Sports Betting Odds: Find The Best Lines
As additional states adopt legal sports betting and more online sportsbooks move in for a piece of the action, sports betting sites are pushing to move more parts of their operations in-house or partner with up-and-coming linemakers to differentiate themselves from the competition, a big win for sports bettors.
Casual bettors may still be happy to participate in legal online sports betting, but there is no reason to leave money on the table. Getting the best online sports betting odds is the first step in taking the advantage back from the house. Finding generous odds is as important as looking for the best bonus bets. As part of your research as a sports bettor, when looking for the best mobile sports app, it would be helpful to know which sportsbook has the best odds.
Below you’ll find the top sports betting sites for locking in the best odds and a better betting experience.
Sportsbooks With Competitive Odds
Along with a clean layout, the FanDuel sportsbook always has some of the best online betting site lines going on favorites.
Other legal sports betting frontrunners like DraftKings and Caesars often counter FanDuel’s odds by offering some of the best lines on the opposite.
Online sportsbooks can only do so much when it comes to line deviation, but the best sports betting sites also give back to bettors by offering prop bets profit boosts on select wagers. Usually, these odds boosts range from a few ticks to an extra 50 percent based on upcoming events. All of the top online sportsbooks listed below offer this sportsbook bonus.
Online casino access may be available for Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia residents. DraftKings and Caesars users will be automatically enrolled in their rewards programs.
#1 FanDuel Sportsbook – Least Vig
Does the FanDuel sportsbook have the largest user base in the country because it offers competitive odds more often? Or does having the largest user base allow them to list lines on the lower side more frequently? Either way, with 17 sports to choose from and a clean layout, FanDuel is a good place for sports bettors to start.
More often than not, you will find that FanDuel provides the most competitively priced odds. When making the comparison between FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings and other top sportsbooks, FanDuel generally offers slightly longer odds on the underdogs. The online sports betting site can be found in 15 states and features consistent promotions, including bonus bets and odds boosts. These wagers often have different requirements to qualify. FanDuel’s affinity for offering better odds on favorites may be of particular interest if tennis is your thing.
Pioneers of the same game parlay, FanDuel offers more entertaining ways to wager on individual events, making it the best online sportsbook for prop bets. The sports betting sites’ success has forced the rest of the sports betting sites to follow suit.
Boosted odds options will be listed on the online sports betting site in a side-scrolling fashion above the main page of a particular sport and listed third on the sidebar’s popular section towards the top, identified by the yellow lightning icon.
- Lean Juice and Unbeatable Odds on Underdogs
- Extensive US and International Horse Racing Coverage
- Parlay Hub Collects Most Popular Parlays
- Exclusive FanDuel TV Sports Content
- Frequent Odds Boosts and No Sweat Bet Promos
#2 Caesars Sportsbook – Best Overall Sportsbook
While DraftKings and FanDuel hold the top two positions in online betting site usage, the Caesars sportsbook has quickly closed the gap after launching in 2021.
Branching out from brick-and-mortar sports betting in Las Vegas, the new online sportsbook is now in 12 states and has 20 sports to pick from.
Caesars might not be the best online sports betting site in a particular category, but they do everything well. Choosing the online betting site means competitive odds on just about everything and some of the best app betting lines on baseball.
Located in the promo section, the online sports betting site offers recurring 33 percent profit boosts on NHL, NBA, and MLB parlays. The max bet of $50 must be four legs and odds of +400 or higher and can’t be combined with other odds boosts. Caesars has made the process a breeze by adding these odds boosts to the bet slip. Any player prop bets with boosted odds will be displayed before the game lines.
In addition, hockey bettors will appreciate the NHL parlay app insurance up to $25 going on from time to time. Wagers must have four legs and odds of +400 or greater to qualify. MLB bettors may find a 25% profit boost on player prop bets involving home runs depending on the week.
Any additional odds boost for a specific sport will be listed above the primary sports listings or below if on a specific event. Profit increases can also be found by selecting the odds boost tab. Caesars Sports will often target promos for all the major events such as the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the NBA playoffs.
- Generous NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL Betting Markets
- Generous Loyalty Program
- High-Tech Bet Slip for Parlays and Round Robin Betting
- NFL Live Streams – Watch and Bet Feature
- Insurance, Profit Boosts and Parlay Boost Offers
#3 DraftKings Sportsbook – Best Betting Lines
Along with being an option in more states than any other online sportsbook, DraftKings sportsbook also has the best sports coverage with 26 sports.
Finding betting lines you can’t get at other sportsbooks is a benefit in itself. These sports bets sometimes get less attention from oddsmakers, providing occasional opportunities for an easy come up. Not to be outdone in the battle of best online sportsbooks, DraftKings has prop bets aplenty.
