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Sport Betting Odds

It’s worth pointing out the different representations of sports betting odds that you may come across in your online sports betting.

You don’t get different types of odds from different bookmakers but they are mathematically presented in a different way. Most online bookmakers allow you to set the format of the odds style you prefer.

UK Odds are also known as fractional odds and are commonly used in Ireland as well. Fractional odds of 4/1 would give the winning bettor £40 for an initial $10 stake (plus his initial stake back). Conversely UK odds of ¼ would yield only £2.50 on the initial £10 stake. i.e. a quarter of the original stake.

European Odds, used in much of Europe as well as Canada and Australia, are expressed as decimals and are the total amount that the bettor will receive back for every unit bet. So, odds of 1.30 would return £13 for an initial $10 stake (10 X 1.30) plus the original stake.

American Odds are unique to America where they are called ‘moneyline’ and are shown either as a negative or positive number. If the number is positive it shows how much the bettor can win on a $100 bet. e.g. if the ‘moneyline’ is +150 then the bettor would win $150 on a $100 bet (plus the original stake).

On the other hand if the ‘moneyline’ is negative, for example -140 then you would have to bet $140 to win $100 (plus the original stake).

The all amount to the same thing in the end and you should use the odds type you are most comfortable with.

Updated: July 17, 2013 by SportBettingOnline