Sports gambling is a popular activity for many sports fans throughout North America. Although gambling on football is the most popular wagering activity, basketball gambling is right behind. In addition to wagering on the outcome of games with a point spread, bettors may also make predictions on the point totals in games. These are called over/under wagers.
Over/Under Wagers
Las Vegas sports oddsmakers will put up a point spread for gambling purposes on every NBA and major college basketball game. That line predicts how many points the handicappers think the favored team will defeat the underdog by. The oddsmakers will also put up and over/under total on how many points will be scored combined by both teams in a game. The bettor may wager whether the final points scored will be over that posted number or below that number. Bettors who engage in this kind of over/under betting are called "totals" players.
Betting
Sports bettors legally can bet in Las Vegas sportsbooks. Many more sports bettors make wagers online or with bookies who will take their bets even though sports betting under those circumstances is not considered a legal activity. In an over/under wager, a bettor will pay 10 percent over the amount he wagered if he loses the bet. That 10 percent is called the vigorish -- "the vig" in gambling parlance -- and ensures that the bookmaker who takes the bet will make a profit on the game. So if the Celtics and Lakers are playing a game and the oddsmakers post the over/under total at 208 and the the Celtics win the game 110-100, those who bet on the over will win their bets. A bettor who wagered $100, will get his original bet back -- $110 -- and then an additional $100. Those who bet the under will lose the $110 they wagered.
First Half and Halftime Bets
Las Vegas sports books will let gamblers wager on over/under totals for the first half and again at halftime. Bettors who want more action may take advantage of these wagers because it will give them a chance to win money without having to wait for a full game. However, Las Vegas casinos want their customers to make as many wagers as possible because they know in the long run that the more the bettor wagers, the more money they will collect.
Parlay Betting
Gamblers may connect two or more games and make a parlay wager to get a larger payout on their bet. For example, the bettor may bet that the Bulls-Hawks game will go over the posted total and the Heat-Suns game will go under the total. He may bet $100 on that parlay. If either one of those predictions is wrong, he loses his $100. If both are correct, the two-team parlay pays off at odds of 13 to 5 The winning $100 bet would pay $260. Although parlay betting can be quite enticing, it also can be unpredictable because one losing bet will cause the parlay bet to lose.
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