How We Choose the Best Bookies for Football
If you’re searching for a trusted and highly rated football betting site, you’re in the right place.
That’s because we believe that betting on football should be exciting, safe and secure. That’s how it’s always been for us, and we want the same for you.
We’ve gone ahead and analysed a wide selection of football betting sites so that you know which ones are better than the rest, without the stress of putting your money to the test.
Football Betting Odds
To bet on football, you need to understand football betting odds – there’s no other way around it.
Let’s take a look at example fractional odds for a match between Chelsea and Tottenham.
Chelsea to win: 19/20
Draw: 261/100
Tottenham to win: 3/1
Here, Chelsea is considered the betting “favourite” and is expected to win the contest. The odds of 19/20 indicate that a £100 bet on Chelsea to win would return a total of £95 profit (and £195 total return) if they win. That’s close to double your money, and the implied probability of this outcome is 51.3%.
A £100 bet on Tottenham to win would return £300 profit and £400 total if successful at those odds of 3/1.
To determine whether you should bet on Chelsea or not, you need to first consider if Chelsea’s chances of winning are greater or lesser than 51.3%.
Can you see them dominating Tottenham and winning 3-0? You probably consider Chelsea’s win probability to be closer to 60% than 51.3%, and therefore you’ve identified a value betting opportunity.
Put your money on Chelsea.
Odds can come in all shapes and sizes.
The fractional odds listed above are most common in the United Kingdom. Decimal odds are popular in many other European countries and Australia, and America has its own set of odds too.From the example above, Chelsea’s odds of -105 would be represented as -105 with decimal odds. The decimal odds represent the total amount returned, including the original stake.
Tottenham’s +300 odds would be represented as +300 in American odds, suggesting that a £100 bet returns £300.
And even if two bookmakers both use fractional odds, it doesn’t mean that their odds will be the same. Every football betting site has different odds and different returns, and some are far better than others.
If you are betting on Chelsea in that above example, would you rather bet with a bookie site that has odds of -105 or -133 ?
The wrong decision here could set you back £20 after a winning bet. Unfortunately, it’s one of the many ways that inexperienced bettors lose their money.
Football Betting Markets Explained
Picking a winner of a game in any league or competition around the world can be done in a matter of seconds. Picking an outright winner is the first market you’ll see when you log in and it’ll probably be the market you utilise more often than others.
However, it’s important to note that the best betting sites have a massive range of extra markets for you to consider when betting on football. Here are just a few of those markets:
Did you know that you can bet on who will score the first goal of the game? By doing so, you can get crazy odds on any player to open the scoring. Do you think that a tricky winger matches up well against those slow defenders? Check out the odds and place a bet on him to score the first goal.
Another popular football betting market is “Both Teams to Score.” This market is self-explanatory, of course, but does allow you to bet on whether both teams will score or not. If you predict an all-out game of football, you can back both teams to score, but if you think that one or both teams can keep a clean sheet, you can back that too.
Accumulators (commonly referred to as “accas”) are an incredibly popular way of increasing your potential payout. An accumulator allows you to combine four or more selections into one bet slip and effectively combine them into one bet. Think Manchester City, Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United will win? Put them all in one bet slip to multiply your potential returns. Punters can win life-changing money by betting on accumulators. In 2017, a woman correctly predicted the outcome of 12 matches to win £574,278.41 from a £1 accumulator bet.
Asian Handicap betting has become one of the most popular ways to bet on football in recent years. With this type of bet, punters have the ability to bet on or against a team to cover a specified handicap. For example, a team might have a handicap of +1 and would start with a one goal “head start.” Likewise, a -1 handicap would require the team to win by more than one goal if the bettor wants to profit from the bet.
Popular Competitions to Bet On
The competition pits 20 top-tier English teams against each other in a season format, each playing one another at home and away.
The Premier League hosts teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
There are 20 teams competing in La Liga, with the most notable being Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Every four years, 32 national teams compete against each other. Brazil has been the most successful team in World Cup history, and recent winners include France, Germany, and Spain.
The UEFA Champions League was founded in 1955 and will see top English teams competing against top teams from Spain, Germany, Italy, and more.
How to Place a Football Bet
The online sports betting industry has evolved to a point where we’re now able to place bets on football in a matter of seconds.
Once you have an account with a safe and secure football betting site, you can place a bet with ease.
Here’s a quick and easy three-step guide to placing a football bet:
-
Browse MarketsThere are hundreds of football games played every week around the world. If you want to place a bet on football, we recommend focusing most of your attention on the leagues and competitions that you are most familiar with.
This way, you’ll have a greater understanding of which teams will win and be able to quickly identify high-value betting opportunities.
-
Search for Value
The next step is to look through the list of upcoming games and compare the odds.
Do the odds look fair and reasonable to you, or do they not match your expectations?
If they’re better than you were expecting, you’ve found an opportunity to place a bet. Use your knowledge and make predictions on upcoming games. Bet on a team to win or choose one of the many other football betting markets that are available.
-
Place Wager
Once you’ve found that betting opportunity, all you need to do is add it to your bet slip and confirm the wager.
Make sure to double-check the odds, amount wagered, and the selection. Once you’re set, hit confirm and you’ve placed your bet. It’s that easy.
Accepts Large Bets
Signup Bonus
In-Play Betting
Regular Promos
Football Betting Odds
To bet on football, you need to understand football betting odds – there’s no other way around it.
Football vs Soccer
Have you ever wondered why Americans and Australians say “soccer” instead of “football?”
It’s recently become known that the term “soccer” actually originated in Britain a couple of centuries ago as a kind of slang term for “association football.” But then the English folks started to call it “football” and passed off “soccer” as being possibly too American.
It turns out that every country has their own version of “football” now, and you better be careful when asking your mates to watch a game of football with you in America, Australia, or New Zealand because you might not get what you bargained for.
In America, “football” is actually the sport in which Tom Brady runs around and throws touchdown passes to his wide receivers at the Super Bowl. Americans call proper football “soccer,” and their top domestic league, Major League Soccer, shows their hand in the battle.
Football Betting FAQ
Most major betting sites offer odds on football matches, but there’s a world of difference between the types of bets each site offers and the prices they set for each betting market. We review every sports betting site to assess which bookies are best for betting on football, which means you can simply follow the advice on SBO to make sure you get the most for your money.
We recommend opening accounts with our top-rated bookmakers, all of which have been hand-picked for football betting. Then, you can simply check which bookie will give you the best returns on your bets and maximise your profit.
Accumulators are a high-risk, high-reward style of betting on football. Instead of betting on one outcome, you can combine multiple selections into one bet slip and multiply the potential returns by an extravagant amount. It’s an enjoyable way of betting and one that can help you win big when betting on football.
Cash out takes into account several factors including the amount staked, the price at the time of the original wager and the current odds of the selection. If the odds have increased since the time of your original wager, you can expect the cash out value to be more than your original stake.
To consistently win money and make profits when betting on football, you need to be able to identify high-value betting opportunities and wager accordingly. Good bankroll management techniques are also critical to your overall success.
