Mark our words: 2021 is the year sports betting will take off. Don’t get us wrong – we know that sports betting is already incredibly successful, and that the coronavirus pandemic has improved its fortunes even further. Still, we think that there’s even more scope for sports betting to dominate the world of online gaming in 2021, and that’s why it’s a good idea to think about getting in on the ground floor.
In order to begin football betting, there are things you’ll need to know. While it may seem deceptively simple from the outside, there are actually lots of intricacies in football betting that could result in problems for the inexperienced bettor. Don’t worry, though – we’re here to help you. Here’s how you can get started betting on football for the 2021-22 Premier League season (or for Euro 2021, if you’re quick!).
Understand the nature of sports betting
Just like the best casino games out there, chance underpins sports betting in a major way. While you can certainly make informed decisions and predictions, everything eventually comes down to simple luck, so if you don’t win, it’s not because you’re not skilled enough; it’s because you were unlucky this time.
With that said, that doesn’t mean you can’t utilise your knowledge in order to get a competitive advantage when you’re betting on football. Watching Premier League games helps immensely (more on which later), and if you do happen to spot something others have missed, your knowledge can come in handy. It’s just all about chance at its core.
Learn bankroll management first
As anyone who’s spent any time playing on real money online casinos can attest, bankroll and money management are critical skills for a budding sports bettor. By limiting the amount you spend on each bet and restricting your overall bankroll, you’re engaging in very important damage limitation.
That’s why it can be a good idea to start with a practice account on which you’re not spending any actual cash. Many platforms will offer demo accounts you can use to cut your teeth; if the platform you’re on doesn’t offer this service, you might want to consider switching to one that does.
Choose the right platform
The platform you pick to do your sports betting on can have a huge effect on whether you make any headway or not. There are hundreds of thousands of sports betting platforms competing for your attention, so it’s imperative that you choose the right one, because they don’t all have the same bonuses and offers to choose from.
Before you begin betting on football, try to take some time to just browse around the various different platforms and find out what they’re offering. Look for prominently-displayed security certificates, too, as these will tell you that the safety of your money is a big concern for the platform.
Pick a team for your strategy – and don’t make it your favourite team
Many first-time football bettors make the rookie mistake of choosing their favourite team to form the core of their betting strategy. This is an error simply because you need to be able to bet against that team in order to achieve victory, and you might not be able to do that if you have allegiances to worry about.
With that said, it’s still a good idea to pick a single team around which your strategy should revolve. This way, you can acquire and maintain in-depth knowledge about that team, their players, and their strategies, and you won’t run yourself ragged trying to keep track of everyone in the league.
Don’t just make match outcome bets
You might be tempted simply to make match outcome bets when you’re sports betting, but by doing so, you’re selling yourself drastically short. Match outcome bets are easy to understand, but they’re also very safe, which means you likely won’t get the best odds you possibly can on these bets.
There are lots of different aspects of the game on which you can bet. Try betting on goal lines, spread betting on goal difference, or even betting on substitutions. These are all much riskier prospects, but they also have the potential to return much better payouts for you, so it all balances out.
Bet on less popular games
Everyone’s going to be congregating around the biggest tentpole games of the season. For that reason, many bookmakers and sports betting platforms will be offering diminished odds, as they won’t want to pay out huge amounts of money to everyone who’s making bets.
That’s why you should try to spot the less popular matches and place bets on those. Smaller leagues can paradoxically be more lucrative because fewer people will be betting on them, meaning that although they’re less prestigious, they stand a chance of a better payout for you.
Always remember to enjoy yourself
Betting with a profit motive in mind is never a good idea, as we’ve established, because you can never absolutely guarantee an outcome. For that reason, you should make sure your motive is always to have fun and enjoy yourself. If you aren’t having fun, it’s time to walk away and take a break.
It can also be a good idea to play with family and friends – not only is this more fun, but you’ll have a support network around you who can tell you when it’s time for you to quit, and vice versa. Everything is more fun with your loved ones, and football betting is no exception. It might even make a good switch-up from your usual game night!