Online Soccer Betting Explained

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Updated on: January 7th, 2025

Soccer is undeniably the most popular sport in the world with an estimated 3.5 billion fans tuning in to watch games on a regular basis. Thus, it is unsurprising that soccer betting reigns supreme at many online gambling sites focused on sports. With over 200 professional leagues spread out across the world, there always seems to be a soccer match to bet on.

Some of the leagues that draw the biggest betting interest include the English Premier League (EPL), the Italian Serie A, the Spanish La Liga, the German Bundesliga, and Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. Tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro Cup are even more popular because of their quadrennial nature.

With the sport being as big as it is, there are so many types of wagers available at online sportsbooks that aren’t available on other sports. Some examples include double chance and Asian handicapping. The nature of gambling really goes much further than predicting who will win the match after 90 minutes of play.

If you would like to find out more about how soccer betting works, stick around. Below we go through all you need to know to start gambling. This includes:

  • How to bet on sport
  • An explanation of lines and odds
  • General tips and strategies
  • A list of the best leagues to bet on

So, read on and begin betting on the beautiful game today!

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How to Bet on Soccer

Soccer betting is no different from wagering on any other team sports. For the most part, it uses many of the same lines but also offers more. If you are unsure of how to sports betting works at all, here is a step-by-step guide for placing your first bet on a soccer match.

  • Step 1 – Sign up at an online sports betting site.
  • Step 2 – Deposit the funds into your account.
  • Step 3 – Choose the match want to bet on.
  • Step 4 – Select a line. For example, would you like to bet on the winner, or how many goals will be scored in the match in total. Make sure you understand the rules governing each bet as you could make mistakes if you don’t.
  • Step 5 – Confirm your bet and wait for the result.

Best Soccer Betting Sites

Soccer Betting Lines Explained

Now, that you understand the general process of placing a bet, you need to understand how different types of soccer bets work.

1×2 Bet or 3-Way Moneyline

While this type of moneyline bet is available on other sports, it is most commonly associated with soccer. This is because there are three potential outcomes in every soccer match; either one of the two teams will win the match or the game ends in draw.

In many other sports, if a draw is reached at the end of full time, an overtime period is added on so a winner can be decided. Examples include hockey and basketball but some sportsbooks have begun offering 3-Ways on those sports too.

3-Way bets on sports that feature extra time periods, work in the same way that knockout tournament soccer matches would. The bet is placed on the result of the game in regular time. The result of the match after the extra period is void. So,

Double Chance

As indicated in our 3-Way Moneyline explanation, soccer is a game where three different outcomes are possible in a single game. This makes it harder for you to win a bet on a single match. To entice more people to place wagers on the sport, many sportsbooks offer a bet that allows you to wager on two possible outcomes at a single time. This is known as a double chance bet.

For example, let’s say you are betting on match between Manchester United and Liverpool. Betting options may include a win for Manchester United OR Liverpool, a win for Manchester United OR a draw and a win for Liverpool OR a draw.

You get two chances to win but the trade off is lower odds. We don’t really recommend placing a single double chance but they are a good way to increase your odds in parlays.

Handicaps or Point Spreads

Some bettors get a bit confused with soccer betting terminology because different terms are used for the point spread bet in Europe and Australia. So, to clear it all up, a point spread is also known as a handicap or line bet.

In handicap bets, the sportsbook set a favorite and an underdog. They then set a line that they expect the favorite to win by. You can then bet on whether the favorite will “beat” the spread (meaning win by more goals that predicted) or the underdog will cover (lose by fewer goals than expected or even win the game).

Many sportsbooks also offer Asian handicap odds on soccer matches. This form of spread betting differs a little from traditional bets in that they may feature increments of half or quarter goals due to the low scoring nature of the game.

Totals or Over Under

With these bets, you try to predict the total number of goals scored in a match will be over or under a line set by the sportsbooks. The goals scored by both teams are tallied together to reach the line so it doesn’t really matter who wins the match.

So, for example, let’s say that a sportsbook has set the line for a match at 2.5 goals. All this means is that the match needs to feature three goals for an over to be successful and less than three goals for an under to be successful.

A total in soccer is a pretty hard prediction. As soccer is a low scoring sport and very unpredictable, we don’t recommend pacing two many of these bets unless you are an experienced bettor.

