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How to bet on football
Football betting has become a big thing in the last few years, engaging fans in a new way like for Euro 2021 and giving them a new approach to the sport. When betting on Danish betting sites, you need to have a betting license on the website, this way you can make sure that all rules are respected. On this page you will be able to get an overview of how to bet on football, as well as which sites comply with the license agreement.
The first step is to choose your bookmaker
The first thing to look at when betting on football is which bookmaker you want to use to place your bets. The way it works is that before you can legally place an odds, you have to register with a bookmaker with a gambling license. Once you have registered with a bookmaker, you are ready to place your first bet.
Types of betting options
Single bets
To start with, it may be a good idea to start with a single bet. This simply means that you only bet on one option in the match. An example of this could be that you bet on your favourite team winning the match.
But there are 3 options to choose from.
- Home team wins
- Away team wins
- The match is drawn
When you choose to bet on the single bet, the winnings are not as big, but the chances of winning are a bit bigger. However, you can win some large amounts with the small odds options, but this requires that you bet more money or bet on the worst team in the match (and that they subsequently win the football match against expectations). All odds only apply for the initial 90 minutes of play, and anything that happens in overtime will not result in winning odds.
There is another bet that focuses only on who wins the match, here the possibility of a draw is taken away, and in a draw situation you will get your money back.
Combination bets
In a combination bet, on the other hand, you can make a bigger profit, this requires a number of odds to be guessed correctly. This option is perfect for the type who can easily work out the results and typically someone who wants to throw small amounts but still win big.
You could say that combination bets have a smaller chance of success, but if you guess correctly, this is where the really big bucks are to be had.
Goal line betting
In this bet you can guess how many goals will be scored during the match. In addition, you can bet on whether the match will end with fewer or more goals than the number you guessed.
Let’s look at an example from the 2013 Confederations Cup final between Brazil and Spain:
Under 2.5 goals (1.80)
Over 2.5 goals (2.10)
In this example, you can either guess that the match ends with over 2.5 goals scored in the match or under 2.5.
If you choose to bet over 2.5 goals, you win if 3 or more goals are scored, whereas those who bet under 2.5 goals win if fewer than 2 goals are scored.
If you bet on ‘under 2.5 goals’ – and your odds go home, you will get your money back 1.8 times. If you bet on ‘over 2.5 goals’ you will get your money back 2.1 times. So there is some evidence to suggest that the bookmakers do not believe that the match will be scored over 2 goals, as this bet will pay out more if it goes in.
The match ended 3-0 to Brazil, which means that anyone who had the odds of over 2.5 goals has won the amount bet back 2.1 times. For example, if you bet 100 DKK on ‘over 2.5 goals’, you will receive 210 DKK.
There are more types of odds than those mentioned above – we will write about these later.
How does “Close bets” work in practice?
More and more bookmakers have introduced the option to close the bet before the match or event has finished. This means that players have the option to close the bet early, but with a smaller payout than if they let the match or event finish.
If you have made a prematch bet on Denmark beating Albania in football, you have the option to close the bet early. This can come in handy if, for example, Denmark are leading 1-0 but Albania have the advantage on the pitch and have put Denmark under pressure. It is therefore possible to close the bet during the match, albeit at lower odds than you initially received. The size of the new odds depends on how long the game has been played and how the match has gone so far.
Advantages of closing bets
The option to close the bet can be an advantage for players, as it is possible to watch the sporting event live while it is happening. This way, you can see which team or player is playing the best and has the most profit. In this respect, players have exactly the same options as the bookmaker, unlike prematch odds where the bookmaker has an advantage in terms of better preparation, more statistics, greater knowledge and so on. So in most cases, it will be solely the course of the match that will determine whether the bet is closed. In addition, players who have multiple matches on the same ticket have the option to close the bet after, for example, three of five matches have been completed and gone home. The player can therefore avoid the fear of losing the entire ticket on the floor and take home part of the winnings before the last two matches have been completed.
Disadvantages of closing bets
One of the disadvantages is that players often do not get favourable odds by closing the bet early. Although it can be nice to close the bet early and win a share of the winnings, this feature gives a bigger financial gain to the bookmakers than to the players, because of the odds given for closing the bet early.
A popular feature
Closing the bet has become popular with many punters as it avoids the anxiety that can easily arise if the team or player you have bet on is struggling during the match/event. In addition, many players will also feel that it is more fun to follow their match live, as they can play expert and close the bet if they feel that the match is going in the wrong direction compared to the bet.
