What does “line” mean as a sports betting term? Another term for “point spread.” It is the betting “line” or gambling odds used to determine the parameters for wagering on either the favorite.

What is a Money Line or Straight Up Wager?

• The term “lines” is used a lot in sports betting and it can refer to odds on a bet, or specific lines like the point spread or the over/under total. These lines can change drastically between the time they are initially set by the sportsbook up until when the game actually begins.
• You want to bet on the Green Bay Packers to defeat the Detroit Lions at home. You want to bet on the Packers on the money line, and you see some odds that say this: Green Bay Packers, -200 Now, what does the -200 mean? This means that you would have to bet.
• What does the last number in the line mean? The last number in the top two rows of our sports line example is known as the money line. If you’re not interested in betting on the point spread, you can wager on a team to win outright.

A Money Line or straight up wager is a bet on the outright winner of the game or event, without any point spread odds. A Money Line better doesn't have to worry about a team winning or losing by a certain number of points.

Oddsmakers still determine a favorite and an underdog by the overall strength of the competitor, but the odds given are based on the amount of money that needs to be put up in order to place the bet.

What Does Money Line Mean In Betting Football

Example:

The bettor will receive odds that resemble these:

Colts –140

Bears +120

The (-) symbolizes which team is the favorite and the (+) indicates which team is the underdog. So in the above example, the Colts are the favorite and the Bears are the underdog. All the bettor is wagering on is who he or she thinks will win the game.

What Is The Moneyline Bet

If one were to bet on the Colts, he or she would have to risk $140 to win $100 (or $105 to win $75; $70 to win $50, etc). If one were to bet on the Bears, he or she would only have to risk $83.33 to win $100 (or $62.50 to win $75; $41.67 to win $50, etc).

What Does Money Line Mean In Basketball Betting

So while the Colts are the favorite to win the game, one would have to risk more money if they wanted to bet on them.