Practically every bookmaker you use offers all sorts of soccer betting options, so there is plenty of choice out there, available to you. However, not all of them offer equal services. So, when reviewing all the different sites, we look at all aspects of the site, including different soccer betting markets, competitive odds, free bets and offers as well as overall site usability, the quality of the mobile app, customer services and its licenses and regulations.
As such, we have found the top three soccer betting sites to be:
TAB AU
This is a top Australian bookmaker, famous for the number of sports, markets and soccer events available to bet on, from all the local leagues to the biggest tournaments around the world, including the World Cup. This bookmaker also has excellent customer service.
SportsBet
SportsBet is a bookmaker that has some of the best odds, best promos and soccer offers available for its customers. They also offer all different bet types and markets for soccer, including half time/full time betting, first teams to score, goalscorer bets, winner and loser bets and soccer handicap betting.
B Bet
The B Bet bookmaker offers a huge variety of the best odds for soccer games all across the world, but B Bet focuses on the whole package. Not only does it offer great soccer betting, but it is also a safe and secure sports betting website on which to place a bet, with links to gambling help sites to encourage all of its customers to gamble responsibly.
What We Look for in Soccer Betting Sites
Finding the site which is best for soccer betting isn’t just searching to see the best value odds for the most popular games. There are a number of aspects we look at including:
- The variety of soccer markets. Aside from simple winner/loser bets, soccer/football betting sites should allow all punters access to handicap bets, over/under 2. 5 goals, first teams to score etc.
- The site should offer tournaments and leagues from any location around the world, not just the Australian A League, but also the Premier League in the United Kingdom, Serie A in Italy, the Champions League and other popular global leagues, as well as tournaments such as The World Cup and Euros.
- There should be value betting odds across the board, not just for the main games and matches, but also for the lesser-known competitions and underdogs.
- The bookmakers should offer excellent customer service. Things don’t always go right, and if there should be something that goes wrong, punters should have access to help at all times.
- Links to a gambling help website. Although betting is fun, it can become an addiction. The recommended bookmakers should always encourage their punters to gamble responsibly.
- Plenty of other sports betting offers. Bookmakers should offer its punters variety. That doesn’t mean just soccer betting but also plenty of other sports. They should have the chance to place a bet on other popular sports such as AFL, cricket, racing and more.
The Most Popular Soccer Betting Markets
Many new punters on soccer/football betting sites will stick to match betting as their preferred way of betting. This simply involves betting on the match winner or loser. However, there are plenty of other markets available now, which could include betting on half time/full time scores, the first teams to score, over/under 2. 5 goals, handicap bets, Asian handicaps and more. There are also a number player markets as well, such as first goalscorer and top goalscorer. You can also find special bets such as the number of red cards, number of corners, penalties etc. Now, at most bookmakers, you can place a bet on whatever you want.
Match Result 1×2 Betting
This is the most common way to bet. You are simply betting on who will be the winner at the full-time whistle. Unlike a number of other sports, you have three options when betting on the full time result. Whether the home team wins, whether the away team wins or whether it will be a draw. This is generally the most popular market for those punters new to soccer betting. Generally, the advantage goes with the team playing at home, and unless you know otherwise, and if all else is equal between the teams, experts generally suggest putting your bet on the team playing at home.
Double Chance Soccer Bets
This does what it says, and gives you double the chance of winning your bet. However, because your chance of winning is double, your odds will be lower. The risk is always reflected in the reward – lower risks, lower reward. Here, you can choose to bet on two of the three outcomes – so, you could bet on either the home team winning or a draw. Your chance of success is then 2/3. However, with such low odds, this is generally not the best football/soccer betting option.
Half Time/Full Time Bets
Because this poses more risk than simple full time bets, this is a way for you to get a greater reward. Generally, punters that have more experience tend to opt for these bets. Usually, predicting the outright winner of a match isn’t that difficult, but getting the half time and full time result is tougher. Some teams have difficult starts and make good comebacks, so if there is a comeback, you will get great odds. Betting on a team losing the first half and winning full time will give you the best value odds.
Goals Odd/Even Bets
This is simply guess work. It’s a fifty-fifty chance and as such, the odds reflect this. Punters simply place their bets on whether they think the goal tally will be an odd or even number. This isn’t a skilful bet. If you want a bit of fun, or to add an extra leg to your multi bets, then maybe have a go, but serious punters with a betting strategy tend to stay clear.
