Fancy Placing a Bet on the Football?

Best Football Betting Sites 2024

Biggest Football Events 2024

Understanding Football Betting Odds

Betting odds are easy to understand once you get the hangs of things, with our expert here to take you through exactly how odds work when placing your bets.

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are the most common odds type in the UK and are used by virtually all bookmakers.

Odds are used to show how likely an outcome is to happen, with decimal and fractional both used by UK bookmakers.

If the odds are a top-heavy fraction e.g. 2/1, this is called ‘odds against’ and shows you how much profit you’re to make for every £1 placed.

For example, if you place a £10 bet on a market with odds of 10/1 this would return £110, with you making £100 profit given 10 x 10 = 100.

Your stake is always included in your total returns when it comes to winning bets, thus this bet would see you receive £110 in return, with this including your original winnings and stake.

If the odds are a bottom-heavy fraction e.g 1/4, this is called ‘odds on’ and tells players how much they would have to stake to make a £1 profit, with this being displayed via the denominator.

For example, if you place a £40 bet on a market with odds of 1/4 this would return a £10 profit, with you making £1 profit for every £4 staked.

The total winnings for this bet would be £50, as your original stake is also included in your winnings, with you getting your £10 profit and £40 stake back as a result of your bet winning.

Understanding Football Betting Markets

There are loads of different football markets to bet on when staking with UK bookmakers, with these ranging from simple to more complex options.

Our expert is here to go through all of the markets you’ll find amongst UK bookies, offering explanations as to exactly what they all mean and how to bet on them.

Full Time Result Markets

The full-time result market is possibly the easiest to understand when it comes to football betting, as you are simply betting on the outcome of the match.

Players can bet on one of the two teams that are playing to win, as well as if they think the match will end as a draw.

This market only applies to the result after 90 minutes unless stated otherwise.

Therefore if a punter bets on a game to end with one side winning but it ends as a draw and goes to extra time, the bet will not be a winner.

The market is really simple to understand and is one of the most popular around, with the betting looking like this:

In this instance, if you’re betting on Man City, you need them to beat Man United within 90 minutes, with your bet losing if they draw or lose the game.

Goals – Over/Under Markets

Over under markets see players are attempting to predict the amount of goals that are scored in the match.

Punters will be offered a line by the bookmakers, with them needing to predict whether the total number of goals scored in the game is below or above this number.

The usual line for a game will be 2.5 goals, but this can sometimes be either 1.5 or 3.5 depending on the teams involved in the game, with the betting for this market looking like this:

For this game, the bookmakers have set the line at 2.5, thus if you bet on the Over market, you need at least three goals in the game for this to land, with the bet losing if two or fewer goals are scored.

Handicap Markets

Handicap betting is extremely popular, with this market being used as a way to level the playing field between two teams.

The favourite for a game will start the match with a disadvantage, whilst the underdog will start the game with an advantage of the same amount.

For the favourite to win, they must beat the other team by a margin that’s higher than their handicap.

Whilst the underdog will win if they lose by a margin that’s less than their handicap, draw the game or win the game outright.

This can also be done for a tie, with the plus or minus amount being added to the underdog’s goal total, with the betting looking like:

In this example, if the bet is with Liverpool -1, they will need them to win by two or more goals for this to cash, with the bet losing if they win by one goal, draw or lose the game.

If you bet on Tottenham +1, Spurs need to win or draw the game for the bet to be a winner, with it losing if they lose the game by one or more goals.

The ‘Handicap – Tie’ market will always give the underdog for the game a +1 goal advantage.

For a bet on this market to win, using the above example, Liverpool need to win by exactly one goal for your bet to win, with it losing if any other outcome occurs.

Asian Handicaps

Asian Handicaps are a market that is a little trickier to understand, however they’re still fairly easy once you get your head around it.

Asian handicap markets are slightly different to regular handicap markets as they allow a win, loss or draw results.

The Asian Handicap differs as if the handicap score is a draw, players will get their stake refunded depending on the result of the game you’re betting on.

The handicap will always be displayed in two formats, as a whole goal handicap, such as -1 or +1, or a half-goal handicap, such as +1.5 and or -1.5.

Whole goal handicap markets will be displayed like this:

If you bet on Barcelona, your bet will win if they win the match by a two-goal margin or more.

The bet will fail if they draw or lose the match, with your stake being refunded if they only win the match by a one-goal margin, as this would be a draw.

If you bet on Real Madrid, the bet will land if they win or draw the game, with your bet losing if they lose by two or more goals.

Alternatively, if Real Madrid loses by exactly one goal your stake will be refunded, as the handicap score would end up being a draw.

Half-goal handicaps are also offered by all top UK bookmakers, with this ruling out the possibility of your bet being voided and being refunded to your account.

