Worldwide Popularity
There are two factors why football is such a good betting option. The first one is that the sport is popular around the world. Even people who live in the most distant and remote parts of the world know at least something about the game.
In fact, popular football events such as the World Cup or the Champions League final break records for viewers year-in-year-out.
For example, as many as 1.12 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup final. Similarly, the 2014 final between Germany and Argentina attracted an audience of 1 billion people.
These numbers will probably rise in the future too. The increase in popularity of Internet live streaming means that the 2022 World Cup final is bound to break all viewership records to date.
Tons of Betting Markets
The second aspect which makes football such an enticing sport to bet on is the number of propositions it comes with. These days it is not uncommon for a football match to come with up to 200 different betting markets. The rule here is the more popular the match, the higher the number of markets on offer.
And football games no longer come with the solitary match winner market as they did in the past. Nowadays, online betting enthusiasts can bet on corner kicks, bookings, time of the goal, correct scorer etc. Add to this the hundred or more live betting markets and you immediately see the appeal of betting on football.
Best Football Betting Sites
To get the most out of a football wager, you have to bet at the best football betting sites. The offer of betting operators is huge when it comes to football, so a punter has to choose wisely.
One thing to remember here is that top-notch football bookmakers always have industry-leading betting offers. These are usually expressed through superior numbers of games and markets, lots of bonuses and promotions and high odds.
The best betting operators have tons of football games to choose from. Moreover, they all come with north of 100 betting markets per game. This means that you will never be short of betting options and that’s always a plus in my book.
Bonuses are also a huge part of an excellent football betting provider. Top bookmakers will have a whole array of promotions including new customers offers, loyalty programs, cash out options, free bets and accumulator insurance promos.
High odds should also top the list of priorities when choosing a bookmaker. When you are betting on football you probably want all of your bets to be as profitable as possible. The only way to achieve this is to wager at bet sites which work with low margins.
Now that you know how the best football betting operators look like it is time to find the right bookmaker for you. To do this you will have to consider carefully the following factors.
Must-Have a Valid License
A top quality football betting operator simply must possess a valid license. A license is essential in any sports betting endeavour, so make sure that you always wager with a licensed bookmaker.
Licensing bodies such as the UK Gambling Commission or the Malta Gambling Authority regulate operations of all betting providers. They make sure that customers receive the right protection, prevent illegal gambling and keep crime out of betting.
You can check for a license easily by scrolling to the bottom of the page of any betting operator. Once you are there, you will see the name of the gambling authority that regulates the online bookmaker. After doing this, simply go to the site of the gambling authority and check if the betting operator really possesses the said license. As soon as everything checks out, you can proceed to the next step, the security level of the site.
Has to be Secure
All online betting sites must have impenetrable security firewalls. This is important because you want your personal and financial data to stay protected at all times. An online bookmaker with 256-bit encryption enabled and in possession of all the latest security certificates is a must in this regard.
24/7 Customer Support
Round the clock customer support is a sign of a bookmaker which always takes great care of its customers. Similarly, a betting operator which you can contact via several communication channels is always better than a site which only answers to emails.
Quality Betting Offer
Once you have covered the necessary licensing and security questions, it is time to get down to the real business. And there is nothing more important than going through the football betting offer.
The best betting sites will have almost all football leagues, and competitions played in the world at any given moment. Gone are the days when online bookmakers only offered the best European leagues and a couple of South American championships.
If a betting operator wants to be taken these days seriously, it will have to offer wagering on any football match out there. This means including popular leagues such as the EPL and La Liga, but also means offering reserve and youth leagues from all countries and continents.
In addition to tons of competitions, betting providers have to also include a lot of betting markets. It is no longer enough to only offer whether Manchester City will win against city rivals United. Nowadays, it is crucial that a bookmaker also enables you to bet on whether there will be a penalty or a red card in the match. Peripheral markets such as shots towards goal and number of offside infringements also help in this regard.
Football Betting Types
As I already mentioned, one of the things which makes football such a good sport for wagering is that it offers various football betting types. If you look at most other sports, you will see that they are somewhat inferior in this regard.
Take horse racing, for example. It is the sport of choice for lots of bettors, but football trumps it with the sheer volume of markets available. Horse racing enthusiasts can place only about a dozen of horse racing bets before the race starts and an even lower number of live bets. That ‘s definitely not the case with football. A game of football is 90 minutes long and is perfect for both pre-match and live bets.
Pre-match Betting
Betting on football matches before they have started has always been the dominant form of football betting. Bettors are never short of options here. In fact, there are more than a hundred pre-match betting markets to choose from.
The most common one is the match winner market. In it, punters try to predict which team will win the match. If Valencia play Real Madrid for example, the punter has the following options:
- Valencia to win – 1,
- Teams to draw – X,
- Real Madrid to win – 2.
Another popular market is the double chance betting proposition. With double chance, bettors cover two of the three possible outcomes. For instance, when Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund, the double chance options would be as follows:
- Bayern Munich to win or draw (1X),
- Borussia Dortmund to win or draw (X2),
- Bayern Munich to win or Borussia Dortmund to win (12).
Punters can also bet on whether the number of goals will be lower or higher than a number given by the bookmaker. Let’s say PSG are playing Monaco in the French League Un. These would be some of the over/under total markets:
- 0.5 goals over/under,
- 1.5 goals over/under,
- 2.5 goals over/under,
- 3.5 goals over/under,
- etc.
There are many other popular pre-match markets besides these. Betting enthusiasts often bet on propositions such as handicap lines, draw no bet, half time/full time, correct score, team to score first, both teams to score and so on.
Live Betting
Another perk of betting on football is the chance to bet live. A live bet is when a punter places a wager on a game which has already started. These are usually similar to pre-match wagers but are less in number.
Live bets are excellent for seasoned punters. This is because veteran bettors can make a much more educated prediction when seeing the game live.
Let’s say you watch the Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund game live, and you notice that both teams are playing an attacking type of football. This presents an excellent opportunity to make a winning bet by backing the match to end in over 2.5 goals.
What is more, the match is already 35 minutes in, and the score is somehow still 0:0. This means that you can benefit from high odds of 2.60. They are much higher than the original pre-match odds of 1.65 for the same proposition. What’s not to like in a situation such as this one?
Live bets can also be used to hedge a bet. This means to bet on the opposite outcome that you originally chose so that you have a winning bet with any outcome.
For example, watching the game between Valencia and Real Madrid live might change your mind about the final result. In the pre-match betting market, you thought that this was a nailed-on away win, but after watching 20 minutes of the game, you change your mind.
You see that Valencia are playing much better and, as much as you would want them to, Real simply won’t win. As a result, you immediately hedge your pre-match bet and back the Bats from Valencia to draw or win the game. Now, whatever the final outcome, you stand to win some money.
Virtual Betting
Whenever there’s no real football to bet on, virtual betting on computer-generated football matches fills the void. Virtual football matches are much shorter than the real-world alternative, but they come with similar markets. Even players who have never bet on virtual football will quickly get the gist of it.
Let’s say Belgium are playing Hungary in a computer-generated game. Punters have around a minute before the game starts to place their bets. Here, they can choose between the winner of the match, over/under goal totals, correct score, and double chance. There are also other markets, but these five are universally present at all bookmakers.
After punters have placed their bets, the match starts. It usually lasts around 3 minutes, and players get to see only the highlights of the match. Some highlights will produce goals, while others will only be goal-scoring chances. After the match ends, the punter can see the winning outcomes and the odds which come with them.
How Virtual Football Betting Works
Virtual football wagering is as fair as a betting proposition can be. This is because all virtual football outcomes are completely random and are never rigged. To achieve this, online bookmakers utilize Random Number Generator (RNG) technology. If you are an avid casino player, you probably know that this is the same technology used to determine outcomes for slots, lottery and bingo games.
I am going to use the lottery draw analogy to explain how a virtual football game works. Each of the possible outcomes in a computer-generated game comes with a certain probability of coming to fruition. The more probable an outcome is, the more lottery balls it gets. When the game is over, RNG picks one of the balls, and that’s the winner.
Let’s explain how this works this with Belgium vs Hungary example and a 10-ball lottery draw. Belgium is the favourite to win the match and comes with a 55% probability to triumph. The draw option comes with 25% probability, while Hungary to win is 20%. As a result, the ’10 lottery balls’ are distributed as such:
- Belgium to win – 5.5 balls,
- Draw – 2.5 balls,
- Hungary to win – 2 balls.
This clearly shows that the computer can pick any of the outcomes, but Belgium to win is the most likely one. Of course, the match can end in a draw or a Hungary win, but the odds for that happening are much lower.
Bonuses & Promotions
One of the best things about football betting is the number of bonuses & promotions it comes with. In fact, most betting operators design their best bonus offers with football matches in mind.
As a result, most betting bonuses that you find at bookmakers today are like tailor-made for a football single or accumulator bet. Of course, I don’t say that other sports aren’t compatible with these promotions. Most of them work just as well. However, what I do say is that the majority of welcome bonuses and cash out options yield the best results when combined with football betting.
Welcome Bonus Offers
The most enticing of all football bonuses are the welcome bonus offers. New customers who place a certain minimum deposit and make a qualifying bet are eligible for a welcome offer of this type. Let’s look at several common types of welcome bonus offers:
- 100% matched deposit bonus up to €100 (new customers only, min deposit €10 at min odds 1.5, valid for 7 days, T&Cs apply);
- Up to €100 in bet credits on your first deposit (new customers only, min deposit €10 at min odds 1.5, valid for 7 days, T&Cs apply);
- Bet €10 get €30 in free bets (new customers only, min deposit €10 at min odds 1.9, valid for 30 days, T&Cs apply).
As you can see from these offers, there are several ways in which the betting operator rewards its new customers. The most common one is the matched deposit bonus. With it, customers usually see their first deposits doubled.
To be eligible for the welcome offer, the punter will have to make a qualifying bet first. When he does this, the sports betting site will notify him that the offer will expire after a certain period of time. In the example, this is 7 days after activation.
It is not uncommon for new customers to get welcome bonuses in the form of bet credits too. The up to €100 in bet credits offer in the second example works similarly to a matched deposit bonus. The only difference is in how the two offers are worded.
Lastly, new customers can also get several free bets after making a qualifying bet with a predetermined minimum deposit. For instance, in the third bonus, new customers get 3 free bets of €10 each.
Betting Sites with Cash Out
I always advise my readers to give themselves exit strategies when things don’t go their way. Exit strategies come in handy in both gambling and betting. For example, if you are playing blackjack, having an exit strategy is essential. The same is true for games such as poker, roulette, and baccarat too.
When it comes to football, going with betting operators which offer cash out is the way to go. Experienced punters know how it feels to lose a bet at the final hurdle. This is especially painful if it is an accumulator bet in which 10 other selections have already been successful.
This is where cashing-out comes in. Top-quality football betting sites will always offer early cash-outs as part of their portfolio. With them, punters can get a portion of their potential winnings before all selections have finished.
Cash Out Example
Let’s say you have an excellent betting slip in which 7 out of 8 selections have been successful. You are now only waiting for Argentina to triumph over Peru in the Copa America semi-final and then collect your winnings.
However, when the match starts, you see that things aren’t going to plan. The Argentinians are attacking, but don’t have that cutting edge in front of goal. You have seen these hundreds of times before and know that Peru will stay strong defensively for the rest of the match. Your immediate thought is to cash out before half-time. The match ends 0:0, and you are happy that you trusted your instincts.
Punters should know, however, that in many situations the bookmaker won’t even offer cash out. Players usually get these early exit chances when down on their last couple of matches. What is more, cash-out amounts are the highest when the player acts early in the game, and the result is still a favourable one. You cannot expect to get a cash-out offer if your last selection is losing 0:3 with only 10 minutes left on the clock.
ACCA Insurance Offers
Another way to safeguard your accumulator bet is with ACCA insurance offers. These stipulate that you will get your stake back if one of your ACCA selections lets you down.
ACCA insurance offers come with certain requirements. A qualifying bet is usually one with a predetermined number of selections at certain minimum odds. Let’s look at an example of an ACCA insurance offer:
- Applies to 4+ ACCA bets (min odds bet 1.5, max free bet is €10, valid for 7 days after activation, all sports except horse racing, T&Cs apply).
In this example, the minimum number of selections is four, and the minimum odds bet is 1.5. Anything below that is not a qualifying bet. If only one of those four selections lets you down, you get your stake back. If two or more selections are unsuccessful, this is not a qualifying bet. The funds you get can go as high as €10, and you can use them within 7 days.
New Football Betting Sites
Most punters place their football wagers at sports betting establishments which give them the highest odds or the best bonuses. Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate a UK bookmaker with a long tradition. However, I would trade it in a heartbeat for a new UK site which gives me €100 in bet credits. New football betting sites which give higher odds and better promotions should always have priority with punters.
Some of my favourite new betting providers are the so-called crypto betting sites. These are sites which accept digital currencies as payment methods. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Litecoin are the most popular ones, but there are others too.
These betting sites offer customers the chance to bet on all the standard football games. In addition, they also offer two other benefits: complete anonymity and lightning-fast transactions.
Betting on football is good as it is for most of us. However, when you realize that you can wager in total anonymity and with super-fast deposits and withdrawals, it becomes even better.
Football Betting on Mobile
If you ask me, one of the great inventions of the 21st century is mobile betting. This is especially true if you are engaging in football betting on mobile apps from top quality bookmakers. These design their mobile products so that they are compatible with both Android and iOS apps, meaning no punter is left out.
The mobile betting experience is superior to other ways of betting, and there are several factors to back this up. First and foremost, mobile betting allows punters to place football wagers from just about anywhere. Players can back Mbappe to score a hat-trick both from their office and on the bus taking them home.
Another reason why mobile betting is so popular these days is live betting. Let’s say you back Liverpool to beat West Ham at home. However, the missus asks you to pick up some groceries, so you head out.
On the way to the shop, your mobile app notifies you that Liverpool are a man down and that’s definitely bad news. They are a strong team, but it is unlikely they are going to win with only 10 men. Fortunately, you can quickly hedge your bet by betting live. Your mobile app is perfect for this, and you back the draw and West Ham to win outcome in no time.
Last but not least, mobile apps are also great for following matches live. The best apps come with a live streaming feature. All players need to do to watch a match is to place a single bet with the bookmaker.
The interesting thing about live streaming is that it includes almost all football competitions out there. In the past, it would only include the most popular football leagues, but that’s no longer the case.
Betting on Mobile Browsers
Betting on mobile apps is all nice and well, but sometimes betting providers don’t have them. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as the betting operator offers mobile versions of their desktop sites.
Wagering through a mobile betting browser can be just as good as betting through an app. In fact, navigating streamlined mobile versions is much easier than going through cluttered desktop sites.
Mobile Betting Compatibility
Both mobile apps and mobile versions of sites are completely compatible with everything that the betting provider offers. For example, players get the same access to banking methods and payment options. Moreover, most payment methods go through mobile banking processes anyway, so wagering with a mobile device will make them much simpler.
Customer support is also easier to contact when betting via a mobile device. Mobile devices are particularly useful when accessing the live chat feature for example. Similarly, if you want to connect with a betting operator on social media sites, a mobile device is the way to go.
Finally, I already mentioned how easy it is to place wagers on a mobile device and the same goes for activating bonuses. Most mobile betting options facilitate quick access to bonuses, promo codes and bonus requirements.
What is more, lots of betting sites have ‘refer a friend’ offers through which you can invite friends to download their betting mobile apps. As soon as your friend has done this, both of you will get a bonus in the form of several free bets or some other enticing sports betting offer.
Conclusion
Not many things come close to betting on football, and there are good reasons for this. The sport is as popular as a sport can be and offers tons of betting options.
What is more, even when there’s no real football on, punters can bet on virtual football games to fill the void.
If you are looking for the best possible betting experience, reliable sports betting sites are the way to go. These are betting operators which have valid licenses, are secure and always put customers first. If they have a cutting-edge mobile app, all the better.
Once you find that perfect bookmaker, you can start wagering. There are more than one thousand football games on a busy day, so you will likely be spoiled for choice.
What is more, all of these games come with a myriad of betting options. Betting markets such as match winner, over/under totals, and double chance are popular choices, but other propositions are enticing too.
Speaking of enticing, not many football-related things are as lucrative as the bonuses sports betting sites offer. These range from high-yielding offers for new customers to risk-free ACCA insurance promotions and cash out options.
Finally, when looking for that perfect wagering adventure, it always pays off to try new betting sites out. This is especially true for crypto betting sites. They offer anonymity and fast transactions in addition to a decent football betting experience. That definitely warrants a look in my book.
References
- https://www.fifa.com/who-we-are/legal/integrity/betting-in-football/
- https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/policies/
- https://www.uefa.com/