Over/Under Bets
This is another goal betting market, but it takes more skill than betting on odd/even. You simply place your bet on whether you think the goal tally will be over a set number. Generally, most soccer/football betting sites will set the bar at 2. 5. So, you decide whether you think the number of goals scored in the match will be over 2.5 or under. If you bet on under, you will win your bet if the score is 0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 or 0-2. Any other score and you will lose. You will need to use your knowledge of the teams for this. Are they defensive teams or attacking teams? Teams with strong attacks will have higher goal tallies, teams with stronger defence will have lower goal tallies.
Both Teams to Score Bets (BTTS)
This again is a 50-50 bet. Do you think both teams will score or not? Again, because it is a simple yes or no bet, the odds reflect this. However, this is a bet that you can use with over/under bets. So, for example, you can bet on over 2. 5 goals and both teams to score. By putting the two markets together, you create more risk, so better odds.
This often isn’t as simple as it seems. The Premier League is home to some very high scoring teams, such as Manchester United and Arsenal. Generally, if these teams were playing, you would put a bet on both teams to score. However, if their strong defences cancel out the opposing attack, it can create a surprisingly low scoring game. It is best to use stats and see the pattern in past games.
Specials
Generally, punters can have more fun on specials. Many soccer/football betting sites want to make football or soccer betting more exciting, to build up their customer community. As such, they will offer you the chance to put a bet on whether there will be any penalties in the 90 minutes or whether the match will go to penalties in major tournaments like the World Cup and Champions League games. Will a player miss a penalty? Who will be the penalty taker? You can put a bet on red cards and yellow cards, as well as corners and free kicks. You can put special bets on tournaments such as whether a team will win by one goal or five goals. You can also bet on how many goals will be scored… whether a player will score one goal, two goals or even get a hat-trick. The more specials a punter has access to, the better.
The great thing about special bets is that they all work fantastically in the build a bet or BetBuilder options offered by many bookmakers now. So, instead of simply betting on Manchester United beating Arsenal. You can bet on Manchester United beating Arsenal by one goal, with Rashford scoring the first goal by penalty before half time. This adds much more depth to the bet, makes it a lot riskier and gives much better odds. Obviously, you need to either have access to expert betting tips or know your stuff to be successful with these bets.
Types of Soccer Bets
Soccer/Football is much more popular in other countries across the world and is still playing catch up in Australia. However, even in Australia, there are different types of bets you can make – game/match bets and future bets. Match betting depends on the outcome of one specific match, whereas futures betting depends on the outcome of a league or tournament.
In-game match bets often include the markets mentioned above. You can bet on any event that happens in one specific match. Most bookmakers excel at this now and you will find plenty of options available, to make those 90 minutes of football/soccer action even more exciting.
Future Bets
Slightly different from the match bets, bookmakers often offer futures bets. Because you place your bets way in advance, the odds can be very attractive. The earlier you place your bet, the better odds you get. If you place a bet on the winner of a tournament, the closer you get to the final, the more the odds will drop.
Outright Winners Bet – League / Tournament Winners
This is a very popular bet to make at the start of a tournament or league season. Many opt for these bets when it comes to World Cup betting or Champions League betting. Punters simply stake their bets on who they think will win the entire tournament or league. This is a long term bet and you may need to wait for an entire season to settle your bet.
This type of bet works perfectly on European football tournaments, such as the Champions League. There will always be the favourites at the start, but often, for some reason, bookmakers give them favourable odds near the start of the tournament. This is the perfect time to stake your bet on them. Because many punters opt to put a bet on a more immediate result, they often do so in order to attract more custom on the outright markets.
Group Winner Bet
In each tournament, whether it be the Champions League or World Cup, there are group stages before the knockout stages start. This is simply a bet on who you think will win the group. Often, there are standout teams. However, sometimes there will be two teams who have a very similar chance of winning. Because of this, you will often get better odds for Group Winner bets as opposed to Qualifying bets.
