How We Review the Best Soccer Betting Sites

We take soccer betting seriously (just like you), which is why we only pick the very finest betting sites. Here’s what to watch for when hunting for your new favorite.

Licensing

You probably wouldn’t spend money at an unlicensed retail casino, nor should you give your hard-earned cash to an online sportsbook without the proper licensing. Unlicensed soccer betting sites can rig matches, refuse to honor bonuses, and drag their feet when it comes to paying your winnings (assuming they ever pay you at all). You’ll have no recourse should you get into a dispute with one.

Licensed soccer betting sites are much more dependable. They must answer to a sports betting authority and are less likely to skirt the rules.

Payment Methods

We looked for soccer betting sites that accept a good variety of payment options, including credit/debit cards, money orders, cashier’s checks, player-to-player transfers, and crypto. We also preferred betting sites that promise quick payouts and charge reasonable (or, better yet, zero) transaction fees.

Bonuses

Who doesn’t love a good soccer betting bonus? The best soccer betting sites offer generous bonuses to both new and regular account holders. Our favorite betting sites offer bonuses regularly, giving you the chance to score some very appealing rewards.

The first bonus you’ll encounter is the welcome bonus, and some betting sites are more generous with their offerings than others. We prioritized soccer betting sites that offer hefty welcome bonuses with low wagering requirements.

Customer Support

Who can you count on if something goes wrong during a round of betting? You’re in good hands if you’re using one of our top soccer betting sites. Our highest-scoring picks offer 24/7 customer support in multiple languages. Great betting sites also offer multiple ways to connect with support, including via phone, live chat, and email.

Security

Online soccer betting sites may not have bouncers and guards, but the cutting-edge encryption they employ is the next best thing. All transactions are encrypted at our winning betting sites, ensuring you stay protected whether you’re depositing or withdrawing funds.

The best sites also verify your identity before you’re allowed to bet and require you to sign in with multi-factor authentication, which adds another layer of security to your account.

Top Bonuses at Soccer Betting Sites

One of the biggest perks of betting on soccer online is the many bonuses you can score. You can pad your bankroll by hundreds (or even thousands), which means more betting and more fun.

Below, we’ll cover some of the most popular bonuses available at soccer betting sites.

Welcome Offers

How would you like to score a few grand just for making your first deposit at a soccer betting site? When you join one of the best soccer betting sites, you could nab a hefty welcome bonus worth $1,000 or even more.

Soccer fans adore welcome bonuses because you don’t need to jump through a bunch of hoops to earn them. Just make a deposit, and the sportsbook matches that amount by a certain percentage (usually 100%, but some sportsbooks match by up to 200%).

Deposit Bonus

The deposit bonus is similar to the welcome bonus, except it’s for regular players rather than newcomers. Deposit bonuses are smaller than welcome bonuses, too. They usually range from about $100 to $500.

One of the biggest perks of deposit bonuses is that you can claim them every time the sportsbook offers one (unlike welcome bonuses, which you can only claim once). The best soccer betting sites offer deposit bonuses a few times per week, so your rewards can add up fast.

No-Deposit Bonus

If you’d like to earn cash without making a deposit, this bonus was made for you. The no-deposit bonus is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s the closest thing to truly free money you’ll find at a soccer betting site.

No-deposit bonuses are usually fairly small (about $5 to $20), and not every soccer betting site offers them. You’ll need to keep a close eye on sportsbook promo pages to catch these bonuses before they disappear.

Bet and Get Bonus

Bet and get bonuses reward you when you meet certain requirements, such as betting on a specific match at qualifying odds. We like bet and get bonuses because they can expose you to new teams you’ve never bet on before. Maybe you’ll even find a new player to root for!

Bet $5, get $150 bets are common in the U.S. If you’re betting at a UK-based sportsbook, you’re likely to see bet $10, get $30 offers.

Free Bets

With a free bet bonus, the sportsbook essentially gives you funds to place a bet. Sportsbooks usually offer free bets to new customers, but some offer them to regulars, too. The bet and get bonus is one type of free bet, as is the no deposit bonus.

Although free bets are appealing, there are a few “gotchas” to keep in mind. Most free bets have an expiration date by which you must fulfill the requirements (use it or lose it). And you may have to use your bet on specific markets (such as over/under) or spend the bonus on certain teams.

Cashback Bonus

Losing a soccer bet hurts, but cashback bonuses take some of the sting away. Sportsbooks that offer cashback bonuses return a portion of your bet to you if the bet loses. If your bet wins, you’ll keep your earnings but won’t get the bonus.

Sometimes, a cashback bonus might not be actual cash. Some sportsbooks only offer credit for you to use on your next bet, and you can’t withdraw the funds as cash.

