Football Betting - Advantages and Disadvantages

23 October 2020

Football is, without a doubt, the most popular sport in the betting world at this moment, maybe only the US can make an exception. Still, is football the most profitable sport to bet on? This article presents the advantages and disadvantages of football betting and will definitely help you get an idea of how profitable this sport can be.

Advantages of football betting

The information is easily found. Being the most popular sport at a global level, football offers easy to find information. Especially if we are talking about big championships, the data you need to analyse a match is just a few clicks away. You will be able to see the problems the teams are facing, read the football news, interviews and statements from players and coaches, find the possible teams, and all these will help you make the right decision about the bets to place. The poor evolution of some players may be compensated by the others. Football is a team sport in which no less than 11 players are trying to play as well as possible. In this case, you have the advantage that the bad performance of some players can be compensated by the rest of the teammates. Obviously, each team has basic players that may influence the match if they have a bad day, but in general, the final result will not be too much impacted if 1-2 players have an average performance.

Disadvantages of football betting

You depend on at least 22 players. If the poor performance of some players could be compensated for, however, the fact that there are not less than 22 players in the field can be a disadvantage. Thus, there are many variables that you can not control, no matter how well you analyse that match. Every phase is important in football and many players contribute to it, but it only takes one player to make a mistake for everything to fall apart. 

Weather can impact the match. While most sports are not influenced by weather conditions, things are totally different in football, and even bad weather may cause the match not to go as anticipated. For example, heavy rain will make the ball hard to control, and the chances to score are likely to be fewer, while a frozen, soft or generally difficult ground will make no difference between the teams, and luck and chance will play an important role in the final result of the match.

Red card elimination can blow your bets

If in other sports eliminations are temporary (handball, basketball, etc.), in football the teams play a man down throughout the match and even for the next matches. If a player is sent off at the end of the match, it probably will not matter much, but if one of the teams plays with one player fewer for a long time, surely the outcome will be influenced. Obviously, red card elimination can either be an advantage (when a player from a team is sent off and you bet on the other team to win), or a disadvantage (when a player from the team you are betting on is sent off), but they often ruin the match (for example, the team with 10 players may play harder on defense and it will be a match with few goals, etc.).

The referees have a word to say

If the players are to blame for ejections (rarely a red card or 2 yellow ones are shown for no reason), let's take a look at the decisions made by referees. They can decisively influence the fate of a match by making decisions such as canceling a valid goal (offside, a fault in the attack, etc.), giving a wrong penalty, and even sending the coach to the stand (many teams depend on the coach’s indications). However, the introduction of video arbitration, which will definitely be implemented with all the big championships, will make such mistakes disappear. Depending on the bets you place, such bets may be valid or not ( for example, canceling a valid goal for the opposing team when you bet on the other's victory will be in your favour, although it is the referee's fault, etc.), so luck plays an important role in football betting. It is obvious that football bets will still remain the most popular but it would not hurt to focus on other sports as well.


Share this article