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Moneyline Bet Missouri – How It Works & Winning Tips

If you’ve been watching sports in the United States, you’ve almost certainly seen odds like +200 and -125 scroll across the screen or appear in a betting segment. These are moneyline odds: the most popular type of wagers in the U.S.

Missouri has legalized bookies (WOOHOO!). This means the moneyline is a crucial aspect to understand when strategizing your wagers. You don’t want to watch the Chiefs win but still lose a chance at winning moneyline bets, do you?

Before browsing Missouri sportsbooks, collect your thoughts on which NFL, NBA, MLB, or other games you’re interested in. Then take a look at this page to make sure you understand moneyline betting in Missouri.

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What is the moneyline in betting?

A moneyline bet is a wager placed on the outcome of a game or match. It represents the favorite and underdog in a matchup, with only one team favored, while the other is not favored to win.

Bettors choose moneyline odds from an app. The odds then lock in place when you submit your wager. Even if those moneyline odds shift later (which they often do), your wager is assigned to the moneyline odds that you see on your betting slip.

Best moneyline betting sites in Missouri

The following sites all offer competitive moneyline odds and provide some of the top MO sports betting bonuses we’ve seen.

Moneyline odds explained

Unlike a spread bet, which only hits if a team wins (or loses) by a certain amount, moneyline betting attempts to answer the most straightforward question in sports: who is going to win? The odds attached to that wager are the sites answer, telling a story about probability and potential profit.

Think of odds as a language. While the message remains the same, it can be conveyed in a few different dialects. Understanding these formats and betting terms in general will help you learn to read odds much more effectively. Just don’t be a toddler bettor: that’s someone who hasn’t mastered the language of moneyline betting yet. And remember, line shopping matters: grabbing +120 instead of +115 on the moneyline can compound into a meaningful edge when you’re looking to make a profit.

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What are American odds?

Common in the United States, American odds use positive and negative numbers to frame the wager around the concept of $100.

A minus sign (-) always identifies the favorite. The number that follows tells you how much money you must risk to win a $100 profit. If you see odds of -140, it means a $140 wager is required to earn $100 profit.

A plus sign (+) designates the underdog. This number indicates the potential profit from a $100 wager. Odds of +120 mean your $100 bet stands to win $120.

In both cases, a winning bet also returns your original stake. The greater the number, positive or negative, the wider the gap between the two sides.

Some sports feature big underdogs and larger numbers to the right of the plus sign, such as college football and the NFL (at times). In other sports (baseball, hockey), the moneyline is usually not too wide, though it depends on many factors. More on that below when we discuss each sport that Missourians can bet on.

Fractional odds

Fractional odds, a long-standing tradition in the UK, clearly illustrate the relationship between profit and stake. A fraction like 5/2 means you will win $5 for every $2 you bet.

You can spot the underdog when the first number (the numerator) is larger than the second. A 9/4 odd indicates a significant underdog. Conversely, the favorite has a smaller numerator, as seen in odds like 2/5. This means you must risk $5 to make a profit of $2.

Decimal odds

Popular across Europe, Canada, and Australia, decimal odds offer a clean, all-in-one calculation. The number you see represents the total amount that will be paid for every successful $1 wagered, including your original stake.

The baseline for decimal odds is 2.00, which is an even-money bet. A winning $1 bet at 2.00 odds returns exactly $2.

Any number below 2.00, such as 1.65, signifies a favorite. A $1 bet would return a total of $1.65. Any number above 2.00, for example, 3.50, points to an underdog, with a $1 bet returning a total of $3.50. This format’s simplicity makes it a global favorite.

You are not likely to see many decimal odds in Missouri: check your favourite site for moneyline odds for pro football, college football, Major League Baseball, and more.

What does -110 mean, and should I bet it?

As I explained earlier, the moneyline with a (-) in front of it indicates the favorite. But if you see odds at -110, that means the game is evenly matched. The site has built in some profit for itself, which is why you see the extra 10 to the right of the minus sign.

When you find -110 moneyline odds listed at a site, this means you’d need to wager $110 to win $100. Since the game is essentially seen as a split-even contest, bets made by the public will theoretically be evenly split as well. That means the site is still likely to make money on the betting option overall, because half the bettors will be required to wager an extra $10 to win $100. Since half the best will likely lose, that’s how the betting operator ensures it makes some money.

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What does +200 mean?

When you see odds like +200, you know the game in question is lopsided. Moneyline odds of +200 are the same as saying the underdog is 2-to-1.

Long odds can be an opportunity if you have a reason to think the underdog can win. A $100 bet on the underdog with +200 moneyline odds will return $200 profit, plus your original stake.

Moneyline odds calculator

If you ever encounter decimal odds and want to convert them quickly to American odds, or vice versa, or perform any other conversion of betting odds, you can use our moneyline odds calculator below. You can also use this handy betting tool to figure out instantly how much you stand to win for a given bet. Simply enter your bet amount and the odds, and the calculator will display the payout for a winning bet.

