Guide to UK Football Betting
The sports betting market in the UK can only be described as expansive and dynamic. It has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade and shows no signs of slowing down. Proof of this is the more than £4.45 billion the industry generated in 2021.
Although the best bookmakers support many sports, football is easily one of the most popular. It receives millions of bets yearly, and when large tournaments such as the FA Cup or Premier League matches occur, the wagers increase significantly.
For experienced bettors, jumping feet first into a wager is no problem. However, newcomers to the pastime may quickly feel overwhelmed by the multitude of football betting options available.
To help simplify the process for new (and even older) punters, we’ve compiled a guide to UK football betting. If you’re considering placing a wager, read on to see what you should look out for before you put your money where your mouth is.
Where to Bet
One of the first and most vital decisions to make is where to place your bet, as the UK has more than 6,000 physical bookmaker shops to choose from as of 2022.
In addition, UK punters have access to a myriad of online sports books that make it simple to place a bet from anywhere. Some of these betting websites are even operated by the same companies running the physical counterparts they are attracting customers away from.
Convenience
No physical bookmaker can compete with the convenience of placing a quick bet online, but this doesn’t mean all online sportsbooks are created equally. When looking for a quality site to place bets on, check which of its features will offer you the best convenience and additional options.
Odds
Like in any market, suppliers offer varying items, costs, and warranties. With betting, this is no different. The odds of a specific match may change from one sportsbook to another.
Therefore, always look for a sportsbook that offers the optimal odds for the kind of bet you want to place. Doing this can help you in the long run if your prediction proves accurate (or even if it doesn’t).
Once you’ve settled on a sportsbook, the next important step is deciding when to place your bet. Many think this is straightforward—you place your bet before the game begins and lock it in before the betting window is closed. However, things today aren’t that straightforward.
With the advent of live in-play betting, it is now possible to place a bet at varying times. This has opened a newer and more exciting market that offers bigger thrills and (if you get it right) more significant rewards.
Therefore, check to see if your preferred bookmaker allows live betting before placing your bet. If so, carefully consider the options available to decide whether you want to get your wagers in beforehand or if you’d like to engage in the intensity of live punting.
After deciding where and when you’re comfortable spending your money, you need to choose the correct bet type to place. Although most sportsbooks offer most types of football bets, some are only offered by specific bookmakers. Therefore, if you’re looking to place a specific type of wager, you’ll need to pay attention to ensure your chosen bookmaker supports it.
For football fans, there is no shortage of options, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most popular bet types include:
Match betting wagers are the simplest form. Essentially, you must decide if the teams will have a home win or loss. Alternatively, you can select if the match will be a draw, either at home or while playing away.
Handicap bets allow you to select a particular handicap for the final score of a specific team. A positive handicap (represented by +) will add the chosen handicap to the final score. For instance, if the final score between two teams is 1-1, but the one team has a handicap bet of +1, the final score will be paid out based on a result of 2-1.
Likewise, a negative handicap bet (-) will remove a certain number from the final score.
Over/under bets are simple to understand. These operate with the baseline given by your sportsbook. Usually, the baseline a bookmaker provides will be in fractional terms (e.g. 1.5). To win a bet against this line, you’ll need to accurately predict whether the final score will be over or under this line.
In this example, an under bet would mean that you’d need to predict a single goal that will occur during the game. An over bet would mean that two goals must be scored to win.
One of the most challenging types of bets to predict is correct score betting. Using this bet type, you’ll need to predict what the score will be at the end of the match. Because these can vary drastically depending on the teams playing, the price on these types of bets can also differ broadly, particularly from one sportsbook to another.
However, the benefit to this type of bet is that it can pay off big, primarily when used as an accumulator bet over a series of games rather than just on a single game.
Relatively new compared to other bet types, BTTS-type bets have become massively popular in the UK. Both teams will need to score at least one goal to win this type of bet. If they manage to do this, you’ll win regardless of the final score.
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