Soccer Betting – The Most Popular Sport in the World

Although we would not know it based on airplay in North America, the game of soccer is the most popular sport in the world, by any measure. Soccer is the most watched, the most played, and the highest grossing sport on the planet, according to any study ever done on those topics. Soccer is relatively easy to get into, not requiring a lot of equipment at the very basic level, and it’s no wonder that sports people can easily identify with it, and how it has become so popular.

When a sport is as well known and well loved as soccer is, you can be sure that there will be a high level of sports betting action following teams all over the world. The most money will be wagered in Europe, of course, the home of the highest grossing soccer leagues in the world. However, even in North America pitch fans will find ample opportunities to place a wager on their team, as there are several leagues operating in the United States and Canada.

One of the great things about sports betting is that it generally follows the same basic rules and patterns, no matter which sport one is interested in. Soccer betting has the same types of wagers to be placed as American football or baseball. As it is a relatively low scoring sport, those betting on soccer tend to play the money line. With money lines, a bet is placed on the team that the bettor thinks will win.

Money lines look like this:

Chicago Fire -180
Kansas City Wizards +120

Chicago is the favorite soccer club here, as far as the bookmakers are concerned. There are more wagers being placed on Chicago than on Kansas City, thus a bettor will have to pay $180 in order to win $100. On the other hand, if a bettor wants to take Kansas City as the underdog, he or she can win $120 if the Wizards take the match for every $100 wagered. Taking the underdog seems like the best value, but remember that they have to win the match in order for you to get that money!

There is a version in soccer betting of the spread, a very popular sports betting method for many sports. In soccer wagering, the spread is known as the goal line. The favorite team has a higher payout, but bets are only paid if the favored team wins by a set amount of goals (usually two). Conversely, if the underdog loses by less than two goals, those who bet on them (in the above example, the Wizards) will collect on their bets.

One of the advantages of soccer betting, at least in the United States and in Canada, is that there is a real chance to make some profit for those who know what they are doing. Soccer is not as popular as other sports, and is still at the “fan level” when it comes to sports betting. That means that the bets are still being placed mostly by fans of the game, who tend to pick their favorite teams. This means that many bets on underdogs are a good value, and can be taken advantage of by bettors with an idea about the teams, game, strategies, and history.

Hi my name is Shirley Durling and I am a sport betting enthusiast. I write articles and review products and services related to Sports Betting and my blog is about Sports Betting, SportsBooks and Tickets. Please feel free to leave your comments. SportBettingStore.com/blog [http://www.sportbettingstore.com/blog]!

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