Soccer Betting Guide

Soccer is the most-watched sport in the world. Other sports such as basketball and football have billions of dollars running through them and regularly feature on our TVs. However, nothing comes close on the global scale to the popularity of soccer across the rest of the world with viewerships in the billions.

Combined with this, for the most part, sports betting is legal across much of Europe and the rest of the world. Due to its popularity is no surprise that it's the sport that sees most wagers placed on it every season and this only continues to grow.

Betting on soccer takes many different forms and unlike most sports where the most popular way of betting is backing the Moneyline bettors can wager on a range of markets. This is because there are plenty of different outcomes that bettors can get involved with. Things like in-play (live) betting almost just as popular as pre-match betting.

In this article, we will explain how it all works. This includes what you can bet on when it comes to soccer, how you are able to bet on the sport, and where to bet in order to get the very most out of soccer betting in a state that is legal to do so.

Soccer is a simple game on the face of it. Each team consists of 11 players on the field with around 7 substitutes on the bench. The aim of the game is for those players to kick a circular 'football' across the pitch and into the opposing team's goal while stopping the other team from doing the same.

However, outside of this, there is a range of rules you need to be aware of in order to bet effectively. We've looked at all the key ones for you below:

There are many reasons to bet on soccer, but the main reason should always be for enjoyment doing it for entertainment purposes and not to make money. Betting should always be fun!

However, with soccer betting, you get so many more options to bet on than you would in other sports. Things like shots on target, moneylines, correct scores, players to score, bookings, corners and much more. All of those are options for soccer bettors and it gives a great array of options as opposed to other popular American sports.

Furthermore, betting on soccer tends to be more of a sport that goes on throughout the year as opposed to just through the summer or a couple of months as in other sports. In most cases, soccer will run from around August to May in Europe, and with the MLS also being through the summer until around October time, you can bet on soccer throughout pretty much the entire year. This is further enhanced in years when there are international competitions like the World Cup, Gold Cup, and the Copa America.

You can also bet on a variety of different soccer tournaments such as the World Cup, Champions League, Premier League, and the MLS Cup to name a few. This could involve winning one game within such a tournament, or winning the whole thing in general - it simply depends on how you want to bet and what you are after. At the same time, you can also target more niche betting and bet on a specific player or team within that game to do certain things, such as a team to score a certain amount of goals, get a certain amount of corners or bookings, for example. You may also want to bet on the game itself like if you fancy a player to score or have a certain number of shots - you can do that with soccer betting and it is incredibly popular.

Moneyline bets, spread bets, totals, teasers, parlays, round-robin betting, prop bets, and futures are all bets that can be found within soccer betting, however, much of the focus from soccer bettors comes from live betting as well as pre-match betting where you back a market and wait for it to play out.

Live betting, also known as in-play betting, is one of the most popular methods of betting when it comes to soccer, due to the breaks in play, how much can happen within the game itself during the 90 minutes, the available markets throughout each game, and above all, the slower pace at which you can take time to predict each game or upcoming event.

Finding value in soccer betting is all about doing your research, just like we do! We analyze every kick, game, competition and everything in between to find the very best within each soccer game to see where the value is. For example, we won’t just back Manchester City to beat Crystal Palace just because of the superior nature of one side but analyze the historical differences between the two, the form of them both at that time, and what the stats are saying for either team.

If you’re seeking the value of soccer bets even more so, don’t just look at the form and the history between the two, also take into account the factors like injuries. Injuries can break a team at times, if they have key players out they may be in a bit of trouble. This may mean the value may be in the other team to use this to their advantage and get the win. Alternatively, as many games don’t end in a draw, there could be value in a draw as the injuries to one team may even things out more.

Home advantage is another key factor in soccer, as teams towards the top end of a table tend to have fantastic home records and win most games in front of their own fans. Why? Nobody actually knows why, but the support, familiarity with the pitch, and the overall superior feeling when being at home tends to equate to a more positive output from the home side.

As of 2022, the sports betting phenomenon in the United States is continuing and we are now seeing states like New York begin to legalize sports betting this year. Sports betting has been legal in the country since the law changed back in 2018, but many states out there still refrain from allowing sports betting in any capacity. Other states will allow for sports betting in retail sportsbook stores only, and others will have this alongside online sports betting and in-stadium betting too.

The laws are constantly changing and even states which allow for sports betting are changing their laws too to allow for online sports betting and the expansion of further retail stores. Be sure to have a look around the Flashpicks site to see if you can get access to soccer betting in your state, as things are changing at a rapid pace.

Here at Flashpicks, our objective is to get you the very best soccer betting sportsbooks, offers, and free bets every day and for every popular competition and game out there. Whenever a new offer for your favorite sportsbook occurs, be sure to head straight to our free bets and soccer betting pages to see how to claim them, what is on offer, and all the terms and conditions too.

