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How to bet on football in 2024: A guide for beginners
You can make full use of our extensive football betting guide to learn everything you need to know about punting on the beautiful game
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Football continues to reign as the top choice for betting in the UK, capturing 40 per cent of all placed wagers. The abundance of matches globally offers punters a diverse range of markets to explore, and betting sites enhance the appeal with enticing offers and competitive odds.
For bettors to make informed decisions, a thorough understanding of these markets is crucial. This article is a comprehensive guide for football betting, equipping punters with essential knowledge to navigate the intricacies of the sport and make well-informed choices.
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Football betting odds explained
When you initially join a new betting site, comprehending the workings of football odds can feel overwhelming.
Odds serve as a representation of the relationship between your wager and the potential winnings for a specific outcome. These odds are determined by bookmakers – and if you decide to bet on a particular outcome, you will use these odds to calculate your potential payout.
Typically, odds are presented as fractions (eg, 2/1), but they can also be displayed as decimals (3.0 is equivalent to 2/1 as a fractional price). The bookmaker you are betting with allows you the flexibility to choose how odds are presented.
For instance, if the odds for a game are 2/1, you will receive £2 for every £1 you bet, in addition to having your initial stake returned. Alternatively, placing the same bet with decimal odds of 3.0 means you will receive a total return of £3 for every £1 wagered.
Take a look at this week’s best new betting sites here.
Picking a football betting site?
Below, you can find our comprehensive list of the best football betting sites. These platforms come highly recommended for opening accounts and taking advantage of new customer offers. With your new-found understanding of football betting, you can delve into the remaining sections of our guide by scrolling down.
How to bet on football
Weekly, countless professional football matches take place worldwide and bookmakers offer a vast array of odds on nearly every aspect of these games. These encompass markets on match outcomes and specific events in fixtures, such as the number of goals scored, corners won, red and yellow cards shown or individual goalscorers.
Numerous bookmakers provide competitive odds and continuing customer offers throughout the year, often offering boosted odds for major matches. When the outcome of a game is determined and your bet proves successful, you receive your initial stake along with the winnings based on the odds.
In the football market, there are various types of bets available, including accumulators that allow you to combine different selections into a single high-odds bet. Most football betting sites offer this feature. With a wide range of options available, there isn’t a definitive “best” way to bet on the sport. Ultimately, this depends on the preferences of the individual placing the bets.
Bet builders, which enable you to create high-odds punts, are a relatively new option. However, you may prefer the simplicity of markets such as the first goalscorer or result. In the following section, we will provide an overview of the most popular types of football bets.
How to bet football online: Match betting
The most straightforward type of football betting involves predicting the outcome of a game, specifically whether it will result in a home win, draw or away win. It’s crucial to understand that this prediction applies to the result after 90 minutes of regular play. If you have placed a wager on the home team to win and they only secure victory after extra time and penalties, you will not receive any winnings since the match outcome will be considered a draw.
How to know which team is home or away in betting
As with most fixture lists, bookmakers will list the home team first and then the away team with the draw market between the two.
What are the different types of football bets?
- Bet builder/same game multi
- Player props/player stats
- Asian handicap bet
- Half-time/full-time
- Double chance
- Accumulators
- Goalscorers
- Correct score/Scorecast/Wincast
- Over and Under betting
- Draw No Bet
- Manager and player transfer specials
- In-play betting
How to bet on football: Bet builder/same game multi
Bet builders have emerged as a highly popular addition to football betting, quickly becoming the preferred method of wagering for many individuals. Sometimes referred to as same-game multis, these bets enable you to combine outcomes from a single match, rather than across different fixtures, resulting in an experience similar to accumulators.
While combining selections increases the associated risk, it also allows you to leverage your knowledge of the two teams and create enticing odds.
There are numerous popular selections that can be included in bet builders, such as yellow cards, corners or goalscorers, in addition to the match result. Furthermore, player props, which we will elaborate on below, can also be incorporated into bet builders and have gained significant popularity.
Find out more about what a bet builder is here
How football betting works: Player props/player stats
This is a way of showing how the football betting market has continued to evolve with an in-depth set of markets released for various Premier League and international matches. These are different to the goalscoring or card markets, and include the ability to bet on players to have a certain number of shots, tackles and even offsides.
Prop markets are also rising in popularity, and that has led to some intriguing bets such as how many free kicks, goal kicks and throw-ins there are in a match. What’s on offer differs widely from bookmaker to bookmaker, but one of the bookies with the most player props available is bet365.
There’s also now the option to bet on the number of passes a player makes in a match, which can be a fascinating bet to follow and allows customers to use their own research before making the specific bet.
More recently, punters have been able to bet on individual player tackles and team tackles, which are interesting markets especially in the Premier League season and they could be perfect for finding some value on innovative markets throughout the year.
