A moneyline bet is a wager on which team or player wins straight up, regardless of margin. Odds are expressed as negative (favourite) or positive (underdog) American odds: -150 means you risk $150 to win $100; +130 means a $100 bet returns $130 in profit.
Also known as: ML, straight-up odds
Moneyline is the cleanest unit of sports betting. Pick a winner, get paid if you’re right. The price reflects implied probability — -150 implies a 60% chance of winning, +130 implies about 43%.
Heavy favourites (-300 or worse) pay small but expected. Underdogs (+200 or longer) pay big but rarely win. The spread between true probability and implied probability is where the sportsbook makes its margin.
Hockey and baseball moneylines are the dominant market in those sports because the low-scoring nature makes point-spread betting noisier. In NFL and NBA, the spread is usually the primary market.