How to bet on soccer: Soccer might not be as popular as other major sports in the United States but, thanks to tons of leagues, teams, players and games, it’s an amazing sport to gamble on. The truth is that worldwide, more people bet on soccer than any other sport.
What with soccer tournaments like the World Cup, the Champions League, the European Championship, and then leagues like Spain’s La Liga, the English Premier League, the Seria A, the Bundesliga, and now the MLS in the United States itself, there are just tons of soccer games to place a bet on.
Of course one of the greatest best in soccer of all-time happened just a few years ago in the English Premier League with Leicester City’s 5,000-1 title victory. A long shot of a long short that will surely never happen again, right…
Also see our article one Soccer Betting Tips. Below are the main ways to bet on soccer.
Of course there are plenty of prop bets you can make if you want to bet on soccer too. Prop bets like will there be a penalty kick or if a certain player will score or get a yellow card. Not sure if there’s a prop bet on who will have the most possession of the ball, the highest percentage, but that would be a fun prop bet in soccer.
For people in the United States there are tons of ways to bet on soccer and we’re going to explain the most popular ones right now, step by step. So, let’s get started with how to bet on soccer:
SOCCER BETTING ODDS
Soccer betting odds are shown in different ways depending on where you are but in the US, sportsbooks usually show them in American Odds
Getting a good handle on the odds right away is important because they’re used in all the main bets we’re going to cover in the next sections
American odds are expressed as a three-digit number with either a plus or a minus sign in front of it.
Here are some simple rules for reading odds.
The team with the negative odds is the favorite.
The negative number tells you how much you have to bet to win $100 in profit.
So if you bet $150 on a team with odds of -150, your payout would be $250 total, that’s $100 in profit plus your original $150 bet.
The plus sign, on the other hand, tells you which team is the underdog.
It also tells you how much profit you’ll make for every $100 you bet.
If you bet $100 on a team with odds of +200, for example, the payout would be $300 total, $200 in profit plus your original $100 bet.
Now let’s look at how odds are used in the most popular soccer bets.
2-WAY AND 3-WAY MONEYLINES
Moneylines in soccer work pretty much the same way as in other sports except with soccer, you also have the option of betting on the final result being a tie.
Bets where you can bet on either team to win, or on a tie, are called three-way moneylines.
Bets where you can only pick which team’s going to win are called two-way moneylines and some sites call them “draw no bet” which means the bet is refunded if the game ends in a tie.
It’s also important to remember that unless it specifically says otherwise, moneylines are only for regular time. Overtime, shootouts or golden goals don’t usually count in moneyline bets.
In all these different bets each outcome has odds attached to it. The odds work just like we explained earlier.
If Manchester United and Crystal Palace are playing each other, for example, a three-way moneyline might look something like this.
Manchester United -250
Draw +365
Crystal Palace +630
You can tell by the odds that Man U is a big favorite to win.
-250 means you’d have to bet $250 on Man U just to win $100 in profit.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, is a big underdog and if you bet $100 on them to win, you’d pocket $630 in profit.
Betting $100 on a draw would earn you $365 in profit.
SOCCER OVER/UNDERS
Another really popular soccer bet is called an over/under and unlike a moneyline, it’s got nothing to do with which team wins the game.
Sometimes called a goal line, or a totals bet, over/unders are all about how many total goals will be scored in the game by both teams combined.
First the sportsbook chooses how many total goals they think will be scored and then you have to bet on whether you think the actual result will be over or under the sportsbook’s line.
If the goal line is 2.5, for example, and you take the over, you’re hoping both teams score a combined total of at least three goals. If you bet the under, you’re hoping the total is two goals or less.
When you see goal lines you’ll also notice that the over and under bets each have odds which work just like we explained in our earlier examples.
Another thing to remember is that just like moneylines, over/unders in soccer usually don’t include extra time like shootouts or sudden death.
Finally, if the goal line is a whole number, like 3 for example, Over and Under bets will be a push if the actual total lands right on the line. In that case your entire bet is refunded.
FULL SOCCER BETTING GUIDE ON WSN.COM
Betting on a team to win, and taking the over or under on a totals bet are two of the most popular soccer wagers, but it doesn’t end there.
From props to live bets to parlays, there are tons of other options for betting on soccer.
To learn more about all of them, plus powerful tips and strategies, check out the full soccer betting guide, available for free on WSN.com.
Thanks for watching and good luck. Hopefully this how to bet on soccer was helpful for you.
