How to Place an Online Football Bet

Guidance to placing your first Football Sports Bet

Recent years have witnessed a significant rise in the number of bookmakers who are offering punters the opportunity to bet online, as well as a proportionate rise in the number of football fans who are using the internet to bet on their chosen matches and events. This is hardly surprising, given the fact that the Internet offers maximum convenience for punters, neither limiting them to set hours of trade or specific shop locations. Instead, the Internet offers punters the opportunity to bet on football 24/7 from whichever location they want. If you want to join the growing ranks of punters who are using the internet to bet on football, here is our quick-start guide to placing an online football bet.

Step 1 - Choose an online bookmaker

Your first step in placing a football bet online is to select an online bookmaker. Now, there are literally thousands of bookmakers and sportsbook sites trading online, but this should not put you off. Things you should look for when choosing a betting site include

Betting Options - most major online bookmakers will allow you to bet on football, but look for a good range of betting options. Many sites will offer odds for traditional bets like simple game predictions through to a host of other betting options like correct score, half-time/full-time results, first or last player to score, total goals in match, and many more.
Security and Privacy - choose sites that promise to keep your personal details safe, secure, and private.
Reputability - choose trustworthy and reputable sites. The larger online traders - from recognisable High Street names through to well known and well established online names - should be a good place to start.

To help you choose where to place your online football bet, we have compiled a short directory of some of the trusted and secure betting sites online. Simply choose from among the bookmakers listed and follow their link.

Step 2 - Choose an event

Most major online bookamkers allow you to bet on all major football matches and events, including the following:

The World Cup
Champions League
Scottish Premier League (SPL)
All UK leagues and divisions
European football
...and many more

So you won"t exactly be limited as to the number of football games you can bet on.

Step 3 - Get wised up

When you go to place an online football bet, note that you also have access to essential information about footbal matches, players, and odds at your fingertips. There is a vast reservoir of info about football events online, allowing you to check out the latest football information and betting odds before you place your bet.

Step 4 - Sign up for an account

Once you have selected your bookmaker, simply navigate to their site and sign up for an account. This process is completely free and involves registering details such as name, address, email and so forth. After that, you simply place credit in your account via credit card, debit, etc and use it to bet on your chosen football game.

Note that most major online bookmakers offer special sign up deals, including free bets when you a) first deposit money in your account, or b) place your first bet. This commonly involves them matching the sum of your first deposit/bet to a maximum specified value (commonly £25 to £50). For example, you place a first bet of, say, £12, then your online bookmaker credits your account with a further £12 to be used on selected football matches or events for free. We have listed some great online betting deals here if you want to take advantage of their special sign-up offers.

Step 5 - Place your bet

So, you"ve now selected your online bookmaker, chosen your football match, signed up for a free account, and deposited money in your account. Now you"re ready to place your bet. Simply choose the type of bet you want (from straight bets through to multiples) and off you go. Good luck!