Points betting is a new way to bet on sports that has been introduced by the online sportsbook PointsBet.
Points betting gives sports bettors an alternative to fixed odds and ups the excitement level because potential winnings or losses are variable until the very end of the game.
How points betting works
The premise behind it is simple: The more you’re right, the more you win. Of course, the opposite is also true as the more you’re wrong, the more you lose. Points betting is best explained with an example so let’s look back at Super Bowl LIII.
Let’s say you had a $10 bet on New England at -3 over the Los Angeles Rams at odds of -110. The Patriots wound up winning 13-3, meaning that someone who had bet the point spread with traditional fixed odds would have profited $9.09 ($10 bet at -110 = $19.09 total payout).
| Team | Spread |
|---|---|
 New England Patriots |
-3 |
 Los Angeles Rams |
+3 |
In points betting, however, every single point matters as the original bet is multiplied by the number of points in which the point spread gets beat. In this case, New England beat the spread by 10 points (13 points scored - spread of 3 = 10). Therefore, a $10 points betting wager on the Patriots would have paid out $100 ($10 bet X beat spread by 10 points = $100 win).
Of course, with the chance of a big reward comes a big risk, and had the Patriots lost by 10 on the scoreboard, then the bettor would have been out $130 ($10 bet X missed the spread by 13 points = $130 loss).
More ways to bet with points betting
Points betting can be applied to other markets as well and the total from Super Bowl LIII gives us a more extreme look at this unique betting market, where Under bettors would have cleaned up and Over bettors would have had a rough night.
Let’s assume a Super Bowl bettor had grabbed the Under 47 on a $10 points betting wager. There were 16 total points scored in the game, so the game went Under the total by 31 points. Multiply 31 by the $10 bet and an Under bettor would have made $310. An Over bettor, of course, would have lost $310.
Other points betting markets include the time of bet props (i.e. time of first field goal to be made by a team or player in the NBA, or time of the first goal in the NHL), player stats (i.e. the Over/Under for James Harden’s total points or the Over/Under for his field-goal percentage), or even multiplier bets (i.e. the Over/Under of New England’s total points multiplied by L.A.’s total points).
Points betting stop-loss feature
There is a stop-loss feature for points betting where bettors can enter the maximum amount they could accept losing. Going back to the Super Bowl LIII example, Over bettors who had entered a stop-loss of 10x would have had their losses capped at $100. Of course, enabling a stop-loss also caps the maximum return potential and Under bettors on Super Bowl LIII would have had their winnings capped at $100 (had they enabled the 10x stop-loss).
Where is points betting available?
Points betting is a concept that was introduced to the American market by online betting site PointsBet but, given its popularity, it would not be a surprise to see other sportsbooks adopt it in the near future. Want to learn more? Check out our comprehensive PointsBet sportsbook review for more details.
