Types of Football Betting and Their Regulations
Punters today are spoilt for choice when it comes to the types of football betting that they can get involved in. For the world’s top leagues and competitions, such as the English Premier League, the Champions League and the FIFA World Cup, you can expect to find hundreds of betting markets on any one single game. That’s hundreds of opportunities for you to use your knowledge of your favourite sport to potentially land huge returns. But what are the different types of football betting, and what are the regulations that come with them? Here, we’ll tell you everything that you need to know.
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Main bets
While there are literally hundreds of betting types to choose from, there are some that punters just keep coming back to again and again. There are various reasons for their popularity, for some it’s the simplicity of the bet type and for others it’s the ability to easily accumulate them into a huge bet. The most popular football betting types are:
- Full time result – The standard straight up win bet on a game of football betting. This is a bet on how you think the game will finish, and your options are one of either a home win, a draw, or an away win. Unless backing the outsider, the odds can be quite short here.
- Under/over total goals – As the name suggests, this is a bet type that allows you to back how many goals you think will be scored in the game. It starts with under or over 0.5 goals and increases with the odds adjusted accordingly. These bet types are more commonly used in accumulators.
- Both teams to score – Another of the types of football betting that does exactly as its name suggests. This is a bet on both teams to score in a game. The bet is not affected by the result in any way, as soon as both teams score, your bet is settled as a win.
- Match result and both teams to score – A unique type of football bet that allows you to get more value. You can use this market to get better odds if you think you know how the game will finish and both teams will score. Due to better odds, only a few selections are needed for big wins.
- Player to be carded – This is a bet on a particular player to receive a card in a game. This can be a particularly profitable bet type as it’s very easy to research and your bet can be settled as a win long before the final whistle. It’s also a popular live betting market.
First goalscorer – First goalscorer is one of the types of football betting that punters love to get stuck into. It can often be a tricky one to predict, but a tactic of following the league’s top goalscorers is a great place to start. The odds can be big for this particular market. - Correct score – Arguably the most difficult thing to predict in a game of football. This is a bet on predicting the exact score at full time and, due to its difficulty, the odds are often huge. Punters will often use the correct score group betting type to cover more correct score possibilities.
With all of these football betting types, and many others, it’s important to remember that they are settled based on the standard 90 minutes and additional time in a game. For example, if you bet on Team A to beat Team B in the match result market in the FA Cup Final and Team A wins in extra-time, then your match result bet will be settled as a loss. Always check the terms of a bet before placing it.
Handicap Football Betting Rules
Handicap bets are one of the types of football betting that punters really enjoy. Handicap football betting allows you to do one of two things – you can either get better value for a heavy favourite to win, or you can reduce the odds on an outsider but provide yourself with a buffer to increase your chances. There are also a few different types of handicap betting, they are:
- Minus handicap – This is a bet on one of the teams to have a goal or more disadvantage. It’s most commonly applied to heavy favourites to create value. For example, a 1/4 favourite can be turned into an 1/2 chance with a -1 handicap. The higher the handicap, the higher the odds.
- Plus handicap – This is the opposite of the minus handicap. You’re backing a team to have a one goal advantage. For example, if an outsider is 6/1 to win, applying a +1 handicap will reduce the odds. Even if the game ends in a draw, your bet is still a winner.
- Asian handicap – A slightly different form of handicap betting in which the draw is not an option. Instead, the handicap is provided in half points (+1.5 instead of +1) and provides insurance for punters. If your Asian handicap bet results in a “draw” then your stake is returned.
It’s clear to see why handicaps are some of the more popular types of football betting markets offered by bookmakers.
Goal betting
Goals are what makes football exciting. But you can take that excitement up a notch by getting involved in goal betting. There are various football betting markets that are dedicated to goals, or incorporate goals into them, they are:
- Under/over total goals – The standard goal bet type that involves betting on how many goals will be scored in a game. The margins are portrayed in halves for example under/over 2.5 goals. These types of football betting will be settled at the point that the relative goal margin is met.
- 1st half under/over total goals – Similar to the standard under/over goals market, but confined to just the first half of the game. This market will be settled after the half time whistle if you’ve backed under a certain amount of goals, or immediately if an overs margin is met within 45 minutes.
- A goal in both halves – This is a bet on a goal to be scored in each half of a game. It doesn’t matter who scores the goals, it can be the same team or both teams. As long as at least one goal is scored before and after half time the bet is a win.
- Full time result and over/under total goals – A good way to increase the value of a win bet is to add a goals stipulation to it. One of the more popular types of football betting, it involves predicting the correct result as well as how many goals will be scored under or over a set amount.