These bets are used by many bookmakers for boosted odds to give more value to players, but you should be cautious about how much you stake on these bets as football can be very unpredictable.
How to bet on football matches: Asian handicap bet
An Asian handicap bet is one in which your selection has a “handicap” to overcome, and what makes the bet unique is that it eliminates the possibility of a draw in betting terms.
The bookmakers give each team a plus or minus figure to denote their handicap. This can be either a whole-goal handicap (such as +1 or -2) or a half-goal handicap (+0.5 or -1.5).
How each works is best illustrated by a brief example.
Whole-goal handicap
Manchester United -1, Newcastle United +2
The figures next to each team are applied to their score in the match.
If you bet on Manchester United, you win if they win by at least a two-goal margin. You lose if they draw or lose. And you get your stake back if they win by a one-goal margin, which is cancelled out by the -1, making the handicap result a draw.
If you bet on Newcastle United, you win if they win, if they draw or if they lose by just one goal. You lose if they lose by a three-goal margin or more. And you get your stake back if they lose by a two-goal margin, which is cancelled out by the +2, making the handicap result a draw.
A whole-goal handicap better offers the safety net of your stake being returned.
Half-goal handicap
Manchester United -1.5, Newcastle United +1.5
If you bet on Manchester United and they win by a two-goal margin or more, you win. A win by one goal, a draw or a defeat and you lose.
If you bet on Newcastle United and they lose by one goal, draw or win, you win. If they lose by a two-goal margin or more, you lose.
A half-goal handicap bet eliminates the possibility of a draw altogether.
Betting for football: European handicap bet
The key difference between European handicap and Asian handicap betting is that the draw is a market to bet on. Also, there is no half-goal handicap market.
Again, how it works is best illustrated by a brief example.
Manchester United -1, Draw -1, Newcastle United +2
If you bet on Manchester United, you win if they win by a two-goal margin or more.
If you bet on the draw, you win if Manchester United win by a single goal.
If you bet on Newcastle United, you win if they win, draw or lose by only one goal.
How to bet on football games: Half-time/full-time
You can bet on the result of the first half and/or the second half. You can bet on the home team, away team or draw for one or both halves.
This bet often appeals to football fans who believe certain teams start or finish matches strongly or weakly on a regular basis.
Knowing the starting line-ups and relevant teams, for example whether key players are being rested or missing through injury, can also be a huge competitive advantage with this specific type of bet.
Football betting for beginners: Double chance
You can bet on two of the three outcomes of the match to increase your chance of winning. The combinations are:
Home team or draw
Away team or draw
Home team or away team
This gives you extra security as you will be paid out in full if either of your combination wins. However, this is reflected in the odds, which will be lower than single-match outcome markets.
Accumulators
Accumulators combine multiple selections into one bet and are among the most popular forms of betting on football. This is because they offer the potential reward of big returns for small stakes as the winnings from each selection are placed on the next one.
The obvious risk that you undertake is that all the bets have to win for the bettor to receive the big payout. However, some bookmakers, such as William Hill, offer accumulator insurance so if one of your selections (minimum five selections) lets you down you will receive your stake back as a free bet.
For example, you might identify four teams that you think are going to win matches, all of which are priced at even money. If you were to bet £1 on each of the teams winning in four single bets, your total return would be £8 – £2 for each successful bet including your returned stake money.
But if you were to place a £1 accumulator on all four winning at even money, the £2 from Team A winning would effectively be placed on Team B, doubling the return to £4, and this would double again for Teams C and D, making the total return £16. If all four teams were priced at 2/1, the return would increase to £81, so it’s easy to see why accumulators are attractive bets.
Check out our comprehensive list of the best accumulator betting sites
- Find more out about what a double bet is here
- Find more out about what a treble bet is here
- Find more out about what an accumulator is here
Goalscorer betting
As it suggests, this is a bet on a particular player to score during a match and is another straightforward way of betting on football.
You can bet on various outcomes, such as your selection to be the first or last goalscorer in the match or to score at any time during it. The odds on them scoring at any time will be shorter because there is obviously a greater chance of that happening.
Betfred has a great double delight and hat-trick heaven promotion in which your odds are doubled or tripled if your first goalscorer selection goes on to score twice or hat-trick in certain selected games.
These bets are often quite good to take a chance on when a player has been in a rich vein of form, or if a team is overall better than their opponents making a player more likely to find the back of the net.
You can select any of the 22 players on the pitch, with bookmakers often having really strong offers to go alongside some of the most popular markets in goalscoring and boosts throughout the different matches, depending on how the fixture in question is going.
