Shaving points explained – What does shaving points mean in football

American football is the most popular sport in the US and NFL football betting is a big thing in this country. When a lot of money is on the table, punters would do anything to find the best odds margins and some would even consider betting scams.

The type of match-fixing known as shaving points has frequently surfaced and athletes were accused of it over the years. Illegal and potentially carrying a jail sentence, shaving points in American football is still a thing. Although rarely, it is also found in horse racing. But we have a different guide for that (Is horse racing fixed?). In our betting guide, we’ll look at how this type of cheating is used in point spread betting and how perpetrators use it to make a profit.

American football is the easiest sport to bet on for US residents and the most tempting for shaving points. NFL betting sites offer punters the possibility of betting on a team to win by a certain margin, which is commonly referred to as covering the spread. To properly have the shaving points explained, we look at the three steps that those who want to obtain illicit profits will resort to.

Now that you understand the shaving points meaning we can take a look at one of the best-known cases.

Those who understand what is shaving points in a football game know that the outcome of the match is less important. Florida State University ended up winning the match, so those who did moneyline betting on them were not affected.

There were plenty of people who wagered on that game who won, including some who chose the win reverse bet. Since FSU won, they ended up claiming big payouts, and the same happened for those who chose parlay betting and backed Florida State University.

Shaving points in football isn’t a new thing and it happens at all levels. Those who use a college football betting strategy know that it happens the most when universities play against each other. Not surprisingly, the most respectable bookmakers with statistics offer few betting markets on these games. That’s because these matches are subject to less scrutiny, so it is more difficult to monitor their fairness.

Veteran punters who know precisely how to bet on football and how to bet on basketball are also wary of this reality. It’s more likely to be affected by the shaving points issue in games of lower magnitude than when you bet on the major competitions. College sports are more exciting and unpredictable, hence preferred by those who use a teaser betting strategy or fancy the prospect of placing a pleaser bet.

Understanding what does shaving points mean will lead us to another question. Why is shaving points in football more common in the American version than the European version? The reason is that American football teams score more points in a game, therefore the spread wider. It is much easier for crooked athletes to meddle with the spread and more difficult for bookmakers and the authorities to detect the fraud.

The same applies to basketball matches, where 200 or more points are being scored on a match basis. The bottom line is that shaving points in American football and basketball is easier to pull off.

When there is money to be won, there will always be people motivated to break the rules. Shaving points is a crime that can be punishable with jail time, so it is a serious offense. Even so, there is no shortage of people willing to take their chances for the sake of winning easy money. American football and basketball are more suitable for this activity because of the high number of points scored every match. No sport is truly sheltered from this danger, as dishonest punters can be very creative.