An Asian Handicap is a form of football betting where teams are handicapped based on their current form. For example, a stronger team will not only have to win, but win by a few goals for a winning bet to be successful.
How does Asian handicap betting work?
Asian Handicap betting eliminates the possibility of a draw in a match, offering only two possible outcomes. For instance, if Chelsea is favored to win against Norwich City, they might have a handicap of -1. If you bet on Chelsea, they need to win by more than one goal for your bet to be successful. If Chelsea wins by exactly one goal, the bet is a push, and you get your stake back, differentiating Asian Handicaps from traditional handicaps where you’d lose in this scenario​1​.
There are also half and quarter lines in Asian Handicaps. Betting on a team with a +0.5 handicap means they win for betting purposes if the match ends in a draw. Conversely, a -1.5 handicap would require your team to win by two or more goals. Split handicaps, like -0.75, mean your bet is split between -0.5 and -1.0; if your team wins by one goal, you only win half your bet. As an example, if you bet on Liverpool with a -2.5 handicap against Aston Villa, Liverpool would need to win by three goals or more for you to win the bet.