Top Football Betting Sites: Our Favourites

How We Evaluate Football Betting Sites

To do this, we look for the same key features at every betting site, such as:

• Licensing & Reputation – Our team ensures that each site we review is fully licensed and provides a safe and secure place to enjoy online football betting.
• Variety of Betting Markets – During our research, we evaluate the full range of football betting markets on offer, looking beyond the standard moneyline bets to see who offers the greatest variety of player and team props.
• Competitive Odds – When placing a bet, you want to maximise your potential winnings and gain as much value as possible. That’s why we compare the odds across each site we review, highlighting those that offer the best value for money.
• Banking Experience – Funding your account and accessing your winnings should be a seamless process, so we thoroughly test the banking experience to ensure it’s both secure and convenient. Sites that offer multiple banking options are highly recommended, as are those with zero fees, fast withdrawals, and high transaction limits.
• Mobile Platform –We check the quality and availability of each football betting app, rating them for their performance, user-friendliness, and design.
• Bonus Offers – We compare the value of each of the welcome packages offered by each football betting site to see which gives the best value for money on your first deposit. Our team also evaluates the variety of ongoing promotions, recommending those that look after their existing players through regular rewards.

Betting Features You Should Look Out for in a Football Betting Site

Due to the variety of football betting sites in India, it’s hard to know which is best. So, to help you find the top bookmakers, our experts have created a list of features and markets that you should look for when comparing options.

In-Play Betting

This feature gives you the opportunity to bet on football matches as they’re taking place, with dozens of markets being updated every second. This allows you to use information from the game in real time to inform your betting strategy; providing an opportunity for a more profitable wager.

While you won’t get the same level of options as a pre-match bet, the best sites offer a wide variety of team and player props on their in-play betting platform.

Live Streaming

A feature that all top sites offer as part of their in-play betting platform is a live streaming service. This allows you to watch the games you’re betting on and react to events as they happen. Many bookmakers offer HD-quality streams for a variety of different events from around the world, making it easy to watch local and overseas games.

Cash Out

A favorite amongst many sports bettors, the cash out option allows you to settle your bet before the game has finished. Depending on how likely your bet is to win, you’ll receive a cash out offer; the more likely the bet is to win, the closer to the original reward your cash out will be.

This feature is great if you’ve lost confidence in your bet and want to cut your losses or want to bag some profits before the game turns on its head. 

Accumulator Bets

All of the top betting sites allow you to create a bet slip containing multiple games, called an accumulator. Accumulator bets are the most popular way to turn a small initial investment into a large payout. The more markets you add to your accumulator, the higher your potential profits will be, but this comes with an increased risk of losing.

Some bookmakers will even offer accumulator bonuses that increase with the number of markets on your ticket, incentivising you to build bigger bets.

Bet Builder

Bet builders take the concept of an accumulator and apply it to a single game. It used to be the case that you couldn’t bet on two markets from the same game on the same ticket; for example, Chelsea to win and have >7 corners. However, thanks to the bet builder, you can build your own in-game accumulator, crafting the perfect bet for each match.

Match Result (1X2)

The most commonly used market at football betting sites is the 3-way match result. This market allows you to bet on either side to win or the game to be a draw, commonly denoted as 1 for a home win, X for a draw, or 2 for a home win. For example, Manchester City are playing Arsenal with the following odds:

• 1 (Man City) – 1.75
• X (Draw) – 3
• 2 (Arsenal) – 2.5

You bet ₹1,000 on Arsenal to win. If they win the game, you’ll receive ₹2,500, but if Man City wins or if the game is a tie, you lose your bet.

Correct Score

A step beyond the match result market is the correct score market. This allows you to bet on the exact score of the game, whether it’s 2-1, 0-0, or 2-3. Correct score bets will only pay out if you get the score exactly right; if you bet on the home team to win 1-0, but they win 2-0, you lose your wager.

Correct score bets are harder to win but offer better payouts if you’re correct which makes them an appealing option for bettors who are confident in their prediction.

