22a Soccer - Asian Handicaps / Betfair Education / 18 March 2008 / Leave a comment

Handicap betting is designed to even up a contest whether it's rugby, basketball or Australian Rules football. The handicap is designed to create a market where the price is generally assumed (and the same for both teams) but the start given varies.

Asian handicaps are a form of football betting. They originated in the Far East many years ago where they are the predominant football betting market. More recently they have become increasingly popular in the European betting market.

A football match has three possible outcomes, of these one of the most prevalent is the draw. Bookmakers love draws because punters tend to bet on teams to win. The three-way match odds market is usually quoted around 110-112% by a bookie.

Betting with Asian handicaps cuts out the draw and a big chunk of bookies' margin - fairer for punters, just like Betfair. The Asian handicap aims to create a line which theoretically gives both teams an equal chance to win i.e. 50% or evens (2.0).