Football Betting

According to recently disclosed gambling statistics, football has surpassed horseracing as the leading activity for betting online. It was fueled not only by the recent FIFA World Cup fervor, but also by the ingenuity of bookmakers in introducing a greater array of markets via the Internet.

There was a time when football betting was synonymous with “the pools,” a form of wagering on weekly association matches developed by Littlewoods in 1923. But following the introduction of the National Lottery in 1994, with the attraction of huge jackpots for small bets, interest in the pools waned. Only in the 21st century has enthusiasm for football betting been revived, spurred by the ease of wagering online.

For Premier League football in particular, betting begins long before opening day. Ante post betting allows the placement of wagers on teams to win a division or championship at relatively high odds just as soon as the off-season begins. Other “football specials” available months ahead of the match-ups include who will be the top goalscorer of the league, what club will concede the most goals, who will be the top newcomer, and what team will finish with the worst disciplinary record, among others.

Obviously, there is now a lot more to football betting than picking the winner of a head-to-head match. In fact, there are betting exchanges that allow bettors to create their own wagers, such as which team of two teams will score more goals on a given day, even if the two are not playing each other. Since virtually everyone has an opinion regarding football, the exchanges provide an opportunity to cash in on being right and make those who are wrong pay the penalty.

Because the Premier League has been dominated by a handful of teams of late, betting is also possible on the underdogs. Markets include what team will finish highest without the top two or four, who will be the best London, Midlands, or Northern clubs, which managers will survive to the following year, and which teams will end up in the bottom half.

Once the season is under way, even more markets become available, such as how many points a specific team will score in a given month—Over, Under, or Exactly a certain number—who will score the first goal in a match, at what minute will the first goal be score, and so on. Typically wagers like these are made prior to kick off, but thanks to a feature called “live betting,” odds are offered on many markets “in play” as the action progresses. With up to a dozen fixtures televised each week, bookmakers are discovering ways to offer odds on just about every outcome for every match.

Another betting innovation is called “spread betting”—a type of wager that allows you to win, even when the team you select loses. The bookmaker predicts that the favourite in a match will win by a certain number of points. If you bet the underdog and the favourite fails to “cover” (i.e. attain the winning margin predicted), you collect.

Football betting is not limited to the Premier League, of course. Wagering on matches from Ireland’s First Division to Japan’s J League and Guatemala’s Liga Nacional is possible. There are literally dozens of leagues followed by online sportsbooks. Betting also extends to international club friendlies and major championships, such as the UEFA Super Cup and the Emirates Cup.

Those who are interested in getting the highest return on investment for their bets do not have to rely on instinct alone. Most bookmakers offer weekly advice and tips to help would-be bettors sort through all of the information available. They also start off new bettors with “free bets” or “guaranteed bets.” The latter are especially desirable, as they promise to give you a second bet, equal in value to your original, if your first bet loses.