Line Shopping For The Best Sportsbook Payouts
If you are an online sports bettor in the United States and you do not belong to more than one sportsbook site, you are confining yourself to only one set of wagering odds and not allowing the room to take advantage of line shopping for the best sportsbook payouts.
Whether betting on the NFL, placing a wager on College Football, NCAAB, political election outcomes, or entertainment odds, it pays to shop the odds and secure an extra point or two of variance in the point spread, over/under, and moneylines for major pro and college sports.
If you could grant yourself a betting edge each and every time you place a wager on sports, why wouldn’t you? Read on to learn how.
Top Sportsbook Sites For Shopping Odds
| Site Name | Current Bonus | Age | U.S. | Visit Site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 18+ |  | Visit Site Review |
| 2 |  | 125% Max $3,125 | 18+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 3 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 21+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 4 |  | 50% Max $500 | 21+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 5 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 18+ | | Visit Site Review |
| 6 |  | 50% Max $1,000 | 18+ | | Visit Site Review |
Why Is Line Shopping Essential To Securing The Easiest Path To A Payout?
Bettors that only do business with one online book will severely limit their wagering options and lock them in to only the betting odds provided by that lone sportsbook site.
Shopping lines across multiple online sportsbook sites allow for bettors to locate the path of least resistance in regard to the odds, and we’ve provided several examples below to illustrate this point.
How To Shop The Odds At Online Sportsbook Sites
The brands that we list in the table above are perfect candidates for line shopping the odds for major pro and college sports in the United States and around the globe.
We invite anyone reading this page to search through the betting lines offered at each of the online sportsbooks above and investigate the point spreads, moneyline odds, and the over/under. Our guide on understanding how to calculate betting odds is another resource for bettors looking to find the best betting lines.
You’ll quickly ascertain that there are slightly different odds offered at each online sportsbook. Line shopping at each online book allows bettors to take advantage of the differentials so that an easier path to a win can be secured. All the bettors featured in our Sports Betting Hall of Fame list use these techniques to get the best odds for their epic bets.
Simply stated, if you are willing to bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers to defeat the New England Patriots by 7 or more points, wouldn’t it make sense to extend that spread by a point or two at another NFL sportsbook site?
Shopping lines at online sportsbook sites is all about granting the bettor additional room to achieve the same or better outcome, and the following sections will provide examples on how to make that happen. Our guide to understanding betting odds details the different betting lines and explains how to find value with sportsbook odds.
Advantages Of Line Shopping For NFL Betting
Take the following three NFL game lines from Bovada, BetOnline, and Mybookie that allow for betting on the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
BetOnline - Cowboys vs. Buccaneers
- Point Spread: Buccaneers -6, Cowboys +6
- Moneyline: Buccaneers -285, Cowboys +240
- Over/Under: 51.5
MyBookie - Cowboys vs. Buccaneers
- Point Spread: Buccaneers -5.5, Cowboys +5.5
- Moneyline: Buccaneers -290, Cowboys +235
- Over/Under: 51.5
Bovada - Cowboys vs. Buccaneers
- Point Spread: Buccaneers -6.5, Cowboys +6.5
- Moneyline: Buccaneers -290, Cowboys +240
- Over/Under: 51.5
Depending on which of these NFL sportsbooks the bettor visits, up to a one-point variance in the point spread can be achieved and directed toward the member’s liking.
The most favorable point spread for the Buccaneers is posted by MyBookie, as they are only requiring that Tampa Bay win by 6 points or more based on the spread of 5.5.
Alternatively, the best point spread available through line shopping for the Cowboys is offered by Bovada, as a loss by 6 or less will cover, whereas a loss by 5 or less is required at MyBookie.
The same can be said for the NFL moneyline odds offered on each NFL team and their chances of victory, Bovada and BetOnline offer the best moneyline odds on the Cowboys to win at +240, while BetOnline features the most advantageous odds for the Patriots to win.
