People have been asking us what a Handicap is and the purpose it serves in sports betting. For many seasoned bettors the concept of a Handicap is 2nd nature. But for the less experienced punter it can be confusing to understand what it means and its implications on the outright betting of the game. Having had so many queries, we feel it requires some explanations and tips.

This type of betting is typically offered in Rugby and American Sports. In America, they call it a “Point Spread” or “The Spread”. The reason we offer Handicap betting is to offer punters a bet at even money. A Handicap is the number of points added to the score of the underdog or subtracted from the favourite’s score to even the pricing in an unevenly matched game. Let’s take a look at a Super Rugby example:

This match is pretty boring as a punter unless we add points to the Rebels to provide a more even probability in the outcomes of the game (or subtract the same number of points from the Bulls).

Our bookmakers decided that the “Handicap” we will impose on the game is 24.5 points. Effectively we feel that at that Handicap the probability of a winning result from either team is equal. The .5 points ensures that the punter is on either side of the Handicap, thus eliminating the draw.

As in the case just described, the two winning outcomes for the punter are: