How to bet on football matches

Betting on soccer is massive in countries all over the world.

If you're new to betting on football online, on this page you will find a comprehensive guide to betting on football.

The timing of the football season varies from continent to continent. The traditional football season in Europe runs from August to May with the number of games played depending on the number of teams in the division. 

Teams traditionally play every other team in the division twice, once at home, and once away, so for example, a 20 team league would see a team play all of the other 19 teams twice, coming to a total of 38 games.

While this is not true for every division in the world, with some divisions having fewer teams. This is the most common league structure. 

European football may feature the most popular teams and divisions in the world, but the sport is also played on other continents, so you don’t have to worry about not be able to place bets in the pre and post season periods. For example, the MLS in North America runs its soccer season from March through to October. 

Football is one of the biggest markets for online betting sites these days and as a result, all the big companies are constantly refreshing their markets in an attempt to compete with one another. 

The following are the most common types of football bets:

Full-time result: This is the easiest type of football bet and simply involves choosing the full-time result of the game. 

There are three options available when it comes to making this type of bet- the home team, the away team, or a draw. 

As a general rule, betting on a home team will often give you a better chance of winning, while betting on a draw will always be the riskier bet. 

Football accumulators: Accumulators have quickly established themselves as one of the most popular type of football bets. 

An accumulator, also known as an ‘acca’, is a bet where the customer chooses four or more selections on their slip and must get all of them right to pick up their winnings. 

Various types of accumulators have become popular in recent years, with sportsbooks constantly  looking to one-up each other in this market. Things like BTTS (both teams to score) and over/under accumulators are quickly rising in popularity. 

Goalscorer markets: Another staple of the football betting market is the goalscorer bets. Most betting sites will offer odds on the first and/or last goalscorer in any given game, while also providing odds on whether an individual player will score at any time during the match. 

While you will find all of these odds on any big game, you may struggle to find them on some of the more obscure footballing fixtures such as non-league or lesser known international games. 

Those will knowledge of goal scoring form and player’s history against certain clubs can stand to make a lot of money on these kinds of markets. 

Handicap bets: As the name suggests, handicap betting is when one of the teams in the game is playing with a handicap. 

When one of the teams is such a clear favourite that they are almost not worth betting on, bookies will offer a handicap suggesting that one of the teams starts -0.5 or -1. 

This means that the team would have to effectively win by 2 goals to win the game, with a 1 goal margin ending the game in a draw.

These bets are often worth putting on if a team is a heavy favourite and you are looking to even the odds. For example, if a top of the league team is at home to a bottom of the league team, then you may want to consider placing a handicap bet on the home team.

Due to football being so popular, all of the major online betting sites are in constant competition with one another and as a result, you will often find all sorts of offers on soccer matches on any given weekend. 

These offers will often include enhanced odds on the full-time result, accumulators or goalscoring markets. 

Most sportsbooks will often include sign-up offers for football bets as well. You can find out how to take advantage of these on this website. 

Cash out bets are also an increasingly common fixture when it comes to football betting, with sportsbooks offering you the chance to take an early profit during a game if a result is going your way. 

While there are many who will have claimed to have cracked the key to football betting, the truth of the matter is that it is one of the most unpredictable, and therefore exciting sports in the world to bet on. 

There are, however, certain ways to ensure that you are more likely to end up winning more than losing. 

Studying team form is hugely beneficial, while also paying attention to past encounters between the two sides can also help. 

Be sure to check out whether teams have any serious injuries or suspensions that may affect their performance as well. You don’t want to place a team on your accumulator only to find out their 20 goal a season striker is injured!