What is a Football Bet? How Sports Betting Works
For example, you are sure that Arsenal will beat Chelsea this Saturday, so you put €10 on it at odds of 2.5. If the Gunners win, you get €25. But if they don’t, the bet amount is lost. That’s exactly what a football bet is: an agreement with a bookmaker on the outcome of some event. This is not necessarily a match outcome; there are many other betting options like goal amount, number of corners, yellow cards issued, and so on. A correct prediction results in a payout, but if the call is wrong, your stake is taken by the bookie.
What are betting odds in short? These are numbers that determine the likelihood of a specific event and the profit bettors will receive if their predictions are correct.
How does sports betting work in practice?
First and foremost, you need to get access to markets: join VivatBet, open the bookie’s website or the betting app. Find the match you are interested in in the sports betting line. Pick team A to win, say, at odds of 1.8, choose the amount you want to stake, e.g., €10, and place a bet. Now the math is clear: if team A is a winner, you receive €10 × 1.80 = €18. This is your bet and €8 profit. The lower the chances of some outcome in the opinion of bookies and analysts, the higher the odds, and vice versa.
Types of bets (in brief)
The most popular types of bets are:
match result (1X2) - you simply back the home win (1), draw (X), or away win (2)
total goals - you bet on whether the match produces over or under the predicted amount of goals;
handicap - in football betting, this is when one team gets a virtual deficit or advantage to level the chances;
accumulator - several choices are combined into a single bet, and every pick must win; if even one is lost, the entire wager is gone.
What is a bookmaker
A bookmaker is usually an entity that is authorized to accept wagers. Earlier, persons or physical establishments were usually bookmakers. In today’s reality, this is usually an online platform that has a necessary license (international or local). In Estonia, licensed bookmakers operate under the EMTA (Estonian Tax and Customs Board). It sets odds, accepts bets (on football outcomes or other sports disciplines), as well as pays winnings.