The betting for a half-goal handicap market will look like such:

In this example, if Barcelona are backed at -1.5, the bet will win if they win by two goals or more.

It will fail if they draw, lose or only win by one goal.

If the bet is with Real Madrid, it will land if they win, draw or lose by exactly one goal, with the bet only losing if they lose by two or more goals.

Game/Player Prop Markets

Prop bets have steadily grown in popularity recently, with these markets allowing bettors to focus on specific sides to their game.

Players can bet on in-game occurrences rather than having to wait the full 90 minutes out before knowing if their bet is a winner or not.

These will normally be presented as ‘Over/Under’ markets, similar to goals, with bookmakers setting a line beforehand, with this then shifting depending on the game with players then simply needing to say if there will be more or less than this.

There are two different types of prop betting options, player props and game props, with a huge range of markets being available for each of these amongst top bookmakers.

Player Props

Player props are an extremely popular method of betting on football, allowing punters to back specific players to do a specific action within a match.

When it comes to betting on player props, these are some of the markets available with the UK’s top online bookmakers:

• Shots
• Shots on Target
• To be carded
• Passes – Over/under
• Tackles
• Fouls
• To be fouled
• Offsides

Not all bookmakers offer player props markets, however they are becoming more popular, and have proven to be a great market to bet on when it comes to betting on football.

Game Props

Game props are similar to player props, with the difference here being that the wagger is on game occurrences rather than individual players.

There are a wide range of game props available with all bookmakers, with these including:

• Corners – Over/Under
• Cards – Over/Under
• Shots
• Shots on Target
• Passes
• Offsides
• Free Kicks
• Thrown Ins
• Goal Kicks
• Which team will score first/last?
• Team to win from behind
• Team to score/miss a penalty

Game props mark another interesting method of betting on football. with both teams being able to contribute to the betting across the full 90 minutes.

Accumulator Markets

Accumulator betting is slightly more complicated than other types of betting, but still fairly easy to understand.

These allow players to combine multiple different individual bets together to form one bigger bet with higher odds.

Bettors can create accumulators involving several different matches, with some bookmakers even allowing a combination of bets from different sports.

An example of an accumulator bet will look something like this:

For this bet to win, all of the three teams listed will need to win their respective games, with this losing should any of these three teams fail to win.

Bet Builders

Bet Builders are another form of accumulator bet, with the difference here being that the legs included will come from the same game as opposed to multiple games.

These types of bets have become incredibly popular in recent years, as they allow players to compile a series of bets across a range of markets revolving around a single game.

All of the legs included within the bet are totted up, providing a higher overall price.

This can be done in any number of markets and selections, with most bookmakers having a dedicated Bet Builder menu within their single-game markets.

Results, total goals, game props and player props are all markets able to be included within a bet builder, with the markets offered to differ depending on which bookmaker you’re betting with.

Once chosen, the betslip may look something like this:

Some bookmakers even allow you to combine selections from multiple different games when creating a bet builder, adding another level of creativity to this already engaging market.

Half-Time/Full-Time

This is a really straightforward market, with punters just having to pick the result at both half-time and full-time mark in order to win.

For this market, the result listed first dictates what the bettor thinks the result will be at half-time

The result listed last dictating what they think the full-time result will be, with the betting for this usually looking something like:

Here, if the bet is on the Man City/Man City, then Man City must be ahead at half-time and win the whole match for this to win.

Should the bet be on Tie/Man City then the game must be level at half time, with City going on to win at the end of the 90.

If you’re betting on Man City/Man Utd, then you need Man City to be winning at half-time and Man United to win the match come full time for your bet to win/

Double Chance Markets

Double Chance are another easy-to-understand option, with this market letting players bet on two of the three possible outcomes of a match.

The odds for this will always be lower than the normal result markets, as an element of risk is mitigated by covering two of the three possible outcomes of the game.

The betting for this market will always look like:

If the bet is with Juventus or Draw, this will land if Juventus either win or draw the game outright.

Should a punter back AC Milan or Draw, the bet will land if Milan win or draws the game.

If the wager is on Juventus or AC Milan, your bet will land if either team wins the game, but will lose if the game ends in a draw.

Goalscorer Markets

Goalscorer markets are another extremely popular and simple market, with this seeing you bet on whether or not a player will score during the game.

Bettors can normally choose between every outfield player on the pitch, with them then able to bet on three different goalscorer options when doing so.

The options for this market will be ‘Anytime’, ‘First’ or ‘Last’ goalscorer, with the bet winning depending on if or when the players score.

The betting for this market will look something like:

For ‘Anytime’ goalscorer, the player just has to score at any point in the match for the bet to win.

For ‘First’ Goalscorer, the player must score the first goal in the match for the bet to win.

For ‘Last’ Goalscorer, the player must score the last goal in the match for the bet to win.

