European handicap betting is a market that doesn’t just focus on winning but goes further to consider the goal difference for the win to happen.
European handicap is also known as the 3-way handicap bet. With this type of bet, a whole number is placed with a positive sign or a negative one. The underdog is represented with the positive sign while the favourite is represented with the negative sign.
European handicap sports betting is undeniably popular as it balances mismatched fixtures, is easy to understand, and allows for strategic betting. Mostly, it is common in football and basketball.
This review has the European handicap explained in detail for you.
What is European Handicap?
Curious to find out the European handicap meaning? It is a sports bet where one team gets a head start or a disadvantage in whole goals before the match starts.
Under this bet type, the favourite is given a disadvantage while the underdog is given an advantage.
Despite the mechanism of the bet type, there are three outcomes when placing a handicap bet: win, draw, or loss.
It is worth noting that European handicaps deal only with whole numbers, and no half goals.
Example of a European handicap bet
| Leicester City -1 | Draw -1 | Aston Villa +1 |
From this example, the match starts with -1 goal for Leicester and an advantage of +1 goal for Aston Villa.
What does this mean?
- If you stake on Leicester to win, it must beat Aston Villa by two or more goals.
- For a draw bet to win, Leicester must win the match by exactly 1 goal.
- If you bet on Aston Villa to win, the game must end in a draw, or Leicester must win by 1 goal only, or Aston Villa must score the most goals.
How European Handicap Works?
Ideally, a game starts with a score of 0-0 in every match. However, in most instances, one team seems stronger than the other, meaning it is not a fair competition. Undoubtedly, the stronger team has a higher chance to win, but lower odds.
As per the European handicap meaning, this betting market makes the playing field fairer by giving the stronger team a negative starting score or a positive starting score to the weaker team. The difference in the odds between the two teams reduces.
To better understand this, let us use fabricated examples of Teams A and B, where Team A is considered strong and expected to win, while Team B is the poor team on a losing streak in its last five matches.
For the match, the odds given are as follows:
Team A odds are 1.20, Draw is 11.00, and Team B is 18.00
To reduce the huge odds difference, the European handicap odds may be set per the table below for Team A to win.
In this example, Team A has a disadvantage of -3 goals.
| European Handicap | Deficit to Overturn | Minimum FT Score | Handicap Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team A -3EH | 3 goals | 4-0 | 4-3 |
Let us look at the second example, where now Team B has an advantage of +2 goals
| European Handicap | Deficit to Protect | Minimum FT Score | Handicap Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team B +2EH | 2 goals | 0-1 | 2-1 |
European Handicap Formats
Certainly, bookmakers will show you the European handicap in two different formats: scoreline and plus/minus format.
Scoreline Format
In this format, the starting scoreline comes after the team is listed, with either the home or the away team having a head start.
Let’s consider the following examples.
Home team handicaps
- Team Y +1 handicap appears as (1:0)
- Team Y-2 handicap shows as (0:2)
Away team handicaps
- Team A +1 handicap appears as (0:1)
- Team A -2 handicap appears as (2:0)
Plus / Minus Format
In the plus/minus format, the team with a negative handicap is denoted with a minus (-) sign and the number of goals subtracted. On the contrary, the team with a positive handicap is denoted with a plus (+) sign and goals added.
See below examples:
- Team Y+1 handicap shows as (Y+1)
- Team Y-2 handicap appears as (Y-2).
- Team A +1 handicap shows as (A+1)
- Team A -2 handicap shows as (A-2)
Pros and Cons of European Handicap
Although the European handicap betting market has many pros, it has cons as well, as discussed below:
Pros
- Enables bettors to maximise favourites – Usually, favourites carry low odds for you. However, when the European handicaps kick in, the odds improve, giving you a highly possible profit.
- Offers the draw option – In the handicap betting arena, you only find European and Asian handicaps. Undoubtedly, the European handicap option offers you a draw bet option, something that the Asian handicap misses.
Cons
- Quite risky compared to Asian Handicap – Unlike the Asian handicap, which offers you a chance to get back your cash, the European handicap does not have such options.
Tips for Betting on European Handicap
We have practiced betting on European handicap betting for a while now, and we have summarized a few tips below that could make your experience worthwhile:
- Study team form and scoring patterns – Understanding the form and how the teams in question score helps you know their strength and potential. Thus, you can predict more accurately.
- Use when favorites are likely to win comfortably – When you have a sure favourite, it is time to take advantage. Remember, the odds improve, and you are almost sure of winning.
- Avoid when matches are tight or unpredictable – When the teams pose almost equal tactics, it becomes hard to choose a favourite. Additionally, it is not best to bet on the handicap when you can’t predict the outcome. The sad reality? You may end up losing.
- Check team news – Undoubtedly, you need to stay updated all the time. Know the new team sign-ups, current formation, last performance, etc. You can get these stats in the team news, which will help you make informed decisions.
- Always compare odds across bookmakers – This should be obvious! Do not be comfortable with odds at one bookmaker. Instead, search until you get the best margins for the European handicap betting market.
European Handicap vs Asian Handicap: What’s the Difference?
Although the two handicap markets work similarly in principle, they have a few differences. The major one is in the way the handicap is expressed. While European handicap uses whole numbers only, the Asian Handicap lines use quarter and half numbers.
Secondly, the quarter and half number usage in Asian Handicap makes it hard to have the draw option in a bet. This is something that the European handicap retains thanks to the use of whole numbers.
Generally, the European handicap is easier to understand than the Asian handicap.
Example of Asian handicaps
Take a match between Team A and Team B, and the handicap is Team B +2.5
This means for a bet with Team B to lose, Team A would need to score at least 3 goals to win
Final Thoughts
The European handicap is a unique market that helps in levelling the odds in a match. Unlike the Asian one, this handicap offers three outcomes: win, draw, and lose. It uses whole numbers, and the favourites usually get a disadvantage while the underdog gets an advantage.
Indeed, such unique betting markets as the European handicap have contributed significantly to growing interest among players, leading to gambling growth. For example, in Europe, where the bet type originates, the overall betting market size is expected to grow exponentially to hit USD 89,918.29 million by 2030, thanks to such creative betting markets.