The World Cup is finally here. Enhance your experience by betting on your favourite teams right here at Bodog Sportsbook. But that’s not the only way to get in the action. In this guide, we break down eight different ways to get into World Cup betting.
Spread
If this is your first time betting on the World Cup, the spread is a great place to start. The spread is a margin of victory that the stronger team (favourite) must win by, and that the weaker team (underdog) can lose by. Let’s look at an example of a 1.5-goal spread.
Argentina —1.5
Iceland +1.5
Argentina is the favourite and must win by at least two goals for bets to pay out. On the other hand, Iceland gets a boost; they can lose by one goal and still pay their backers. The score at the end of 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) is the score used to settle spread bets.
Moneyline
Unlike the spread, the moneyline doesn’t use margin of victories. Simply pick one of three betting options to come through: a victory for the home team, a victory for the away team or a draw. Here’s what a typical moneyline looks like:
Argentina —300
Iceland +950
Draw: +385
A successful bet on Argentina would pay $100 based on a $300 stake. A bet on Iceland would pay a whopping $950 on a $100 bet. A bet on the draw would pay $385 on $100 staked. Just like with the spread, the score at the end of 90 minutes plus stoppage is the score used to settle moneyline bets.
Totals
Instead of trying to pick the winner of a game, you can bet on how offensive or defensive it will be. With totals betting, oddsmakers predict a total number of goals that will be scored in the game, and the public bets on whether they think the actual number of goals will be over or under the oddsmakers’ predictions.
Argentina 2.5(EVEN)o
Iceland 2.5(—125)u
In this example, the total is 2.5 goals, so you can bet over and get paid even money, or under and get paid $100 on a $125 bet.
Futures
A futures bet is a long-term wager on the outcome of a big event. With World Cup, you can bet on the winner of the tournament, and the winner of each of the eight groups. It’s all available in the futures section of the sportsbook.
Props
Props are unique in the betting world. Instead of betting on an outcome, you’re taking side bets proposed by oddsmakers. There are player props, game props and goal props. An example of a popular player prop is trying to predict who the first goalscorer will be for each team, making the odds of the 2018 World Cup more exciting.
Parlays
If you plan on betting on multiple games, you’ll win more money by combining your bets into one parlay as opposed to making multiple single bets. Just keep in mind, with soccer, you can’t parlay multiple lines from the same game—they must be different games. In order for a parlay to pay out, all bets must win.
Live Betting
Don’t worry if a game you wanted to bet has already begun. With our Live Betting function, it’s never too late to get in the action. Goal spread, moneyline, and totals are all available, plus a slew of props, such as betting on the next team to score. Fire up the Live Betting window and see what’s available for the tournament’s must-see games.
*Odds as of June 13, 2018