Futures or Outrights

A future (also known as an outright) is a bet placed on the winner of tournament long before the final game of the season is played. An example of this could be placing a bet on Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champion’s League before the group stage of the tournament even kicks off.

These bets offer great payouts but are very hard to guess correctly. Even if you were to place them halfway through the season, there is no way to account for injuries or dips in form. So, we don’t recommend that you spend too much money on futures.

Props

Prop bets are focused on event rather than the outcome of the game. You attempt to predict whether or not a certain event will take place in a match. For example, in a game involving Barcelona, you can bet on whether Lionel Messi will score.

It doesn’t matter whether Barcelona wins the match, as long as Messi scores in the game, you will be paid out.

Best Soccer Betting Tips

Sports betting is a game of chance, so there is no way of ensuring you win every bet you place. That said, as far gambling goes, it is one that involves some level of skill and research. So, it is possible for you to improve your odds to a certain extent. Here are some tips that may help you make better soccer bets:

  • Do not bet on the team you support. The reason for this is that you may sometimes be blinded by your love for the team and make dumb bets. If your team was just saved from relegation last year, they probably won’t be winning the Premier League next year (unless they’re Leicester City).
  • Soccer (particularly European leagues) can be quite predictable and this doesn’t make for good odds. Moneylines involving a heavy favorite never pay out well, so we recommend looking at making spread or total bets instead.
  • Do not bet on too many teams on a single ticket. While parlays can be fun, they are very hard to win. So, we recommend rather separating the ticket and placing multiple single wagers using the minimum bet.
  • Take soccer bet predictions that you find online with a grain of salt. Remember that anyone can write a blog and publish it online; it doesn’t mean that they are an expert. Rather follow blogs or social media profiles with tips and keep record of the result of their bets to see if they are any good.

Soccer Betting Odds Explained

If you have never placed a sports bet before, odds can seem very intimidating. However, you need to understand how to read them in order to know how much you could potentially win with a bet. Luckily, they aren’t as scary as they appear to be.

Essentially, there are three types of odds systems, each popular in a different market. Here is how each of them works:

  • Moneyline/American Odds – this is the odds system used in the United States. Odds are denoted with a plus or minus sign in front of the favorite. Depending on the sign in from of the number, you use one of these two formulas to calculate your winnings:
    • Plus – Odds x (Stake/100)
    • Minus – (100/Odds) x Stake
  • Decimal – this is the odds system most commonly used at European and Australian sportsbooks. A decimal is displayed next to the line and you multiply your stake by it in order to determine your total winnings.
  • Fractional – this is the most popular system in the United Kingdom. To calculate your potential winnings with these odds, you can use the following formula: ((Stake /denominator) x numerator) + stake.

Soccer Betting FAQs

How do you bet soccer?

All you need to do is sign up to a sportsbook, select a line, and confirm your bet. There really is nothing more to it.

Which is the best soccer betting site?

Our favorite is Intertops because they offer great odds and a wide variety of lines. At some betting sites, only a single over/under option will be set, while at Intertops you have a number of lines available to you.

What is 3 way betting in soccer?

So, in soccer, a draw is a very possible match outcome, which means a standard win/lose moneyline won’t be able to be applied to matches. The sportsbook would have to pay your bet back every time a game ended in a draw.

So, to fix this, they created 3-way moneylines or 1×2 bets. These are bets that allow you to bet on a Team A win, Team B win, or a draw. They’re harder to win, so usually they offer better payouts.

Where can I bet on soccer in USA?

You can bet on soccer at the following sites:

  • Intertops
  • Bovada
  • XBet
  • BetOnline.ag
  • SportsBetting.ag
  • MyBookie
  • SportBet
  • GT Bets
  • WagerWeb
  • BetNow

What are the best strategies for betting on soccer?

We think that sticking to a few teams in a single league is the best way to approach soccer betting. We know that the sport provides bettors with innumerable betting options, but you will only lose money by betting on games involving teams you don’t know in a league that you have never heard of.

What is the best site for soccer predictions?

Well, the soccer betting Reddit provides some good options for people to share and comment on other bettors’ wagers. We also post soccer bet predictions in our blog from time to time, so we recommend checking that out too.

Is there a 100% risk free football betting system?

Unfortunately, there is not. Well, unless you are betting on fixed games, that is. Gambling is always going to be based on chance, so there is a chance that you will win and a chance that you won’t. If you could predict every twist and turn in a soccer match, the game wouldn’t be worth watching.