Bet Types
Handball gives you a rich set of markets, and they all flow from two facts: the result is three-way because the draw is live, and the scoring is high enough that goal lines carry real meaning. The match result is the headline, but the goal handicap and the totals are where a thinking punter finds prices worth backing against a dominant favourite. This guide runs through each market — what you’re betting, when it fits, and where the value tends to hide.
If you haven’t placed a handball bet before, read how to bet on handball first, then come back here for the full market list.
Match result — the three-way headline
The standard market: back the home win, the draw or the away win. The draw is live in league play, so this is a three-way bet, and forgetting that is how casual punters get caught. R100 on a team at 1.90 returns R190.
The high scoring means draws are rarer than in soccer, but they happen and they’re priced — a 28-28 finish pays the draw backers. The bigger problem is the same one in every sport: when a strong club faces a weak one, the favourite’s price collapses to 1.20 or shorter. That’s the cue to look at the handicap instead.
Goal handicap — fixing a lopsided price
The goal handicap is the most useful market in handball, because it turns a no-value favourite into a real bet. It hands one team a goals head start before throw-off.
- A -5.5 goal handicap on the favourite means they must win by six or more — a four-goal win loses it.
- A +5.5 goal handicap on the underdog means they win the bet by either winning outright or losing by five or fewer.
That extra demand pushes the price out. A team that’s 1.25 to win might be 1.85 on -5.5 goals. Handball margins swing hard late, so a six-goal cushion is never safe, and that uncertainty is exactly what makes the price fair. The same logic runs across sport, and the handicap betting guide covers it in full.
Total goals — reading the scoreboard
Total goals is a bet on the combined goals in the match, over or under a line the bookmaker sets — often around 55.5. Two attacking sides with leaky defences point to the over; a tight, physical cup tie between defensive teams points to the under.
This is a read on the style of the game, not the winner, which makes it a clean market when you’ve watched both sides and have a feel for their tempo. The over/under guide explains the mechanics in full, and it applies straight to handball’s high lines.
Double chance and half-time markets
Two more markets reward a specific read, summarised here:
| Market | What you’re betting | Why use it |
|---|---|---|
| Double chance | Two of the three outcomes in one bet (e.g. home or draw) | A shorter, safer way to cover the live draw |
| Half-time / full-time | The leader at the break and at the end | A bigger price when you back a team to lead throughout |
| Both halves over | A goals line cleared in each half separately | When you back a fast, open game from the throw-off |
Double chance is the natural answer to handball’s draw — if you fancy a side not to lose, you back home-or-draw and take a shorter but safer price. Half-time/full-time and both halves over pay more because they demand a specific pattern, so use them when you have a firm read on how the game unfolds, not as a default.
A worked example, in rand
Two evenly matched French clubs meet, both known for fast, high-scoring handball. The match-result prices offer no edge. But you’ve watched both sides trade goals freely all season, and a high total looks likely. The over on total goals (55.5) is priced at 1.80. If your read is that this game flies past the line more often than the price implies, that 1.80 is value. A R100 stake returns R180 if the goals pile up. You’ll lose it on the rare defensive night — but bet repeatedly where the price overpays the real chance, and it pays over a season. The price is the bet, not the result.
Pick the market to fit your read
The rule that ties it all together: choose the market that matches what you actually think will happen. A view on who wins points to the match result or the goal handicap. A view on how many goals fly in points to the totals. A wish to cover the live draw points to double chance. Don’t force a market you don’t have a read for. The full overview sits in the handball betting guide, and it all links up to sports betting. When you’ve matched the market to your read, the markets are live at Scorebet.
Frequently asked
What is a goal handicap in handball betting?
A goal handicap gives or takes a goals head start to even out a lopsided price. A -5.5 handicap on the favourite means they must win by six or more, so a strong outright favourite becomes a fairer-priced bet.
What does total goals mean in handball?
It's a bet on the combined goals in the match, over or under a line the bookmaker sets, often around 55.5. Two attacking sides point to the over; a tight defensive cup tie points to the under.
What is double chance in handball?
Double chance lets you back two of the three outcomes in one bet — for example home win or draw. It's a safer, shorter-priced way to cover the live draw when you fancy a team not to lose.
Why are handball goal handicap lines usually so much wider than in soccer?
Handball matches routinely top fifty combined goals, where a soccer match might see two or three, so a winning margin of five or six goals is ordinary rather than a thrashing. The handicap line has to reflect that scale, which is why you see lines like -5.5 or -6.5 on a favourite that would be -1.5 in soccer. A six-goal cushion still isn't safe, because handball scoring swings hard in the closing minutes when a trailing side empties its bench.
How does empty-net or seven-against-six play affect a totals bet late in a match?
Trailing teams in modern handball often pull their goalkeeper for an extra court player — seven attackers against six — to chase goals, which can produce a flurry of scores at both ends in the final minutes. That late surge can push a tight game over a totals line it looked set to stay under. If you've backed the over, a close game can still land it on the back of that desperate end-game tactic, which is a pattern casual punters rarely factor in.