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Sport 26 May 2025

Understand Sports Betting!

Easy Guide To Winning Margin Bets

A shot of fans in a stadium, taken from the above the last row of seats. Fans are celebrating as their winning margin bet has landed

WINNING MARGIN BETS EXPLAINED

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WHAT IS A WINNING MARGIN BET?

A Winning Margin Bet is simply type of sports bet where you predict the margin by which a team will win a match. Unlike Correct Score bets, which require exact scorelines, Winning Margin Bets focus solely on the gap between the winner and the loser. For instance, in rugby betting, you might bet that Ireland will defeat their opponents by 6-10 points. Similarly, in football betting, you could wager that a team will win by a single goal. Cricket betting also offers variations of this market, such as predicting the run margin in ODIs or T20 matches.

WHY PLACE A WINNING MARGIN BET?

For new and experienced punters alike, Winning Margin Bets offer several key advantages. The first of these is simple – higher odds and better payouts!  Compared to traditional win/lose/draw and Draw-No-Bet bets, Winning Margin Bets tend to have higher odds. This is due to the fact that you are adding an extra layer to your bet. In these bets, not only are you relying on your chosen team winning, but you are also depending on the winning margin for your selected team to be within the range you have opted for. While this certainly adds some risk to your bet, you are compensated by higher odds and potenitally higher payouts!

Another reason that Winning Margin Bets have become increasingly popular is that it allows punters to get better odds on an overwhelming favourite winning their match. Take rugby for example, and a match between Ireland and Italy. Of course, Ireland is going to be heavily favoured going in to the match – so much so that betting on them to win may have such short odds to offer very little in returns. However, by electing for the Winning Margin Bet you could back them to win by a certain amount of points, increasing your odds and thus your payout!

Winning Margin Bets are also attractive as they can be applied to a wide variety of sports, from rugby to football, and cricket to basketball and beyond, meaning that punters with wildly different sports preferences can make use of a Winning Margin Bet. Additionally, understanding how these bets work,  along with the risks and the benefits associated with them, can open up entirely new markets for even the most inexperienced of punter!

WINNING MARGIN BETS IN FOOTBALL AND RUGBY

When you start browsing betting options across different sports, one of the first things that you are likely to notice is that Winning Margin Bets vary in appearance depending on the sport your are interested in betting on. Let’s take a look at how these bets may appear, and what you would need to happen to score a win!

FOOTBALL WINNING MARGIN BETS

Winning Margin Bets in football tend to be easier to understand as they rarely include a range. Instead, you will bet on a specific numbers of goals for your chosen team to win by. Some of the most popular bets are explained below:

  1. Winning Margin by 1 Goal
    Imagine Shamrock Rovers are playing Bohemians in a Premier Division match, and you bet on Shamrock Rovers to win by one goal. Your bet succeeds if the final score is 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2. If the match ends in a draw, a Bohemians win, or Shamrock Rovers win by more than one goal, the bet is lost.
  2. Winning Margin by 2 Goals
    Consider Derry City hosting Sligo Rovers. If you place a bet on Derry City to win by two goals, you’ll win if the final score is 2-0, 3-1, or 4-2. A narrower victory or a margin greater than two goals will result in a loss.
  3. Winning Margin by 3 Goals
    Assume the Republic of Ireland are playing Northern Ireland in an international friendly. A bet on the Republic of Ireland to win by three goals would require a scoreline such as 3-0, 4-1, or 5-2 to win. Any other result means the bet loses.
  4. Winning Margin by 4 Goals or More
    High-margin bets, such as winning by four goals, typically come with much higher odds. For example, if St Patrick's Athletic were hosting UCD, and you bet on a four-goal victory, results like 4-0, 5-1, or 6-2 would secure your win. Lesser margins or different outcomes would lose the bet.

WINNING MARGIN BETS IN RUGBY EXPLAINED

Due to the scoring system in rugby, the Winning Margin Bets here are usually displayed slightly differently. Rather than a specific number of points, punters will instead bet on a range within which they thing the winning margin will be. For example:

  1. Winning Margin by 1-4 Points
    In a closely contested rugby match, such as between Leinster and Munster, you might bet on a narrow victory of one to fours point. For your bet to win, the final scoreline would need to reflect a one to four margin, such as 18-17 or 23-20. If the margin is higher or the opposing team wins, the bet is lost.
  2. Winning Margin by 5-9 Points
    In rugby, winning margins of five to nine points are relatively common, especially in high-pressure matches. If you bet on a team like Ulster to win by five points, you’ll win if the score is 20-15, 22-15, 27-19 etc. A victory by a margin smaller than five points or a greater margin than nine points would result in a losing bet.
  3. Winning Margin by 10 Points or More
    High-margin rugby bets, such as winning by 10 points or more, are often associated with dominant teams. If you bet on Ireland to win by 10 points, you would need a final score like 30-20 or 35-25 for your bet to succeed. Smaller margins or a loss for Ireland would result in a lost bet. In tighter contests, these bets often come with higher odds due to the difficulty of predicting larger margins.

WINNING MARGIN BETS WITH LOTTOLAND

Winning Margin Bets offers something different for those of you who want a different bet to the traditional win-lose-draw offerings, and may also appeal to those punters who like to use extra research and analysis to place trickier, yet more rewarding, bets. If you’re ready to tackle Winning Margin Bets, all you need to do is register a Lottoland account and choose your bet!

FAQ - WINNING MARGIN BETS

WHY SHOULD I PLACE A WINNING MARGIN BET INSTEAD OF A TRADITIONAL BET?

A Winning Margin Bet offers the opportunity for higher odds and potentially better payouts compared to traditional win/lose/draw bets. By adding an extra layer to your bet, you're not only predicting the outcome (win or lose) but also the margin of victory. This increases the difficulty of the bet but compensates you with higher odds. It's a great way to improve the return on a bet, especially when backing a heavily favoured team whose traditional win may offer minimal returns.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING WINNING MARGIN BETS?

Winning Margin Bets come with several key advantages:

- Higher odds: Because you're betting on both the winner and the margin, the odds tend to be higher than traditional win/lose/draw bets.
- Better payouts: The added complexity of the bet increases the potential payout, which can be attractive to experienced bettors.
- More betting options: It allows punters to bet on a wider range of sports and gives them more flexibility in predicting match outcomes beyond a simple win or loss.

CAN WINNING MARGIN BETS BE USED IN OTHER SPORTS BESIDES FOOTBALL AND RUGBY?

Yes! Winning Margin Bets can be applied to a variety of sports, not just football and rugby. For example, you can place similar bets in cricket, basketball, and other sports where the margin of victory is a factor. Each sport will have its unique format for displaying these bets, but the concept remains the same — predicting the margin by which a team or player will win.

ARE WINNING MARGIN BETS A GOOD CHOICE FOR BEGINNERS?

While Winning Margin Bets can be appealing due to the potential for higher payouts, they are generally more complex than traditional win/lose/draw bets. As a beginner, it’s important to understand the added risk that comes with betting on a specific margin of victory. However, once you're familiar with how the bet works, it can be a fun and rewarding option, especially for those who enjoy research and analysis. If you're new to sports betting, it’s a good idea to start with simpler bets and gradually work your way to Winning Margin Bets as you gain more experience.

T
by Tom
Tom
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