{"id":9167,"date":"2025-06-27T11:39:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T10:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oddsmonkey.com\/blog\/?p=9167"},"modified":"2025-07-03T11:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T10:05:54","slug":"nfl-handicap-betting-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oddsmonkey.com\/blog\/matched-betting\/nfl-handicap-betting-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Handicap Betting Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

American football is an incredibly popular sport throughout the United States of America. As the sport grows, different betting markets are beginning to appear and develop, with handicap betting being one of the most popular selections throughout the sport. Handicap bets revolve around one side being given an advantage, and these types of bets are seen all across the sporting industry, with these bets being used in football and tennis betting.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the NFL continues to grow in popularity throughout the United Kingdom, we are going to look at all the details that surround NFL handicap betting, how it works, how to use it and how it compares to other handicap betting markets throughout sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is Handicap Betting In the NFL?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before we cover handicap betting in the NFL, we are going to look at what handicap betting is in general. Handicap bets allow for the bettor to give one side a theoretical advantage, and this is usually done by giving one team more points than the other. This means even if the team that has the handicap loses, the bet can still be successful as the handicap will theoretically make up for the lost points.<\/span><\/p>\n

Handicap betting lets bettors look at betting selections in a completely different light, as it can even the odds of even the most mismatched games, as lower-ranked teams can start a couple of points ahead, giving them a better chance to cause an upset against the higher-ranked opponents. As the odds are evened throughout the game by giving one team an advantage, this means the odds from the bookmakers are evened as well, creating viable betting opportunities even from the most mismatched NFL fixtures.<\/span><\/p>\n

As handicap betting can be quite confusing to understand, we are going to look at real-life NFL examples of handicap betting. It is important to understand the ins and outs of handicap betting, as it can be an important tool for those who are <\/span>value betting<\/span><\/a> throughout different sporting markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is a potential example of a handicap bet that you would find for the NFL:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Handicap Betting<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Detroit Lions(+6.5)<\/span><\/td>\nKansas City Chiefs (-6.5)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1\/1<\/span><\/td>\n5\/6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

We can see that the Kansas City Chiefs are the favourite for this match-up against the Detroit Lions, and this bookmaker has given the Chiefs a handicap of -6.5 points at the odds of 5\/6. This is usually the format that handicap bets come in, and we are now going to walk through how these specific bets work, and what outcome in the match would need to happen for the bets to be successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Do NFL Handicap Bets Work?<\/span><\/h2>\n

No matter the sport, handicap bets work in the same way, with one team getting an advantage in comparison to their opposition. There are two different ways of thinking of handicap bets, yet they both effectively mean the same thing; these are just used to help better your understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n