Betting on Soccer? Here's What Types of Wagers You Can Make

By Awais Dar.

That’s why there are hundreds of soccer betting sites out there. They enable soccer enthusiasts to test their knowledge and make a profit if they make the right call. 

However, before making your first wager on the popular sport, it’s essential to understand the different betting markets offered on most platforms. Soccer comes with more wagering options than any other sport, and we’re going to list the most popular ones in this article. After reading this short guide, you should be able to make your first bet. Read on.

Three-Way Moneyline Bet

The most common wager in soccer is a straight-up bet. You need to select which team will win in the end. However, since a draw is always possible in soccer, you can wager that neither team will win. That’s why this bet is called a three-way moneyline or simply a 1X2 bet (1 for a home win, X for a draw, and 2 for an away win).

Please consider that, in most cases, if there is extended time or penalties, the result is regarded as a draw unless stated otherwise.

Double Chance

Double chance is often considered the type of bet with the lowest risk. You essentially get to pick two out of the three possible outcomes. For example, if you place a 1X bet, it means you’re betting on a home win or a draw, and the only scenario where you lose is if the away team wins the game. You can also place X2 or 12 bets. Your payout won’t be very high in most cases, and many professional bettors avoid double chance bets.

Draw No Bet

This is a simplified version of the three-way moneyline where you get to pick a team to win the game, but a draw isn’t one of the available options. If the game ends in a tie, the bet is considered a push, and you’ll receive your money back.

Half-time/Full-time Bet

You need to guess the outcome at halftime and the end of the match. For instance, if you place an X-1 bet, it means that the first half will end in a draw, but the home team will win in the end. Other possible combinations are 1-1, 1-2, 1-X, X-X, X-1, X-2, 2-2, 2-X, and 2-1. These are difficult to pull off, especially if you’re going to make a parlay bet.

Over/Under Bets

Many things in soccer can be counted, including the number of goals, yellow cards, red cards, corners, free kicks, outs, goal-outs, and more. Sports betting sites will sometimes allow you to place an over/under bet on a suggested figure.

Let’s take goals, for example. A sportsbook will set the number of goals to 2.5 for a particular game, and if you think there will be three or more goals, you will make an over bet. However, if you think there will be less than three goals, you should place an under bet.

Teams to Score

You can try to predict whether both teams will score goals using the BTTS (both teams to score) option. If you don’t believe that any of the teams will score, you can make such a wager as well. Finally, you can bet that only the home or away team will score a goal.

Correct Score

Perhaps one of the most challenging bets to make, the correct score bet is pretty self-explanatory: you need to guess the upcoming game’s correct score. The chances of getting it right are rather low, so if you manage to do it, you’re likely to receive a hefty reward.

Goal Scorer

All you have to do is pick the player who is most likely to score a goal in the game you’re betting on. If you manage to get it right, you’ll be adequately rewarded. Of course, the odds of an attacker scoring a goal are always higher than those of a defender (let alone a goalkeeper), but you can always take risks by picking a player who doesn’t score often.

Handicap (Spread Betting)

Bookmakers sometimes handicap the favorite by a certain number of goals. If you bet on the favorite, they need to win the game and make up the goal difference so that you can pass the bet. 

For example, if a team is handicapped by 2.5 goals and wins with the final result being 1:0, you’ll lose the bet. Also known as spread betting, the handicap is mainly reserved for professional bettors.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, betting on soccer can be a highly entertaining activity once you get into the swing of things. Even though it seems complicated at first, it’s pretty easy if you stick to the basic bets. However, if you decide to turn pro, you’ll have to explore many other betting markets before placing a wager.