Sports Betting Definitions

What is a Teaser Bet in Sports Betting?

Teaser Bet Ever been teased by this salacious sportsbook bet? Find out what teaser betting entails, and find out how you can get in on the action.

✍️ Written by :

Alicia Butler

🗓 Updated :

Apr 3rd 2023

Table of content

Newcomers who have never perused a sportsbook before, online or offline, may be overwhelmed with regards to how to play the game. After all, there are so many games you could potentially bet on and so many ways you could potentially approach betting on them.

One common bet you can make with most online sportsbooks is the quintessential teaser bet. As the name suggests, teaser bets are meant to tease players into making greater bets than they would otherwise, with the added tradeoff of a potentially greater reward.

Read on to understand what these types of bets entail, how they work, and whether or not they’re worth it in the long run.

What is a Teaser Bet?

A teaser bet is essentially just a variation of a parlay bet, where one links multiple bets into a single consolidated bet. As is the case with your standard parlay bet, every “leg” (or single contest) in the major must win for you to be able to win and claim your award.

Unlike your garden variety parlay bet, however, teaser bets allow players to move their point spread or over/under around in their favor. Often, this movement will be limited to a six-point window, meaning that you can add or subtract six points to the spread however you see fit. That said, you may sometimes come across variation teaser bets, bets which may cap your point movement at 6.5 points, 7 points, or another fixed, predetermined amount.

How Do Teaser Bets Work?

A Teaser bet must include at least two (sometimes three) or more contests to qualify as a teaser bet. Raising the number of contests in your teaser bet will raise the potential reward, but also the potential risk. If even just a single one of the legs you bet on loses, then it’s game over for your entire bet and entire payout.

Payouts may also fluctuate if one of the bets in your teaser ties (or pushes) with the default spread number. For example, if you were to bet on four teams competing in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, and one of those hockey teams tied with the default spread figure, your bet would be graded as a three-team teaser and awarded accordingly.

Moreover, although you have wider adjustment options with a teaser bet, those options may limit the final return on your bet in the event of a win. Ergo, if a sudden turn of events changes the likely favorite and underdog of a game, you may be able to shift around six points through what is known as a reverse teaser, or sometimes, a pleaser.

For instance, if you were to bet on a hypothetical Super Bowl that the Philadelphia Eagles would be even greater underdogs, you could move the spread 6 points over from -3.5 to -9.5. This is an even riskier wager than your standard teaser bet, as you’re deliberately skewing things in a disadvantageous angle, but that risk will reflect an even greater potential reward than your standard teaser bet.

How To Place A Teaser Bet

Now that you’ve gotten the gist of placing teaser bets, where do you turn to actually place them? Offline, brick & mortar, AFK sportsbooks are abundant at casinos in locations where sports betting is legal. Fortunately, thanks to a landmark 2018 Supreme Court ruling won by the State of New Jersey, just about any state that wishes to have sports betting legalized can do so, should they choose to do so.

But with the COVID-19 pandemic still remaining an ongoing, albeit waning issue in the face of vaccines and other treatment advancements, you may still want to wait before you return to an in-person casino. Alternatively, you may live in a state where gambling and sports betting are legalized, but no casinos are near your town or city.

Here is an overview of the states/jurisdictions where online sports betting is currently legalized, and how many sites you can use to enjoy legal sports betting in each area, as of 2021:

As always, OddsSeeker will be here to update you on the best legal gambling sites and bonus codes as they become accessible. Consider signing up for our mailing list to get on the ground floor of the best free bonuses available to online gamblers and bettors as they arise.

Like you would do before placing any other bet on an online sportsbook, carefully read the fine print of your preferred sportsbook’s rules regarding teaser bets, reverse teaser bets, and point spread limits.

As we’ve stated previously, most sportsbooks cap teaser bets at a limit of adding or subtracting six points to each leg’s point spread, but depending on the online sportsbook platform(s) you use, that point spread limit may be subject to be higher or lower.

Are Teaser Bets Worth It?

This topic is one often up for contentious debate by gamblers and bettors alike. As we’ve reiterated before, teaser bets do offer higher rewards than standard single contest bets, but they often carry higher risks as well. Whether or not one is willing to accept these risks is ultimately a matter of personal performance.

If you’re not careful, all it takes is one bad, lost leg to squander your winnings altogether. If you’re considering trying teaser bets as a prospective bettor, here are some pointers you should be mindful of to consider mitigating risks:

Relegate your bets exclusively to sports, players, leagues, or teams that you’re already familiar with.
Only wager what you’re comfortable losing. This is a universal rule of thumb that should be applied to any sort of investing, gambling, or betting you choose to partake in, but one that should especially apply to wagers as potentially high-risk as teaser betting.
Start off wagering low. A teaser that accounts for just 2 or 3 games or teams won’t be as high risk as a teaser that encompasses any more than that.
Read, read, read the fine print as carefully as you can. We cannot overstate this one enough.

We hope this guide offers you a helpful, comprehensive overview of teaser betting, and that our site can help you make the most of your online gaming endeavors across the board.

About the author

Alicia Butler

Editor & Contributor

Since 2011 Alicia has worked as a travel and entertainment writer & editor contributing to widely read digital publications such as The Spruce, The Balance and The Spruce Pets, VeryWell, and TripSavvy. Alicia is a marketing expert, entrepreneur, and avid traveler!