Bet On March Madness 2025 Explainer: What Odds Are & How They Work

Do you look at odds and feel like they don’t quite make sense? When you see the “favorite” is “minus” something, are you confused about why the better team would be by the minutes sign? If so, we can help. We’ve designed BetNow to be the place to bet on March Madness 2025 and so much more, yes. But, we also want to serve as a resource to explain those bets as well. That’s why we’re taking this opportunity to lay out betting odds explained for beginners. 

To be clear, this isn’t just for ‘beginners.” It can also be helpful for those who just want a refresher for how all of this works. 

Odds and the Point Spread 

Odds, definitionally, are what bookmakers use to show how likely it is that something may happen. Additionally, these show how much you can bet if you win, too. 

Let’s use the Super Bowl as an example. In the most recent Super Bowl, where the 49ers played the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers were actually the favorite. How do we know that? We know that because the point spread was -2. 

This means that, if you were to bet on the 49ers to “win outright,” they would have to win by more than two points. So, if the 49ers won 21-14, you would win the bet. However, if they won the game 21-20, then you would lose. The 49ers would win the game, of course, but you would not win your bet. 

By that same token, if you were to bet on the Chiefs to win the game, then you could do what’s called “take the points.” That means if you were to bet on the Chiefs to win the game and take the points, then you would win if the Chiefs won the game as well as if the Chiefs lost the game by less than two points. 

So, to continue the example from earlier, if the Chiefs win 21-14, then you would win the bet. However, if the Chiefs lost and scored 18 points while the 49ers scored 21, then you would lose the bet. That’s because the 49ers would have won by three points or more, thus exceeding that point spread. 

A good rule of thumb: if you see the “point spread,” think of it like a scoreboard. If the 49ers are at -2, then when the game starts, it’s like: “Kansas City 2, San Francisco 0.” 

How We Do Point Spreads 

Here at BetNow, we do many different kinds of point spreads. Yes, you’ll find one for the entire game. Depending on the game, and how big it is, you may find alternate point spreads, too. 

Beyond that, we also, in many games, tend to offer bets on the first half, second half, and so forth. You can also, usually, bet point spreads there as well. That way, we offer more bets that more players can take advantage of. 

The Money Line 

Now, you may have read to this point and thought: “OK, I understand the point spread when it says -2 or whatever, but I don’t understand when I see -175 or something. It’s not like one team should win by 175 points or something.” Right. That’s not the point spread, that’s what’s called the “money line.” For many, this can be what they refer to as “the odds.” 

The money line, in essence, are the odds that a team will win the game without the point spread. As with the point spread, however, the team with the “-” sign next to is the favorite. That’s the team expected to win. The team with the “+” by it, that’s the team that’s the underdog, that is not expected to win. 

The numbers next to the plus or minus sign represent how much money you can win should you bet on the team and they win. By that same token, they also represent how much of an underdog/favorite the team is. 

For example, a team that’s -175 is less likely to win than a team that’s -300. Consequently, a team that’s +125 is much less of an underdog than a team that’s +300. 

The favorite numbers show how much you would have to bet to win $100 if they win. The underdog numbers display how much you can win with a $100 bet. 

So, if a team is -300, you’d have to bet $300 and they’d have to win for you to win $100. However, if you bet $100 on a team that’s +300 and they win, then you would win $300. 

Bet on March Madness 2025 and More How You Want to Right Here 

We offer a money line and point spread on just about every football game, basketball game, hockey game, baseball game, and more. Soccer, fighting, politics – you can find all you need to bet right here at BetNow. Always remember two things: never bet more than you can afford to lose. And, the odds are always set to get you to bet, not as an actual representation of what’s going to happen. 

If you do your research, learn how to use odds and bet right, then you can be a big winner. Good luck!