Football Betting: The best betting sites + tips for beginners, betting options and strategies
Football is the world's most popular sport, with billions of fans regularly cheering on their favourite teams, eagerly anticipating national and international tournaments, and thrilled by games full of action, tactical finesse and surprising twists and turns. All this and more makes football betting extremely exciting.
If you are looking for a good and whitelisted legal football bookmaker, you will find plenty of options here. Below you will also find a comprehensive guide with all the information you need to get started with football betting.
Content: Football bookmakers - what to expect on this page
- Football betting tips for beginners: These terms and connections you should know for a promising start
- Betting markets and leagues: What can you bet on in football?
- Football betting strategies: A strategic approach can effectively reduce your risk.
- What else you need to know about football betting
- FAQ
- Conclusion
Football betting tips for beginners: These terms and connections you should know for a promising start
Football has a huge following in Germany and around the world. As the fans of the sport are usually very closely involved with the local leagues, but also international competitions and their teams and players, most of them gradually build up a considerable wealth of knowledge about the sport.
Sooner or later, almost every fan of the game thinks about turning their knowledge into money through football betting. Just by watching matches with friends, discussing the latest league events at work and following your favourite team(s) in the current season, you will gain a broad overview. If you also delve a little deeper into the subject of sports betting, the chances of making successful predictions are quite high.
Photo: Eintracht Braunschweig stadium from pixabay.com/de
Here are some basic facts you should know. Without these terms and context, betting on football is not only like shooting in the dark - it can be dangerous!
Not all bookmakers are the same: choose a legal and safe football bookmaker!
The market for football betting is huge. For example, if you search Google for bookmakers using the appropriate terms, you will get more than 2 million results. Unfortunately, many of these are illegal or even fraudulent.
We recommend that you only bet with football bookmakers that are licensed according to the German State Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV) and are therefore on the current whitelist of the German State Gambling Authority (GGL). All bookmakers in our comparison above meet this requirement.
Photo: Logo of the GGL
With these addresses you can be sure that they are legally allowed to offer their services in Germany. It is also very important that these bookmakers meet strict requirements in terms of data security and player protection. This guarantees that you will not be ripped off and that you will receive a good level of service.
On the other hand, if you choose a bookmaker that is not licensed under German law, you have no guarantee at all. The quality of support varies enormously, long payout times are the norm and in the event of a dispute it is very difficult to enforce your rights. In addition, player protection is often poor, drastically increasing the risk of serious betting problems.
Advantages of football betting over casino games: Is sports betting gambling?
Football betting is clearly classified as gambling by the official (legal) definition, but it has a decisive advantage over casino games: You can control your potential winnings or risk much more when betting on football!
In slots, the return to player (RTP), which is usually clearly defined, and the estimate of volatility practically determine how much and how often a machine pays out on average. The situation becomes even clearer if we take roulette as an example: Here, the probability of winning if you 'bet' on red or black is clearly 18/37, or around 48 percent.
When you bet on football, however, the probability of a particular event - for example, 'Bayern Munich will win' - is much less certain. The bookmakers do provide clues through the odds they publish. But there can always be evidence that contradicts them. If you uncover such information, you have the chance to use it against the bookmakers and win (at best) with high underdog odds. So your luck is much more in your hands.
What does "value" mean?
It is not a long way from the conclusion of the previous section to the term 'value'. This is because it is important to look for the best possible value in the football bets or football odds offered by the bookmakers.
Your job is to uncover these mistakes through clever research and then use them to your advantage. Whether a bet makes sense can be determined by the subjective probability of the outcome. If you think it is over 40 per cent, then it has real value. The tip is likely to pay off. It is relatively difficult to calculate the exact value. However, it is enough to have a general understanding of the facts and to keep them in mind when placing your bets.
How do football odds work?
Odds are absolutely fundamental not only to football betting, but to sports betting in general: they determine how much you can win in one betting market or another. Taking advantage of them - as described above - brings in the big bucks. Therefore, you need to know how football betting odds work. Otherwise you can hardly use them to your advantage.
Screenshot: Football odds at the provider Betway
At first the values can be quite confusing: 1.55, 2.00, 6.50, etc. - What do they mean? Basically, they are estimates of the probability of the events associated with each betting option occurring. The football bookmakers summarise these into usable figures.
Calculate the probability: The probability is the inverse of the odds. With 2.00, the calculation would be "1 : 2.00 x 100 percent = 50 percent". This way you can easily convert all betting odds. In reality, bookmakers only use odds of around 47 to 48 percent for this example. The difference is due to the bookmaker's profit margin.
