Football, also known as soccer, is arguably the most famous sport in the world today. Similar to cricket, football has millions of fans in India. So, football betting is very big in India, like cricket betting. Football matches are broadcasted live across all TV networks and sportsbetting sites allow you to place live soccer bets while the match is in play. Besides, live bets, Indian punters have numerous betting options. Football is played all across the world. So, you have many leagues and markets to bet on. Carry on reading our football betting guide below, to find out about all the different betting options and which are the best football betting sites to use.
Best Football Betting Sites
Every online bookmaker has soccer betting markets. It is the number one sport for online betting in the world. Even though cricket is king in India, football is very popular too. Some betting sites also have live casino tables where they show live football or cricket games in the background. So, you can place your bets and then go gamble on some Andar Bahar or Teen Patti tables, while watching the football matches too.
Popular Soccer Betting Leagues
Soccer leagues exist all around the world. Billions of dollars are spent each year in developing infrastructure and training facilities for the new and existing generations of footballers. Even the most remote nations have their own domestic football leagues. But, there are a few leagues and competitions that are watched by millions of fans worldwide.
🏴 English Premier League (EPL) – known as the best league in the world. Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are the most supported in India.
🇪🇸 Spanish La Liga – the league that features Barcelona and Real Madrid cannot be ignored. Indian bettors love La Liga.
🇩🇪 German Bundesliga – Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both have world-class players that make this league very exciting to watch and bet on.
🇮🇹 Italian Serie A – Italy has always been a powerhouse when it comes to football. Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan are the most popular teams.
Besides the regular domestic leagues, each country has their own cup competitions too. These allow the lower division teams to challenge top teams, often leading to big upsets. Therefore, betting on the underdogs in these competitions can yield big payouts.
Top Football Betting Competitions
⚽️ UEFA Champions League (UCL) – top-ranked European teams fight it out to be crowned the best team in Europe.
🏆 FIFA World Cup (Mondial) – top football nations from around the world compete every 4 years to be the best team in the world.
🇪🇺 The Euros – best ranking European nations compete every 4 years to be crowned champions of Europe
🌎 Copa America – nations from the Americas compete for glory. Brazil and Argentina are usually the favourites.
The good news is that Indians can also bet on these leagues. With games being played every weekend, there is no scarcity of options.
How to Bet on Football
Below you will find a wide range of betting options. You can either place single bets or combine them for greater betting odds.
1×2 – an outright bet for a soccer match. Three betting options exist: Team A wins, Team B wins or a Draw.
Accumulators (Accas)/Parlay Bets – if you are looking for a football bet that is risky but with high rewards, then this option is for you. Combine multiple bets of different matches in one betting slip. When your bets win the winning odds are multiplied to give you much bigger wins.
First Goal Scorer – pick a player on one of the teams who will score the first goal in the match.
Anytime Goalscorer – pick a specific player to score at least once during the match.
Handicap Bets – teams that are favourites to win are issued a handicap in the form of goals against them. If you bet on them to win they will need to overcome the handicap. For example, Team A has a handicap of (-2). Therefore, they will need to win by a margin of at least 3 goals for your bet to land.
Both Teams to Score – bet on both teams to score during the match.
Correct Score – choose a scoreline to bet on for the match. Certain scorelines can return big wins if they land.
Draw No Bet – this bet lets you place a regular outright or correct score bet. If the match ends in a draw, then you will be given your stake back either in cash or as a free bet of the same value. So it’s a great no-risk bet.
Half-time / Full-time – a bet that lets you select which team leads at half time and full time. There are many different outcomes here to bet on.
Over / Under – a bet placed on the number of goals or corners in a match.
First Card – bet on which team will receive the first caution, whether a yellow card or a red card.
Matchups – bets placed on a matchup between 2 key players from opposing teams. Which player will outperform the other, or will it be a tie between them?
Football Betting Strategy
There are many ways to approach Football betting. If you want to know how to bet on soccer, then check out our different strategies below. New bettors, should opt for the less risky strategies while more seasoned bettors can opt for the high risk / high payout options.
Single Bets (for Novices)
If you’re new to betting, then we recommend starting off by betting on one match at a time. This will help you get more comfortable with how betting works at minimal risk. Your best option will be to bet on match winners or over/under bets. Your rewards will not be big, but you can slowly grow your bankroll to take on more risky bets. The average winning odds range is 1.20 – 3.50.
Double Bets (for Intermediates)
Once you’ve won a substantial amount of single bets, you can move on to the next level of having 2 separate bets on the same betting slip. If one of your bets loses, then your whole bet is lost. And if both your bets land, then each bets’ odds are multiplied by each other to reveal your final winning odds. Double bets can return medium-sized wins, usually in the range of 4.00 – 10.00.
Combination Bets (for Advanced Bettors)
Experienced bettors love combination bets, especially accumulators. They offer a combination of singles, doubles, triples etc, with some accounts allowing more than 10 bets. Accumulators work in a way that each bet is a stand-alone bet, and it may also be combined with other bets. So, even if all of your bet choices don’t land, you will still get money back from single wins, double wins and triple wins etc. Furthermore, many online bookies offer an early cash out before all your bets on your account have settled. This is a super feature because sometimes you can pull out quite a lot of winnings before one bet result negatively affects your wins.
Matched Betting
Arbitrage betting or matched betting is a strategy whereby bettors hedge their bets. What you do is place a certain amount on Team A (favourite) to win at certain odds, and you place another smaller bet on Team B to win. These types of bet will usually be placed on Asian Handicap bets where there are only 2 possible outcomes. Each bet is carefully calculated so that if either result lands, you will return a profit.
For example: You bet ₹20,000 on Team A to win at odds of 1.50. You also place a bet of ₹5,000 on Team B to win at odd’s of 6.00. If Team A wins then your profit will win back ₹30,000 – ₹5,000 lost on your other bet. Leaving you with ₹5,000 profit. If Team B wins then you win ₹30,000 – ₹20,000 from your other bet. So you make ₹5,000 profit on this option too.
This strategy requires a lot of research, finding the correct game to bet on which can offer you the right odds for matched betting. You can find match betting calculators online to help you figure out what odds you need for your corresponding bets.
Warning: Many online bookies frown upon arb bettors and forbid it. Even though it’s not illegal, if you’re caught doing it, then you stand to have your account banned and all of your winnings forfeited. Some betting sites might confiscate all of your funds. So, if you still want to try matched betting, then do so only at betting exchanges, where it is allowed.