Most sports fans have placed a moneyline bet at some point — often without even realizing it. Whether backing the Chiefs to win the Superbowl or Chelsea to win a Premier League match, you’ve probably made a few moneyline wagers in your time.
So, what exactly is moneyline betting? It’s the simplest and most common way to bet on sports: you’re simply choosing who wins the game or match outright.
On a moneyline, the favorite is shown with a “−” sign and the underdog with a “+”. These symbols do more than identify who’s expected to win — they also show how much you can win. A negative number means the payout is smaller than your original wager, while a positive number means you’ll win more than you stake.
If you’re new to sports wagering or want to sharpen your understanding of odds and strategy, explore our full range of 2025 betting guides — covering everything from basic principles to advanced value-betting techniques.
Moneyline betting is one of the simplest and most popular ways to wager — available across nearly every sport, from the NFL and NBA to UFC and MLB. The concept is straightforward: you’re betting on which team or player will win outright.
To see how it works, let’s look back at Super Bowl 59, one of the biggest betting events of 2025. The Philadelphia Eagles entered the game as slight underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs and went on to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
Looking ahead to Super Bowl 60, oddsmakers are once again giving the Chiefs strong moneyline odds to return to the big game — a reminder of how the market constantly adjusts to team form and public sentiment.
Betting on the underdog often delivers bigger payouts, but favorites prevail more frequently. The key is understanding value — spotting when the odds don’t fully reflect a team’s true chances.
So, what does a moneyline mean in betting? Simply put, it’s a wager on who wins the game — no point spreads, no handicaps, just a straight pick.
When betting the favorite, the odds show how much you need to wager to win $100. When betting the underdog, the odds show how much profit you’d earn from a $100 bet. The math may seem tricky at first, but it quickly becomes second nature with practice.
Moneylines are among the most common and competitive markets in sports betting, so it’s always worth comparing prices across multiple sportsbooks. Even a small difference in odds can significantly impact your long-term returns.
Often called accumulators, parlay bets have been a fan favorite for years — and their popularity has only continued to surge through 2025. A parlay combines multiple selections into a single wager, meaning every leg must win for the bet to cash. The more picks you include, the greater the potential payout — but also the higher the risk.
For example, for a round of 2025-26 Champions League fixtures, you might bet on Barcelona, Tottenham, Newcastle, and PSG to all win their respective fixtures.
This high-risk, high-reward format appeals to bettors chasing big returns, especially through underdog moneyline parlays, which can produce huge multipliers. The perceived simplicity of stacking several favorites together is another reason parlays remain so popular, though it’s worth remembering that even picking one winner isn’t easy — let alone several in a row.
The below bookies are parlay specialists:
For our readers that have now finished the guide, they’ll be well informed about what a moneyline bet is and will be ready to start wagering. For those that qualify for this, we’d strongly advise taking a look at our list of recommended sportsbook providers.
The experts here at VegasBetting don’t miss a beat, as soon as the latest odds come in we are the first to post the odds online.
