Sports Betting Glossary A-Z — Singapore Terms

A

Accumulator: A single bet combining multiple selections. All selections must win for the bet to pay out. A four-fold accumulator combines four selections; odds multiply. Also called a parlay.
American Odds: Odds format showing how much profit a $100 bet returns (positive number) or how much must be staked to win $100 (negative number). Used mainly in the US; less common on Singapore sportsbooks. See our odds converter to switch between formats.
Asian Handicap: [Football] Handicap betting that eliminates the draw by giving one side a virtual goal advantage. The dominant football betting market in Singapore. See our Asian handicap guide.
ATS (Against the Spread): A team's record against handicap or point-spread lines, rather than straight wins and losses.

B

Bankroll: The total amount of money a bettor has set aside for betting. Good bankroll management treats this as a separate pool from day-to-day finances.
Banker: A selection the bettor is highly confident about, often the anchor of an accumulator. In system bets, the banker is included in every combination.
Bet Slip: The digital or paper record of placed bets. On online platforms, the bet slip is the in-interface panel where selections are confirmed before stake is committed.
Bo3 / Bo5: [Esports] Best of three / best of five. Match format in esports where the first team to win 2 (Bo3) or 3 (Bo5) maps wins the series.
Bookmaker: The operator accepting bets and setting the odds. Also called a bookie or sportsbook. Singapore Pools is the only Singapore-licensed bookmaker for sports.
Both Teams to Score (BTTS): [Football] A market where you bet on whether both teams will score at least one goal during a match. Yes/No only.

C

Cash Out: A feature letting bettors settle an open bet before the event ends, for a dynamically calculated amount that may be less than the original potential return.
Chalk: The favourite in a market, particularly one that is heavily backed.
Correct Score: [Football] A market where you bet on the exact final score of the match. High odds, low probability per selection.
CS2: [Esports] Counter-Strike 2, Valve's successor to CS:GO released 2023. The most heavily bet tactical FPS in esports.

D

Decimal Odds: The odds format used by most Singapore and European sportsbooks. Multiply stake by the decimal to get total return including stake. Odds of 2.50 on a $100 stake return $250 total.
Double Chance: [Football] A market covering two of the three 1X2 outcomes (e.g. Home or Draw). Lower odds but higher probability than a single 1X2 selection.
Dota 2: [Esports] A five-versus-five MOBA by Valve. Southeast Asia is one of the strongest Dota 2 regions. Home of The International, the largest prize pool in esports history.
Draw No Bet: [Football] A market where a draw refunds the stake. Effectively bets only on which team wins.

E

Each Way: [Racing] A two-part bet: half the stake on the horse to win, half on it to place. Place pays out at a fraction of the win odds (usually 1/4 or 1/5) if the horse finishes in the paying places.
ESL: [Esports] Electronic Sports League — one of the largest esports tournament organisers, now part of BLAST.
Evens: Odds of 1.00 profit per 1.00 staked — decimal 2.00, fractional 1/1. Sometimes written as EVS.
Exacta: [Racing] A bet on the first two finishers in exact order.
Expected Value (EV): The long-run average return of a bet, calculated by multiplying probability of each outcome by its payoff. Positive-EV bets are those where the true probability is higher than the price implies.

F

Favourite: The selection with the shortest odds — the one the market considers most likely to win.
First Blood: [Esports] The first kill in a match. A common in-game market for MOBA and FPS esports betting.
Fixed Odds: Odds that are locked in at the time of the bet. Most online sportsbook betting is fixed odds. Contrast with pari-mutuel (tote) betting where the dividend depends on the total pool.
Fractional Odds: UK-style odds displayed as fractions (e.g. 5/2). The numerator is profit per unit staked. 5/2 returns $5 profit per $2 staked.

G

GRA: Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore — the body that oversees licensed gambling operators and enforces the Remote Gambling Act 2014.

H

Handicap: A virtual goal, point or score advantage applied to level a mismatched contest. Can refer to Asian handicap (football) or map handicap (esports).
Hong Kong Odds: Odds format showing profit only (not total return). HK odds of 1.50 returns $1.50 profit on $1 staked — equivalent to decimal 2.50.

I

Implied Probability: The probability implied by a set of odds, calculated as 1 divided by decimal odds. Odds of 2.00 imply 50% probability. The sum of implied probabilities across all outcomes in a market is always greater than 100% because of the bookmaker margin.
In-Play Betting: Betting on events while they are happening. Also called live betting. Odds update dynamically based on match state.

J

Juice: American slang for the bookmaker's margin or overround. Sometimes called vig (short for vigorish).

