World Cup Odds Legend
Moneyline
Moneyline betting is the most basic and simple way to bet on a World Cup game. Do you have your pick for who you think will win a match? That’s a moneyline bet. The amount you can win is based on how big a favorite (-) or underdog (+) the team is. The favorite offers a higher win probability but a lower payout, while you’ll win more by betting on an underdog, but there’s a much bigger risk.
Using the group stage match of Brazil vs Switzerland as an example, Brazil is a -300 odds favorite, which means you would win $33.33 based on a $100 bet. Switzerland is a huge +850 underdog, which means you’d profit $850 if they won. More info can be found on our moneyline betting guide.
Why are there lines with .25 and .75?
These are Asian Handicap odds, which are popular for soccer with some operators and betting markets. You can learn more about this form of betting in our Asian Handicap explained guide.
World Cup Totals
If you’re expecting a high- or low-scoring game, you should consider making a totals bet, otherwise known as OVER/UNDER betting. Oddsmakers will set a number of total combined goals for a game and bettors must determine if the total combined score will go OVER or UNDER that number.
For example, the group stage match between Brazil and Switzerland has a total set at 2.5 goals. If you expect less than that number, you would bet UNDER, but if you expect more, you’d bet OVER. Find more info on totals betting on our Totals 101 page.
World Cup Spreads
Spread betting is very popular in the NFL and NBA but it’s also a great way to improve the value of your soccer bets — especially when betting on favorites. Instead of betting on a team to just win or lose, you need to bet on how many goals they’ll win or lose by with the spread set at 1.5 goals. This mean the favorite must win by two or more goals to win the bet and the underdog can’t lose by more than one goal to win the bet.
So, if you bet Brazil -1.5 over Switzerland (meaning they need to win by two or more), the odds would be +110 — much better value than their moneyline odds of -300. Conversely, if you think Switzerland will lose a close game, you can bet them at +1.5 but their odds would be -130, a steep fall from their +850 moneyline odds. Get more information on spread betting here.
World Cup Futures
Do you have a prediction for what team will win the 2018 World Cup? Well, that’s something you can bet on and futures bets often offer huge payouts. If you bet on one of the favorites such as Germany, whose odds to win the World Cup are +450, you’d win $450 for a $100 bet. Or, if you want to bet on a longer shot such as the home Russia squad, whose odds to win are +3300, you’d win $3300 for a $100 bet!
There’s many different types of futures bets you can make on the World Cup including group futures and top goal scorer futures. Find more information on futures betting on our futures betting 101 page.