What is Asian Handicap Betting? Asian Handicap in Football Explained

Last Updated on 16/08/2025 by Andy Clark

Handicap betting is one of the most popular bets in football these days – but what is Asian Handicap betting, what does it mean and how do you bet on it? One of the most frustrating outcomes in betting is a draw, especially if you’ve fallen foul to a last-minute equaliser! Asian Handicap betting eliminates the draw as an outcome and gives you the chance to bet on either a home win or an away win. A popular market in Asia – it’s where the bet takes its name from – it’s a really exciting one to bet on and can significantly boost the odds of who you’re backing to win.  

Where to bet on the Asian Handicap

 

What Is Asian Handicap Betting in Football?

Unlike Handicap Betting, Asian Handicap eliminates the draw by effectively giving teams a head start of 0.5 goals. A handicap gives one team a virtual head start and in the case of an Asian one, it’s impossible to draw because no team can score half a goal. This limits the game to two outcomes. What this will often do is give the side favourite for the game better odds as they will virtually have to come from behind to win. The handicap can be any number of goals from 0.5 to as high as you’d like to request. However, you’ll most often see a 1.5/2.5 betting market with the UK’s best bookies. Here’s an example: Manchester City (-1.5) 8/5 Leicester City (+1.5) 11/10 The example above is based on Manchester City taking on Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium. In this example, the brackets indicate the handicap which gives Leicester a 1.5 goal head start. The numbers outside the brackets are the odds. If you were to back Manchester City to win at 8/5, City would have to win the game by two clear goals. It’s a better way to back football if you’re almost certain of an outcome. In this scenario you might find City were 1/ 6 to win, so using an Asian Handicap can boost your payout significantly. Of course, in this scenario, you’d also find Leicester’s odds shortening.  

What Are Quarter Goal Handicaps?

In some cases, you may find two handicaps given to teams. These give you double the chance of winning and are sometimes known as Quarter Goal Handicaps. This would be shown as something like this: Manchester City (0 & -0.5) Manchester United (0 & +0.5) This would mean that if you back either team you are putting on two bets. So, if you were to bet, say, £10, a fiver would go on the 0 outcome and £5 on the +/-0.5. If you were to back Manchester City you would win both bets should City win by one goal or more. Should the game finish a draw, you would lose your -0.5 side of the bet and the 0 would be void and refunded. Of course, if they were to lose, you’d lose.