Does Overtime Count In Betting?

One of the most important rules to understand when betting is whether or not overtime is included in your bet. Even some of the more experienced bettors have fallen victim to losing a bet because they did not fully understand the overtime rules.

Make sure you are reading the full details of the bets you place, taking into consideration a very common phase — “all bets include overtime unless otherwise stated.” Keeping this little phrase in mind, you should expect that most plays (i.e., money line, point spread, point total) all include overtime.

In most cases, you should expect player props to include overtime as well. Looking at these plays, you would benefit from overtime in situations where you are hoping that a play goes over, and vice-versa for plays that you would like to go under. 

Which Bet Types Include Overtime?

There are a plethora of bet types that include overtime. As a general rule, the main markets (moneyline, spread, and totals) are going to be bets that include overtime. The easy way to remember this is to think about what you are betting on when you make a main market bet. You’re betting on the outcome of the entirety of the game, not just regulation.

Most of the time if a bet will not include overtime, it’s because of an innings/period/quarter bet. When placing a bet on the 4th quarter in football and basketball, 3rd period in hockey, 9th inning in baseball, etc. that bet is only going to cover what happens in that specific playing period. Overtime/extra innings are not included in a last-playing period bet, that’s why the scoring will show an “OT” period in the box score!

Every sportsbook sets their own rules, so make sure you do your due diligence when placing bets!

Do Moneyline Bets Include Overtime?

Let’s look at the four major American sports and show which moneyline bets include overtime:

• Basketball (NBA, WNBA, NCAAB)
• Football (NFL, CFL, NCAAF)
• Baseball (MLB)
• Hockey (NHL)

As we said above, a full-game moneyline bet is going to include overtime. This is going to be the case across most of the sports and leagues you can bet on. The bets you need to be cautious of that are not included in overtime betting are the period/quarter/innings bets.

If you are betting on one of these you must remember you are only betting on the outcome for that playing period, even if it is the last regulation playing time you are betting on. If you make a 4th quarter moneyline bet, you will only be graded based on what happens in the 4th quarter.

Does Point Spread Include Overtime?

Let’s look at the four major American sports and show which point spread bets include overtime:

• Basketball (NBA, WNBA, NCAAB)
• Football (NFL, CFL, NCAAF)
• Baseball (MLB)
• Hockey (NHL)

You might start to notice a trend with these main market bets and overtime. A full-game point spread bet is going to include overtime. This is going to be the case across most of the sports and leagues you can bet on. The bets you need to be cautious of that are not included in overtime betting are the quarter/period/innings bets.

If you are betting on one of these you must remember you are only betting on the outcome for that playing period, even if it is the last regulation playing time you are betting on. If you make a 3rd period spread bet, you will only be graded based on what happens in the 3rd period. Regardless of what has happened before the 3rd period or what may happen after.

Do Over Under Bets Include Overtime?

Let’s look at the four major American sports and show which over-under bets include overtime:

• Basketball (NBA, WNBA, NCAAB)
• Football (NFL, CFL, NCAAF)
• Baseball (MLB)
• Hockey (NHL)

Okay, this is the last time you’ll have to read this, but I think you’ve got the gist of it now! A full-game over-under bet is going to include overtime. This is going to be the case across most of the sports and leagues you can bet on. The bets you need to be cautious of that are not included in overtime betting are the innings/period/quarter bets.

If you are betting on one of these you must remember you are only betting on the outcome for that playing period, even if it is the last regulation playing time you are betting on. If you make a 9th-inning totals bet, you will only be graded based on what happens in the 9th inning. Regardless of what has happened before the 9th inning or what may happen after.

Which Bets Do Not Include Overtime?

To make sure we are covering all of our bases, here is a list of the four major American sports and which bets do not include overtime.

1. Basketball (NBA, WNBA, NCAAB)
   • Fourth Quarter betting does not include overtime scores.
2. Football (NFL, CFL, NCAAF)
   • Fourth Quarter betting does not include overtime scores.
3. Baseball (MLB)
   • All bets are action regardless of pitching changes. Extra innings do not count, unless stated otherwise.
4. Hockey (NHL)
   • Third Period betting does not include overtime scores.

Basketball Betting Overtime Rules

When a basketball game goes into overtime, any scores that occur will count towards the full game and 2nd half bets. This applies to the point spread, moneyline, and total bets. Overtime does not count for bets placed on 4th quarter markets.

As a general rule, 2nd half bets will include the overtime period if the game requires OT. This is because overtime is, by definition, part of the second half of the game. If you are placing a 1st half bet, just remember that once it is half time the first half is over for good!

Any quarter bet will not include overtime. Similar to the first half, once the buzzer sounds on a quarter that quarter is done for good. If there is overtime in a basketball game there will likely be an overtime market available to live bet on that can be treated like a normal quarter bet.

What is a 3-way Line?

Various sports, like soccer and hockey, include 3-way lines to bet. Simply put, you can bet either team A to win, team b to win, or for the game to tie and go into overtime or extra time.

In this case, if you were to bet team a to win, and the game goes into overtime or extra time, then you would lose your bet. You must select the exact outcome to be correct in a 3-way line. 

What is a Tie-No-Bet?

Similarly, there is a type of bet called tie-no-bet. In this case, you can pick either team A or team B to win in regulation. If the game goes into overtime or extra time, you push your bet, and get your original stake back. You will also see this as either a 60 minute line for hockey, or 90 minute line for soccer.

Does a Second Half Bet Include Overtime?

As mentioned above, second half bets do include overtime. This means if you place a bet during halftime for a team to win the second half only, and the game goes into overtime, whatever the outcome ends up being will determine if you win your bet or not.

This can include any bets that can be taken for the second half, such as point spread, total points, money line, and even player props.

Does a Fourth-Quarter Bet Include Overtime?

Despite a second-half bet including overtime, a fourth-quarter bet alone does not account for overtime. Fourth-quarter betting (and third-period betting for hockey) follows the same ruleset as other quarter (or period) bets, so you do not include overtime in these bets.

These quarter bets are individual plays and do not carry over to any extra time that may be played. Quarter bets usually offer all of the standard plays, including point spread, total points, money line, and sometimes player props. However, keep in mind that these plays will only be valid for the quarter that you bet.