($1.00 x 101), which is a tad more than it would be with moneyline odds. It’s clear with fractional odds which team is favored and which is the dog. With the favored team, the number to the left is smaller than the one to the right, which means you must risk more than you’ll win. With fractional odds, the underdog in the matchup always has the larger number on the left, as the payout, and the smaller number on the right, as the amount wagered. Fractional odds are popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

European Odds – Decimal

Of the three sports betting odds formats, decimal odds may be the most challenging to understand. Decimal odds can be found in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore. With this format when a team is at 2.00 it is even. Thus, 2.00 in decimal format is the equivalent of 1/1 in fractional and +/-100 in moneyline odds. With European odds, a club listed a 1.99 or lower is the underdog and any team at 2.01 or higher is the favorite. Here’s our Saints versus Buccaneers game in this format.

New Orleans Saints 4.20
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1.33

A $100 bet on the Saints 4.20 offers a $320 profit and full payout of $420 ($100 x 4.20 = $420). Wagering $303 on the Bucs brings a total payout of 402.99 (1.33 x $303 - $402.99). Your profit totals $99.99.