Different Types of “Football” and Betting
Scott Morris | October 10, 2017
Wherever you go in the world there is a game that can be found called “football”. It is usually that country’s or continent’s most popular sport. But depending on where you are, football may refer to a totally different sport than the game you call football.
Majority
The majority of the time football means what Americans call soccer. Soccer is also known as association football or European football. It is the world’s most popular sport and is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries. The official rules of this game were codified by England in 1863. It is the most heavily bet sport in the world. It is estimated that the total handle on soccer betting worldwide is $700 billion to $1 trillion per year.
Australian Rules Football
Also known as “Aussie Rules” or “footy”, Australian Football is the most popular sport down under and surprisingly it is thought to have predated all other modern incantations of football. It was codified in 1858. This game most resembles Rugby than any of the other football games mentioned in this article. AFL betting is by far the most widely wagered sport down under. It is estimated that up to 80% of Australian residents have bet on the sport.
American Football
American football is huge in the United States and is catching on elsewhere. The National Football League has played games in Europe, England and Mexico as well and could very well expand that list in the near future. American football developed from an amalgamation of Soccer, Rugby and possibly even Aussie rules football. It gained popularity in the 1880’s and by the 1900’s was being played by most major universities in the USA. The professional league began in 1920 and really took off in the second half of the twentieth century. It is estimated that some $95 billion is wagered on American football annually.
Success in Wagering
Although all forms of football are related, they are very different. The way you bet them is different as well. The odds structure is separated between euro and American style odds. Explaining the way those odds systems work is an article for another day. It is safe to say that no matter which football is your favorite, if you want to win money betting the sport, then you must know the game very well. You must study the players, the weather and the trends. Knowledge truly is power and the more effort you place into picking your bets the more likely you are to win.
