Moneyline

A moneyline bet asks only who wins. There is no spread to cover and no margin of victory to consider, so the price alone carries the difference in perceived strength. A heavy favourite might be -350, requiring 350 staked to win 100, while the underdog is +280. In sports where draws are possible the market is three-way, and in North American sports where ties are rare it is effectively two-way with overtime rules resolving the result.

Moneylines are the reference market for pricing everything else. Handicaps, totals and derivative markets are all consistent with the same underlying win probability, so a moneyline that moves drags the rest with it. They are also the entry point for most new customers, being the easiest wager to understand, which is why sportsbooks feature them prominently in acquisition marketing. For heavy favourites the format becomes unattractive on its own, which is exactly why point spreads and handicaps exist.