FAQS
WSL Rules
While the WSL offers an in-depth guide to all of their rules here, here are a few baseline examples if you’re crunched for time. In WSL heats (match-ups), judges rank the competing surfers best 2 wave scores on a scale of 1 to 10. When a surfer has “priority,” a “P” will be labeled next to their name, which gives them the ability to pick any wave of their choosing. Priority can be used either offensively or defensively but as long as the priority surfer isn’t going for a specific wave, the nonpriority surfer, labeled with a “2”, can drop in on any wave of his/her choosing. See below for what a typical heat scoreboard looks like.
How to Read Odds?
In American sports betting, odd numbers are based in numerals of 100. Think of it this way: how much would I need to wager to win $100 in profit. Listed with the symbols of “-” and “+” to delineate between the favorites and the underdogs, if you were to wager on a -200 bet (the favorite), you would have to wager $200 to yield $100 back in profit (2 to 1). Conversely, if a bet is listed at +200 (the underdog), a $100 bet at those odds would yield $200 in profit for a total return of $300.
For those same two bets, if you were to wager $10 at -200 odds, you would win $5 in profit (15$ return), and if you were to wager $10 at +200 odds, you would win $20 in profit for a return of $30. Typically, any amount of money can be wagered on just about any bet.
In Australian and European (excluding the UK) sports betting, odds can be simply read in decimal form. For example, if you were to wager $100 on a .5 favorite, you would win $50 in profit for a total return of $150 (100 x .5 = 50). If you were to wager $100 on a 3.0 underdog, think of it as 3x, as you would win 300$ in profit (100 x 3 = 300). In the UK, fractions are used in place of decimals, so that same .5 betting favorite would actually be represented by a 1/2 and that same 3.0 underdog would be represented by a 3/1 fraction.
What are Money-Line Bets?
In surfing, money-line bets are the most prominent and straight forward bets in the sport. Betting on a surfer’s odds to win, a money-line bet simply entails choosing the winner of a specific heat. With the odds to win varying, money-line bets will be steeper for heavy favorites and inflated for big underdogs. While it’s as simple as choosing a winner, money-line bets can range from probable to very risky, depending on what side you’re betting on.
What are Future Bets?
Whereas money-line bets are for specific heats in specific contests, future bets offer bettors the opportunity to take a season-long stake in the performance of a specific surfer. The most popular future bet is for the winner of the 2023 WSL World Championship (see here for more details). While this bet tends to be available for a large majority of the season, there is far more value in betting on it before the season begins and a clear favorite emerges. Other than the WSL Championship, betting futures are available for every contest – before they begin – and for specific awards such as the Triple Crown.
Room for Growth
Because surfing is an individual sport, there are limits to how many different betting types are available. For example, in many other sports, there are bets on game spreads (the amount of points a team must win by or stay within) and over/under totals. While not currently offered, listed below are bets we’d love to see enter the sport of surfing.
- Spread Figures for Head-to-Head Heats
- Over/Under on Highest Scored Wave of the Day / Contest
- Heat-Specific Bet: Over/Under for Highest Wave Total Scored
- Heat-Specific Bet: Odds to Ride the First Wave
- Future Bet: Odds to Make the Mid-Season Cut
We are working hard to petition specific sportsbooks for these bets but need as much support as possible. If you’d like to see these bets on your sportsbook or have any other potential bet ideas, please email us here and don’t forget to sign-up for our weekly contests.