Bet Type Combinations
When you have several selections in your betslip, you’ll see some options to place combination bets. These are special bets that allow you hedge your bets by spreading your stake across various different types. The most common combination bet types are:
- Patent – A bet involving three selections and a total of seven separate bets – three doubles, a treble, and three singles.
- Lucky 15 – As the name suggests, a bet which consists of 15 different bet types on four selections – six doubles, four trebles, four singles and four-fold accumulator.
- Lucky 31 – A combination bet consisting of 31 separate bets on a total of five selections – 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five four-fold accumulators, five singles and one five-fold accumulator.
- Lucky 63 – As you’ve probably guessed, thiese types of football betting include 63 individual bets from a total of six selections which includes; 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-fold accumulators, six five-fold accumulators, six singles and one six-fold accumulator.
- Trixie – A type of combination bet that consists of three selections making up four separate bets – three doubles and a treble. At least two selections need to win for a return.
- Yankee – This type of combination bet is made up of four selections, making up a total of 11 separate bets – six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold accumulator. At least two selections need to win for a return.
- Heinz – A bet type that is made up of six selections that covers at a total of 57 separate bets – 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-fold accumulators, six five-fold accumulators and a six-fold accumulator. At least two of your selections must win to get a return on this bet type.
- Super Heinz – Similar to a Heinz, these types of football betting combinations consis of seven selections and cover a total of 120 different bets – 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 four-fold accumulators, 21 five-fold accumulators, seven six-fold accumulators and one seven-fold accumulator. At least two selections need to win to land a return.
- Goliath – As the name suggests, the biggest bet type that you can place consisting of eight selections making up 247 bets – 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 four-fold accumulators, 56 five-fold accumulators, 28 six-fold accumulators, eight seven-fold accumulators and an eight-fold accumulator. A minimum of two selections must win for a return.
It’s important to note that with combination bets, your original stake is multiplied by the total number of bets that are included. For instance, if you place £1 on a Lucky 15 bet, your stake is multiplied by 15 and your total stake is £15. So, while you can cover yourself from certain selections losing, you need to stake significantly more.
Multiple bets
Multiples are undoubtedly one of the most popular types of football betting that is offered to punters. Multiples are a great way to create a bet that can land you huge sums if they win. They are typically made up of various “bankers” which, as singles, wouldn’t be worth backing. However, as a multiple, they offer a good chance of winning big. The different types of multiple bet that you will see are:
- Double – A type of bet that involves betting on two separate selections together in the same bet.
- Treble – A treble is a bet that consists of three separate selections grouped together to make one bet.
- Accumulator – A type of football bet that consists of four or more selections. Bookmakers tend to limit the amount of selections an accumulator can have to around 20.
- Bet builders – These types of bets allow you to create an accumulator on a single game instead of various games. For instance, you can bet on the match result, both teams to score, an anytime goalscorer, the correct score and a player to be carded all in one bet.
There are certain things that you need to know before you place these types of football betting multiples. The first, and most important, is that you need all selections to win in order to get a return. Some bookmakers will offer insurance on accumulators, where you get a free bet if one selection lets your bet down, so keep an eye out for that. The other thing to remember is that your stake doesn’t need to be multiplied like with combination bets, Whatever you put in the stake field is the total stake that you place.
FAQs
Which is better: a Patent or a Yankee?
A Patent bet is arguably the more favourable, as the singles are also covered on your bet. This is not the case with a Yankee bet. If you have four selections and there’s one you’re not sure about, take it out and place a Patent instead.
What is the difference between a Multiple and a Combination bet?
The main differences between these two types of football bets are that multiples require all of your selections to win in order to get a return. However, combinations allow for one or more of your selections to lose and still get you a return. The amount you must stake for each bet is also vastly different.
How do multiple bets work?
Multiples work by accumulating your winnings throughout your bet, starting with your original bet amount and the first selection. For instance, a £1 bet on a multiple returns £10 on your first selection, that £10 is then carried over to your next selection and so on, until the bet is settled. This is why multiples can land big returns.
What if a game in my accumulator is postponed?
If a game is postponed, then your accumulator will be placed on hold. If the game is completed within 24 hours, your multiple bet is settled against the result. If not, that selection is made void and your bet, and subsequent returns, change to what they would be without that selection.
Can I cash out a combination bet?
Yes. Bookies will allow you to cash out a combination bet just as they will allow you to cash out on a multiple bet. This can be handy if you’ve bet on games kicking off at different times, as you can assess your options as each leg wins.