To Qualify Bet
This is where you place a bet on whether you think a team will qualify for a specific tournament or next stage. So, in the English Premier League, you can stake a bet on whether you think Team A will finish in the top 4 of the table and qualify for the Champions League. Or, you could bet on whether you think a national team will make it through the World Cup group stage to qualify for the knockout stages. These are often not as generous as other bet types, especially when it comes to group qualifying bets, as often the teams that will reach the knockout stages of a tournament are quite obvious before the matches even begin. It is generally quite clear that countries such as Germany, France and Brazil will qualify for the World Cup knockout stages.
Handicap Betting
If there are two teams playing and Team A is much stronger than Team B, then the odds won’t be worth your stake. To even it out, bookmakers will give the stronger team a handicap. So, Team A could go in with a (-2) Handicap. This means that they would go into the match 2 goals down and would therefore need to win by three goals to win the bet.
Asian Handicap Betting
Asian handicap works almost the same as handicap, apart from with no option for a draw. You can use Asian Handicap bets for full time bets, half time bets and more. Generally, more experienced sports betting experts opt for Asian Handicap betting as they are more complicated and are riskier. If you are new to using soccer betting sites, this is something to work up to.
Spread Betting
Spread betting is similar to handicap betting. The main difference, though, is that there are no fixed odds, fixed stakes or payouts. Your winnings will be calculated by the accuracy of your predictions. So, soccer/football fans betting on a match between Liverpool and Arsenal might predict or 2.5 goals. If you bet $20 on the result, and there are 4 goals, then your winnings will be worked out as follows: 4-2.5 = 1.5; 1.5 x 20 = 30. Therefore, you would win $30. This is more complicated than a handicap, so again its best to leave to more experienced punters
Soccer Betting Strategies
Soccer/Football betting is very in-depth and there are plenty of strategies to help punters make a winning bet.
Betting on the Underdog. Often match odds for underdogs can be tempting because the bookmaker will offer very generous odds. However, this is because often there is very little chance of the soccer team winning. However, on occasion, there are times when betting on the underdog is wise. It depends on the importance of the matches, the matches both have played recently. There are some occasions where underdogs stand more chance, so research is vital. Rivalry matches also are more likely to offer upsets.
People often enjoy live betting on matches as a strategy – especially if the favourites go a goal down, as the bookmaker will offer better odds on the win. Live betting is also a good way to hedge your bets if you stake a pre-match bet and you can see it isn’t working.
Getting Started
Soccer Betting Tips and Hints from the Experts
One of the ways people start their soccer betting journey is by getting betting tips and hints from experts. This is helpful if you are new to the sport as well as betting. However, always follow your own judgement.
Finding Top Soccer Betting Odds
When betting on soccer games, the best way to get a value win is by looking for the bookmaker offering the most competitive odds. All Australian bookmakers offer odds on soccer, but it’s just a matter of looking around the site to see who offers the most value. If one bookmaker continually offers slightly better value odds over several soccer games, then your original stake will earn you more money. Over several matches, this will build up. So, it’s always an idea to belong to more than one bookmaker so you can see which of the betting sites offers the best odds for your stake. That’s the best way to make the most out of soccer/football betting.
Accessing Live Streaming and Live Soccer Betting
One of the most exciting ways to bet on soccer is with live betting. It is normally bigger betting sites that offer soccer/football live streaming, such as Unibet, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Tab AU and Betway. This is the perfect tool to use to add extra excitement to the game. Live streaming allows you to put a stake on what you think will happen in the game as it happens. You can stake live streaming bets on plenty of different markets, such as the football team to score next, who will get the football player of the match and more.
The Best Soccer Leagues Around the World
There are plenty of soccer/football leagues in different locations over the world, that every betting website in Australia offers odds on. One of the best things about betting on soccer/football, is the variety of world leagues, tournaments and markets. Here are the most popular…
A-League, Australia
This is the biggest league in Australia and all football/soccer betting websites will offer odds and markets on any A League game. Most top international sites, such as Unibet, Betfair, Ladbrokes and Betway will also offer A League live streaming.
Premier League, United Kingdom
This is the most popular league in the world and is home to the world’s biggest teams such as Arsenal., Liverpool, Manchester United etc. Pretty much any Premier League game will be offered on any top bookmaker and there will be hundreds of markets available for each game.
Other top leagues and markets in Europe include Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga, all available on any good bookmaker in Australia.