Asian Handicap betting has really caught on in recent years. The serious online sports gambler has seen a way to bet on a favourite; particularly in accumulators, without having to take outrageously short odds. Basically, with the Asian Handicap you eliminate the possibility of a draw, i.e. betting on 2 possible outcomes (favourite or underdog) as opposed to 3 (win, lose or draw). The underdog will be given a head-start and favourite will be penalised by an equivalent handicap. The pre-determined handicap will be added to the real number of goals to establish the correct bet. The handicap removes the gap in form and ability, making a potentially one sided affair a much closer contest. The higher the handicap equates to a greater difference in capability. You can actually win your bet even if your selection loses the game!

The favourite has to overcome the handicap, as it will be subtracted from its final score and shown as a minus (-). The underdog is awarded a head-start and will have goals added to its final score and shown as a plus (+). The handicap increases/decreases by 0.5 at a time. The principles of Asian Handicap betting could apply to many sports, but it is in soccer where it is most popular. A typical example might be: England playing at home to Wales. England are the firm favourites to win, so to make it more even they are handicapped by -1.5 goals, which in turn gives Wales a handicap of +1.5 goals, although the handicap is only added or deducted to or from the score of the team you bet on! You bet on England to win, which they achieve with a score of 2-1, but you lose the bet since 1.5 goals are taken away. However, if the result had been 2-0 you would have won your bet! More and more bookmakers are now offering this form of betting to their gambling options.