Football is the most popular sport in Europe and quite possibly the world. Betting on the sport is a huge driving factor behind it. Just like horse racing betting is part of the equestrian sport, betting on football lives and breathes together with the sport. Online sports betting has opened up all kinds of opportunities for football fans, giving them more options to bet on than betting shops.
While some of the popular bets at land-based sites remain fan-favorites online, new markets have emerged as even more popular than 1×2 betting. In this guide, we’ll talk more about the most popular bets and tell you if they’re worth betting on.
The Most Popular Football Betting Markets
Football betting has evolved way past the land-based betting shops of old. Online betting sites have come up with innovative new markets, each one leaving old stuff like 1×2 betting in the dust. Match betting is still a big deal, but so are the markets you can see below.
Match Betting
Betting on the match result remains a major fan favorite. You can put your money on either the home or away team to win or put your money on a draw. The 1×2 betting market is the simplest bet for new bettors, and sometimes, it’s not even difficult to predict the winner of a match. For example, it might be in a match with a clear favorite. The best part about this market is that it’s great for beginners, and if you follow enough betting tips and read the news, you can greatly improve your chances to win.
Draw No Bet
Draw no bet is a variant of match betting markets. Originally, if the match ends in a draw, you lose your bet. With this bet, you will get a full refund on your stake if the match ends in a draw. It’s great that you can eliminate one of the factors, losing nothing if the match finishes with the most unpopular result. This market works best for high-profile games where you can’t decide the winner, so you’re essentially protecting yourself from a boring draw.
Outrights
Outrights are a blast for the big competitions. Predicting who wins the Champions League or the World Cup every four years is very exciting. Bookies have lines on these markets way before the event begins, so you can put your money on it early and get the best possible odds.
As the event draws near, the outrights odds are more likely to change. In most cases, they change for the worst, so you can get the advantage far earlier before the next World Cup begins.
Correct Score
Why bet on who wins the match when you can introduce something more exciting to the mix? The correct score market allows you to predict the correct score of the match, which is much harder than choosing a side to win. And more exciting too. Honestly, you’ll win way more on this market than with match betting, so there’s the financial side of it that makes it popular amongst bettors.
Of course, it’s not a market we can suggest to new players. It requires a bit of research and a lot of knowledge for you to predict the correct score. It means looking at head to head matches, recent form, and taking a look at the list of injured players too.
Over/Under
Now here’s a market that’s a popular choice at most online betting sites. You’ll see O/U lines featured at the front page, allowing you to bet over or under the number of predicted goals. The totals betting market can be lucrative and exciting, but you should do your homework before you put your money down.
With this bet, you’re not concerned about who wins or loses, or even if the match ends in a tie. As long as you’ve hit the over/under line, you’re good to go. Let’s say that the bookie has set an O/U line of 4 goals for the Milan-Inter semifinal; in this case, betting over 4 means the teams will have to score 4 or more goals combined for your bet to win. If you bet under, the total number of combined goals must be lower than 4.
And it’s not like both teams must score – as long as there are that many goals in the match, your bet will win.
Half-Time/Full-Time
This popular market allows you to predict the score after 45 and 90 minutes. It takes the difficulty of predicting a match and doubles it, but you also get a better payout. It takes a lot of research and there are many factors involved in it, so don’t try it if you’re a beginner.
Double Chance
What if you could bet on several aspects of the match result market? For example, bet on the home team to win and back up the away team as the alternative? This is what the double chance bet allows you to do, although at a cut price. If either result occurs, you will get paid. The only way you lose this bet is if the third outcome comes up.
First Goalscorer/Last Goalscorer
Instead of teams, sometimes it’s much better to put your money on players. Why not bet on who scores the first and last goals in a match? It’s a tricky bet, although not trickier than correct score. If there’s a player who mostly scores in the opening stages, you can make things out easier.
Live Betting
Live betting breaks down all the barriers for football betting in general. It allows you to bet on a live match which goes against what we’ve known in the past. It also opens up new betting opportunities such as who scores next, which player scores the next goal, or even the team that takes the next corner.
Betting on the player to get a yellow or red is equally exciting. Paired with live streaming, live betting platforms are the reason why football bettors love to bet online so much.