DraftKings does an excellent job of providing ongoing promotions to keep sports bettors engaged. Boosted odds can be found at the top of each main page of a particular sport and on the side menu with a small green bullhorn icon.
The online betting site has recently held parlay promos for a 20 percent profit boost on an MLB yes run first inning combination, a 25 percent odds boost on UFC 274 bets, and an NBA same game parlay 34 percent payout increase from former player Paul Pierce who wore 34.
- Largest Selection of Game and Player Props
- Competitive Betting Lines for Spread Betting
- Easy SGP and SGP+ Parlay Builder
- DK Social to Create Contests and Play Against Friends
- SGP, Profit Boosts, No Sweat Bets and Parlay Promos
For sports fans new to sports betting, DraftKings also features a how-to bet on DraftKings guide with betting tips located in the tabs at the top of the homepage.
Other Competitive US Sports Betting Sites
The top 3 sportsbooks on our list were picked for their betting lines, their odds and for the variety of betting markets they offer. These are by no means the only sportsbooks you can bet at. If you want to look for more options, you can check out our reviews of any of the following sportsbooks.
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- bet365 Sportsbook
- Bally Bet
- Fanatics Sportsbook
If you are stuck between two or three sportsbooks, then you can refer to our comprehensive comparison pages. On those pages we leave no stone unturned, analysing every detail of what each sportsbook has to offer. Of course, no one would blame you for joining two sportsbooks – and pocketing two newcomer bonuses instead of one.
Getting the Best Betting Odds
Juice is the cut the online sportsbook takes for facilitating the wager, but just because the house starts with an edge, it doesn’t mean bettors can’t gain it back.
An advantage similar to the house edge on casino games, online sportsbooks with high odds apply margins to their prices to make money. The margin size is what matters when it comes to finding value.
These minor online sports betting market variations, usually up to five percent or $5 on a $100 bet, add up over time or quickly, depending on the size of the wager.
Sports bettors will need to create accounts at multiple sportsbooks to take advantage of reduced juice betting sites and the lowest vig sports betting apps on every game. The sportsbook with best odds will also have a wide range of markets to choose from, and those mentioned on this page cover all of the popular domestic and international leagues and tournaments.
Finding the Best Totals & Spread Lines
A simple search for odds trackers will bring up plenty of free options to help you cross-reference what online sports betting sites’ prices are on a specific event.
There are faster, more expansive options charging a fee, but it’s best to get familiar with the free options first.
Websites that have odds in their name provide such services, and many have clean layouts, intuitive interfaces, and data from top online betting sites to make a more informed wager.
Alternative Betting Odds on the Same Sportsbook
Like a teaser, the availability of alternative points and totals wagers and the distance from the original number vary greatly by sports betting site.
FanDuel will have the most customization of the top online sportsbooks, giving sports bettors the ability to adjust NBA spreads by more than a dozen points. FanDuel leads the charge with more than a 20-point swing. DraftKings scale stopped at 7.5 in either direction. Caesars will have the least options of the listed online sports betting sites.
These alternative bets can be found by clicking on the primary contest or more wagers link usually listed nearby. Using alternative lines or teasers to get key numbers is another step in taking the advantage back.
Understanding Betting Lines
Oddsmakers and bettors alike are keen on key numbers of typical results. Getting a half-point under or over could make the difference between a push and a payout.
Knowing what numbers to place bets around will help add to your online betting winning percentage.
Key numbers differ by sport, with soccer and hockey being the easiest to bet because each goal is significant. For American football, standard finishes include three and seven.
Basketball is not easy to peg, but 6.5/7 points represent a three-possession game and a good time for the losing team to call off the dogs. For baseball, it’s more about run totals, with seven and nine being proven sticking points for betting markets.
Sportsbook Promotions Can Increase Your Odds
Most sports betting welcome bonuses, and ongoing promotional offers from online betting sites will trump any odds offsets on smaller bets. At best, saving on lines will only net around $50 on a $1000 wager.
If betting that type of cash, pair that extra paper with a bonus first bet from Caesars, FanDuel, or PointBet.
Be sure to save some bankroll for new promos that might arise. The best sports betting sites are always coming up with new ways to draw action.
Along with boosted odds, the best online sports betting sites are doing what they can to entice users by throwing around buzzwords like vig-free and reduced juice, which means the sportsbook reduces the margin or removes juice for certain popular events.
Quality online sportsbooks that offer horse racing may offer the best odds guaranteed. If you place a bet before the race and the price ends higher, the better odds automatically count for your wager.
The Challenge of Live Betting Odds
Live betting has become a standard feature for any online sports betting site worth its salt but constantly changing odds and program delays make it hard to cross-reference lines and execute a bet, especially for those using live mobile sports betting apps.
