The World Cup is the largest event in the world, period. Soccer also happens to be a sport known for its sports betting. So its no wonder that many fans come to sports betting for the first time around this massive tournament.
With that in mind, we’ve laid out some of the main ways to breakdown betting on this huge event below, for rookie bettors and seasoned punters alike. To get started, you’ll want to create a betting account so you can follow along with our examples below.
There are a variety of ways to bet on individual player performances in the World Cup, but the biggest questions are always team-based. After all, as they say, teams win championships, not individuals, so we’ll start there.
Bet the Tournament – World Cup Team Betting
When it comes to betting on the beautiful game, the most common bets on teams come down to three basic questions:
Who will win the tournament?
Which teams will advance from a particular group?
What will happen in a given game?
To bet on who will win the tournament, you’ll want to visit our World Cup futures page – this will give you options and prices for each team in the tournament. The number next to each team (for example, Brazil at +300) represents the amount you’d win on that team if you bet $100 (a winning $100 bet on Brazil would earn you $300).
As for which team will advance from a given group, there are several ways to skin that cat. Check out our Group D odds. You’ll find a variety of options there, from prices on which team will win, to how many points a team will earn in group play. Each team plays three games in the group stage, with a win worth three points and a draw worth two.
But the most traditional way to bet on the World Cup, like any other sport, is to bet on the individual games that make up the tournament.
Bet the Games – Spread Betting on Individual World Cup Matches
There are a few different ways to bet on the outcome of a given World Cup game. The one that tends to be most familiar to North American bettors is spread betting.
Spread betting has nothing to do with bread and mayonnaise. A spread is the perceived gap between a team expected to win (the favorite) and the less likely team to win (the underdog). For example, in the Chile vs. Australia game, Chile is favored at -1 to win the game and Australia is priced at +1.
If the game ends in a tie, bettors on both sides get their money back. If the game is a draw, bettors backing Australia win, because the under-matched Aussies kept it close and and covered the spread. If Chile wins by two goals or more, they “cover” -1 and bets on them at -1 win. Spread bets are paid out just like futures bets – the price indicates the amount won in relation to $100 wagered. .
In short, spread betting gives you an advantage if you like the underdog or lowers the risk if you like the favorite. Still, it is not the most common way to bet on tie-filled soccer tournaments…
Three-Way Betting on World Cup Games
Because draws are so common in the World Cup, three-way odds are a more popular way to bet on soccer games. Three-way odds betting is simply betting simply adds another outcome you can bet on: team A to win, team B to win, or a draw. That’s three different ways to bet.
As an example, defending World Cup Champion Spain battles the Netherlands on June 13. The three-way betting line is:
The Netherlands +355 | Tie +215 | Spain -135
If you bet on either team on a three-way betting line, you will win that price if that teams win. Note, however, that if the game ends in a tie (there is no overtime or penalty kicks in the group stage), a three-way bet on either team loses. Of course you could also bet on the tie, which in this case would pay $215 on a $100 bet.
Bet the Players – Betting on Individual Player Honours
Once you’ve got a handle on team betting, understanding how to bet on individual players should be a breeze. At the World Cup, there are a few key ways to go about it, in which you will predict the answers who the following questions:
Who will win Golden Boot as top goalscorer in the tournament?
Who will win Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament?
Who will win Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in the tournament?
Three basic propositions, and they all work the same way: which players will dominate the tournament? Just like the odds to win the tournament for teams, player award odds assign a price to each name and pay out winners in the same way. Click on any of the names above to view the odds for those awards.
When thinking about the Golden Boot award, you’ll want to consider how far a given team might get in the tournament – the further they go, the more games they’ll play, and the more goals they’ll be able to score. A player like Luis Suarez is exceptional, but if Uruguay doesn’t get by England and Italy in the group stage, he’ll only play three games. You can check out our comprehensive Golden Boot preview here.
The Golden Ball is awarded to the best player in the tournament, and is often awarded to a player that makes the finals. The Golden Glove is for keepers only, and this is an award that can be won by a player on a weaker team because, no surprise, he’ll face more quality shots than goalies on better teams.
All told, it’s hard to go wrong when it comes to betting on the World Cup. The quality of competition is so high, and the opportunities to catch an amazing play or sequence is better at this tournament than anywhere else. To get started on the action, don’t forget to spend two minute setting up a betting account and let us know if you need any help getting set up – our friendly support team is standing by 24/7.
