Basic Football Betting Rules

Although many people love to wager on the beautiful game, they sometimes don’t know all the necessary football betting rules. A lack of knowledge can lead to confusion at best and a loss of money at worst. However, our guide on betting rules in football will help clear that confusion for you, highlighting what happens in certain situations and whether your bet is a winner, unsettled, or even void.

Whether a match is abandoned, an own goal is scored, or a team wins in extra time, we are going over all of that. Armed with this information, you will be able to bet with far greater confidence than before. While with so many bookmakers looking to take your hard-earned money, you will only want to do battle with the best, which you can thankfully find in the list below:

Do all bookies have betting rules in football

Although rules for betting on football are largely universal, some bookmakers have a habit of using them to their advantage. For example, if a player scores a deflected goal in the first scorer market, they may class it as an own goal. Although this decision can be appealed, the process can be long and tedious, so bettors fail to go through with it. Bookmakers cannot settle markets any way they want, though; they must use official stats.

Another thing to be wary of is minor leagues that get little or no media coverage. These competitions are easier to exploit from a bookmaker's point of view, as there are fewer grounds to challenge what may or may not have occurred. Therefore, you should only use bookmakers that you can trust.

How can football betting rules impact your bets

Bookmakers have football betting rules, so everyone knows when a bet is won or lost. These parameters make betting fair for everyone. Without them, bookmakers could ignore winning bets or decide not to pay out. Thankfully, rules also allow for any contentious issues to be challenged. Despite them being standard across all leading bookmakers, there can be some differences, which usually come in the form of varied maximum winning amounts.

Note that a bookmaker can change the rules without informing a player, so check for any updates regularly. Of course, that is not the only thing to look out for. Depending on the football bet that you place, different regulations will apply. For example, own goal betting rules may be something to consider in the first scorer market. With an own goal not considered the game's first goal, the second goalscorer (if there is one) will be the first for this market's purposes.

Another rule to consider is the 90-minute rule. Here, if you back a team to win in a cup or tournament game and they need extra time to complete the task, this will be considered a lost bet. At the same time, the betting rules on abandoned football matches are often confusing. If your bet is settled before the game is called off, your winnings are yours to keep. However, if your bet is unsettled and the match is abandoned, it will be declared void.

Fundamentals of football betting rules

When it comes to football betting rules, there are several aspects that you need to consider. Thankfully, we are going to run through the most important ones to provide you with some considerable insight along the way.

90 Minutes Rule

There is a clear definition between a win in normal or extra time and this comes courtesy of the betting in the 90-minute rule. For example, if Manchester City are playing Liverpool in a cup final and you have backed the former to win in the 1Χ2 market, they must do so in 90 minutes. If Man City’s men manage to get the better of their adversaries in extra time, this bet is not considered a winning selection.

Own goal betting rules

Own goal betting rules have the potential to catch bettors out, especially when it comes to the first scoring markets. Because with own goals not considered as part of the count, if this is the opening goal of the game, the market will still be open. However, they do count in the over/under tally. So if an own goal is one of two goals in an under 2.5 bet, this will be considered a winner by the bookmakers. Another thing to remember is that bookmakers follow official tournament statistics. It might take some time for an own goal to be accepted as an official outcome, which could also lead to a delay in bets being settled correctly.

Dead heat rule

Similar to that horse racing, it will consider multiple options in a market as the winner. Take the Golden Boot, for example; if this has two players scoring the same number of goals, this is considered a dead heat and winnings will be paid accordingly. However, there is one other thing to consider here. The winning odds will be split depending on the number of winners. If two players both share the Golden Boot, the odds paid out to you will be subsequently halved. At the end of the 2010 World Cup, for example, there were four players who scored five goals. This meant that any bettor who had selected one of the quartet to win the award ended up receiving 1/4 of the initial odds as per the relevant betting rules in football.

Betting rules on abandoned football matches

There are a number of reasons why the betting rules on abandoned football matches could come into play. However, all that really matters is what this means for your bet. Ultimately, it all depends on when the match is called off. If, for example, you have had a first scorer bet settled because of an early goal for Real Madrid, this would continue to be honoured after any abandonment.

However, if you had backed Real Madrid to beat Barcelona and the match was abandoned in the 76th minute, this would be declared void. One thing to remember is that the bookmakers will keep your bet open for 24 hours. Therefore, if the game is played to a finish the next day, it can be settled as normal. While in some cases, you may also be given the option to declare it void yourself or keep the bet open.

Bet settlement

Bet settlement is arguably the most important aspect of all. Because it is the one which will decide if you win or not. The way in which bookmakers decide this is by using statistical feeds from the Press Association. Without these statistics, betting rules in football could not be adhered to. These feeds are the gold standard in terms of match stats and these values are used when settling each of the available individual markets. However, if for any reason there are no statistics available, the bet will remain unsettled until they can be received.

Top team goalscorer

Football betting rules also consider scoring markets, one example being the Golden Boot award. For example, in tournament competitions, only goals scored in normal or extra time will be counted towards a player’s overall tally. This means any goals scored during a penalty shootout are ignored. In terms of league football, all goals that are scored will be deemed legal. Another point of interest is whether a player transfers from one club to another. If Harry Kane moved from Tottenham to Manchester United, he would still be eligible for the Premier League Golden Boot race, but not for Tottenham’s top scorer market.

In-play next goalscorer

Another of the rules for betting on football is the in-play next goalscorer. A bet that pays out on who will score the next goal during a particular game. However, if the next scorer was not available for betting, the market would then be rolled over. For example, if Jack Grealish scored for Manchester City but was not available in the betting market, it would stay unsettled. Yet if Erling Haaland scored next and he was your selection, this would be deemed a winning bet.

Over/under rule

This rule can be enforced when a game is abandoned. For example, if you backed over 0.5 goals in the first half and the score was 1-1 at halftime, this would be settled in your favour. However, if you backed Manchester City and Liverpool to score over 2.5 total goals and the game was abandoned in the 81st minute with the score at 2-1, this bet would have to be declared void. However, the betting rules in football also dictate that the market can be left open for 24 hours in case the remainder of the game is played the following day.

Complete list with the best football bookmakers

Now that you have been given an insight into the betting rules in football, it should allow you to bet with greater confidence than ever before. Because these play such an important part in football betting, it is incredibly important to be familiar with them. Especially as they could be the difference between your bet is a winner or a loser.

Ultimately, it makes sense to keep checking the rules of your favourite bookmaker since they can change at a moment’s notice; and if you do not know the latest applying regulations, it could end up in you losing money. As for those who are new to football betting and are looking for a recommendation when it comes to choosing a bookmaker, here is who we suggest.