What is the Difference between an Asian Handicap and a Handicap?

When you are viewing the available betting markets at a bookmaker you may well have noticed the option to place a bet on the game with a “handicap”. What this means is there is a certain number of points or goals added to the scoreline at the end of the game and your bet will be settled on the basis of this new score.

What Is Asian Handicap Betting?

Asian Handicap betting is a type of bet that involves betting on a result, but the bet is settled using the score after the amount of the handicap has been factored in. There are different types of handicap bets, and Asian Handicaps are the most complex type with the largest number of variations. The exact reason why they are called “Asian” Handicaps is unclear but it is almost certainly linked to bookmakers based in Asia being the first to offer and to popularise the use of these types of bet. So when punters from other locations started to come across them but only at those betting sites, they were colloquially labeled as “Asian” Handicaps, and the name stuck.

The purpose of the handicap is to create a situation that is closer to a 50/50 chance of happening. If a team is a favourite to win, by giving them a -1.5 handicap it means they must win by two goals for that bet to win, winning by one goal alone is no longer enough. Therefore the odds will be closer to evens for each outcome. With Asian handicap bets there is always a handicap number and then there are two options, you can bet on the team with the -ve or the team with the +ve.

There are three different types of Asian Handicap bet, and we will look at each of them below:

Asian Handicap Full Lines

The term “Full Lines” basically means whole numbers. That is the handicap will be either plus or minus 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. (Although there is no real reason that the handicap can not be a larger number it is quite rare to ever see a number greater than 3. The full line handicap is notably different from the half line handicap because it is possible for the result, after the handicap is applied, to be a draw.

For example if a team has a handicap of -1 and you bet on them, this means that as usual if they lose or draw you lose your bet as usual, but if the team win by 1 goal, after the handicap is applied taking 1 goal away, it is now in effect a draw. With Asian Handicap bets when a full line (also known as a whole number) handicap is a draw after the handicap is applied then the stakes are returned. On order for a bet to win on a team with a -1 handicap they must win by two clear goals.

Asian Handicap Half Lines

An Asian Handicap with a half line is going to be 0.5, or 1.5, or 2.5, etc. The significance of this is that it eliminates the possibility of there being a draw once the handicap is applied. Since it is impossible to score half a goal one team will be at a minimum half a goal ahead or half a goal behind, and therefore win.

If you are betting on a team -0.5 then this is actually exactly the same as simply betting on them to win, because if they win 1-0, then after the handicap is applied they won 0.5-0 but that is still a win. Betting on a team +0.5 is betting on either them to win or it being a draw in regular time. If they naturally win then after the handicap they now won by a little bit more, and if it was a draw it is now not a draw, they won by 0.5 goals.

Asian Handicap Quarter Lines

Quarter lines are definitely a little more complicated and can be hard to get your head around at first. We will try to break it down for you. A quarter line is split into two bets, one half being on the whole line and the other half being on the whole line. You will sometimes see it displayed as such, with +1.25 being shown as +1/+1.5, they are the same thing. It is possible for both of the bets to win, or both to lose, or sometimes one half wins and the other half push, or one half loses and the other half push. As you can see, they are a much more nuanced form of bet.

What Is European Handicap Betting?

European Handicaps are a type of betting market with three outcomes. Much like Asian Handicaps they give one team a headstart but it is always a whole number of goals (or points). The main difference between them and an Asian Handicap bet is that they offer a specific ‘Draw’ option. They are often displayed the same way as regular match odds are displayed but the difference is that they include a head start for one of the teams. The amount of the handicap can be 1,2, or 3. Although there is no reason why it could not also be 4 in our experience we have never come across this.

This is an explanation of how a European Handicap market would work:

• Team A -1 : Team A has 1 goal deducted. For this bet to win Team A need to win by 2 or more goals (for example 2-0, 4-2, 5-3, etc).
• Draw -1 : Team A has 1 goal deducted. For this bet to win, Team A need to win by exactly 1 goal (for example 1-0, 3-2, 6-5) because then after the handicap is applied the scores are level.
• Team B +1 : Team B has 1 goal added. For this bet to win, they need to either draw the game or win as usual (for example 0-0, 1-1, 2-3, etc).

Conclusion

There are similarities between Asian and European Handicaps when they are whole numbers, but they are still different, notably because of the stake being returned with an Asian Handicap draw, but it is an actual bet to place which will win or lose for a European. Asian Handicaps are a lot more detailed and specific, allowing up to quarter point spreads, and they are by and large the more popular of the two types.