Calculate your profit: It is also important to know how much you can win with the different football odds. Calculating this should be no problem at all. All you have to do is multiply the value of the odds by your stake - for example "2.00 x 5 Euro = 10 Euro". Don't forget to deduct the 5.3% betting tax if your bookmaker of choice passes this on to you.
How do you recognise good odds?
Isn't this a redundant question - high football odds are good football odds, right? Yes and no. You should always remember not to bet on odds alone. Unfortunately, the best odds also have the lowest probability of happening.
Good or even best football odds are those that offer the highest value with a high probability. You have to find these odds individually by researching the game you are betting on (keyword: value).
Remember that no single bookmaker offers the ideal odds in every betting context. You always have to compare odds to find the perfect profit potential!
With the information you have gathered so far, you have already built a strong foundation of knowledge for your football betting. However, there is still one important thing missing from these basics: Of course, you should also have more than just an idea of what you can actually bet on - keywords 'betting markets' and 'events'. The following section will help you understand this.
Betting markets and leagues: What can you bet on?
Football is played all over the world - and the sport is popular almost everywhere. This means that there are a huge number of leagues and tournaments that you can bet on at the best football bookmakers with numerous betting markets.
In the Bundesliga, Premier League or other top competitions, there are sometimes more than 100 markets per match. It would be impossible to list all the leagues and events that you can bet on here. However, we do not want to deprive you of the most important options.
Screenshot: Types of football bets at bet-at-home
Popular football betting markets
- 3 way bet (win, lose and draw): This is the absolute standard bet for football. You bet on which team will win, lose or draw. This is also known as a 1X2 bet, where the 1 stands for a home win, the X stands for a draw and the 2 stands for an away win or loss.
- Football double chance bets: The double chance is also a standard bet when it comes to football. This is basically a 2-way combination of a 3-way bet. Instead of picking one of the three options, you combine the win, the loss or the away win with the draw. This gives you more potential to win, but unfortunately the odds are lower.
- Over/under football betting: Over/under bets can be offered in various contexts. These markets are ideal for beginners as they are very simple. All you have to do is bet on whether the number of goals scored in the match will be higher or lower than the bookmaker's odds - for example, "more than 2.5 goals scored in match X". Which team wins is virtually irrelevant in this type of bet.
- Handicap football betting: Handicap football betting is where one of the teams is given a theoretical lead or deficit. You can choose between different handicaps. Applying a handicap changes the odds. If you handicap a favourite, they will not only have to win, they will have to overcome the handicap for your bet to win. The odds increase and you may be able to collect more.
- Exact result: These are football bets where you have to predict the exact result of the match - for example, '1:0', '2:2' or '3:1'. It is quite difficult to get it right. However, you will often be rewarded with excellent football betting odds.
- Betting on corner kicks: Corner Kicks betting involves correctly predicting the total number of corners, predicting when the first corner will be taken or, in live betting, predicting who will take the next corner.
- Yellow and Red Card Football Betting: This market generally involves betting on how many cards will be shown by the referee in a particular match. These football bets are often found in the over/under format.
- Long-term bets: Long-term bets are usually based on the outcome of a season or tournament. For example, you can predict who will win the German championship, who will win the World Cup, who will reach the final of the European Championship or who will be the top scorer. You have to be prepared for long-term investment and high risk, but in return you get generous odds.
Best leagues and tournaments to bet on
With good football bookmakers, you can bet on almost every top domestic league in the world. Some also offer amateur leagues such as the Regionalliga.
Of course, all the major cups and international tournaments are also on offer. Which leagues or competitions are the best bets is largely down to the odds and the selection of betting markets.
The following leagues and events offer the best value:
- Bundesliga bets
- Premier League bets (England)
- La Liga bets (Spanien)
- Serie A bets (Italien)
- Ligue 1 bets (Frankreich)
- Primera Division bets (Argentinien)
- Eredivisie bets (Niederlande)
- Superliga bets (Brasilien)
- Major League Soccer – MLS bets (USA)
- Fußball WM bets
- Fußball EM bets
- Champions League bets
- DFB Pokal bets
Football betting strategies: A strategic approach can effectively reduce your risk.
There is one thing you must always be aware of, whether you are just starting out in football betting or have been doing it for a long time: There are no 100% surefire strategies and systems! Even with the smartest bet, there is always a risk of losing.