The small live in-game betting window doesn’t leave much time for research before live betting odds change or lock.
Research should be done before to know how the lines move during live betting at different online sports betting sites to know what online sportsbooks are best.
It’s recommended that more complex live in-game betting online be done from a browser for a better betting experience.
Different Types of Odds Formats Explained
Sports betting odds express how much money you must risk compared to how much you stand to win on any given wager. Legal online sportsbooks display all betting markets in the American odds format by default, but most allow users to switch between the three most popular formats:
- American Odds
- Decimal Odds
- Fractional Odds
American Odds Explained
American odds are displayed as either positive or negative odds. The odds represent who is favored in the match. The below is an example of an NFL game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.
- New England Patriots +120
- Seattle Seahawks -140
Positive odds reflect your profit, while negative odds reflect the amount of money you would need to bet in order to win $100.
When placing a bet, if the odds are negative, it means the outcome is more likely to happen, so wagering on that outcome would mean the payout would be less than the amount you bet. On the other hand, a positive sign indicates that the outcome is less likely to occur, and the payout would be more than the amount you wagered. Essentially it is showing you who is the favorite and who is the underdog.
The next step is calculating exactly how much the bet pays out, where understanding US betting odds comes into play. A listed odd with a – shown in front of it, like in our example above, tells us how much money we need to bet to win $100. So if, as above, the odds are -140, you would need to bet $140 to make a profit of $100. Alternatively, you could replace the $100 bet with a $10 bet by moving the decimal point across one spot, showing you must wager $14 in order to win $10 in profits.
Any listed odds with a + sign in front inform us how much money you would win with a $100 bet. If we use the +120 odds, a $100 bet on that outcome will pay out $120 in profits. Once again, this can be converted to a smaller or larger bet depending on how lucky you feel. Betting $10 on +120 odds would pay out $12 in profits.
One of the perks of odds in sports and betting with online sportsbooks is that they calculate everything for you before you place your wager. Players can click on the outcome or team they want to bet on, then enter the amount they wish to wager, and it will display how much they could potentially win before you click confirm and submit your bet.
Decimal Odds Explained
Decimal odds are the most straightforward to understand. They are mostly used across Europe, so you are less likely to encounter them in the United States. To calculate decimal odds, you will need to multiply the amount you wish to bet by the decimal odds shown to get your payout. Below is an example of how decimal odds are displayed:
- LA Lakers 2.40
- Chicago Bulls 1.55
If you chose to place a wager on the LA Lakers at 2.40, you need to multiply your $10 bet by the 2.40 odds given (10 x 2.40) to determine that the payout is $24. It is crucial to understand when you read betting odds that decimal style already includes the amount you wagered. Consequently, to find out your potential profits, you need to subtract your wager ($24 – $10), and you will realize your payout is $14 in profits.
If you decided to bet $10 on the Chicago Bulls, again, you would multiply $10 x 1.55, and you will find out you could win $15.50 total or $5.50 in profits. Betting using Decimal style odds is straightforward, but they are not commonly offered in American sportsbooks. However, most online betting sites you come across will give players the option of choosing the style of betting odds they want to be displayed, with American odds typically the default option.
Fractional Odds Explained
Similar to decimal odds, fractional odds are more commonly used in Europe, particularly on horse racing in the UK. These may look unusual to an American bettor, as the odds are displayed like 10/5 or 1/2 that you would encounter if you were to watch the Kentucky Derby.
The number of the left (10) reflects how many times the operator expects the relevant outcome to fail. The number on the right (5) shows us how many times the outcome is expected to succeed. For example, let’s look at a soccer match in the English Premier League between Chelsea and Liverpool. The odds for Chelsea are 8/13. This means that if the game took place 21 times (8+13), Chelsea would lose eight times but win 13.
Therefore, the potential winnings are more significant when betting on Liverpool in this particular scenario. When you wager on the underdog in any sporting event, you risk less for a potentially greater total payout.
How To Calculate Implied Probability
Implied probability reflects the likelihood of a particular outcome, as shown by the odds. Calculating this involves converting odds into a percentage, which then indicates how likely that event will occur against the alternative. It is beneficial to have a grasp of implied probability as if your estimate of the likelihood of an event happening is different from a sportsbook’s; you will need to adjust your bet accordingly.
For example, if you believed one team had a 60% chance of winning, and the implied probability was 52.4%, you should take that bet. In our example of the NFL game above, the Patriots have odds of +120 to win the game, so what is the implied probability of these odds?
