Live Sports Betting - Tips and Hints

Betting on live sports has always been a popular pastime. With the increased TV coverage of live sporting events, sports betting and betting on football, in particular has shown a marked increase in recent years. "In-running" betting, i.e. the ability to bet during the course of a match, is offered by the majority of online bookmakers and is very popular with punters.

Football Betting Hints, Tips, Techniques and Strategies

The current trend in football betting is the use of a betting system, whereby each team is awarded points according to factors such as league position, etc. Assessment of various systems shows that their performance varies greatly from season to season, providing a profit in one season and a loss in the next. It is worth noting that no system can boast a 100% success rate, but some are better than others for results prediction. A number of online sites offer free football betting systems and strategies which may be worthy of investigation.

Football Handicapping

Handicapping football matches can be as simple or as complex as an individual punter desires, according to the time available to devote to the task. Many punters use the straightforward approach of examining previous results to assess match prospects. However, this approach can reveal some interesting statistics. For example, in the 2007-08 Championship season, winners West Bromwich Albion won only 12 from 23 home games (52%) while 24th-placed Colchester United lost 11 from 23 away games (48%). Various online sites provide access to all sorts of football statistics. Soccerbase.com, supported by the Racing Post, provides statistics for domestic, European and international teams. A more complex approach to the handicapping of football matches requires an in-depth analysis of team performance statistics. These may include recent and seasonal form, performances at home and away and head-to-head matchups between teams. Football handicapping has also to take into account the "imponderables" associated with football, to which it is impossible to assign a numerical value. These qualitative factors include injuries to key players, which may have a detrimental psychological effect, detracting from a team`s performance. The "local" derby is an interesting phenomenon, especially in English league football. Matches such as Manchester United versus Manchester City are inevitably tough encounters, regardless of relative league positions or form. This is worth bearing in mind when attempting to handicap such matches. International competitions, such as the European Championships and World Cup require a careful approach with regard to handicapping. Many teams rest important players during their "easier" qualifying matches, so scores may not reflect the dominance of the better side. When fielding a full-strength side in the finals, the team`s performance generally improves substantially, which is worth considering in World Cup betting,

European Betting Regulations
Online betting regulations vary from country to country within the European Union. Theoretically, online betting is completely legal throughout the EU, but a number of member states have restrictive, punitive laws, essentially to protect state-controlled gambling monopolies.