On the other hand, it is also certain that you can reduce the risk of losing enormously with clever strategic preparation. There are countless ways to do this, some of which require a very sophisticated approach. To get started, however, it is sufficient to focus on three points.
- Specialise in one league or tournament: It makes no sense to place football bets on different leagues or events if you know little or nothing about them. The more you know, the better your chances. You should therefore concentrate on one league or tournament that you are familiar with. For example, if you regularly follow the German Bundesliga, this is the best place to start.
- Keep an eye on the motivation of the teams: The motivation of the teams changes during the season or according to their chances in the competition. If one team still has important season goals to achieve in a match, while the other feels like they are on holiday, this will undoubtedly have a massive impact on their chances of winning. And this is just one of many possible constellations - winning or losing streaks, relegation battles, Champions League qualification and other motivational factors can all have a huge impact. Your job is to get it right.
- Take into account injured or suspended players: Some players have a special value for a team. You should always determine this individually. Such absences can sometimes unsettle the whole team. The difference in quality to the substitute can be very serious. Therefore, you have to keep an eye on injured or suspended players. Sometimes the football bookmakers will even exaggerate the odds for such absences, which can mean special chances for your bets.
What else you should know about football betting
If you have read this far, you are already very well positioned for successful football betting. In the following section, we would like to give you a little extra information to help you improve your predictions.
How are the football odds?
We have written a lot about football odds here, but one important question remains unanswered: are the odds overall good or not so good? The short answer is: very good!
In fact, football generally has the highest odds. This is simply because it is the most popular sport to bet on. As a result, individual bookmakers push themselves to the absolute limit. Especially in the big leagues, such as the Bundesliga or the Premier League, some football bookmakers offer odds of more than 95 per cent.
In the Champions League, the odds are sometimes even higher. But beware: Not all bookmakers take part in the odds war. Contrary to the expectations of many punters, some top bookmakers only offer odds of between 75 and 80 per cent. This does not mean that you will only find bad odds there. The average level is just not as high as elsewhere.
Do football betting providers offer bonuses?
You bet! Football is the sport most often associated with bonus offers. Two out of three regular promotions for existing customers, or even changing specials, are related to events.
Screenshot: Welcome bonus at interwetten
For example, the best football betting sites offer daily promotions on individual matches during key stages of the Bundesliga or a World Cup. If there is a big game coming up, check out the bookmakers in our comparison for lucrative offers.
You can also clear almost any welcome bonus with football betting.
How to place a football bet?
If you've never placed a football bet before, you probably don't know much about the typical structures and processes involved in placing a bet with a bookmaker.
Screenshot: Betting slip with football tips at XTiP
No problem, we are here to change that! Just follow our step-by-step guide and nothing should go wrong. The process is pretty much the same for most football bookmakers.
- Choose a suitable football bookmaker from our comparison - we only list legal, safe bookmakers.
- Register, then go to the cashier and make a deposit - for example using PayPal.
- Then look for "Football" in the sports menu on the right and select a league or tournament.
- After clicking on the competition, the relevant matches and betting markets will appear in the centre of the screen.
- Select the match and event you wish to bet on by clicking again.
- Your bet selection will now appear on your bet slip, which is usually located on the right-hand side of the layout.
- Place your bet on the slip and confirm your football bet by clicking on the appropriate button.
- Your bet will be listed in your current betting history - if you win, the corresponding amount will be credited to your account.
FAQ - Football betting
Which is the best football bookmaker?
Unfortunately, there is no general answer to this question. Of course, the quality of a bookmaker will always depend on your own personal preferences and expectations. Basically, though, you can't go wrong with any of the sites in our comparison. They are all legal, reputable and offer a good level of service.
What is the best football bet for beginners?
The 3-Way bet is definitely very beginner friendly. But over/under football betting on goals is also very suitable for beginners.
Where can I place football bets?
In fact, this is possible with almost every bookmaker on the market. As football is the most popular sport in the world, no bookmaker wants to miss out on this business. However, the odds vary. Also, not all football bookmakers are legal. It's best to trust our recommendations.
Conclusion on football betting
Football and football betting are extremely popular - they offer a lot of excitement and great potential for profit. But that doesn't make it a safe bet. Even if you follow the Bundesliga regularly and have a good overview of the game, it is important to understand the typical processes involved in betting on football, including odds, strategies, bonuses, etc. Only then can you bet successfully in the long term. This is the only way to bet successfully in the long run. The information in this guide will provide you with a solid foundation.