The Simplest Bet in Sports Betting
A moneyline bet is a wager on one thing only: which side wins the game. No margin of victory, no combination of outcomes to track — you pick a winner, and either they win or they don’t. That simplicity is why it’s usually the first bet type recommended to newcomers, and why it remains heavily wagered even among experienced bettors.
Reading the Plus and Minus
Moneyline prices in Canada are almost always shown in American odds format: a minus number for the favourite, a plus number for the underdog. The minus number is how much you’d need to stake to win $100 — -150 means a $150 bet wins $100 profit. The plus number is how much a $100 stake would win — +130 means a $100 bet wins $130 profit. The bigger the minus number, the more heavily favoured that side is; the bigger the plus, the longer the underdog’s odds. Two evenly matched sides sometimes carry a price near +100/-110 — a “pick’em” — meaning the sportsbook sees almost no edge between them.
Working Out What a Bet Actually Pays
The math is straightforward once you’ve seen it once. For a favourite, divide 100 by the number and multiply by your stake: $50 at -150 wins 100/150 × $50 = $33.33 profit, plus your $50 back. For an underdog, divide the number by 100 and multiply by your stake: $50 at +130 wins 130/100 × $50 = $65 profit, plus your $50 back. The further from even money, the more lopsided the payout — small stakes on heavy favourites return modest profit, while the same stake on a big underdog can multiply many times over.
| Moneyline | Role | $50 Stake Profit | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| -250 | Heavy favourite | $20.00 | 71.4% |
| -130 | Moderate favourite | $38.46 | 56.5% |
| +120 | Moderate underdog | $60.00 | 45.5% |
| +280 | Long-shot underdog | $140.00 | 26.3% |
Try It: Payout Meter
Pick one of the four prices from the table above and see exactly what a $50 stake pays, plus how likely the sportsbook thinks that outcome is.
Moneyline vs. Spread: Two Different Questions
A moneyline bet and a point spread bet can be placed on the same game but answer different questions. Moneyline asks “who wins,” which is why the favourite’s moneyline price is always shorter than their spread price — a lower payout for not needing a specific margin. The underdog’s moneyline often pays far better than “plus the points” on the spread, since you’re accepting an outright-win condition for a bigger number. Neither is inherently smarter; they suit different views of how a game will play out.
Why Moneyline Betting Sits at the Centre of the Canadian Market
Since Bill C-218 made single-event wagering legal nationwide (see our explainer on that law), moneyline bets have become one of Canadians’ most common first single-game wagers, since it skips picking a spread number or stitching legs into a parlay. It’s also the easiest market for building odds-reading habits: why a -250 favourite pays so little, or a +280 underdog is such a live long shot, is implied probability in action — see how betting odds work.
A Few Things Worth Remembering
Moneyline odds move for the same reasons any price moves — new information and betting volume — so the number at market open may not match kickoff. Sportsbooks like FanDuel ↗ and DraftKings ↗ display moneyline prices prominently, easy to shop across operators. Even the simplest bet is entertainment spending with a real house edge — our responsible gambling resource page is there if it ever starts feeling less like fun.