Correct score/Scorecast/Wincast
A correct score bet is one in which you predict the final score of a match. Remember that this will be the outcome after 90 minutes in cup ties that could go to extra time and/or penalties. The prices for correct score bets are often attractive but, of course, predicting the exact score is very difficult.
A Scorecast is a bet that combines selecting a goalscorer and the correct score. For example, you can bet on Harry Kane to score and England to win 2-0. Again, the odds on such bets have higher odds because you are betting on the likelihood of two outcomes. Some bookmakers will also let you choose the goalscorer in a Scorecast to be the first, last or at any time.
A Wincast is similar to a Scorecast but involves selecting a goalscorer and the outcome of the match rather than the correct score. So it would simply be Harry Kane to score and England to win. The odds will not be as high as a Scorecast because it is easier to predict the outcome rather than the scoreline.
Over and Under betting
This is a bet on the total number of times an event (for example, goals, corners, yellow cards) will happen during a match and is one of the most popular for a lot of bookmakers.
Bookmakers allocate a baseline number to a match and you can bet on whether there will be more (over) or fewer (under) than that number. The baseline number will never be a whole number, which guarantees that the outcome will be one of two: over or under. (You can’t score half a goal or win half a corner.)
So for instance, if there’s a match where a bookmaker is offering the market over or under 10.5 corners, you win if you bet on over and 11 or more corners are awarded, but you lose if the total number of corners scored is 10 or below. Likewise, if you bet on under, you win if there are less than 10 corners awarded and lose if the total is 11 or more.
Draw No Bet
This is where you bet on the outcome of a match, but if it ends in a draw then you will get your stake back. However, this means the odds will usually be lower than other markets.
Next Manager and Player odds markets
Many bookies will provide special odds on certain events that take place off the pitch. Popular markets include the next manager to be sacked, which has been a much-used market in the Premier League this season with plenty of managerial comings and goings over the past 12 months.
Similar markets operate for players who are rumoured to be changing clubs in the transfer window. As well as this, there are a host of markets available for leading goalscorers in competitions across the world.
You can keep an eye out on different bookmakers’ sites to see what they have to offer.
In-play betting
As the name suggests, in-play betting involves making a bet on an outcome during an event, such as backing the next team to score in a match you are watching on television.
Bookmakers offer several markets, such as the next goalscorer, which team will win the next corner or throw-in, or who will be the next player to be shown a yellow card. There are also some great markets to follow on in-play sites such as "corner races" and on bet365 certain specials within the prop markets available such as shots and player shots.
This is a way to enhance your enjoyment of a live match.
How to find value when betting on football
Even if you conduct thorough research and have ample knowledge of a game, there is always room for a surprise outcome.
However, this unpredictability is part of the beauty of the sport, and that’s why relying on your own knowledge is crucial when betting on football.
This helps determine which game and bet you should target. If you’re new to football betting, it may be wise to stick to simpler bets such as match bets or goalscorer markets, or those with less risk such as draw no bet or double chance.
Placing your bets on familiar markets ensures a lower risk of losing money and two of the biggest factors in finding value are research and knowledge.
Punters can also access a wealth of statistics on free sites to gain a better understanding of more precise prop markets offered by different bookmakers, such as the number of shots on target a player may take.
For instance, a football fan who regularly watches Premier League matches would be better suited to placing bets on the top English flight instead of trying their luck with unfamiliar matches and leagues from around the world.
Once you have made your selection though you want to get the most value. Below are the results from the 2022 UK Bookmaker Awards category for football odds. The UK Bookmaker Awards is an annual event where the prizes are determined by ranks created by data specialists and you can find more information on their website.
Summary
Football betting offers a wide array of markets, and with numerous bookmakers to choose from it becomes remarkably easy to bet on the sport immediately after signing up. The abundance of football games played worldwide presents ample opportunities for enjoyment, provided that punters focus on betting within their knowledge and comfort zone.
Identifying good-value bets stands as the optimal approach to earning profits and steering clear of the disappointment of losses. Now you can elevate the thrill of football by placing bets – but it is crucial to remember to gamble responsibly.
How to bet on football: Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest thing to bet on?
In football, the match result market is the most straightforward. Quite simply, you can back either side to win or the draw and the final result of the game will determine whether you win.
Where is the best football prediction site?
Every day of the week we produce a bet of the day for punters, usually around odds of evens, which we believe has the best chance of winning after extensive analysis.
What is the best option to bet on football?
Unfortunately there is no easy option when it comes to betting on football. Like with every form of betting, there are no guaranteed winners. Instead, it is wise to study the odds and the form before making your personal selection as well as making use of this extensive guide.
How to bet and win?
There is no foolproof way to bet on football and win. Instead you need to take into account a huge number of factors before making your selection. The sport is unpredictable and that is why we love it so there is no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to football betting.