Soccer, or spbo as it is known almost everywhere outside of the U.S., is the world’s most popular team sport and because of the international nature of several of the leading leagues, the game is truly global in scope. Fans of top tier Premier League teams like Manchester United or Chelsea can be found everywhere, and people everywhere tend to follow their national teams in the World Cup. Wherever you find yourself, if you know soccer you can probably start up a conversation with the local people.
The prominence of soccer as a popular team sport and its international character has also led to the creation of one of the world’s largest betting industries. Betting allows fans to play an active role in their favorite sport by giving them a personal stake in the game, making it even more exciting. In that there is a fan base for soccer in virtually every country and many of the most popular leagues are international, soccer betting online is steadily replacing local bookies as the preferred method of soccer betting. In the U.S. for example, where bookmaking is largely illegal or heavily restricted, online betting with foreign websites provides an effective means of being more than merely a spectator.
The massive betting industry based on soccer, as well as the various betting traditions of fans around the world, has resulted in a wide array of betting options. The most common betting types are: “win bets” where you bet on which team will win a game or a cup; “lay bets” where you bet against a team winning a game or cup; and “each way bets” where you bet both that a team will win, but you also win if your team “places” or almost wins. Beyond these most popular bets, the types of soccer bets available are only limited by one’s imagination. These can range from betting on the performance of individual players, the number of cards or penalties a team receives, to the number of goals made or surrendered.
