How to Bet on Football: Complete Guide & Football Betting Strategies in 2025

Best Bookmakers for Betting on Football

Before you get started with betting on football, you should always use one of the best bookmakers available. UK punters can be spoiled for choice, as many offer comprehensive markets and bet types, all with competitive odds.

Flashscore’s list of recommended betting sites can be trusted for all the top football betting experiences.

Football Betting Terminology Explained

Gambling can feature terminology that can make it difficult for beginners to understand how to bet on football.

Common terms include:

• Accumulator/ACCA: A bet combining multiple selections, all must win for the bet to payout.
• Asian Handicap (AH): A handicap betting system popular in football, eliminating the draw as an outcome.
• Double Chance: A market where you cover two possible results (win or draw, draw or lose, win or lose) in one bet.
• Correct Score (CS): A wager predicting the exact final score of the match.
• Handicap: Involves “giving” a team a virtual deficit or advantage to even the field, e.g., -1, +2 goals.
• Over/Under: Betting on whether a specific metric (goals, corners, cards) will be over or under a set number (e.g., over 2.5 goals).
• Favourite: The selection most likely to win, lowest odds.
• Underdog: The less favoured team, longer odds.
• Futures: Bets on events to be decided later (league winner, cup winner, etc.).
• Double (Treble/Fourfold): Multiple bet types where two (double), three (treble), or four (fourfold) selections must win.

It’s also possible to encounter many abbreviations:

• 1: Home win in a 1X2 market.
• X: Draw in the 1X2 market.
• 2: Away win in the 1X2 market.
• BTTS: Both Teams To Score (YES/NO) – wager on whether both teams will score at least one goal.
• DNB: Draw No Bet – choose a team to win; if the game draws, your stake is refunded.
• EVS (Evens): Even money odds, meaning the potential winnings equal the stake (decimal 2.00, fractional 1/1).
• O/U: Over/Under – commonly shown as O1.5 (over 1.5 goals), U2.5 (under 2.5 goals), etc.; can be shown as +/-.

Types of Football Bets

Football betting is widely enjoyed by UK bettors due to the availability of various bets. These can include:

• Outright: Betting on the match result (usually within 90 minutes).
• Handicaps and spreads: One team starts with a virtual advantage or disadvantage to level the playing field. For example, a -1 handicap on a favourite means they must win by two or more goals for the bet to win.
• Over/Under: Wagering on whether total goals (or other stats like corners/cards) will be over or under a set number, e.g., over 2.5 goals.
• Accumulators, parlays, and multiples: Making multiple selections within one bet. Different terms exist for each.
• Each Way: Two bets – one for a win and one for a place (e.g., finishing in top 3).
• Double Chance: Covers two of three potential match outcomes in one bet – e.g., home win or draw; draw or away win; home win or away win.
• Draw No Bet (DNB): Bet on a team to win; if the match draws, the stake is refunded.
• Prop Bets: Bets that focus on specific events within a game, like who scores first, number of corners, cards, or goals by a player.
• Bet Builder/Custom Bets: Allows creating personalised bets by combining multiple markets (e.g., first scorer + total goals + corners) in one wager.
• Special Bets: Non-match events such as player transfers, managerial changes, seasonal top scorer, or other football-related off-field events.

How to Read and Understand Football Odds

Football betting requires bettors to understand odds and how they are presented. Typically offered in fractional form, they can appear as decimals. The latter may make odds easier to interpret, as the stake is simply multiplied by this number to determine the potential return.

Odds are set by bookmakers using sophisticated mathematical algorithms and systems. They determine the probability of an event occurring before using implied probability to set the odds. Once the odds have been set, the market is continually monitored for potential adjustments.

Football Betting Strategies that Work

A football betting strategy should be implemented whenever wagering on matches. Bettors should consider the following things:

• Pre-Match: What are the latest news updates? Form of the two teams? Where is the value?
• In-Play (live): Identify trends that are happening by using in-game data and statistics. Stay on top of the action by using live streams and reacting to incidents.
• Understand Risks: Accas and other types of bets pose significant risks; understand these before placing them.

Bettors should also implement general betting strategies when wagering on football:

• Being Disciplined: Avoid chasing losses and making emotional bets. Be wise with bankroll and budget properly to avoid financial danger.
• Use Research: Research can help form better decisions, which may maximise success. Use predictive models and Flashscore for all wagering tips.
• Use Promotions and Bonuses: Use offers to maximise betting value and get more.

Football Expert Betting Tips And Tricks

With football betting being diverse, bettors should adopt the following tips to keep sessions entertaining:

• Focus on a Few Leagues: Specialise in specific leagues to enhance win potential; avoid those you don’t understand or have knowledge of.
• Conduct Detailed Research: Surface-level research isn’t always enough. Read as much as you can before placing bets to get a clear understanding of what may happen.
• Learn: Learning from past bets can be a good way to avoid mistakes from happening.
• Don’t Overthink: Football is a simple game. While news updates can be concerning at times, they won’t always impact the result. Consider the broader picture, not just the latest news.
• Consider the Future: Top clubs will play two matches in quick succession, which can affect the odds presented. Value can be found here at times.

Flashscore Advantage: Form Guide, H2H, and In-Depth Research for Your Bets

Flashscore is the only tool you need to help you maximise your football betting experiences. When using the resource, you can:

• Access Detailed Statistics
• Research Player and Team Form
• Compare H2H Records

Flashscore provides a comprehensive offering that is unrivalled by anyone else and is free to use 24/7.

How to Place a Football Bet

Want to learn how to bet on football? To place a bet, simply do the following:

If the match is abandoned before full-time, bets that can be settled to that point (prop outcomes) will be paid if successful. If a game is postponed, bets will be voided and returned.