How to Place Bets on The World Cup

There are a number of inherently unique things about the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. For one, this is the first World Cup ever to be hosted by a Muslim or Middle Eastern country. It’s also the first to be played during the winter rather than the summer months.

With that said, one aspect of this global sports phenomenon has remained unchanged – the excitement of betting on the FIFA world cup. Along with the Olympic Games, the World Cup has some of the most sensational betting odds and gambling statistics in the sporting universe. Here, we’ll take a better look at the World Cup odds, what they mean, and most importantly how to place your bet before the grand final!

A Few World Cup Betting Options

The Moneyline 

A three-way moneyline is the most common betting option in football. It entails that you’ll be able to either bet on one of the two teams to win or you’ll predict a draw. However, with the exception of the group phase, all other matches will be knockout ones, meaning they’ll have to have a winner. Because of this, most sportsbooks allow just the regular moneyline betting type.

Here, you’ll have two moneyline options – the favorite and the underdog. It’s up to you to predict the winner straight up. 

Take an imaginary World Cup finals match between England and Wales as an example:

• England    -135
• Wales +105

In this case, oddsmakers consider the English team as the favorite, with Wales as the underdog. If England were to win, all England wagers would be considered winners, while Wales’ wages would be the losses and vice versa. 

Over/Under or Totals Betting 

In general, total betting works the same across the board, making World Cup betting no different from any other sport or game. Fans will be betting on whether the total combined score goes over or under the line determined by the oddsmaker. 

The only difference football fans may notice is that the totals in football betting are given in multiples of .25. However, this shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise since scores in football are commonly lower than in most other sports. 

Say that the oddsmakers set the line to 6.25. To go over, the match would have to end in at least seven goals – something that is highly unlikely but still not unheard of in football. 

World Cup Spread Betting

While spread betting is common in just about every sport, fans won’t find point spreads on the World Cup betting page. In football, spread betting is known as goal line betting for the fairly simple reason that the game is about scoring goals, not points. 

Another spread betting quirk you’ll find in football betting is that the spreads tend to remain relatively low, just like goals. The most common spread you’ll come across is -1.5/+1.5, which favors the underdog. In short, the favorite needs to win by one or more goals, while the underdog needs to either wither win or lose by one goal or less – simple enough, right?

FIFA World Cup Futures

While the World Cup comes around every four years, fans have a chance to bet on it months and even years in advance. In football, this form of betting is known as the FIFA World Cup Futures – let’s see how this works!

Before each world cup, sometimes even years in advance, sportsbooks will release the FIFA World Cup Futures. These are betting options that consist of the team name and their odds of winning the next FIFA championship. As soon as the Futures go up, fans will be given the chance to place their bets. Since this can be done months and years ahead, the potential payouts are no short of envious, 

However, this betting option does come with a few catches that you should keep in mind. For one, the World Cup is hosted every four years. This means that most teams will undergo notable changes to their rosters between two championships. Thus, while the last winner may have the highest odds, its team may look drastically different when the next one rolls around, affecting its odds as a result. 

Because this betting form is so uncertain, you can cash out at any point before your team is eliminated. While a complete return is highly unlikely, you’ll still be able to cash out a decent amount if you choose to do so. 

FIFA World Cup Prop Bets

When the stakes are high such, sportsbooks won’t hesitate to create as many betting options as possible. Prop bets are the perfect example. Unlike the options we’ve discussed so far, prop bets have nothing to do with the outcome or the tournament or the score. In most cases, this betting option will comprise a mixture of yes/no questions and over/under wagers. 

For instance, fans could place bets on what stage their team will be eliminated. Will it be the group portion, the beginning of the knockout stage, or will the team make the semifinals?

World Cup Betting FAQs