Moneyline betting is by far the easiest way to bet on sports in the United States. It’s also extremely popular and the most common type of sports bet. All you need to do is select which team will win the game, locking in the currently posted odds when you place a bet.
You’ll find moneyline odds for most games in every professional and college sport at North Carolina sportsbooks. That means moneyline betting odds are available for everything from NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games to NCAA football and basketball contests. You can also place a moneyline wager for things like UFC fights, NASCAR races, PGA events, and more.
If you’ve bet on sports before, you’ve probably placed a moneyline bet. Regardless, here is a complete guide to moneyline betting in North Carolina, including all the moneyline betting basics.
What is a moneyline bet?
A moneyline bet is a basic game-line sports bet on any team or individual athlete to win a game, match, fight, competition or event. Moneyline bets are booked at the currently posted sportsbook odds when you place the bet. That means winners get paid at the odds as they were when the bet was placed, no matter how much they change afterward.
There’s a moneyline favorite and underdog in every bet. The odds represent each side’s chances of winning and what you stand to earn betting on the winner.
Best Moneyline Betting Sites in NC
Moneyline odds explained
Moneyline odds are displayed in the three different forms listed below. Each of these odds formats is convertible to one another, meaning the odds are basically the same no matter the format.
American odds
American odds are three-digit, four-digit or as big as five-digit numbers with a minus or plus sign out front. The minus sign tells you that side is the favorite to win. The plus sign indicates the underdog.
The size of the number tells you that side’s chances of winning and how much you’ll win if you bet on that side and it wins. The favorite’s odds with the minus sign tell you how much you need to bet to win $100, plus your stake back. The bigger the odds, the higher the chances that side will win and the more you have to wager to win $100.
The underdog’s odds with the plus sign tell you how much you stand to win, plus your bet back, for every $100 you law down. The bigger the odds, the lower the chances that side will win and the more you will win off a $100 wager.
Fractional odds
Unsurprisingly, fractional odds are represented by a fraction. If you look at the fraction, the right or bottom number (denominator) is what you’d have to wager to win the left/top (numerator) amount. The denominator will be the larger number for favorites. The numerator is the larger number for underdogs.
Decimal odds
Decimal odds are represented by a one-digit, two-digit or three-digit number, telling you the total you’ll collect on a winning $1 bet. Any number under 2 indicates a favorite. Exactly 2 odds are an even money bet and odds over 2 indicate an underdog.
What does -110 mean?
You will be able to find plenty of bets at North Carolina sportsbook sites at -110 odds. That’s because these are the standard odds on most even money bets, 50/50 propositions, over/under and spread bets. A -110 moneyline tells you both sides have an equal chance of winning. The odds are not exactly even because a small profit for sportsbooks is built in.
At -110 odds, you need to bet $110 to win $100, plus your bet back. Sportsbooks earn a profit off this bet when they draw an equal amount of betting to each side of it. They’ll pay out $210 to winning bets for every $220 bet, keeping the extra $10. That means they earn a 4.5% profit without concerning themselves with which side wins, as long as there’s an even amount of money bet on both sides.
Why do moneyline odds change?
Moneyline odds might be changed or altered by sportsbooks if some information is released that clearly impacts one side’s chances of winning. That might mean an injury to a key player, an impactful roster move or changes in the weather forecast.
Moneyline odds might also be changed or altered by any sportsbook that takes in more money in bets on one side than the other. A sportsbook’s goal is to always draw an equal amount of betting to each side of any bet. That’ll give them the ability to earn a small profit without concerning themselves with which side wins. They’ll change the moneyline odds to make the other side more attractive and try to get the betting back to even on both sides.
Moneyline betting outcomes
There are three possible outcomes when you bet the moneyline in North Carolina:
- Moneyline winner: Let’s say you bet $105 on the Carolina Panthers -105 moneyline at home against the Denver Broncos this past November. Since the Panthers won 23-10, you’d have a moneyline winner that pays a total of $205, including a $100 profit and your $105 bet back.
- Moneyline loser: Let’s say once again you bet $105 on the Carolina Panthers -105 moneyline at home against the Denver Broncos this past November. But imagine, for the sake of this example, that the Panthers lost 26-23. If that were the case you’d have a moneyline loser that cost you the $105 you bet.
- Push: Let’s say once again you bet $105 on the Carolina Panthers -105 moneyline at home against the Denver Broncos this past November. But in this hypothetical, the Panthers-Broncos game went to overtime tied at 23-23 and no one scored. In the case of a tie game, all moneyline bets push and the $105 you bet on the Panthers would be returned to you.
Moneyline betting by sport
Moneyline bets in football
Whether it’s an NFL or college football game, you pick one team or the other to win the game straight up and lock in the odds as posted when you place the bet. You get paid at those odds if that team wins, lose your bet if they don’t, and in the rare case of a tie, your bet is refunded to you.
Read more about:
- How to bet on NFL
- How to bet on College Football
- NFL Odds
- NCAAF Odds
| Favorite | Underdog |
|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | New Orleans Saints |
| Moneyline: -175 | Moneyline: +145 |
| Final Score: 10 | Final Score: 7 |
| The Panthers won the game and won on the moneyline. | The Saints lost the game and lost on the moneyline. |
Moneyline bets in basketball
Whether it’s an NBA or college basketball game, you pick one team or the other to win the game straight up and lock in the currently posted odds when you place the bet. You get paid at those odds if that team wins, whether they win by a single point or it’s a 20-point blowout. You lose if your team loses. However, there is never a push because basketball games never end in a tie. They just keep playing overtime periods until one team ends up ahead.