All three of these betting lines feature the same over/under, and therefore, there is no advantage offered by shopping these particular totals odds – but that is not typically the case.
Line Shopping At NBA Basketball Betting Sites
In the realm of NBA betting, shopping the odds can secure an extra point or two of variance in the point spreads, moneylines, and over/under totals.
The following three game lines for betting on the NBA Playoffs serve as an example of how to optimize the odds by line shopping.
MyBookie - Phoenix Suns @ LA Clippers
- Point Spread: Suns +1, Clippers -1
- Moneyline: Suns -118, Clippers -102
- Over/Under: 221
Bovada - Phoenix Suns @ LA Clippers
- Point Spread: Suns -1.5, Clippers +1.5
- Moneyline: Suns -120, Clippers EVEN
- Over/Under: 221.5
BetOnline - Phoenix Suns @ LA Clippers
- Point Spread: Suns -1.5, Clippers +1.5
- Moneyline: Suns -120, Clippers EVEN
- Over/Under: 221.5
MyBookie is the online NBA sportsbooks that provides the most variance in the odds for this particular basketball game, as both BetOnline and Bovada feature the exact same game lines.
A half point of variance is granted in both directions of the spread, the moneyline is slightly more profitable on the Suns winning the game, and there is a half point of differential on the over/under if basketball gamblers choose MyBookie.
Line Shopping For Political Betting Odds
The realm of betting on elections and their outcomes almost exclusively involves moneyline odds placed next to the chances of each candidate in a given race.
It is in this arena where the odds can vary wildly from book to book, and each political betting site can decide whether or not they want to include a potential candidate. Review the below 2024 Presidential Election odds and the variances will be evident immediately.
|
Odds to Win the 2024 Presidential Election |
||
| BetOnline | Bovada | MyBookie |
| Joe Biden +275
Kamala Harris +375 Donald Trump Sr. +550 Ron DeSantis +800 Nikki Haley +1400 Elizabeth Warren +2500 Mike Pence +2500 Ivanka Trump +2800 Mike Pompeo +2800 Kristi Noem +3300 Tucker Carlsson +3300 Dwayne Johnson +4000 Ted Cruz +4000 Candace Owens +5000 Donald Trump Jr. +5000 Josh Hawley +5000 Michelle Obama +5000 Pete Buttigieg +5000 Dan Crenshaw +6000 Liz Cheney +6000 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez +6600 Mark Cuban +6600 Tim Scott +6600 |
Kamala Harris +400
Joe Biden +450 Donald Trump Sr. +550 Ron DeSantis +1000 Nikki Haley +2000 Mike Pence +2500 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez +3000 Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson +3300 Michelle Obama +3300 Cory Booker +4000 Elizabeth Warren +4000 John Kasich +4000 Pete Buttigieg +4000 Ted Cruz +4000 Amy Klobuchar +5000 Andrew Cuomo +5000 Dan Crenshaw +5000 Donald Trump Jr. +5000 Josh Hawley +5000 Kanye West +5000 Kristi Noem +5000 Mark Cuban +5000 Mike Pompeo +5000 |
n/a |
While many 2024 Presidential Candidates feature identical moneyline odds, most of them do not, and selecting the higher payout is a no-brainer, and an opportunity that should not be ignored.
Whether betting on President Biden to attain a second term, or wagering on Kamala Harris to unseat Joe Cool in 2024, you’ll earn a higher payout at Bovada for the same amount of monetary risk.
If you are a progressive liberal and believe that 2024 is the year that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will ascend to the White House and usher in a new era in American politics, you’d better place your bet at BetOnline Sportsbook.
A wager of $1 on AOC’s odds of becoming the next POTUS has the potential to earn $66 at Bovada, while the same one-dollar bet made on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez at BetOnline will reward at $30 - less than half!
These opportunities to for line shopping are not limited to the betting arenas listed above. Advantages can be gained across the entire spectrum of online betting on sports by shopping the odds at all major books that we endorse.
