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Football Betting
Check out Bet UK's football betting markets from a variety of nations and leagues. Whether you're looking for live games or outright bets, you can find a vast range of competitions at the click of a button.
Bet UK Online Betting hits the target with football betting, which includes a full selection of markets across international leagues and competitions. our world-class coverage includes rich features like 'YourBet' on mobile, offering rapid and fully automated same-game accumulators with instant pricing. Bet on single matches or add multiple matches to your bet slip to build an accumulator with larger odds. When looking at the odds, you can change Odds format, set your Bet placement odds change menu and the Default odds change behaviours, giving you full control over your betslip.
Football Betting Odds
Betting odds are incredibly important in the world of football, they tell you who the favourite is for major competitions such as the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. However, that's not all they are good for, they help you find value in your bets, if you're backing a 1/100 bet, it may be very likely to win but no matter your stake, it is likely that you'll make only pennies from the bet unless you placed a substantial stake. Odds allow you to find the best priced odds and you can utilise your knowledge of a sport to determine the best value for money bets. However, odds can come in several formats, they are:
American Odds
Decimal betting odds are one of the most popular formula of betting odds in both Europe and Oceania. Decimal odds represent the total amount that will be returned to you, including your original stake, if your bet is successful. The odds are expressed as a decimal number, typically greater than 1. The calculation to determine your potential winnings is straightforward: you multiply your stake by the decimal odds.
For example: the calculation that can be used is: Potential winnings = Stake x Decimal odds = £10 x 2.50 = £25
In this example, if the team you backed wins the match, you would receive £25, which includes your initial £10 stake and £15 in profit.
Fractional odds on the other hand are the traditional format of betting odds in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Fractional odds consist of two numbers separated by a "/", an example of this is 10/1 or 5/2. The number on the left side represents the potential profit of the bet while the number on the right side demonstrates the amount you need to bet.
American odds, also known as moneyline odds, are a popular method of representing betting odds primarily used in the United States. They indicate the amount of money you would need to wager or the amount you could potentially win on a particular bet. American odds can be displayed in two formats: positive (+) and negative (-).
For positive odds: Potential profit = (Stake / 100) x Odds Total payout = Stake + Potential profit
For negative odds: Potential profit = (100 / Odds) x Stake Total payout = Stake + Potential profit
Alternatively, if you'd like to read in more detail how football odds work, we have a large number of blogs surrounding this.
Betting on Domestic Football
For many fans, looking at the Premier League odds on a Saturday morning is a regular occurrence through the season. However, the Premier League isn't the only domestic competition involved in the 3pm kick-offs, there are 10 tiers of football that all begin at 3pm. The National League North is the lowest tier of football that you can directly bet on using an online sportsbook. However, there are hundreds of football betting tips for every game, if you're looking for leagues to bet on, check out the links below.
These aren't all the options available at BetUK but they are the most popular for our bettors.
There are also a large number of cup competitions in the UK and Ireland such as the league cup, FA Cup and Scottish Cups. Scottish tournaments tend to be dominated by the likes of Celtic and Rangers but English competitions have a little more variety, at least when Manchester City are knocked out of a competition.
Betting on European Football
When it comes to Europe, UK bettors can focus on a number of leagues and tournaments depending on their preference, for those looking for the highest level of competition. UEFA competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Conference League allow you to find the very best football action from teams across Europe. These competitions will have match odds for every game during the competition from the qualifying rounds all the way to the final.
European competitions and English football aren't the only ways you can bet on football in the UK, you can still bet on the first corner all the way to the final score in hundreds of leagues across world such as La Liga in Spain, Bundesliga in Germany and the Serie A in Italy.
Betting on International Football
Some of the biggest football matches in the world take place on the international stage. Most recently we had the 2022 World Cup where Lionel Messi and Argentina won the tournament beating France in what is widely regarded as one of the best games in recent memory. The World Cup is known as the greatest tournament in Football but that doesn't mean that other competitions aren't equally as entertaining to watch.
For example, in Europe, we have the UEFA Nations League and the European Championships.
