A Breakdown of Different Betting Options Available on a Soccer Sportsbook
According to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), over 5 billion people are soccer fans, with the largest fan bases being in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Every fan has a place to call home with hundreds of professional teams and over 200 national teams, representing most countries recognized by the United Nations.
Supporters of the sport have found many creative ways to show their love, from buying season tickets to their team’s home stadium, to watching every game regardless of time zone. One of the most popular ways to enjoy the sport is via online sports betting. Regardless if you are a newbie or grew up watching the sport, everyone can find a version of betting on soccer that works best for them.
The Starter Pack: Match Result and Over/Unders
Arguably, the most straightforward (and therefore most popular) way of betting on soccer is to put money on the match result. When making a match result bet (a Moneyline wager in the USA) you can choose from three different possibilities; a home team win, an away team win or a draw. The outcome of the match can only be one of those three, hence this bet being the most simple.
The second most common betting type is an over/under bet. The older sister of match results, over/unders allow fans to get more creative. To place these, you predict if the final total score of the game will be over or under a certain number. For example, a site might offer over/under 2.5 goals. This means that a player would bet on whether the final score, after adding up the goals of both teams, is 3 or over or 2 or under. This betting style is more competitive when there is a big mismatch for a game. The bigger the mismatch, the more likelihood of goals and therefore a higher number proposed for the over/under. Sites that offer these types of bets are well attuned to players wants and needs.
Strategic Bets: Handicaps, Correct Score + Goal Scorers
After mastering beginner level bets, often there is a desire to start making more complicated wagers, ones that need a level of strategy to succeed. A common one of these is handicap betting. This is a way to level the playing field where there seems to be a big mismatch of two teams. Many leagues like the EPL (English Premier League), will have at least a few games where the top ranked team and the lowest ranked team will play each other. Handicaps make this kind of match up more palatable to bettors by giving incentive to support underdogs and more favorable odds for favorites.
When it comes to soccer, most of the betting options are focused on goals; the number, the scorer, the totals. For those who are the biggest fans of the sport, who enjoy getting specific and complicated in their bets. The best options are correct score, where you place a wager on the final score of the game, and goal scorer, where you predict, which players are going to score the goals. Because both necessitate a bit more knowledge about teams, matchups and players, only more experienced sports bettors really gravitate towards these.
Things to keep in mind
A game like soccer can change in an instant. Unlike sports like basketball, where there are points scored every minute, points in soccer are weightier, since it is rare for a total score count to exceed 6. Additionally, due to the physicality of soccer, players can be injured or yellow or red carded out of the game. If this was to happen, a bettor’s entire strategy may need to be reevaluated in a second.
Therefore, regardless of which type of betting strategy you use, there are features that you must look for on any sports betting website. Most importantly, you must look for any live options, including live betting, live streaming or live odds. When taken together you are able to not only watch a game in real time regardless of time zone, but place bets as new opportunities arise. You can then amend your bet based on how the odds have changed. It is a tool that all players need and want.
For a sport as popular as soccer, it is not surprising that there are multiple betting options for fans of different leagues, betting styles and complexities. It is lucky for fans that there will always be an option for them.