Odds Type


How moneyline odds change

Think of moneyline odds not as fixed prices, but as living numbers within a sensitive stock market. They are in constant motion, reacting in real time to two powerful forces: breaking news and the flow of money. It’s essential to consider these factors when determining how to bet.

First, the odds reflect reality. A line is its prediction of a winner, and when the facts change, the prediction must change too. A star player’s sudden injury during warmups can cause a seismic shift in a team’s chances. A last-minute roster change, or even a weather forecast that turns a sunny afternoon into a torrential downpour, can ripple through the market, forcing the odds to adjust to a new potential outcome.

Second, the odds are shaped by the collective opinion of the betting public, which is measured in cash. A sites primary goal is not to gamble against you, but to act as a market maker that attracts equal action on both sides. This guarantees them a small commission regardless of the winner. If a tidal wave of wagers comes in for one team, the book becomes dangerously exposed. To protect itself, it will shift the odds, making the neglected team a more attractive bargain. This is a strategic move designed to redirect the river of money, restore balance to their ledger, and ensure their profit is built in. To protect yourself, it’s wise to understand how these odds shift and implement bankroll management techniques accordingly.

Moneyline betting scenarios

There are three possible outcomes for your moneyline wager:

  • Winning Bet: You bet for the St. Louis Cardinals to win with odds of -125. They win, and you win $100 on your $125 wager.
  • Losing Bet: You wager $100 on the Red Sox to beat the Yankees at +150. If they win, you win $150. But sadl,y they lose. That means you have lost your $100 wager.
  • Push: You wager $100 on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to win. They end up tying their opponent after a scoreless overtime session. That means the game had no winner. Your wager is a push. The $100 you wagered is returned to your account, where you can bet it again or withdraw it if you have met all the site’s requirements.

Circa-sports-game-lines-odds

Moneyline betting by sport

NFL moneyline betting

Imagine you’re wagering on the winning NFL team from one of the best bars in KC to watch Chiefs games. And if they win, BOOM — you win your moneyline wager. Only if the game ends in a tie do you not see a win or a loss. This is called a push.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
Ravens at Chiefs (9/28/2025)Ravens -149Chiefs +125KC 37–20 BALUnderdog (Chiefs) won$225

College football moneyline betting

College football betting works much like pro football: place a wager on one of the two teams based on moneyline odds from an app. For example, say you wager $100 on Mizzou at -4000 odds against UMass (+1600). If the Missouri Tigers win, you win $2.50 on a $100 wager. It does not matter what the score is; you are only concerned with the winner.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
UMass at Missouri (9/27/2025)Missouri -4000UMass +1600Mizzou 42–6 UMassFavorite (Missouri) won$102.50

NBA moneyline bets

In NBA betting, the margin of victory is irrelevant. Whether your basketball team wins on a last-second buzzer-beater or cruises to a 30-point blowout, a win is a win. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, they continue playing overtime periods until one team is ahead. Your bet is always live until a victor is crowned.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
Lakers at Warriors (1/25/2025)Warriors -119Lakers +100LAL 118–108 GSWUnderdog (Lakers) won$200

MLB moneyline bets

Baseball operates on the basic moneyline principle. It doesn’t matter if the final score is 1-0 or 11-10. You need your chosen team to have more runs when the final out is recorded. If the score is tied after nine innings between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, they play extra innings until one team emerges victorious.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
Cardinals at Cubs (9/28/2025)Cubs -152Cardinals +150CHC 2–0 STLCHC 2–0 STL$165.79

NHL moneyline bets

Hockey moneyline betting is where you need to pay a little extra attention. The most common moneyline bet, the one you’ll see listed first, works just like in basketball and baseball. It includes overtime and the eventual shootout, meaning a winner is always decided, and your bet can’t push.

Take note: sites also offer a 3-Way Moneyline for NHL betting. This bet is on the result after regulation (60 minutes) only. For example, in a Blues-Blackhawks game, options would be (1) bet on the St. Louis Blues to win, (2) bet on the Chicago Blackhawks to win, or (3) bet on a Tie. If you wager on a team and the game goes to overtime, your bet loses because the result at the end of regulation was a tie.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
Maple Leafs at Senators (1/25/2025)Maple Leafs -111Senators +102OTT 2–1 TORUnderdog (Senators) won$202

Soccer moneyline bets

In soccer, you will see far more ties than in other sports. So bet accordingly. If you wager on a winner, don’t be surprised if, even after hours of competition, there is still no victor. Otherwise, all moneyline MLS betting is the same as in other sports. You will see 3-way moneyline betting odds when betting on Sporting KC, St. Louis CITY SC, or any other soccer team, just as in professional hockey.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
NY Red Bulls vs Inter Miami
(7/19/2025)
Inter Miami -110NY Red Bulls +260MIA 5–1 NYFavorite (Miami) won$190.91

MMA/UFC moneyline bets

Choose one fighter to win, and if you’re correct, you win the moneyline bet. The only wrinkle is if the bout ends in a draw. Some UFC betting sites offer the opportunity to wager on the possibility of a draw. But it’s not common because of the unpredictability of judges in the sport.