Users can view all our soccer betting guides and tips right here on the website, so if you’re seeking how a new market works that you’re unaware of, we will detail this for you. We will also list how to place each bet, what market means what and how they work, as well as all our latest tips in sports betting.

You will find soccer picks and our soccer predictions right here at Flashpicks every single day. Whether this is for games in the Premier League, MLS, or other divisions around the world - we will have them listed here on our site.

If you’re after reading insights and previews into a set game or division, we have that too. Or, if you just want a quick-read tip and why we have chosen that one, simply head to our tips section and add it straight into your bet slip there as well.

No matter the league or the team, we will have everything you need for all your soccer bets and soccer picks right here.

It’s important to not chase losses in soccer betting. Upsets can happen and games may not go the way you predicted in your bet, but the moment you start chasing your losses is when things start to get out of hand. Be sure to manage your money with deposit limits, which allows you to put a physical restriction on betting a certain amount each week, month or year. You can even take time out from your time betting with that sportsbook by simply putting a certain length of time restriction on betting with them.

Refrain from emotional betting, such as betting on a team you dislike or your own team just because they’re your team. Take the emotion out of sports betting and keep it fun and entertaining - sports betting is simply just meant to be entertainment for watching sports.

Avoid chasing longshots too, as these odds are super high for a reason and the chances of your winning them are clearly very high for a reason. At the same time, relying on favorites to win isn’t always the greatest betting method, as the odds will be low and you will then need to wager a lot more in order to see a worthwhile profit.

Keep it fun, and add in deposit limits if you need.

In the United States where sports betting is gradually being legalized across the country state by state, year by year, there are still some states in the country that do not allow for any sort of betting and stick to purely fantasy sports. In some cases, not even that. However, in states where sports betting is legal, there are often two options to bet through: betting online and retail sportsbooks. Some states are yet to completely legalize online sports betting and simply only allow for betting in-person at retail sportsbooks. These are often found in hotels, casinos, and stadiums, but sometimes just down the local high streets. However, some states with retail sportsbooks do, unfortunately, come at a great disadvantage for those who want to get the very best out of sports betting, and hopefully, over time, we see those states turn a corner and head for online betting too so players can get the very best out of their experience.

The main difference between online betting and retail sports betting is that you can’t compare the odds. Simply put, whatever it is you get in the retail store, is what you’re going to get, period. This means that should you know that there are better odds elsewhere (which is often the case) you simply have to accept whatever it is you’re getting in-store that day. At the same time, this also applies for certain markets in store too, as if you’re able to get more options online and fewer inside the retail store, that is simply that and you have to bet on what you have available in store. This, in reality, shouldn’t be too much of an issue and there should still be a lot to choose from in both sports and markets within certain sports at the retail sportsbook. However, there is a chance that you’re unable to get what you want at a retail sportsbook in contrast to that of online.

It is also significantly easier to bet online. There are no questions asked, no queues, no waiting around, and you can simply input what you want on the sports/market you are after and that is that. In a retail sportsbook, there could be waiting and you will also have to return to collect your winnings, rather than have it straight into your bank. You may also need to stay inside the retail store to watch the game you’re betting on, however, this is most definitely a positive as sportsbooks tend to show the games in-store through their licensing, as opposed to streaming the games online, which is a whole different ball game and not usually allowed.

Annoyingly, the same sportsbook operator can have different odds online too, which are often called boosted odds and enhanced odds, and you can’t always get this in-store and maybe an online offer only. This isn’t always the case, but it’s worth noting anyway.

Finally, it’s not always the case of when you sign up in-store with a sportsbook that you will be able to get the best offers and free bets for the initial sign up and the first bet. You may, but this will differ from retail store to retail store and you may not be able to get the best sign up offer that you would online.

All in all, unfortunately in some states, you have to take what is offered and for the time being, certain states only allow for retail sportsbooks and not online.

As mentioned before, soccer is the most-watched sport in the world and it isn’t even a debate. In the United States, this is greatly different as football, baseball, basketball and hockey all take a more important role in sports for the country on a national level than soccer. However, with the ever-growing popularity of the sport in participation and viewership, the country’s own top division, MLS, and popular divisions across Europe like the Premier League and La Liga are all regularly shown on television in the United States. Naturally, the top European leagues will be shown earlier in the day and it, therefore, may be a slight issue for American viewers to watch them, although they should be televised. At the same time, you can catch most MLS games on TV too, you just need the right subscription package.

Streaming soccer on betting sites isn’t always available for licensing and legal reasons, however, every single sportsbook you bet with will offer live updates straight as they happen, whether this is a corner, goal, booking or a result elsewhere. Whatever market you’re betting on, you can guarantee that you will be able to see what is unfolding through the sportsbook online.

Our Soccer sports betting experts have got you Covered. We cover a wide array of Soccer bets:

• Soccer Picks
• Soccer Parlays
• Latest Soccer News, Picks And Analysis
• Soccer Bet Of The Day
• World Cup Odds

We also have a full list of the best Soccer Sportsbooks.

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