European Handicap 188bet betting allows bettors to bet on a live sporting event’s underdog thanks to a handicap advantage. Bettors can also back the favourites with a handicap disadvantage or a draw.
The handicap has long been employed in sports betting and is designed to level the playing field between two opponents of differing abilities. For weaker players or teams, a points advantage, determined by the bookmaker, is applied, while better challengers are given a negative points score, again set by the bookies.
The idea being that these numbers are added or subtracted from the event’s final result to determine the result of the handicap bet. Handicap betting can be employed in many sports, although some are perhaps better suited than others and, typically, it is very popular in football.
European Handicap Betting Explained
The European handicap can sometimes be referred to as the three-way handicap due to the fact that it offers three outcomes, unlike the other prominent handicap betting system, Asian, which we have outlined below. With three possible outcomes, there are three possible bets. These are betting on the weaker team, the stronger team or you can back a draw. As we explained above, the stronger team will be given a handicap disadvantage and the weaker team will be assigned a handicap advantage. The size of the handicap will depend on the gulf in quality between the two teams. When the match is over and the result is known, bookmakers will settle the bet according to the match result, which is then calculated against the handicap to determine whether it’s a winner or a loser.
How does the European Handicap work?
The European handicap works as a way of levelling out a sporting event, for our purposes a game of football, in which there is a significant difference in strength between the two teams. It achieves this by placing a positive handicap on the underdog and a negative handicap on the favourite, in order to make it harder for the favourite to win the bet. These points are applied before the match and the final result of said match is adjusted for the handicap. Unlike the Asian handicap(see below) where draws are eliminated from the bet, the European handicap rules allow for all the three outcomes from a game so you can back a win, draw or a loss. Also, in European handicap betting, whole numbers are used whereas Asian handicapping employs decimals.
Which Sports Work Best with the European Handicap
It is a common belief in the global gambling industry that football is the best sport for European handicap betting, and it certainly is the most popular. That said, it is far from the only sport that offers this handicapping variety.
Tennis
Bettors are able to bet on a range of tennis match handicaps which, as well as the outright winner, includes set handicaps and game handicaps. In set handicap betting, you bet on whether one player will win with the assistance of a set handicap and it works much the same with games handicap betting. If you bet on a player to win the match by +1.5 sets and they do, great, you’re a winner!
Golf
Similarly, in golf you have numerous ways of using handicapping to your advantage. You bet by match handicap or by round handicap. In match handicap betting, golfers are individually assigned a handicap advantage depending on how likely they are to win. With round handicap betting, it’s pretty much the same deal but you are, as the name suggests, betting on the result of a round of golf, rather than a match or tournament.
Basketball
Handicap betting is also massive in basketball mainly because of how the scoring works. As ever, handicap points are assigned according to the likelihood of the outcome in order to even out the betting odds and make wagering on a basketball match more of a level playing field.
To summarise, the European Handicap is great for bettors who are looking for an alternative to the traditional outright winner market. This is because there really isn’t very much to it. While it may sound daunting at first, it’s actually pretty simple and easy to follow for those used to fixed odds betting. Of course, it helps to know your sport but this is true for most betting. Handicap betting is especially useful in one-sided games where the outcome has been levelled out and the odds offered far more tempting.