Football is arguably the most popular sport in the world today. In fact, the Champions League final alone draws around 109 million television viewers.
Almost every country in Europe has a football league. The most popular of these leagues are:
Around 20 teams compete in each league, playing about 38 games a season. With so many matches, teams and players to bet on, this is like a year-round buffet for football betting fans!
Plus there are lots of European Football competitions, including:
Football bets are usually expressed in fractional odds. They usually look like:
| Home | Draw | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Barcelona v Manchester United | 1/4 | 1/2 | 4/1 |
Fractional odds or traditional odds quote the net total of your payout relative to your stake should you win the bet.
So if you are betting on FC Barcelona at odds of 1/4 (referred to as one-to-four or four-to-one on), you are risking €10.00 to win €2.50 (1/4 (fractional odds) X 10 (bet amount) = 2.50 (winnings)). If FC Barcelona wins, you get your €10.00 wager plus your €2.50 winnings for a total payout of €12.50.
Meanwhile, if you are betting on Manchester United at odds of 4/1 (known as four-to-one or four-to-one against), you are risking €40.00 to win €10.00. If Manchester United wins, you get your €40.00 wager plus your €10.00 winnings for a total payout of €50.00.
What makes football different and more exciting from betting on other sports is the option to bet on the draw or tie. In the example above, if you are betting on the Draw at 1/2, you are risking €10.00 to win €5.00. If the match ends in a Draw, 0-0 or 1-1 for example, you get your €10.00 wager plus your €5.00 winnings for a total payout of €15.00.
Another popular bet on football is the bet on total goals scored for a particular match. This usually looks like:
| Under 2.5 5/4 |
| Over 2.5 8/13 |
If you are betting on Under 2.5 at 5/4, you are risking €10.00 to win €12.50. If the total score at the end of the match is two or fewer, you win the bet. You get your €10.00 wager plus €12.50 winnings for a total payout of €22.50.
Meanwhile, if you are betting on Over 2.5 at 8/13, you are risking €10.00 to win €6.15. If the total score at the end of the match is three or more, you win the bet. You get your original €10.00 wager plus your €6.15 winnings for a total payout of €16.15.
Others may show football bets in decimal odds. Decimal odds quote the total payout relative to your stake should you win the bet. Don't worry, this is just another representation of the fractional odds discussed above. So don't be surprised if you see:
| Home | Draw | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Barcelona v Manchester United | 1.25 | 1.5 | 5 |
If you are betting €10.00 on Barcelona at 1.25, you are risking €10.00 to win €12.50 (1.25 (decimal odds) X 10 (bet amount) = 12.50) as your total payout.
Meanwhile, if you are betting €10.00 on Manchester United at 5, you are risking €10.00 to win €50.00 as your total payout.
If you are betting €10.00 on the Draw at 1.5, you are risking €10.00 to win a total payout of €15.00.
Bets on total goals scored can also be expressed in decimal odds. These may look like:
| Under 2.5 2.25 |
| Over 2.5 1.61 |
If you are betting on Under 2.5 at 2.25, you are risking €10.00 to win €22.50 as your total payout.
Meanwhile, if you are betting on Over 2.5 at 1.61, you are risking €10.00 to win €16.15 as your total payout
Other sites show Football bets in American odds. These odds are called Money Line and may look like:
| FC Barcelona | -190 |
| Draw | +200 |
| Manchester United | +300 |
If you're betting on FC Barcelona, you are risking €19.00 to win €10.00. If FC Barcelona wins the match, you get your €19.00 wager plus your €10.00 winnings for a total payout of €29.00
On the other hand, if you're betting on Manchester United, you stand to earn €30.00 for every €10.00 wagered. If Manchester United wins the match you get your €10.00 wager plus your €30.00 winnings for a total payout of €40.00.
If you're betting on the draw, you stand to earn €20.00 for every €10.00 wagered. So if the match ends on a draw, you get your €10.00 plus your €20.00 winnings for a total payout of €30.00.
Here's another example of Money Line football odds:
| Real Madrid | +130 |
| Draw | +220 |
| Valencia | +180 |
In the above example, both Real Madrid and Valencia are underdogs. This will never happen in baseball or basketball, because only football matches can end in a tie.
Another example of football odds may look like:
| Spread | Line | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | -1 -135 | -250 | O: 2½ (-120) |
| Bayer Leverkusen | +1 +115 | +750 | U: 2½ (+110) |
If you're betting on Chelsea's Spread or Point Spread, you are risking €13.50 to win €10.00. If Chelsea wins the match by two goals, you get your €13.50 wager plus your €10.00 winnings for a total payout of €23.50.
On the other hand, if you're betting Bayer Leverkusen's Spread, you stand to earn €15.00 for every €10.00 wagered. If Bayer Leverkusen wins the match you get your €10.00 wager plus your €15.00 winnings for a total payout of €25.00.
Meanwhile, if you are betting on Chelsea's Money Line, you are risking €25.00 to win €10.00. If Chelsea wins the match, regardless of the number of goals scored, you get your €25.00 wager plus your €10.00 winnings for a total payout of €35.00.
If you are betting on Bayer Leverkusen's Line, you are risking €10.00 to win €75.00. If Bayer Leverkusen wins the match, you get your €15.00 wager plus your €75.00 winnings for a total payout of €85.00.
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Meanwhile, betting on the Total has two options - Over or Under. If you are betting on Over 2½ goals, you are risking €12.00 to win €10.00. If the match ends with the Total goal scored at three or more, you get your €12.00 wager plus your €10.00 winnings for a total payout of €22.00.
If you are betting Under 2½ goals, you are risking €10.00 to win €11.00. If the match ends with the total score at two or fewer, you get your €10.00 wager plus your €11.00 winnings for a payout of €21.00.
Aside from the usual Fraction, Decimal, Money Line, Point Spread and Totals Bets, football offers a lot of Proposition Bets as well. Bets like which team will score first or which team will be ahead by half-time. Football Proposition Bets may also include the total number of goals a player may score or the number of yellow cards given in a match. There's even a bet on the number of corners a team will take.
Just like the other bets above, Proposition bets can be expressed in either Fractional, Decimal or American odds.
Truly, betting on football is extremely exciting. There are lots of teams to follow, matches to choose from and wagers to bet on. But just like in any sport, you need to do your homework to be successful at betting on football.
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