By Marcus Holland
This guide is about football (or soccer) betting, and in particular the sort of football bets you will find in the UK. There are so many different types of bet you can choose from and with a bit of experimentation you can find the one that suits you best. I am personally a bit boring and normally stick to a small accumulator consisting of a few bankers.
So anyway, first and foremost, what is football betting? Football betting is the general activity of predicting football results by making a wager on the outcome of a football event. It is one of the most popular forms of betting in the world due to the huge level of following that football has. In some countries, such as the states, betting on sports is illegal, but here in the UK, you can bet on anything you want as long it is through a licensed bookmaker.
Types of Football Bets on offer
Aside from simple wagers like betting that one’s favourite football team will win its division, there are many other types of football bet available in the UK. Because the odds on a football team winning a game are generally quite short, and therefore the returns are relatively small, bookies offer other opportunities to make things more exciting. These include:
Accumulator: A bet on a number of selections. If one selection wins, the stake and winnings roll over to the second bet, then third and so on. All selections must win for the accumulator to be a success.
Asian handicap. As the name implies, an Asian handicap bet gives the lesser regarded team a head start, by say a couple of goals. On the flip side the favoured team can be penalised buy a couple of goals. For example in a match between Manchester United and Wigan, Wigan might start off ahead by two goals in an Asian handicap type bet.
Double. A small accumulator bet comprising of two selections.
Draw no bet. If you pick this option when placing a bet on the winner of a match, and the game ends up a draw, then the bookie will deem the bet void and return your stake to you. As you might expect, the odds you will receive on a draw no bet wager will provide shorter odds than on a normal single win football bet.
First/last scorer. If you have an idea who will score the first or last goal in a match, you can bet on this! The odds are normally quite long as getting it right that one out of 22 players is easier said than done! Please bare in mind that some bookmakers will not pay out a return if the goal scored is an own goal, even if it was scored by the player you picked!
First Team to Score. Similar to the “First Scorer” bet, buy you are betting on the first team to score, rather than the first player.
Goal Crazy. Where you bet on the number of goals that will be scored in a match, for example. 1, 2-3, 4+.
Laying. When you place a bet against a selection failing to win. For example if you lay Plymouth Argyle to win the Championship, you are setting odds at which people can bet that Plymouth will win. This has become more popular with the advent of betting exchanges like Bet fair and Betdaq.
Score-cast. A type of bet where you guess the result of a particular football match – typically at halftime and/or full time. The odds on offer from a score-cast bet tend to be quite long, and the return you get typically increases the more outrageous the result you choose is.
Single. Betting on the outcome of a single football match. For example, Manchester United to beat Chelsea.
Spread betting. A type of bet where the success of the wager depends upon the accuracy of the selection rather than whether a particular horse, team, etc wins or loses. For a more detailed insight into spread betting check out our spread betting guide.
Total goals – odd or even. This bet simply involves guessing whether the total number of goals in a game will be an odd or even number.
Total goals under/over. A bookie will provide a number of goals, say 2.5, and you have to choose whether a particular gave will show more than, or fewer goals than this total. Typically, a bookmaker will provide 0.5, 1.5, and 3.5 goal options along with 2.5. Of course if you are betting on a match with two attacking teams playing, the bookie will offer shorter odds on there being many goals scores and vice versa.
There are many, many variations of Football bets UK available, and it would take way too long to list them all here. To find out more on soccer betting UK, check out one of our partner bookies to see what betting opportunities they have available.