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Gambling 101: What is a Backdoor Cover?

Welcomed by the winning side, and dreaded by the losing side, sports betting tickets sometimes end with backdoor cover. This phenomenon often occurs when a team scores points, usually late in a game, that causes one side to cover the point spread. Backdoor covers can occur with favorites or underdogs and bettors on the losing side often refer to them as a bad beat. Points scored late, that don’t affect the outright winner, can create a backdoor cover.

Backdoor Covers are Common in Football

While they can affect all sorts of wagers, in virtually any sport, backdoors covers are common in NFL and US college football.