What Does 'Halftime Bet' Mean in Sports Betting?

This is a type of live bet (or “in-game” bet). After the first half is over, the sportsbook will post new odds for the second half only.

The most important thing to know is that for this bet, the score resets to 0-0. You are only betting on which team will “win” the second half.

Do not mistake this with another type of bet, very popular in soccer, called the “Halftime/Fulltime“.

Pre-Game Line: The Cowboys are -7 favorites over the Giants.
Halftime Score: The Cowboys are surprisingly losing 14-10.
The Halftime Bet: The sportsbook posts a new line for the 2nd Half Only. It might be: Cowboys -6.5.
How You Win: To win this bet, the Cowboys must win the second half by 7 or more points. The first-half score is totally ignored for your bet.
- If the final score is Cowboys 31, Giants 24…
- The second-half score was Cowboys 21, Giants 10.
- Your halftime bet on Cowboys -6.5 is a winner! (Even though your original -7 pre-game bet would have “pushed”).