A beginner’s guide to World Cup betting

For soccer lovers, the FIFA World Cup is like Christmas, New Year’s and all your birthdays at once. With so many bookmakers and bets to choose from, it can be overwhelming for punters who are not familiar with the ins and outs of soccer betting. Fear not, because we have broken everything down into the simplest terms.

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What is the FIFA World Cup?

The World Cup is the most prestigious title in association football, if not all of sport. Staged over one action-packed month every four years, it features 32 national teams from all corners of the globe. Qualification is rigorous, with limited places available for each of the six continental confederations. Europe (UEFA) has 14 teams competing at Russia 2018, including the hosts, while Oceania (OFC) has none due to New Zealand’s playoff defeat to Peru.

A few months out from the tournament, teams are seeded according to their world ranking and then drawn into eight groups of four. Each team plays the others in the group once, with the top two from each progressing to the knockout phase.

From that point on, teams are bracketed into one-off knockout ties where the winner moves on and the loser is eliminated. Thus, the field is halved after the second round, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals until only two remain. The finalists play for the title of world champion, while the losing semi-finalists vie for third place.

What is the easiest way to bet on the 2018 World Cup?

Betting on World Cup football is simple. All of the best-known Australian betting sites – including trusted brands such as Sportsbet, Palmerbet, Ladbrokes, Betfair and Bet365 – are running massive markets and exclusive specials for Russia 2018.

All you have to do is:

Click on any of the secure bookmaker links in this page
Follow the prompts to create an online betting account
Find ‘World Cup 2018’ in the navigation menu and browse the available markets
Tap the odds to select a bet, then set your stake and confirm

The whole process is simple, safe, and takes only a few minutes to complete.

What are the best World Cup betting options?

For those who are unfamiliar with the specifics of soccer betting, browsing through World Cup betting markets can be a daunting experience. There are hundreds of different ways to place a wager, many of which are unique to the sport and have little or nothing to do with match results. Open the tabs below to find out more.

Outrights & Futures
The Outright Winner market is the biggest of all the World Cup bets on offer. It is also among the simplest, as all you have to do is answer one simple question: which team will lift the trophy?

That is but one example of the dozens of soccer futures available during the World Cup. Other options include:
- To Reach the Final – Which team(s) will make it all the way to the World Cup final?
- Stage of Elimination – At what point will the team in question exit the tournament?
- Group Winner – Which team will finish the group stage in first place?
- Top European Team – Which UEFA nation will go furthest in the tournament?
- Top South American Team – Which CONMEBOL nation will go furthest in the tournament?
- Top North American Team – Which CONCACAF nation will go furthest in the tournament?
- Top African Team – Which CAF nation will go furthest in the tournament?
- Top Asian Team – Which AFC nation will go furthest in the tournament?
- Top Tournament Goalscorer – Which player will score the most goals at the World Cup?
- Player of the Tournament – Which player will claim the coveted Golden Ball award?
Match betting
Every match at the World Cup comes with three standard betting options: Team A to win, Team B to win, or the match to end in a draw. Bookmakers call this a Win-Draw-Win market.

There are several variations on standard match betting:
- Draw No Bet – Back either team to win and get your money back if the match end in a draw
- Double Chance – Back two potential results in a single wager (e.g. Brazil win or draw)
- Half Betting – Back a team win the first half, second half, either, or both
Handicap betting
Soccer handicaps are designed to balance the odds when one team is heavily fancied to win. Bookmakers set a goal line that determines each team’s handicap and what they must do in order for the bet to win. In simple terms, the underdog is given a head start which the favourite must nullify.

For example, France are expected to beat Australia in the group stage. If the Socceroos have a handicap of +2.0, the bet pays if they secure any result better than a two-goal defeat. Meanwhile, a -2.0 handicap means Les Blues must win by at least two goals.
Correct score betting
Correct score bets are trickier than they sound. They only pay when you pick exactly how many goals each team scores, meaning you need to cover both the numerical scoreline and the outcome of the match.

For example, let’s say we back Spain to win 3-1 over Portugal. For the bet to pay, La Roja must finish the game with exactly three goals and their Iberian rivals must score exactly one goal.
Goalscorer betting
World Cup bookies offer many different ways to bet on individual goalscorers. Popular options include:
- First Goalscorer – Which player will score the first goal of the match?
- Last Goalscorer – Which player will score the last goal of the match?
- Anytime Goalscorer – Back a player to score at any point in the game
- Two Goals or More – Back a player to score multiple goals
- To Score a Hat-trick – Back a player to net at least three goals
Props and exotics
There are hundreds of minor and major details that make up a football match, and you can bet on just about every one of them. World Cup exotic bets include:
- Goals
  - Number of total goals in the match (e.g. over/under 3.5 goals)
  - Odd or even number of total goals
  - Which half will have the most goals scored?
- Time
  - Time of the first goal scored (e.g. before/after 27th minute)
  - Time interval of the first goal scored (e.g. between 11th and 20th minute)
  - Which team will lead after 15, 30, or 60 minutes?
- Corners
  - Total number of corners for the match (e.g. over/under 11)
  - Which team will win the most corner kicks?
  - Which half will produce the most corners?
- Penalties
  - Will the referee award a penalty to either team?
  - Will either team score a penalty kick?
  - Will either team miss a penalty kick?
- Discipline
  - How many yellow cards will be shown?
  - Will the referee send a player off?
  - Which team will earn the most yellow cards?

How to make World Cup multi bets

With up to four matches scheduled for each day of the tournament, the World Cup is ideal for multi bets. Bookmakers run plenty of doubles, trebles and other special markets, but you can create your own multiples with any number of combinations.

First things first: what is a multi bet? Horse racing fans might know it as an accumulator, while the Americans call it a parlay. Simply put, it is when you take two or more separate bets and combine them on a single betting slip. Multis only pay when all selections – called legs or folds – return a win.

For example, let’s say we are building a four-leg match multi with the following legs:

France to beat Australia ($1.20)
Argentina to beat Iceland ($1.30)
Croatia to beat Nigeria ($1.83)
Denmark to beat Peru ($2)

To create the multi, pull up the list of World Cup matches and tap the odds to make your selections. Each wager should appear on your virtual betting slip in the ‘Singles’ section, underneath which you should see a ‘Multibet’ option. If you are satisfied with the odds offered ($5.77, in this case), enter your stake and confirm the bet.

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