What are Common Sports Betting Slang Terms? - Glossary of Sports Terminology
Sports betting has long been a huge part of popular culture, and with that, there is a whole host of language that can sometimes seem like a completely different - well - language. That’s exactly what happens when something takes on a life of its own and becomes a force of nature. Because of that, though, if you’re not a professional bettor, guides and advice that are aimed for those experienced in wagering can fly over the heads of newer heads. So would you know your moneyline odds from your parlay bets?
Learn exactly what all the biggest sports betting terms mean and how to use them before placing your bets here at Stake Sportsbook.
What are Common Sports Betting Terms?
Let’s run down some of the terms you would expect to see when it comes to betting at an online sportsbook.
Action
Starting off with something a little on the simple end. Betting action refers to any type of bet, whether that’s a single wager on a football game or one of the more exotic wagers that you may find, such as multi-race horse racing bets.
Bet Slip
Another one that shouldn’t be too hard to get here. A bet slip is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - it’s essentially your bet again. When you add an option or leg to a bet, whether this is pre-match or in-game, this is you building your betting slip. If this is a new concept to you, check out our beginners guide to sports betting.
Each-Way Bets
An each-way bet is more common in sports where there are significant numbers of competitors. Think F1 racing, golf, or athletics of any kind. Players can place a bet on their chosen competitor finishing in a set number of places, with the payout being modified based on where they actually end up finishing. This is usually 1st to 3rd.
Futures Bet
If you’ve only ever placed a standard single game bet, you may not be aware of what a futures bet actually is. Rather than placing a moneyline bet on the winner of that one football match or other fixture, you would be betting on something like the winner of a competition potentially months in advance. Read our guide to outright betting for more details.
Handicap
This term is one you’re most likely to hear as part of a more advanced betting strategy. Handicapping is a form of betting where you apply either a positive or negative point difference to a team. So, take soccer matches for example. If you have a solid underdog team with short betting odds, you might apply a -3 goal handicap to the favourite team to eke some value out of the bet.
Juice / Vig
Anyone who has played an online casino game will be well aware of the house edge. The juice or the vig is the sports betting equivalent of this. The vig is a small commission that is built into the odds, and it’s present in all sports you can bet on. We have a blog dedicated to explaining the Vig if you're interested in learning more.
Leg
We’ve already mentioned this one when we discussed the bet slip. A leg is essentially a fixture, event, or market that you’ve added to your bet. It could be a moneyline bet or an in-game special and covers one potential outcome.
Limit
Every sportsbook will have betting limits. This is the maximum amount that you can stake there. Each book will have a different level and this could be a limit per single bet or over a set amount of time.
Moneyline Bets
Betting on the moneyline is one of the most standard forms of bets. Here, you’re just looking at what you think the outcome will be on a single fixture. Do you think there will be an outright winner or will it end as a draw? This really is essentially as simple as it gets in sports betting.
Odds
We don’t want to shame anyone here but if you’ve made it this far and you’re not sure what odds are in sports betting, you might be a little new to the game. These are the be-all and end-all of sports betting as odds are the price that sportsbooks offer to players based on the probability of a fixture or competition’s outcome and there are a few different ways of them being displayed, including American, decimal, and fractional.
Prop Bets
A proposition bet is a wager on an outcome that doesn’t include the winner of a fixture or competition. Instead, these bets are those that are placed on a more specific element of a game or tournament - for example, who will be the highest point or goal scorer, whether there will be a home run in baseball matches, or even suspension.
Parlay Bet
You may have heard of these bets under a different name depending on where in the world you’ve learned about them. For example, in the UK, they’re known as accumulators and not parlays. They are a special kind of bet that combines multiple legs or betting options that must all win for it to pay out. Think multiple fixtures on one ticket. If you need some assistance with building a multi-bet, our guide is here to help.
Teaser Bet
A teaser bet is much like a parlay in that you are combining multiple legs into one ticket. However, the difference here is that it combines the multiple legs with betting on the spread. This is where sports bettors place a point spread of a set figure to their original wager’s handicap figure to shorten the odds.
Totals
This kind of bet is often known as an Over/Under as it refers to the points that you think a team will get or both teams’ combined score in a match. For example, if you think there will be four goals scored, you would go for an Over 3.5 bet.
In addition to these competitive rewards and real-money bet bonuses, we think it’s important that players have access to vital resources to help ensure safe and responsible gaming habits. This includes our Stake Smart Guide and a whole host of different help resources, including information on deposits and withdrawals. Our responsible betting calculator and betting limits guide is designed to help you set appropriate limits so sports betting remains fun.
