How To Bet Soccer: Sportsbooks, Bet Types, Tips, & More

Soccer betting is a year-round thing due to the sports‘ global reach. Between the months of August and May, all the top clubs from the Premier League, La Liga, Series A, and other European-based leagues are chasing championships. Then between June and July, national team competition heats up. All this creates opportunity after opportunity to bet soccer.

We’re about to give you a sweet assist to score wins at the sportsbook all year long when it comes to soccer gambling. This includes the best soccer betting sites, soccer bet strategies, and what types of bets you should expect to see on the pitch.

Soccer Betting Sites

As we alluded to before, soccer bets are everywhere. Don’t believe us? Check out the table below. We have up-to-the-minute odds from the top soccer betting sites on upcoming marquee matches from around the world. EPL, Serie A betting, MLS, the FIFA World Cup — you name it, it’s probably listed down there.

Speaking of odds, next we want to spend time dishing details about the best soccer betting sites USA. Narrowing down our recommendations was far from easy. That’s because almost every sportsbook supports the sport heavily. However, a few do offer more value for bettors. Without further ado, here are our top sportsbook picks:

BetOnline: Selection On Top Of Selection

With the sheer number of games to gamble on, you’re going to want a sportsbook that houses all the best soccer bets under one roof. Forget jumping between bookie to bookie in order to keep up with different leagues. Thankfully, BetOnline is a realistic one-stop-shop to bet on soccer games or any other sport.

We counted well over two dozen soccer leagues that are carried at BetOnline. And that doesn’t even include international competitions like the Champions League, Euro Cup, and others, which are also readily available on the platform. This massive selection should do it anyone looking for soccer bets online.

WagerWeb: Boost Your Bets With A Bonus

To soccer gamble is to run a marathon, not a sprint. Knowing this, building a solid bankroll would be in your best interest to slug through the calendar year. Our next sportsbook suggestion can help in that regard and it’s WagerWeb.

This bookie offers three unique sign-up bonuses for new players. Each varies in its cashback, free play, and playthrough requirement. Either way, bettors have their pick at one and can freely choose the one that suits their playing needs the most.

As an example, bonuses can reach as high as $1,000. Now, who wouldn’t want a “free” grand to kickstart their soccer bet online journey? Don’t look past WagerWeb to do soccer betting in the USA.

BetDSI: Rack Up Rewards Over The Year

Last but not least on our list is BetDSI, which is one of the best online soccer betting sites. This bookie is especially advantageous if you’ll be betting on soccer year-round because of its top-notch rewards program.

See, every time you wager on BetDSI — whether it be on soccer or another sport — you rack up BetPoints. These points will rank you through its reward levels that include Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. At every tier, bettors will enjoy unique perks. But nothing beats the cash rewards. Yes, BetPoints can be exchanged for actual playing money, which is of no extra cost to you.

If you’re serious about betting soccer over the long term, BetDSI’s rewards program is hard to top. Your loyalty will pay dividends over time on the platform.

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How To Bet On Soccer

It may not seem like it at first, however, how to bet on soccer is actually pretty easy. You may initially be thrown off by the array of betting lines offered. Or perhaps gambling terminology like "covering the spread" or "hit the over" sounds like nonsense.

Don't worry, we're about to dive into all that and other soccer betting explained topics. First things first, here's how to bet soccer:

Three-Way Moneyline

Every sport offers moneyline betting— where you simply bet on which team or individual will win outright — but soccer puts a twist on this popular wager type. In soccer, you can also bet on a third option, that the game ends in a draw.

Betting a draw isn't always the "sexy" pick to make. Typically, bettors have strong convictions about why one team is better or worse than the other. But draws are extremely common in the sport, and many times, the option will be the odds-on favorite in a three-way line.

It's worth noting these bets are settled at the conclusion of regulation. Anything past the 90-minute mark (or the allotted injury time), does not count toward the wager. This removes extra time or penalty kicks from the equation.

Two-Way Moneyline

This bet comes in two flavors — double chance and draw no bet. The latter option is a classic moneyline, where odds are only available for either team. Betting on the draw is not do-able here.

Double chance, though, is a lot more unique. This is essentially a wager on two out of three possible outcomes happening. You have three betting options:

Option 1: home team wins or draws
Option 2: away team wins or draws
Option 3: home or away team wins (no draws)

Spread/Goal Line

If you just want to do away with draws completely, perhaps betting the spread will suit you better. Bookies will add a spread or "handicap" to each team that they must effectively "cover."

Let's use an example. Perhaps Real Madrid and Barcelona are playing in El Classico. A bookie might give Los Blancos a -0.5 spread to cover. The negative means they're the favorite and must win the game by at least one goal or more. On the flip side, Barcelona will be denoted underdogs at +0.5. If they draw or outright win the game, they'll cover the spread.

Total Goals

This wager is occupied solely with the number of goals that will be scored by both teams by the end of regulation. Many times, this bet is also referred to as the "over/under."

In soccer, a 2.5 over/under is pretty common. Watch out for that half-goal. If you're betting the over, that means you need at least three goals to be scored in order to cash out the ticket. Two or fewer results in an under.

Props

Prop bets are where things can get really fun. These are "mini" bets on other actions/events within a game.

The options can be seemingly endless. But for instance, you can bet on the number of yellow cards that will be handed out during the game. Or you could wager on how the first goal will be scored — penalty kick, foot, header, own goal.

Futures

As the name indicates, futures are gambles on down-the-line outcomes. Most commonly, you'll see these available for league or champions winners, individual awards like the Golden Boot, amongst others. More often than not, these odds are more lopsided since the future is so uncertain.

Parlays/Accumulators

The last bet type on our list is the most lucrative — if you can hit on it. Instead of a single bet, parlays or "accumulators" (as they're called in pockets of Europe) link two or more bets together. The entire parlay is dependent on each bet hitting. Just one loss will cancel out the whole ticket.

So now that you know how soccer betting works, now it's to learn how the best way to bet on soccer for winning:

Soccer Betting Strategy

Ah, yes, everyone wants the master soccer betting strategy. But the truth is, it's complicated. Very complicated, as a matter of fact.

What works for one bettor might not work for another, and vice-versa. There are just too many different strategies and variables at play to always correctly make soccer bet predictions.

While there may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to soccer betting predictions, there are some good-to-follow principles. We've learned these over the years, through our own experience and candidly watching others.

Bet With Your Head, Not Heart

Soccer seems to draw the most feverish fans. It's actually one of the sport's grand allures. That's fine and dandy unless you're betting.

You see, fandom doesn't lead to the best soccer bets predictions. To the contrary, actually, you'll be rife with bias when making picks. That's why it's best to avoid betting on teams and/or players that you're too emotionally invested in.

Instead, lean on analytics as part of your soccer betting system. We could write an entire article on this, but a few key stats that come to mind include total shots, time of possessions, etc.

Pick Your Battles

We've already told you ad nauseam how much soccer betting there is around the world. However, it can be overwhelming to keep up with.

Too many bettors fall in the trap of having action all over the place. Unless you watch soccer 24/7 — which is not a bad thing per se — it's going to be hard to become an expert on any league or competition.

Say you become laser-focused on the MLS, you'll probably begin to notice soccer betting trends with teams, players, and coaches of the league. This will help you judge future outcomes better. So hone your attention on a few spots rather than spreading yourself too thin. Ultimately, thats how to bet and win in soccer wagering.

Alright, folks, that does it for our soccer bet guide. Now it's on you to leverage all this information to your competitive advantage. Anyone of the sportsbooks below can get you started on your personal wagering journey.