Tennis moneyline bets

Just as in team sports, where there can be no tie, tennis operates in the same way. You will always get a winner and a loser at the end of a match, regardless of how many sets it takes, and tiebreakers are played. A game can even span more than one day, due to weather or time constraints.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys (1/25/2025)Sabalenka -330Keys +250Keys 2-1 SabalenkaUnderdog (Keys) won$350

Golf moneyline bets

Navigating the golf betting markets is a different beast entirely. Unlike team sports, where you have a 50/50 proposition, you’re analyzing a massive field of competitors. The moneyline in golf isn’t one single bet; it’s a market that offers two fundamentally different angles of attack: the high-reward play for an outright winner and the surgical precision of matchup betting.

Outright Winner: You’re betting on one golfer to beat the entire field and lift the trophy on Sunday. The odds here are long for a reason; even the tournament favorite at +750 is a massive underdog against the 150+ other players. This is where you find the life-changing payouts, like cashing a +8000 ticket on a dark horse who gets hot for four days.

Critically, there are no pushes in the outright market. The PGA Tour uses a sudden-death playoff to ensure a single champion is crowned. Your ticket either has the winner’s name on it or it’s a loss. There is no ambiguity and no stake returned for a close call.

Matchup Betting: For week-in, week-out grinding, matchups are the superior tool. Here, the rest of the field becomes irrelevant. You are simply betting on one golfer to post a lower 72-hole score than another. This is the art of the duel.

Head-to-Head (H2H): The betting site pits two golfers against each other, offering moneyline odds on each. Did you find a course-history expert matched against a player who struggles on fast greens? This is where you exploit that analysis without needing either player to contend for the win.

Group Betting: This expands the H2H concept, pitting three or more golfers against each other. You’re betting on which player will have the lowest score within that specific group.

The key difference in matchups is the tie. If the golfers in your H2H or group matchup finish with the same score, the bet is graded as a push. Your stake is refunded, and you move on to the next one. It’s the market’s built-in protection against a dead heat.

Matchup (Date)Favorite (ML)Underdog (ML)Final ScoreOutcome$100 on Winner Pays
Rory McIlroy vs Scottie Scheffler (4/10-4/13/2025)McIlroy -110Scheffler +110McIlroy: 1st (-11); Scheffler: 4th (-8)McIlroy won H2H$190.91

Moneyline Betting FAQs

A moneyline bet is the most straightforward wager in sports: you pick the team or player you believe will win an event outright. The final score does not matter, as long as they win. Futures betting operates in a similar way, except that futures are typically wagered on end-of-season outcomes rather than individual games.

Odds are presented in the American format, using positive and negative numbers to indicate the payout.

  • The Favorite: Indicated by a minus sign (e.g., -150), the odds show how much you must wager to win $100. A $150 bet on a -150 favorite would profit $100.
  • The Underdog: Shown with a plus sign (e.g., +130), the odds indicate how much profit a $100 wager will earn. A $100 bet on a +130 underdog would profit $130.

In both scenarios, a winning bet also returns your original stake.

In most sports, such as American football, basketball, or baseball, a standard moneyline bet on a game that ends in a tie is graded as a “push.” This means the bet is voided, and your original wager is refunded to your account. You neither win nor lose money.

The main exception is in sports where a tie is a common outcome, such as soccer or hockey (in regulation). For these sports, sites offer a 3-way moneyline that includes the tie as a third betting option. If you bet on a team to win in a 3-way market and the game ends in a tie, your bet is a loss.

Moneyline odds are not static; they are dynamic numbers that can change for two primary reasons:

Real-World Factors: New information can alter a team’s probability of winning. This includes events like an injury to a key player, a significant roster change, or even a drastic shift in the weather forecast that could impact gameplay. Sites adjust the odds to reflect this new reality.

Betting Market Influence: Sites aim to have balanced action (a similar amount of money wagered) on both sides of a wager. If a large majority of the public bets on one team, it creates a financial risk for the site. To reduce this risk, they will adjust the odds to make the other side more appealing, encouraging bets in that direction to balance their ledger.

Find the odds that have the (-) or (+) in front of them, like San Diego (+150) vs Kansas City (-135). That means the Chargers are underdogs and the Chiefs are favorites. You’ll need to bet $135 to win $100 on the Chiefs winning. Or wager $100 and earn $150 if the Chargers manage to upset the Chiefs, in this example.

Moneyline bets will be available in Missouri both at retail and online options come December 1, 2025.

Starting on that date, you will be able to place moneyline bets through numerous licensed apps within the state. Major national operators expected to be available in Missouri include:

  • bet365
  • BetMGM
  • Caesars
  • DraftKings
  • Fanatics
  • FanDuel
  • ESPN Bet
  • Circa
  • Underdog
About the Author
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Dan Holmes

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Dan Holmes is a contributor for PlayMissouri with plenty of experience under his belt. Dan has written three books about sports and previously worked for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball. He also has extensive experience covering the launch of sports betting in other states, including Ohio, Massachusetts and Maryland. Currently, Dan is residing in Michigan with his family.

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