In South America, there is the Copa America but most other matches occur in friendlies or occasional tournaments.
In Africa, main competitions include the African Cup of Nations and the Arab Cup.
In Asia, their main competitions include the Asian Cup and the EAFF Championship.
In Oceania, it is regarded that they have the lowest standard of competition but their tournaments include the OFC Nations Cup and recently some of their countries have entered into the Asian Cup.
Football Betting Markets
When deciding what to bet on, you'll need to look at the betting markets for individual games, doing so, will help you determine what match odds are best for your game. Look at statistics for the league you're looking to back and see what best suits that competition. For example, the Championship is known for being widely unpredictable in the early season but after 10 or so games, you can typically see which teams will go on a long winning run. For example, if you look at the latter part of last season, at the start of the campaign, many backed Nottingham Forest to be easily relegated and their early form backed that. However, after they started winning a few games, it looked like they would win successive games all season long.
That being said, the best markets for each league will always be different, some of the best betting markets you will be able to find below.
Both Teams to Score - Both Teams to Score is an essential market for football bettors. Placing a bet on this means that you are expecting both teams to score in a single game. There are also more advanced options, such as both teams to score in both halves or in a singular half. For individual games, the football odds will be low for Both Team to Score markets but, when combined into an accumulator, this is when players may find the odds significantly increase. However, generally, Both Teams To Score bets provide low online football betting odds.
Draw No Bet - A Draw No Bet placed on a team to win will return your stake if the team draws. If the team wins, you will win as normal, and if the team loses, then so will your bet.
Double Chance - A Double Chance football bet joins 2 outcomes together for an increased chance of winning.
Enhanced Odds - When checking out a betting site for a designated match, it is wise to look for enhanced odds in the form of price boosts. These are games where, because of their popularity, they have improved odds on popular bets such as teams to win, both teams to score and more! You can often find these boosts on the biggest domestic football games which have up to date odds at all times.
There are plenty of different markets that should all be self-explanatory. But if you are struggling to understand any of our football betting markets, just get in touch with our fantastic customer support team.
Over/Under Goals - A number of the most common football bets are goal-related. Arguably, the most popular is the over/under goals bet. This means that there will be over or under a certain amount of goals scored over the course of a game. For bigger odds, players must predict more goals, and the most common bet here is over 2.5 goals. At the 2020 European Championships, 27/51 games had over 2.5 goals. However, watch out if you're betting on the biggest matches because these games are often cagey affairs with lower goals.
In-game Betting Markets
Football Accumulators
Football betting is the home of the weekend 20-team accumulator, with massive football odds for fixtures from the Premier League down the football leagues. However, these aren't the only accumulators we see on a regular basis here at Bet UK, we see a large number of fourfolds-eightfolds based around a number of different leagues. So, here at Bet UK, we've looked at ways to improve the accumulator betting experience. To do this, we've created a brand new 'ACCA Club' feature, which provides free bets depending on how much you stake on accas and even gives you odds boosts on your weekly accumulators.
Players and Managers Betting
During the Summer months of the year and January, bettors will commonly bet on players to move between clubs. This can be because players are unsettled at the club or alternatively because they're due a step up in the division, a number of players leave their club in the January period if their new club is performing well, looking like they could claim multiple trophies in upcoming years. You'll often be able to determine whether or not a player is going to leave a club in the period leading up to the transfer window.
Best Football Teams to Bet On
In every league there are certain teams who are better to bet on for a number of reasons, some teams are best for scoring goals, some are best for corner bets and others for yellow and red cards. For example, you can find the teams who were best suited to each category below.
Betting on Goals Scored:
Backing a team to score goals in a league game? Here are the teams that scored the most goals in each league during the 2022/23 season.
Premier League: Manchester City (Brighton average the most shots per game)
Ligue One: Paris Saint Germain scored the most goals in Ligue One last season but only had 0.3 more shots per game than Lille.
