Football Betting Guide

Football is the king of sports betting, and there are many factors that make it the best sport for betting. Football is played all year round worldwide, and offers a vast number of matches.

Domestic leagues offer a wide range of bets and, as an added bonus, there are national cups, international tournaments like the Champions League, Europa League and a growing trend of pre-season competitions. In addition, there are regular major tournaments for national teams such as the European Championships, Africa Cup of Nations, Copa America and the World Cup.

This guide will take you through how to bet on football games and some of the methods you can use to develop your knowledge of football betting.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  1. Football betting

    1. Football Match betting

    2. Football double chance

    3. Handicap betting

    4. What is an Asian Handicap

  2. How to bet on football

  3. Betting on football tournament

  4. Individual player betting

  5. Football betting specials

  6. Live stream football and bet in-play

    1. What is cash out?

 

Football betting

Here at Unibet there are thousands of football matches you can bet on each week in our sportsbook, where the fixtures are laid out in nationality and league order, so you can easily find the game you want to bet on.

We cover everything from the biggest leagues such as Premier League, Serie A and Bundesliga to lower divisions around the world. You can bet on anything from simple single bets, such as the outcome of a match, to combination bets where you add multiple bets that can cover different types of football bets on the same bet slip.

The opportunities are enormous when it comes to football betting. We offer lots of different bet types, where you can place a bet on corners, cards, correct score, goal scorers, player specials in various degrees and much more. In the next section, we will review the most common and popular bet types when it comes to football betting.

How to bet on football

There are literally hundreds of markets available on any given football match that you can bet on. Here at Unibet we work hard to offer both the best odds and a wide variety of bets.

Football Match Betting

The most common type of bet in football betting is the match bet. This is when you bet on the result of the game. There are three outcomes in football: win, draw or loss. It is sometimes referred to as a 1X2 bet. This is because you bet on the home team to win (1), bet on draw (X) or place a bet on the away team (2).

You will typically see the match bet at the top of any sportsbook focusing on football, because the result is what most regular fans are interested in.

Football Double Chance

Double Chance is another popular form of betting where you bet on two different outcomes in a single match. This gives you the opportunity to bet on a draw and a win at the same time. It’s a perfect bet for players who prefer to reduce the risk.

The odds are of course lower than when it comes to match betting, but the chances of winning your bet will be considerably higher. If, for example, Manchester United play at home against Chelsea in the Premier League and you choose to place a Double Chance bet on United (1X), you will win your bet if United win or draw. You can also bet on one of the two teams to be victorious with Double Chance betting (12). In this case, you lose your bet if the match ends in a draw. Simple as that.

Handicap betting

In football betting, handicap betting (3-Way Handicap) is also a popular choice. Handicap betting usually involves goal differences between two teams that give a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage to the selected team before the match starts.

For example, you can bet on Arsenal starting a match against Leicester with a -1-goal handicap when they play in the Premier League. In this case, Arsenal must win the match by at least two goals for your bet to be successful. (You can also learn more about Premier League betting in this guide).

What is Asian Handicap?

Asian Handicap is another form of handicap betting. In Asian Handicap betting, there are two possible choices and a handicap is provided so that the odds for both teams even out. It differs to regular handicap betting in that you’re offered to bet on half- and quarter-lines. Also, it is usually possible to implement on more bet types such as Total Goals (Asian Total), cards and corners.

Read more about Asian Handicap betting in our guide to bet on Asian Handicap.

One of the most popular bet types when it comes to betting on football — especially if you’re a neutral of either side and simply want to see some action — is to bet on Total Goals. This is where you bet on the total number of goals scored in a game. However, this can be almost too specific for some supporters, who instead like to bet on the over/under Total Goals.

In this instance, you might want to bet on +2.5 goals being scored in a match between England and France. What you’re actually betting on is three goals or more being scored. The same can work in the reverse, with a bet of -2.5 goals being won if there are two or fewer goals scored in the game.

To immerse yourself and learn more about the terms, expressions and betting forms when it comes to sports betting, you can check our betting and sporting glossary.

Betting on football tournament

Betting on the winner of football tournaments is also a popular choice among players. And these types of bets are usually seen as long-term punts.

But it’s not only the winners of a tournament — such as backing Manchester City to win the Premier League, or Argentina to win the Copa America — that you can bet on.

There are hundreds of outcomes you can bet on with football betting, such as a team’s finishing position in a league, their exit point of a tournament, or who will fare better between two sides.

Individual player betting

You can also bet on individual players to win a vast array of accolades. We run top scorer markets across most of the big leagues around the world, so you can back a certain player to win the Golden Boot in their division or tournament.

On top of this, you can bet on the top assist maker in a given competition and the player of the tournament. These are pre-tournament bets but some markets will offer changed odds midway through competitions.

During matches, you can bet on individual players being booked first, sent off and even hitting the crossbar. Depending on the stature of the match, we will put on more markets so you can bet on almost anything you can think of!

Football Betting Specials

You can also bet on football specials at almost any time. Betting on the next Premier League manager to be sacked, or summer transfers, is a great way to spice up your football betting on new and interesting markets.

Football transfer betting works by backing the club you think a player will be at by the end of a certain transfer window. Sometimes the favourites are the club who already employ the player. But when the current club is down the list at 10/1, then there’s a real likelihood that player is about to leave.

Live stream football and bet in-play

Unibet offers you some of the best odds in UK betting. In addition, we give you access to live football streaming through Unibet TV’s live stream. You can watch and bet on, among other things, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A matches.

We also show matches from some of Europe’s smaller leagues, as well as some of the biggest leagues outside of the continent. You can therefore watch and bet on football at almost any time of day — especially during the weekends.

Betting on football live can be exciting, as you can change your mind midway through matches and make fresh bets. And of course it always helps to be able to watch the game you’re betting on, to easier read the play and make more reasoned predictions.

What is cash out?

Cash out is a betting term that is used a lot in football betting. This is when you decide you want your bet — which you may have made before the game or even during play — to settle. Depending on what the live odds are at the time, and the price at which you made your bet, you could make a profit when cashing out. Sometimes, players decide to cash out even when they’re not making a profit, to cut their losses.

Bet on football