Soccer Betting: Sites & “How to Bet” in 2021
Are you interested in soccer betting in South Africa, but you don’t know where, how, and what to bet on? With so many betting sites and betting opportunities, it can be difficult for punters to make a decision. The popular sport that has its origins in England is now the most popular sport in the world and South Africa is not an exception. With the right strategy and knowledge, you should be able to become a profitable soccer bettor and that’s exactly what you can expect from this guide.
How does soccer betting work?
Before you place a soccer bet online, you must understand how this sport works. There are two teams with 11 players each that are playing against each other. The main objective is to defeat the opposite team by scoring more goals than the other team. To score a goal, players have to kick a ball with their feet in the opponent’s goal and make the ball pass the goal line. Keep in mind that even though people in South Africa and a few other countries call it soccer, this sport is known as football in many other countries.
It's quite logical that the most popular sport in the world is also the most popular form of sports betting. Hundreds of people in SA are betting on soccer online every week. Most of them prefer betting on the match-winner. However, there are many other football bets that bettors can choose from like HF/FT, Over/Under goals, Draw-no-bet, etc. On top of that, some punters are fond of live in-game football betting which is offered by many online bookies.
When it comes to soccer betting, there are a few leagues and tournaments that are popular worldwide like the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga, the Spanish La Liga, the FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. Of course, the South African Premier Division (DStv Premiership) as well the matches played by the SA national football team are interesting for bettors in SA too.
What kind of soccer bets can I make?
The match-winner soccer bets are by far the most popular kind of soccer bets in SA and the world. So, you can support the home team or away team and wait for the final result. When the teams are relatively equal, you can also choose a draw bet which always has solid odds.
Those of you that want to stay safer can try the double chance bet. You can choose from the home/draw, away/draw, or home/away option. Since there are three possible outcomes of a football match, you will get two outcomes covered. This is a safer option compared to match-winner, but the odds are lower. A similar kind of bet is DNB (Draw no bet) where you pick one of the teams and if the match ends in a draw, you will get your wager back.
Some people prefer Under/Over goals bets. You can adjust the goal total to a few different values and predict whether the total number of goals in a match will be over or under that total. This is a good option when you expect a low or a high number of goals in a match. Don’t forget that these are just some of the many different kinds of bets in soccer. It looks like bookmakers are quite innovative when it comes to this activity.
Is soccer betting profitable or can it be?
In case you are ready to start using real money for this purpose, it’s quite natural to ask yourself whether you can see some profit. Many passionate punters can confirm that it can be profitable to bet on soccer. If you are a big fan of this sport, then the task is even simpler because following the players’ form, teams’ form, and knowing more about the history between teams can be very helpful. Remember that checking the odds and finding the true value in them can help you too.
What is the best soccer betting strategy?
First of all, let us say that there’s no magic formula that can help punters create winning tickets all the time. If someone is offering such a bullet-proof formula, then they are wrong. Yet, there are a few soccer betting strategies that can help you and it’s difficult to tell which one is the best soccer betting strategy.
For example, we have an arbitrage betting strategy. This strategy requires placing bets on two or even three different outcomes of the same match. That makes sense because there are so many online bookies that are offering football matches and they have different odds (these odds are changing all the time). So, it’s possible to place bets on both teams and still make a profit in the end. The downside of this system is that you will have to use a higher amount of money and keep looking for good odds.
The system of betting on underdogs is popular too. Generally speaking, bookies are offering very low odds for the best teams in the major leagues even when some of them are not in good form. It’s better to place a bet on weaker teams if they are in good form than on a favorite that’s in bad form. That’s what value bets are all about.
What & When are the major soccer tournaments/events/games in SA?
There are four professional leagues in South Africa. Yet, the South African Premier Division (also known as DStv Premiership) is the strongest and most popular one. 16 teams play 30 matches during one season which starts in August and ends in May. Mamelodi Sundowns is by far the most successful team in this league. In addition to this soccer league, there are three other professional leagues in SA – the National First Division, SAFA Second Division, and Regional League.
The Nedbank Cup is a premier club football knockout tournament in South Africa. Teams from all the leagues participate in this tournament which usually lasts for five months (from November to March). This is another interesting soccer betting event that you can bet on.
The South African national football team has made a few appearances at the FIFA World cup. It’s also a regular participant in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Which betting site is the best to bet on?
You can place a soccer bet online on dozens of websites. Yet, some of these online bookies are better than the others, so you have to be careful before joining one. Our suggestion is to sign up at bet.co.za because this online bookmaker is licensed in South Africa and accepts bets from residents of SA. Also, you can expect a wide array of betting options focused on football there.
Betting on football in SA is attractive for more than one reason. This is a convenient option that doesn’t require your physical presence anywhere specific (you can bet on the go if you want to).
Even though there were a few scandals involving football betting in the past, it’s safe to say that football betting is not fixed. This is especially true for the major national leagues and international matches covered by FIFA.
Football betting odds represent the amount that the bookie will pay out on a winning bet on top of the initial stake. So, if the odds are 2.00 and you’ve won a bet that was worth 100 rands, you will get a total of 200 rands.
The answer is yes. There are hundreds of football matches every year, so football betting is available daily. You can place bets on SA domestic matches or international matches at any time.
In this particular bet, punters are trying to predict the outcome of the match both during half-time and at the end of the match. So, you need to predict two events correctly to get paid.