Over/Under Goals

Another popular betting is the over/under goals market, which allows you to bet on the number of goals there will be in the game. The bookmakers set a line, and you can bet on there being more or fewer goals.

Let’s say Liverpool are playing Newcastle, and the bookmaker sets the line at 2.5 goals. If you think there will be 3 or more goals, you bet on the over, and if you think there will be 2 or fewer, you bet the under. Many sites offer a variety of lines with different odds, allowing you to pick the best value based on your prediction.

Both Teams to Score (BTTS)

In a low-scoring game such as football, it’s not a guarantee that both teams will score – particularly when there are games with mismatched opposition. Almost all bookmakers will offer odds on both sides of the market, allowing you to bet on whether both teams will score or whether they won’t.

When considering this option, it’s important to consider the scoring proficiency of both teams as well as the recent defensive performances.

Goalscorer Markets

Instead of betting on team performances, you can bet on player performances through options such as goalscorer markets. Bookmakers will commonly offer 3 goalscorer markets:

• First Scorer
• Last Scorer
• Anytime Scorer

Anytime goalscorer bets have a better chance of winning as any goal counts, but the odds of these bets are lower than the other two markets.

Bonuses Offers on Football

Football betting sites offer welcome bonus packages as a way of encouraging new players to join. They also offer ongoing promotions to existing players to ensure customer loyalty such as:

No Deposit Bonus

This promotion offers rewards such as free bets or bonus funds without needing to make a deposit. Simply create your account and follow the verification process, and your rewards will be instantly added to your account.

A no-deposit bonus is a great way to try a new site with limited risk, as you don’t need to deposit your bankroll to start betting. However, these bonuses are often lower-value than deposit bonuses and come with stricter T&Cs.

Free Bets

A commonly found promotional offer, free bets allow you to make risk-free wagers worth a specific amount on any sporting event. Once you’ve created your account and made a qualifying real money deposit, you’ll receive your free bets.

Free bets come in fixed amounts, meaning that a ₹2,000 free bet can only be used to place a ₹2,000 wager and cannot be split into two ₹1,000 bets.

Risk-Free Bets

Rather than giving you free bets that you can use on their site, some bookmakers will offer risk-free bets. This means that any losing bets are refunded by the site, allowing you to keep betting without re-depositing. Typically, these refunds come in the form of free bets, meaning that you have to use them before you can withdraw your winnings.

Odds Boosts

A common promotion offered to existing players is the odds boost. This is when a bookmaker will increase the odds of a certain market in a big event, increasing your potential return if it wins. For example, instead of Erling Haaland being 1.50 to score at any time, the betting site boosts his odds to 2.0; the odds of the event occurring haven’t changed, but your potential returns have.

Bet and Parlay Insurance

Another promotion offered to all players, parlay insurance, offers you your money back in free bets on a losing accumulator if just one leg lets you down. For example, you place a 4-leg parlay on the Indian Super League; three results are correct, but one loses. With parlay insurance, you’ll receive your money back as a free bet.

Some sites offer parlay insurance for free, while others will charge a premium by reducing the odds of your bet. 

Loyalty Program

Some betting sites offer loyalty programs that reward their most consistent bettors. Typically, you’ll earn points by placing bets; the more you bet, the more points you’ll receive. Earn enough points, and you’ll move through the ranks, unlocking rewards such as free bets, bonus funds, and even real cash prizes.

Move high enough through the levels and you can unlock special VIP privileges, such as increased transaction limits, a 24/7 account manager, and specialized birthday gifts.

Popular Competitions for Football Betting in India

While there are dozens of competitions that take place throughout the world, many Indian players focus their betting on the most popular competitions, such as:

• English Premier League
• La Liga 
• World Cup 
• Indian Super League 

How to Sign Up to a Football Betting Site in India

While testing various sites, our team found that it often took less than five minutes to create an account and make a deposit.

Follow the steps below to sign up on a football betting site:

1. Choosing one of our recommended cricket betting apps from our list of options.
2. Claim welcome offer.
3. Create your football betting account by filling in your details.
4. Deposit through the banking section.
5. Scroll through the list of sporting events to find one to bet on.
6. Click on one of the markets and enter your wager in the space provided.
7. Check that the details of the wager are correct, and then confirm your bet.