Implied probability=100 divided by (120 + 100)
Implied probability = 100 divided by 230
Implied probability = 0.4545
Using this example, the Pats’ implied probability of winning the game is 0.4545 (or 45.45%). So the chances of the Pats winning the game, according to the bookmaker, are rated at 43.45%.
It can be challenging to calculate implied probability, so using the below formula may be helpful:
How Do Sportsbooks Set Their Betting Odds?
Sports betting sites are trying to keep the action even.
Oddsmakers use large sets of data and various tools to calculate the initial probabilities for every sports betting market offered, including record and expected distribution of money.
Online sportsbooks adjust sports betting lines for expected outcomes to attract users to place bets. The steps that online sportsbooks take to calculate their odds typically include:
Predicting cash distribution: Sportsbooks try and estimate the expected distribution of the money. The operator will adjust the odds based on records and will duly lower the odds for the outcomes that are expected to draw in the most cash.
Calculating probabilities: Each online sports betting site has traders and people who compile the odds that use huge sums of data to calculate the initial probabilities for all of the betting markets they offer.
Adding margin: Even if you come across the best online sportsbook that has the highest odds they will still apply margin to their prices because ultimately they want to make money. They want to carry some advantage similar to the house edge in an online casino game. The biggest thing to consider is the size of the margin when looking for the most competitive odds online.
Why do Sportsbooks Odds Change?
Once the prices are posted, online betting sites track wagers placed and the latest news. Depending on wagers and news coming in, the sportsbook may adjust lines to meet the movement.
A high volume of wagers on a particular outcome or important breaking news related to the event could move the line quickly. Jumping on lines you expect to move when they’re first released is an excellent way to lock in or save extra funds.
What does the term “push” mean in betting?
A push is a tie in sports betting. For example, imagine a sportsbook sets the point total at 49, allowing users to bet on whether the game’s actual point total will be over or under 49. If the game ends with a combined point total of exactly 49 points, the sportsbook will refund everyone who placed wagers on that market. The bettors neither won nor lost; they tied and got their money back.
Sportsbooks usually set point totals and spreads in half-point increments to avoid pushes. For example, there’s no way for a 49.5 NFL point total to settle as a push because the closest the actual point total could get to a tie is 50 (over) or 49 (under).
Bettors should also note that pushes do not occur in three-way markets in which bettors can pick from three outcomes: Team A, Team B, or Tie. In this example, if the game ends in a tie, any wagers placed on Team A or Team B are graded as losses.
Importance of Line Shopping
The house always holds an edge to start, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get it back.
Some of us are new to how odds work or are just happy to be betting legally, while others are sportsbook brand loyalists, either way, we can get stuck in our ways.
Giving up less and taking in more from sports betting sites seems simple enough, and actually, it is.
Knowing different odds on the same event exist and how popular online sportsbooks position around key numbers is a game-changer.
Over time, these gains will compound and lead to a more enjoyable betting experience on the best sports betting sites.
Value Betting is Vital
You have likely read this article looking to find the best odds sportsbook and we have provided an excellent list of these sites above. We have also given you betting tips before you place your sports bet that will help you find the best possible odds before you place that moneyline or prop bet.
However, none of that will help you make profits if your whole sports wagering strategy is based on guessing. It is important that bettors get a grasp of learning how to work based on probabilities and finding value in a wager.
The only way you can generate some cash from sports betting is to put down your own money on outcomes with a higher probability than the odds indicate. A quick example of a value bet would be you and your friend betting on a match with a 50-50 outcome. You wager $10.10 on team A while your friend bets $10.00 on Team B. You will lose over the long run as you are wagering with a negative expectation. Lots of people do this and even if the odds are the most competitive around it still won’t help them.
Finding value is essential in any betting strategy, even if you think you are really knowledgeable about a certain sport. For example, you may be a soccer fanatic and think you can make lots of money betting on the FIFA World Cup, but if you don’t find value, you won’t.
Take Advantage of Futures Odds
A futures bet is a type of wager where you are predicting the outcome of a league or a tournament that hasn’t started yet. Instead of placing a prop on an individual or betting on a single event, futures require you to pick the eventual champions or trophy winners.
You should remember that outright odds are usually far higher than other markets. Because it is much more challenging to predict the winner of an entire league or tournament that a one off match, future odds will present more value. For example, the San Francisco 49ers could be priced at +900 to win the Super Bowl, but they may have odds of +100 to win the games in the playoffs leading up to the big event. If you have a lot of belief that the 49ers will win the Super Bowl even at an early stage, you should take advantage of the higher odds.
Some sportsbooks will also provide futures entertainment markets such as TV shows and awards ceremonies. As we have mentioned, the best odds online sports betting is all about finding value. When looking for what sportsbook has the best odds, do some research and compare before betting.