Read more on:
- How to bet on NBA
- How to bet on College Basketball
- NBA Odds
- NCAAB Odds
| Favorite | Underdog |
|---|---|
| Charlotte Hornets | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Moneyline: -125 | Moneyline: +105 |
| Final Score: 112 | Final Score: 124 |
| The Hornets lost the game and lost on the moneyline. | The Pelicans won the game and won on the moneyline. |
Moneyline bets in baseball
Whether it’s an MLB game or a game featuring one of the two Triple-A teams in North Carolina, you pick one team or the other to win the game straight up and lock in the odds as currently posted when you place the bet. You get paid at those odds if that team wins, no matter what the final score is. You lose if your team loses. However, there is never a push because baseball games never end in a tie. They just keep playing extra innings until one team ends up ahead after both have had a chance at bat.
Read more on:
- How to bet on MLB
- How to bet on College Baseball
| Favorite | Underdog |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | Washington Nationals |
| Moneyline: -130 | Moneyline: +110 |
| Final Score: 5 | Final Score: 4 |
| The Braves won the game and won on the moneyline. | The Nationals lost the game and lost on the moneyline. |
Moneyline bets in hockey
Whether it’s a Carolina Hurricanes matchup or some other NHL game, you pick one team or the other to win the game straight up and lock in the odds as currently posted when you place the bet. You get paid at those odds if that team wins and lose your bet if they don’t. There’s never a push because hockey games never end in a tie. Games that are tied at the end of regulation go to a five-minute overtime period. If there’s no winner in OT they have a three-round shootout with additional shootout rounds added until one side wins.
That said, some sportsbooks will let you bet on regulation NHL moneylines that push if the game is tied at the end of regulation.
Read more on:
| Favorite | Underdog |
|---|---|
| Carolina Hurricanes | Florida Panthers |
| Moneyline: -120 | Moneyline: +105 |
| Final Score: 3 | Final Score: 2 |
| The Hurricanes won the game and won on the moneyline. | The Panthers lost the game and lost on the moneyline. |
Moneyline bets in soccer
Moneyline betting works a little differently in soccer because of the distinct possibility a regular season game will end in a draw. Whether it’s a Charlotte FC game or some other MLS game, it’s three-way moneyline betting. You can pick one team or the other to win, or you bet that the game will end in a draw. As always, you get the posted odds when you place the bet. There’s no push here because you had the opportunity to bet on a tie.
Moneyline bets in MMA/UFC
Moneyline sports betting is basically the same for MMA fights as it is in most sports. You pick one fighter or the other to win and lock in the odds as currently posted when you place the bet. You get paid at these odds if your fighter wins, whether by knockout, submission or decision. You lose your bet if your fighter does not win. In the rare case of a fight ending in a draw, all bets will be void and stakes refunded.
Moneyline bets in tennis
Moneyline match betting is the same in tennis as it is for other 1v1 sports. You pick one player or the other to win the match and lock in the odds as currently posted when you place the bet. You get paid at these odds if that player wins and lose your bet if they don’t. There will never be a push because there are no ties in tennis matches. Most tennis bets are void and stakes are refunded if either player pulls out ahead of or during a match.
Moneyline bets in golf
Betting the moneyline takes on a couple of different forms for most PGA Tour events. You can pick a golfer to win a tournament, locking in the currently posted odds when you place the bet. You get paid at these odds if that golfer wins the tournament, and you lose your golf bet if anyone else does. There’s never a push because there are no ties for first at the end of PGA Tour events. Playoff holes always determine a winner.
You can also pick a golfer to finish ahead of another or a group, locking in the currently posted odds when you place the head-to-head or group matchup bet. You get paid at these odds only if that golfer finishes better than the other or the others in the group. You lose your bet if the other golfer or any of the other golfers in the group finish ahead. There could be a push and all bets refunded if they all finished tied at the end of the event.
Moneyline betting FAQs
You pick a side to win, lock in the odds as currently posted when you place the bet, and get paid at those odds if that side wins. You lose if that side loses. Then, you’ll get a refund on the bet if it’s a push.
In the event of a tie, moneyline bets are a push. That means your bet will be refunded to you. The exception would be a sport like soccer where part of a moneyline bet is the chance to bet on a tie outcome.
Unless otherwise specified, overtime counts for all moneyline bets. In fact, overtime winners are as good as regulation-time winners when it comes to most moneyline bets.
Moneyline odds might be changed by sportsbooks if new information comes out that impacts one side’s chances of winning. Sportsbooks also might move odds if they take in more bets on one side than the other.
American odds can be calculated for underdogs simply by dividing the odds by 100 and multiplying that product by the bet amount. For favorites, divide 100 by the odds and multiply that product by the bet amount. In both cases, you ignore the plus or minus sign in front.
Bet $50 on the Panthers at -125 and the potential payout will equal (100/125) x 50. That works out to $40. Bet $50 on the Panthers at +125 and the potential payout will equal (125/100) x 50. That works out to $62.50.
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