World Cup Betting Explained: A Beginner's Guide 

What Is World Cup Betting?

As the biggest football competition worldwide, the World Cup draws millions of viewers, including UK fans looking to test their football knowledge. With the wide range of bookmakers in the UK, you will find thousands of betting opportunities during the tournament. That’s why this World Cup betting explained guide is useful if you are new to betting. 

Sports betting involves predicting the outcome of a game and staking your money on it. With the World Cup, you can do the same, whether by backing a team to win the tournament, predicting the final score of a match, or a player to score. The tournament draws many UK punters like you not only for its prestige but also for England's consistent participation.

Therefore, if you’ve been following the World Cup casually for years but are now ready to bet on it, this guide will help you get started. Learn how to bet on the World Cup, the main types of bets you can place, and more about World Cup odds explained.

How Do World Cup Betting Odds Work? 

The best place to start before betting on the World Cup is understanding how odds work. Odds show you the likelihood of an event happening and the potential return you get if your prediction is accurate. They also tell you the favourites and the underdogs ahead of the match. The lower the odds, the more likely the outcome is to occur.

Depending on the bookmaker you sign up with, you'll find odds in different formats, including Fractional, Decimal and American. While many betting platforms allow you to switch between odds, the fractional odds are the most common ones. Here's how the fractional and decimal odds formats work.

Fractional Odds

As the name suggests, fractional odds are displayed in fractional form, such as 3/1, 2/5 and 9/2. So, if a betting platform displays 3/1 odds, it means that for every £1 you stake, you will receive £3 plus your original £1 stake. You can use this simple formula to calculate your potential returns:  

• Total returns = (Stake × Numerator / Denominator) + original stake.

For instance, if England is priced 5/1 to win the World Cup, and you wager £20, you’ll get the following payout using the formula:

• (£20 × 5/1) + 20 = £120. 

Decimal Odds

The decimal odds format is more common across Europe, but many UK bookmakers also offer it as an alternative to fractional odds. They are displayed in decimal, such as 2.50, 6.00, and 1.50, allowing you to calculate your potential returns easily. You can use this formula:

• Total returns = Stake × odds

For instance, let’s say Argentina is priced at 6.0 odds to win the World Cup. With a £20 wager, your potential return will be (20 × 6) = £120. It's the same outcome as the fractional odds (5/1), but displayed differently.

Common Betting Markets

While there are usually hundreds of markets to explore when betting on the World Cup, some markets stand out for their simplicity. Here are the main World Cup betting markets that you need to know about as a beginner.

Match Result (1X2)

What is a match result bet, you may ask. It involves predicting which side will win a single game or whether it will end in a draw. You’ll select home (1), draw (X) or away (2). For instance, you can bet on England (team 1) or the USA (team 2) to win in a match between England and the USA or for the match to end in a draw (X).

Please keep in mind that draws are more common in the World Cup group stage than in domestic leagues like the English Premier League, which prioritise winning. 

Both Teams to Score (BTTS)

With the BTTS market, you’ll predict whether both teams in a match will score at least one goal each. This simple market comes with two options: Yes and No. 

“Yes”, if you're backing both teams to score and “No,” if you're backing at least one team to fail to score. “Yes” is an ideal option if both teams are attack-minded and have a record for scoring many goals. 

Total Goals (Over/Under)

Total Goals is another popular World Cup betting market. With this option, you can predict whether the total number of goals in a match will exceed or be less than a particular threshold. 

You'll usually see a line such as over/under 1.5, over/2.5. By backing a match under 2.5 goals, you're expecting the game to end with 2 or fewer goals, while over 2.5 means you're expecting 3 or more goals. 

Tournament Outright Winner 

The tournament winner betting market is a different kind of bet type where you pick the team to be crowned champions. It's a long-term bet that is usually available before the tournament begins. 

Since the tournament takes 4-6 weeks and you’re predicting one team out of 48, the odds in this market are higher. However, it carries a higher risk but a better potential return if your prediction comes through.

