Winning Margin – What it means and how to use it

A popular betting market available on a number of sports, Winning Margin can often provide greater value than standard Full Time Result bets. They can also be slightly easier to assess correctly than a Correct Score bet, too, making this market an attractive one for bettors.

In this guide, we’re going to explore what a Winning Margin bet entails, what value it can offer as well as the right circumstances in which to consider it. We’ll also look at the pros and cons of placing a Winning Margin bet and the best online bookmakers who offer it.

Let’s get started.

What Does Winning Margin Mean?

A Winning Margin bet is a bet on the difference in goals or points between the winning and losing team. It can often provide greater value than a Match Winner bet and can be viewed as an alternative to a Correct Score bet.

There are variations of the Winning Margin market. Some operators provide the standard market, where you bet on a specific goal or points difference between two teams. For example, let’s say Manchester City are playing Chelsea in the Women’s UEFA Champions League. A typical Winning Margin market would look something like this:

In addition to the above, many operators also offer markets like Match To Be Won By Exactly 1 Goal, in which you don’t have to pick which side you think will win by a specific amount, just the difference itself.

You might have come across Combination Correct Score bets before, where a betting site will offer a variety of possible scorelines all wrapped in the same bet. Well, many offer a similar market for Winning Margin bets. To continue our previous example, a bet such as Manchester City to win by 1, 2 or 3 goals are available at a range of operators.

As we’ve seen in football betting, other sports can have other variations of this market too. Let’s use another example. Indiana Pacers are playing Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. The typical Winning Margin market for basketball, in other words, the winning margin at the end of the game, would look something like this.

Other variations of this type of bet comes in period betting. To continue our basketball example, you can expect to find markets like Winning Margin in the First Quarter, or First Half.

Why Bet On The Winning Margin Market?

While the Winning Margin market is incredibly popular, it can be a difficult bet to call right, particularly if you’re using the standard market. Predicting a team to win by one goal in football, or by one to three points in basketball, can be especially hard.

For instance, the odds on Indiana Pacers to beat Dallas Mavericks by 1-5 points were 6.5. The price on the Pacers to win by 1-3 points in the first quarter were 7.5.

It is the odds that generally attract bettors to this market. If we return to our Manchester City v Chelsea example, the odds on the City win in the Match Result market were 3.0. However, the odds on City to win by 1 goal were 5.0, by 2 goals 10.0 and by 3 goals 21.0. The bigger odds make this market more appealing, but at the same time is a much more difficult bet to get right.

What Are The Pros and Cons of Betting On The Winning Margin Market?

While there are many beneficial aspects of betting on the Winning Margin market, the biggest two revolve around odds and market variations. As we’ve seen in our research, the odds on a Winning Margin bet can be much longer than other markets, such as a Match Result bet, which leads to bigger profits on successful bets. The variations of the standard market, such as the combination-style bets, have shorter odds but can be easier to win.

Another positive is that you’ll find this market at the majority of sports betting sites, along with variations of the standard market.

The biggest negative for this market is that it’s an incredibly difficult bet to win, especially the standard version of the market. Correctly predicting how many goals or points a particular side will win by is tough, and can lead to bettors trying to find value elsewhere.

Winning Margin Betting Strategies

While the Winning Margin market is difficult to get right, there are a couple of considerations to think about that could increase your chances of placing successful bets. The first of these is research. No matter what type of bet you place, or on which market, conducting research is incredibly important. Of course, doing so doesn’t guarantee a win, but it does give you a better chance of making successful betting choices.

Aspects like player form, recent team form, goals scored, goals conceded and importance of the fixture should all be considered. Anything that can have an impact on the way a match or game might play out should be thought about – it can be the difference between a winning and losing bet.

Another aspect, and most important in all forms of betting, is your bankroll. It can be easy to lose a lot of money in a short space of time when you bet, particularly when you bet online. Always have a set figure in mind, an amount you can comfortably afford to lose, to bet with. Never go beyond this amount. It’s also a good idea to keep a record of the bets you place, the amount you deposit and your stakes. Keeping these records can help you stay in control of your betting.

Where To Bet On The Winning Margin Market

As we’ve discussed, most operators offer the Winning Margin market. While it’s most popular for football betting, many sites offer this market on other sports, including rugby and ice hockey. In our experience, the best sites also provide the option to bet on variations of this market, like in quarter and half betting in basketball.

When you’re looking for a new betting site, there’s many aspects to consider. In addition to providing the markets you want to bet on, the best sites offer a great all-round betting experience, that includes the following:

• Welcome Bonus
• Existing customer promotions
• Range of sports and events
• Competitive odds
• Mobile app
• Intuitive website design
• In-play betting
• Live streaming

Our top choices are listed in the table below, along with details of their current welcome offer.