Live Betting in Football

One of the most popular ways to bet on football matches is via in-play or live betting. Live football betting offers real time odds that are constantly being updated based on the events that are occurring in-game. For example, if the home team scores a goal, the odds of them winning the game shorten, while the odds of a draw or the away team winning lengthen.

Betting on live events is made easier through the use of live streams and data, which many of the best sites offer. 

Betting on live matches is challenging due to the ever-changing odds. If the odds change while you are placing your bet, the bookmaker will display a warning telling you that the odds have been updated. To avoid this happening, many bookmakers will suspend all betting markets during key events and resume them once the state of play is more stable.

Betting on Virtual Football Games

When you’ve run out of real football matches to bet on, some sites give you the option to turn to virtual football games. These are FIFA-esque animations that play out like real football matches and offer a variety of betting markets, including total goals, correct score, match win, first-half goals, and second-half goals.

We recommend caution when betting on these games. Bookmakers’ lines on real games aren’t perfect; there may be value if you have information they lack or can analyse data better. Virtual football games are predetermined, meaning bookmakers know the exact odds, allowing them to build in a margin that can’t be beaten over time.

Is Online Football Betting Legal in India?

Online football betting at overseas betting sites is legal in India. 

However, gambling legislation does exist at the state level, and there are several states that have taken the decision to ban online gambling. Telangana was the first to do so in 2017, followed by Andhra Pradesh in 2020 and Tamil Nadu a year after that. The state regulations surrounding online gambling are changing all the time, so we recommend checking your local laws before accessing football betting sites.

Tips to Maximize Football Betting Strategies

Football betting should be seen as a fun pastime and not as a way to make money. However, for some players, part of the fun is finding different strategies to increase the expected value (EV) of their bets.

To that end, our experts have provided some helpful football betting tips that you can use to maximise your strategy.

• Keep to a budget – The most important thing to do when football betting is to make an affordable budget and stick to it. By setting a budget that you can afford to lose, you’re free to concentrate on making +EV bets without worrying about the financial impact of losing.
• Do your research – You can make use of the statistics and data provided by football betting sites to study patterns and form of players and teams.
• Compare odds – Compare the football betting odds at multiple bookmakers. It’s common for different betting sites to offer different odds on the same market, meaning you can increase your potential return just by placing your bet at a different bookmaker.

Finding Your Ideal Football Betting Site

Overall, there are dozens of high-quality football betting sites available to Indian players. These sites offer thousands of markets covering hundreds of events around the world, including domestic competitions such as the English Premier League and Indian Super League as well as international events such as the World Cup. Popular markets include the match win bet, the over/under goals bet, and the both teams to score (BTTS) bet.

The top betting sites offer multiple bonuses and promotions, attracting players by offering value. These can take the form of free bet bonuses, no deposit bonuses, boosted odds, and parlay insurance. They’ll also offer a variety of features that make them an appealing option to serious bettors, such as in-play betting, live streams, and bet builders.

Make sure you check out our list of the best football betting sites, and always gamble responsibly.

Football Betting Sites FAQ

How can I tell which football betting sites are trustworthy?

Trustworthy football betting sites will have a valid license from a recognised betting authority.

Which payment options are most commonly accepted at football betting sites?

The most popular football betting payment options available are UPI, Skrill, Neteller and cryptocurrency. 

What are the different types of football bets?

The most popular options include the match result bet, over/under goals bet, and goalscorer bets.

Can you claim a bonus when joining a football betting site?

Yes, you can claim generous welcome packages for new players as well as ongoing promotions that existing players can claim.

Is it possible to bet on live football games?

Yes, the majority of football bookmakers offer live odds on dozens of football matches around the world, allowing you to bet in real-time.

Do football betting sites offer live streams of matches?

Yes, some sites offer live streams of football matches that allow you to watch the game as you’re betting on it.