K

Kelly Criterion: A bankroll management formula for determining the optimal bet size given an edge and the odds. Stakes a fraction of bankroll equal to (edge / odds).

L

Lay Bet: A bet against a selection — betting that something will NOT happen. Common on betting exchanges, rare on traditional sportsbooks.
Long Odds: High odds reflecting low implied probability. A 20.00 decimal selection is a long-odds bet.

M

Malay Odds: Odds format used on some Asian sportsbooks. Positive values show profit per unit stake (same as HK odds); negative values show stake required to win one unit.
Margin: Also called overround. The percentage by which combined implied probabilities exceed 100%. Equivalent to the bookmaker's theoretical profit margin. See our odds comparison guide.
Map Handicap: [Esports] The esports equivalent of Asian handicap. In a Bo3 series, -1.5 map handicap means the favoured team must win 2-0.
Money Line: A bet purely on the outcome (win/lose/draw) without a handicap. In football, equivalent to the 1X2 market.
MLBB: [Esports] Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the dominant SEA mobile MOBA. See our MLBB betting guide.

N

Nap: [Racing] A tipster's single most confident selection of the day.
No Cash Out: A bet that does not offer the cash-out feature. Usually accumulators containing specific selections or promotional bets.

O

Odds-On: Odds shorter than evens — implying the selection has more than 50% probability. A 1.50 decimal price is odds-on.
Outright: A bet on the overall winner of a tournament, league or competition. Placed well before the event starts.
Over/Under: A market betting on whether a statistic (goals, kills, points) will be above or below a set line.
Overround: See Margin. The structural house edge in a market, expressed as a percentage over 100%.

P

Parlay: American term for an accumulator. Multiple selections combined into one bet; all must win.
Pari-Mutuel: Pool betting. Dividends are determined by total pool minus take-out divided among winning tickets. Singapore Pools racing markets are pari-mutuel.
PDPA: Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act 2012, governing how operators (including affiliate sites like Maxim88) handle your personal data.
PayNow: Singapore's instant peer-to-peer and merchant payment system. Accepted by Singapore Pools for deposits.
Push: A bet that neither wins nor loses; stake is refunded. Common on whole-number handicap or over/under lines when the line is exactly hit.

Q

Quinella: [Racing] A bet on the first two finishers in any order.
Quartet: [Racing] A bet on the first four finishers in exact order. Highest-potential-payout racing market offered by Singapore Pools.

R

RGA: Remote Gambling Act 2014 — the primary Singapore legislation governing online and remote betting. See our legality guide.
ROI: Return on investment. Profit divided by total wagered, expressed as a percentage. Professional bettors operate on 2–5% ROI over very large sample sizes.
Rollover: See Wagering Requirement. The multiple of a bonus amount that must be wagered before the bonus and winnings can be withdrawn.

S

Singapore Pools: The only Singapore-licensed sports betting and horse racing operator. Offers football, F1 and horse racing markets.
Spread: A handicap-style market. American equivalent of Asian handicap, typically applied in points rather than goals.
Stake: The amount wagered on a bet.
STC: Singapore Turf Club, the authorised horse racing operator in Singapore.
Steaming: When odds shorten rapidly because of heavy backing on one side. Often triggered by late professional money.
Sharp: A professional or highly informed bettor. Contrast with "square" (recreational bettor).

T

Take-Out: The percentage of a pari-mutuel pool retained by the operator. Singapore Pools horse racing take-out is typically 17–25%.
Tote: Pari-mutuel pool betting, named after the totalisator machine that calculates dividends.
Trebble: A three-selection accumulator. All three must win for the bet to pay out.
Trifecta: [Racing] A bet on the first three finishers in exact order.

U

Underdog: The selection with longer odds — considered less likely to win by the market.
Unit: A standardised stake size used for tracking performance. Typically 1% of bankroll.

V

Vig / Vigorish: American slang for bookmaker margin. See Juice, Overround.
Void: A bet that does not stand — stake is refunded. Common when an event is cancelled or a participant withdraws.
VCT: [Esports] Valorant Champions Tour — Riot Games' global Valorant competitive circuit.

W

Wagering Requirement: The number of times a bonus amount must be wagered before the bonus and associated winnings can be withdrawn. A 5x wagering requirement on a $100 bonus means $500 must be wagered. See our bonus and wagering requirements guide.
Win Bet: A bet on a selection to finish first. The simplest bet type in every sport.

Y

Yankee: A four-selection multiple bet comprising 11 individual bets (6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 four-fold). At least two selections must win to return anything.
Yield: Profit as a percentage of total staked, calculated over a significant sample. Professional betting yields are typically in the low single digits.

Sports Betting Glossary A–Z — Terms Explained for Singapore Bettors

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

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