Correct Score Markets

This is a football betting market where players are attempting to predict the final score of the match.

All top UK bookmakers provide this market, with bettors simply just needing to correctly guess the correct score the game will end at.

The betting for this market will look something like this:

The bigger bookmakers will provide a more extensive selection of scores, with some even allowing players to bet on a huge range of scorelines.

Outright Markets

All top UK bookmakers will allow players to bet on outright markets when it comes to football, with these seeing bettors predict the outright winner of certain tournaments, competitions and awards.

In addition, players can also bet on other markets relating to relegation, transfers and manager sackings.

The markets most commonly offered are:

• Champions League Winner
• Premier League Winner
• Premier League – to be relegated
• FA Cup Winner
• League Cup Winner
• Europa League Winner
• Championship – to be promoted
• Next ‘Team’ Manager
• Next Manager to be Sacked
• ‘Player’ Next Club
• Tournament Golden Boot Winner
• Player of the Season Winner

These bets are long-term and can be placed at any point during the competition running time until the eventual outcome of the has been decided.

Outright winner bets are only paid out once the champion has been confirmed. This is done when they have mathematically won the league and cannot be caught by another team.

For relegation markets, bets will be settled once a team has been mathematically relegated and cannot escape the drop.

For bets relating to specific knockout tournaments, bets will be settled once the final has been played, or the team bet upon has been knocked out.

In-Play Betting

The top online bookmakers allow players to bet in-play on a huge range of football matches from around the world.

In-play betting, sometimes referred to as live betting, is the act of betting on games as they’re going on, with a number of new markets available compared to those offered pre-game.

To place these bets players simply have to access an online betting site or app, and check out which games are on at that particular moment.

Players then just need to find the selection they want and can then place their bet, with this bet normally taking a few seconds to go through.

When betting in-play, players are able to wager throughout the game whilst bookmakers update the odds for the markets on offer, with the prices reflecting how the game itself is playing out.

Some bookmakers also provide live streaming for a huge range of matches, with most bookmakers requiring a qualifying wager for the specific game for you to tune in.

Bookmakers will suspend in-play markets, usually indicated by a lock symbol or greyed-out odds. This means something has happened in the match, and they require time to calculate new odds or halt betting on certain markets for a short amount of time.

The top bookmakers will also provide specific in-play markets, with these normally including the likes of ‘Team to score next’ or ‘Player to score next’.

However, markets such as ‘total number of shots’ or ‘total number of corners’ will also be available with most sportsbooks, with the odds for these markets being decided depending on how many shots/corners have occurred already.

How to Bet on Football FAQs

What is the best way to bet on football?

There are loads of different ways to bet on football, with each possessing its own advantages and risks.

One of the most popular markets to bet on are ‘Full-Time Result’, ‘Both Teams to Score’ and ‘Goals Scored’.

Some methods are more susceptible to winning than others, like ‘Double Chance’ or ‘Handicap’ betting, as with these markets more than one result can cash as a winning bet, however the odds are generally lower.

Every bettor has their own preferred method of betting on football, with all of these methods having their respective benefits and drawbacks.

How do you bet on football in the UK?

All of the online UK bookmakers will allow punters to bet on football via their site or app, with a wide selection of matches and competitions available.

Simply sign up for a betting site/app, make a deposit, choose the market and place your bet.

Some provide more betting markets than others, with the likes of Unibet, bet365 and William Hill offering the most, with the markets offered varying depending on the bookmaker you’re using.

What happens to my bet if my player is substituted?

If a bet is placed on a player-specific market, such as ‘shots, ‘shots on target’ and the player is substituted, this will be settled as loss.

Some betting companies offer special promotions for substituted players that will void the bet if they are subbed off before a certain minute of the game, with the most common being half-time.

This is not available with all betting companies and some will vary the minute mark that voided bets will count up to.

It’s always worth checking as this can be extremely useful, especially given how common substitutions are.

The likes of bet365 and Paddy Power are often regarded as being the best when it comes to voiding bets placed on player-specific markets.

How do I make sure my football bet doesn’t lose?

There is no guaranteed way to make sure a bet doesn’t lose, as almost anything can happen when betting on football.

There are some ways of increasing the chances of winning, such as betting on selections with low odds. These are inherently more likely to occur, but they are sacrificing winnings as your payout will be lower.

Additionally, it’s always worth doing research before placing any bets. There are loads of free football statistics websites out there that can be used to inform your bets.

In addition to this, some bookmakers provide insightful stats and information that can also be utilised when deciding what markets to bet on.

Which odds are most likely to win?

The lower the odds of the bet, the more likely it is to win. For fractional bets, odds that are under evens have a higher probability of winning.

When it comes to decimal odds, markets between 1.00-1.99 are under evens and therefore more likely to win than those that are above evens.