Bundesliga: No surprises as Bayern Munich scored the most goals last season but it was only nine more than title rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Serie A: Napoli won the league last season and scored 75 goals over the campaign, Serie A maintained it's reputation by being a low-scoring competition with less goals than any of the top five leagues.
La Liga: Real Madrid lead the way with the highest number of goals in the Spanish league.
Betting on Corners
Premier League: Newcastle United had more corners in 2022/23 than any other team, more than doubling the amount of Nottingham Forest and Leicester City.
Ligue One: Marseille lead the division in regards to corners taken. However, Troyes have conceded significantly more than any other team.
Bundesliga: Bayern & Dortmund lead the way in this stat but Koln also sit significantly higher than many expected.
Serie A: Fiorentina and Napoli led the way in regards to corners taken in Serie A last season.
La Liga: Athletic Bilbao sit near the top of the top five leagues when it comes to corners with an average of 6.78 per game, only Newcastle United had more (7.08).
If you're looking to combine your bets with booking points, you can bet on yellow cards and red cards by checking out our booking points guide.
Football Betting FAQs
How do you bet on football?
To place a bet on football, you must first have an account registered at a licenced sportsbook such as Bet UK. Following this, you must deposit money into your account, this can be done using a wide range of methods. Then you must head to our online sportsbook and decide which game you would like to bet on. It is likely that you'll already have a set of games in mind, so select the game you wish to place a bet on, browse the betting markets and select the bet you wish to add.
Once all of the selections you wish to add are in your betslip, add a cash value into your betslip and press place bet to put your bet on.
What is the best betting market for football?
The best betting market for football will vary from person to person. However, one of the most popular markets is the Both Teams to Score betting market. Also known as BTTS betting, this is the process of both teams in a game scoring. However, there are many adaptations of this including the popular both teams to score in both halves, which when multiple games are combined can provide trebles or accumulators with massive value. If you're looking for BTTS Tips be sure to check out the Bet UK blog.
Can football betting be profitable?
Of course, if you place the correct bets football betting can be profitable. However, the odds are put in place for a reason. Bets such as accumulators have a low chance of coming off which is demonstrated in the subsequent odds. If you regularly place bets, you'll know there are fine margins between winning and losing bets, so wins or 'profitability' can't ever be guaranteed.
However, to maximise your chances of winning, we recommend checking out the various football betting tips on Bet UK which can provide tips on all competitions from the Premier League to the Bundesliga.
What odds should I use for Football betting?
The odds format that you use should depend on your personal preference, football fans tend to prefer fractional odds. Meanwhile, decimal odds are semi-popular and American odds are virtually non-existent amongst football fans. If you're ever checking out tips for the likes of the Europa League and other competitions across Europe, you'll find fractional odds across all media outlets.
Which football bet is the easiest to win?
When you look at the betting markets offered on our football betting sportsbook. There are a number of betting markets that can prove to be 'easier' to win. These include the double chance, goals and win markets. Double chance is the betting market where you'll be on 2/3's of the potential options with significantly lower odds, so if you had Manchester City Vs Newcastle United and you placed a bet on Manchester City to win or a draw, the odds would be significantly higher in your favour for success but this also means your profit margins will be smaller. Goals are the betting market that many seem to prefer as there are a wide variety of options and in an entertaining game, these markets can provide fantastic value for money.
What football bet is the hardest to win?
The correct score betting is arguably the hardest bet to win when looking at football betting markets in the United Kingdom, this is because it requires precision, sitting and waiting for goals to go in isn't a bad option. However, a correct score bet can be ruined in 10 seconds. For example, when Arsenal played Bournemouth, the most popular correct score was 2-0 but Philip Billing scored early on meaning Arsenal's clean sheet was wiped out and all bets with a correct score with Bournemouth not to score was wiped out within seconds.
What is the 90-minute rule in football betting?
The 90-minute rule applies to most bets in football. This is the process that your bet must win or be settled within 90 minutes (injury time included) to payout. So, for example, if you back a winner in the Champions League final and it goes to extra time, you would only receive a payout if you backed a draw, no matter what the score is after 120 minutes as once the second half had finished, the score was level.