Rugby betting is generally split into one of two betting styles: money line bets and spread bets. However, both betting styles share a few key characteristics. Bookmakers create odds based on the two teams playing, and will almost always choose a favourite and an underdog. The favourite is the team they think will win the game, while the underdog is the team they think will lose. On rare occasions where teams are, as far as the bookmakers can tell, of equal skill, then they will not choose a favourite or an underdog and the odds for each team will be even. Bookmakers will then create odds based on their choices and post these for the players.
Money line bets are a type of rugby betting in which bookmakers offer different odds for wins from each team. The underdog’s odds, represented by a positive number, will look something like 200 or 5:2. This would mean that for every two dollars you would be paid one, or for every five dollars you would be paid two, respectively. The favourite’s odds will be represented by a negative number, such as -150 or 1:4, which would mean that you would have to pay one hundred and fifty dollars to win a hundred for the former, or bet four hundred dollars to win one hundred in the latter. An example of a posting for a game might look like this:
Team A: -200
Team B: 300
The same odds could also look like this:
Team A 1:2
Team B 3:1
These odds represent an average game, in which one team has a good chance of winning against the other. However, it is not terribly uncommon to see odds of -500 or 10:1. Depending on how severely the odds are in favour of one team, betting on the underdog can either be a relatively small or a gigantic risk. That said, bets on the underdog tend to pay out significantly more on a win.
Spread betting is another type of rugby betting where, instead of posting different odds for each team, bookmakers try to even the chances of a bet on either team winning. This is done by giving the underdog a handicap in points. A typical rugby game might provide the underdog with a handicap of five points, meaning any bet placed on the underdog will win money provided that they either win the game or lose by no more than five points. Conversely, any bet on the favourite would require that they win the game by more than five points in order to win money. Most spread bets pay out just under double, meaning it is a very safe type of betting overall.
