Football betting glossary: Common terms and definitions every bettor should know

When modern football was established in the 19^th century, it became an instant hit among sports fans.

Interestingly, another activity related to the world’s most popular sport surfaced simultaneously – football betting. Like modern people, punters back then were betting on various types of outcomes of matches.

For experienced bettors, it’s straightforward to wager money on top gambling sites. On the other hand, newer players can get confused trying to figure out the various terms in football betting. That’s why it’s essential for anybody who wants to start betting on football to understand the terms and definitions related to this activity. The good news is that it’s not that challenging to familiarise yourself with the football betting glossary, especially with guides like this one.

Total goals/Goal line

This term describes the bet that predicts the total goals that will be scored in the regular time (the goals in extra time after 90 minutes are not included). Basically, bettors wager money below or over the goal line. For instance, when the line is 1.5, and you bet on over, you will lose the bet if the total number of goals is 0 or 1. The match needs two or more goals for you to win.

Handicap

Here we have another popular betting market that involves giving one team a virtual disadvantage in the form of a handicap. So, the favourite team is given a negative handicap, while the outsider gets a positive handicap. Once the match is finished, the handicap is subtracted from or added to the final result to determine the outcome of your wager. For instance, if you wagered money on the favourite with a -1 handicap and the match ended with its win of 2:0, you are a winner (2 goals – 1 from the handicap will still result in a win).

1×2

This is the simplest and most common form of football betting. 1 stands for the home team win, x is a draw, and 2 is for the away team win. Basically, you are choosing the winner of the match or whether the game will end in a draw.

Draw-No-Bet

This is a modified version of the 1×2 bet. Simply put, you can pick one of the teams to win the match, and if the game ends in a draw, you will get your money back. This is a much safer bet compared to 1×2, so the odds are lower. Many use this option to back underdogs because the odds are still decent.

Asian Handicap

We have another modified version of a betting market here. Asian Handicap works similarly to the standard Handicap market but involves half-goal increments. They are here to eliminate the possibility of a draw. This means there are no draws or pushes when using Asian Handicap, and the outcome is either a win or a loss.

BTTS – Both Teams to Score

When bettors expect an open match with many goals, they should consider the BTTS bet. As the name suggests, the Both Teams to Score can be a winning bet only when both teams score at least one goal during the game. The good thing here is that the winner of the match or whether the game ends in a draw is irrelevant.

Accumulator

An accumulator, or an acca as many punters call it, is a specific type of bet that includes two or more individual bets into a single wager. Many players use accumulators to select the winners of two, three, or more games. When using this bet, the odds for each selection are multiplied. This results in big odds that promise substantial payouts even when using small bets. Still, you should remember that all selections in the accumulator must be correct for a player to win the promised amount. They may promise big payouts but are way riskier than single bets.

Outright Winner

Football betting doesn’t have to be related to a specific match. Sometimes, bettors can wager money on tournaments and other events. For instance, the outright winner market lets you bet on the team that will win a tournament or a league. Remember that it will take more time to determine whether you won when using this option. Also, the odds change drastically as the competition progresses.

Correct Score

This term is used for one of the bets that primarily rely on luck. Bettors predict the exact final scoreline of a football match when they use “correct score.” Of course, the increased risk offers higher payouts.

In-play betting

In-play betting, or live betting, describes betting on a match while it’s in progress. In this type of betting, the odds are constantly changing, and making informed and fast decisions based on what you are looking at is crucial for your success.