Top Goalscorer

The top goalscorer is another outright market but focuses on players rather than teams. Here, you'll predict the player who will score the most goals throughout the tournament. 

This betting market is harder to predict because you're relying not just on the player's ability to score goals, but also on how long the player's team can stay in the competition. As a result of the uncertainty of this bet, the odds are usually higher, which means a high potential payout should you be correct. 

Group Stage Betting 

Bookmakers also offer group stage betting, where you can predict which teams will qualify from their respective groups and which will finish top. For instance, you can choose England to finish top of their group or back both England and Croatia to advance to the next round. It's an interesting option if you want to follow multiple matches, rather than just one game.

Placing a World Cup Bet - What to Expect

If you're just getting into football betting, placing bets on World Cup matches is simple. You begin by finding the game you're interested in on your preferred bookmaker. You can either use the search button or go to the football section of your betting site to locate the World Cup matches. 

After finding the games, choose your preferred outcomes from the list of available markets, and they will be added automatically to your bet slip. Then go to your bet slip, enter your stake, and confirm your bet.

Your bet slip contains all your selections, where you can check the games you chose or make changes before placing your bet. It's also where you enter your stake amount and see your possible payout. Therefore, ensure you double-check everything before submitting your bets, as they cannot be changed once confirmed.

If you want to get involved in the action, you can place live bets instead of pre-match bets. With live betting, you’ll place bets on ongoing matches. Most UK bookmakers offer in-play betting, with match trackers and statistics to make more informed decisions.  

World Cup Betting Glossary 

You’ll come across many betting terms as you navigate placing bets on the World Cup. Here's a quick glossary to help you understand the basics as you go.

• Odds: Odds are the numbers that show how likely your bet is to happen and how much you could win if your bet is successful.

• Stake: The amount of money you put into your bet.

• Return/Payout: This is the total amount of money you will receive if your bet is successful, which includes your original stake and profit.

• Favourite/Underdog: The favourite is usually the team most likely to win and has lower odds, while the underdog is the less likely team to win and has higher odds.

• Outright: An outright is a bet placed on a long-term outcome, such as the team to win the World Cup tournament or the top goalscorer.

• In-Play/Live Betting: Live or in-play betting means wagering on an ongoing match with odds changing as the match progresses.

• Accumulator (ACCA): - An ACCA is a single bet containing multiple selections where all of the selections must win to receive a payout.

• Void Bet: A void bet is a bet that a bookmaker cancels and declares invalid, probably because of match postponement, abandonment or other factors. 

• Each-Way: An each-way bet splits your stake between a win and a place finish and applies to some markets in football and horse racing.

Betting Responsibly During the World Cup

The golden rule of football betting for beginners is to treat it as entertainment, not a way to make money. This is important to help you stay in control and know your limits from the start. 

Ensure that you set yourself a clear budget before you begin, and avoid chasing losses if a bet does not go your way. You cannot always win, as football can be unpredictable. Rather than chase losses, take a step back and restrategize before you start betting again.  

To help you bet responsibly, all UK bookmakers provide tools such as deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion. Use these tools to help keep you in check. 

If betting starts getting out of your control, you can contact Gamcare for free and confidential advice and support. You can also register with GamStop, a free UK-wide self-exclusion service that allows you to block access to all licensed betting sites.

Ready to Watch the World Cup?

With World Cup betting explained, you now understand how to wager on the tournament. You can now read odds, understand what the main World Cup markets mean and know how to bet responsibly.

Most bookmakers offer odds and markets for both pre-match and live betting. Some even allow you to watch live matches so you can make more informed decisions. 

As the most popular football competition worldwide, the World Cup offers several football betting opportunities. From outright winner and match results to over/under to both teams to score, hundreds of markets are available.

Get into the practical side of betting today and enjoy the entertainment that one of the biggest events in football brings you.