How to Gamble on Football

If you are thinking about placing a gamble football bet on your favourite team, or you want to lay down some money to predict the outcome of a very important football match, you will need to understand how to gamble on football games.

As with any other form of gambling, football bets can be a little complex and difficult to understand if you are not used to them – there are a number of betting options for you to choose from, and this can be very confusing for a novice gamble football better.

Options For Betting

Following are the main betting options available if you want to gamble on a football match (these options may differ, depending on the individual betting shop and this list may not be exhaustive of all betting options available);

Match bets

• 45 minute bet
• no/90 minute bet

Qualify bets

• half time or full time bet
• match handicap bet
• double chance bet
• correct score bet
• first, anytime or last goal scorer bet
• total goals bet
• first half/second half goals bet
• home/away goal bet
• time of first goal bet
• which half most goals bet
• first/last team to score bet
• shirt selection bet (yes really!)
• bookings bet
• total number of corners bet.

As you can see that's a long list of ways you can try to second guess what's going to happen.

What Odds Do You Get?

The gamble football odds that you are able to get (i.e.. the amount that you will win back if your prediction is correct) will differ, depending on the kind of bet that you place and also the time and date when you place it.

Odds will generally ‘shift’ over time, as betting companies (also referred to as ‘bookies’) try to make their own predictions in an effort to save on payouts i.e.. if an event is deemed as being more likely to happen, the odds will naturally be lower, therefore the bookies will be less likely to have to pay out large amounts of money to betting customers.

An Example Bet

For illustration purposes only, here is an example of a typical football bet. A match bet allows you to place a bet on the following scenarios; the home team to win the match, the away team to win the match or for the match to end in a draw (an equal score for both teams). On completion of the scheduled match (90 minutes) – the market will pay out any ‘winners’. However, you should be aware that if you are betting on a cup match and the result is a draw at the end of 90 minutes, the match will go into extra time. If the team that you predicted then go on to win in extra time, you will not be paid (the bet only runs until the official end of the 90 minutes). It is therefore very important to read the small print before you place a bet.

Understanding Odds

Many people may want to gamble on a football match, but they might not understand the word ‘odds’ and what it means. So how exactly do ‘odds’ work? Here is an example of a fairly simple football bet; you place a bet for Football Team 1 to win against Football Team 2 at odds of 1/2. If you placed a bet (‘stake’) of £10 and your team won the match - you would win £5 plus you would have your original £10 stake returned. Therefore, your total return would be £15 (1 ÷ 2 = 0.5 x £10 stake = a £5 ‘win’).

It is very important to fully understand gambling rules before you place a bet, so if you are unsure as to how a bet works, always research your options. It is also advisable to research your intended betting company carefully before you place any bets with them – try to stick to well-known bookies if possible.