There are a lot of opportunities for people who enjoy casual betting and gambling nowadays. Online casinos and sportsbooks can be accessed from almost any device, including smartphones and tablets. And if you need help finding licensed sites, this website will be of great use as it offers great reviews of the best casinos in the English speaking world.

Betting makes the game more interesting

If you are a sports fan, you might find that betting on sports makes the games a lot more interesting to watch. Some of us get thrilled and excited when we’re watching sports anyways and just think how that feeling will be boosted by an opportunity to earn some money. Betting on soccer is not very difficult and you’ll surely find it amusing if you enjoy watching soccer games.

It can be quite lucrative

Some people got quite lucky and earned amazing amounts of money on soccer bets. One Australian, for example, won over $200,000 with a $50 bet and, who knows, maybe you’ll be the next lucky winner. But, in order to win you must first place a wager and if you want to do that, you’ll need to learn the basics of soccer betting. And that is exactly what we aim to do here.

Very important betting rules

First, you’ll always need to follow a set of simple, yet very essential tips. Obey them always and in every situation. They don’t apply just to soccer, but betting in general.

• Never bet more than you can afford to lose. Pretty much obvious right?! Well, many people forget it and it is easy to get carried away. Always keep this rule in mind when you’re betting;

• Stick to what you know. If you only watch the English Premier League, don’t bet on Brazilian soccer you know nothing about;

• Do a bit of research. You can’t know everything. Always read the updates, perhaps one of the key players suffered a serious injury. That would seriously hurt his team’s winning chances;

• Don’t pay for betting advice, especially if they promise that you will win. It is most probably a scam, nobody can guarantee anything in betting, and you’ll only waste your money on advice that is no better than the one you can get at a number of free sites;

• Always wager smaller amounts of money on riskier bets; The risky bets are considered risky for a reason, they are not very likely to be winning, that is why you shouldn’t make big wagers on highly improbable bets;

• Shop around; Sportsbooks offer different odds on different games. Always check which operator offers the most favorable odds on the game you want to bet on.

Most common soccer betting options

In soccer betting there are more available markets compared to betting on other sports like basketball and baseball. Some sportsbooks offer over 300 possible options for just one game. These are the most common types of soccer betting:

• Match betting – This is the simplest bet and your aim is to predict whether the game will end in a win for the home team, a win for the away team or a draw. The odds are given as money-line, and the odds are always lower for the team which is considered the favorite;

• Halftime-fulltime – This is very similar to match betting, but here you predict the outcome both at halftime and at the end of the game. For example home/home is an option that the home team will be leading at halftime and come away with the victory. A draw/away bet would be that both teams will be drawn at halftime, but the away team will win the game. The odds for these bets are significantly higher than the odds for match betting;

• Point spread or handicap betting – In the UK and elsewhere the term ‘handicap betting’ is used for point spread betting. It signifies that the underdog is given a handicap. If the underdog is given a 1.5 goals advantage, that means that the favorite will have to win at least by two goals to be considered winner. It is possible to adjust the handicap which results in decrease or an increase of the odds.

• Both teams to score – As the name suggests, you’re betting on whether both teams will manage to score during the game. The two possible options are yes or no. Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is a popular similar bet where both teams need to score at least one goal each and there has to be at least one more goal in the game.

• Over/under – This is a bet on the total number of goals that are going to be scored in a game. Typically the limit is set at 2.5, but you may also bet that over 3.5, or 4.5 goals are going to be scored, or that fewer than 1.5 goals are going to be scored. You may also bet on the number of goals that’ll be scored by each team.

• Correct score – This is one of the trickiest and most difficult bets. You must predict the correct result at the end of the game. If you bet that the match is going to end 3-1, it has to finish with that result, otherwise you lose.

• Goal scorer – You bet whether an individual player is going to score a goal in the course of the game. First time goal scorer or anytime goal scorer are the two most common options, but you may also bet that a player is going to score two or more goals, or even a hat-trick.

The above is just a fraction of the possible betting options. These options may also be combined. For example, you may bet that a team is going to win and that there’ll be a total of over 3.5 goals. It is also possible to bet on the number of corners, whether a player is going to receive a red card and much more.

The Devil is in the detail

Always pay attention to the specific rules for each betting option. If you’re betting on a game that is part of the knockout stage of any competition check whether the result at the end of 90 minutes is considered, or it is still valid if the game goes to overtime. Some sportsbooks offer interesting and lucrative bonuses for betting on soccer. Make good use of the ones you’re eligible for.