Rewards and Loyalty Bonuses

Nearly all of the top soccer betting sites offer loyalty programs to keep customers coming back for more. When you join a loyalty program, you’ll rack up points for every dollar spent on soccer betting. You’ll move to the next rank with enough points and earn increasingly better rewards.

Who could say no to awesome perks like free bets and branded merch? You could even get access to a personal concierge (kind of like a butler for sportsbooks). Some sportsbooks occasionally hold giveaways for loyalty members featuring big prizes like cars and tickets to major soccer games.

How To Bet on Soccer

New to soccer betting and don’t know the difference between over/under and draw no bet? Here, we’ve broken down the most popular soccer betting markets in plain English.

Match result: This is probably the simplest type of market for newbies to wrap their heads around. Bet on how a match will turn out; if your team wins, you’re a winner, too.
Double chance: With a double chance bet, you’re betting on two outcomes to turn them into a single market. For example, you could bet that the home team will either win or draw. You might also see double chance bets referred to as parlays.
Draw no bet: If the team you’re betting on draws (ties) the match, you’ll get your wager back with a draw no bet.
Handicap: Handicap bets are designed to level the playing field by giving the underdog team a head start. For instance, Manchester City might start with two goals on the board. The team would have to win the game by three goals for your bet to win (or two goals to draw).
Asian handicap: Asian handicap betting is similar to regular handicap betting, except there is no possibility of a draw.
Goals over/under: With over/under betting, you’re betting on whether your team will score goals over or under a certain number.
Correct score: If you’re a big risk taker, you’ll want to give correct score betting a shot. To win, you’ll need to predict the exact score that a team will get by the time the game ends. This is a tricky gambit to nail down, but the payoff can be eye-popping.
Goalscorer: Goalscorer betting allows you to bet on results achieved by specific players, such as which player will score the first or last goal. The anytime goalscorer bet is easiest for beginners to nail down. With this bet, you win as long as your player scores a goal (it doesn’t matter when this happens).
Corners, throw-ins, red and yellow cards: These are more advanced over/under bets that allow you to predict how many specific actions will take place during a game. For example, you could bet on whether the total card points given for a match will be under or over a set amount.
Live soccer betting: One of the best parts of betting on soccer online is that you’ll have the chance to change or make new bets as the game progresses. Suppose that a player is killing it mid-match. With live betting, you can place a bet on them in real time.
Special betting markets: Some sportsbooks offer limited-time betting markets, such as Golden Boot winner and Coach of the Year.

Top Soccer Championships and Leagues for Betting

If you’re new to the world of soccer and don’t know FIFA from UEFA, we’ve got you covered. Below, learn about the most popular soccer leagues and championships to help you decide how to place your bets.

FIFA World Cup

Organized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the World Cup is an international soccer competition among the finest men’s teams from around the globe. The FIFA World Cup was introduced in 1930 and has been held every four years since, except during World War II in 1942 and 1946.

The competition begins with qualifications, which occur over three years, to determine which teams qualify for the main event. The tournament features 32 competing teams, which will expand to 48 teams starting with the 2026 World Cup.

Brazil is currently the only country that has played in every FIFA World Cup since its inception, and it’s the star nation with five wins under its belt. Italy and Germany hold four titles each, followed by Argentina with three.

The most recent World Cup was held in Qatar, and the next one will occur in sun-soaked Mexico in 2026.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is a separate event for all-female soccer teams. Interestingly, Brazil isn’t the leader in this tournament. That honor goes to the United States, which has won four titles. The runner-up is Germany, which holds two titles. Norway, Japan, and Spain hold one title each.

New Zealand and Australia co-hosted the 2023 tournament, and the upcoming tournament will take place in 2026 in Brazil.

UEFA Euro Championship

The UEFA European Championship, sometimes simply called the Euros, is a men’s soccer tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations. It was introduced in 1958 and is the second-most watched soccer tournament worldwide. Like the FIFA World Cup, the Euros are typically held every four years. The only exception to this has been the 2020 tournament, which was delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first UEFA Euro Championship featured four competing teams, which later expanded to eight teams in 1980, followed by 16 teams in 1996, and finally 24 teams in 2007.

If you’re wondering which country to bet on for the Euros, you may want to stick with Spain, which is the current top champion with four titles. Following Spain is Germany with three titles and France and Italy with two titles apiece.

The most recent championship was held in Germany in 2024, and the next one is set to be cohosted by the UK and Ireland.

Copa America - Africa Cup of Nations - AFC Asian Cup

The CONMEBOL Copa América, or just Copa America, is the largest soccer tournament in South America. It was founded in 1916 and called the South American Football Championship until 1975. Argentina is the current champ, with an impressive 16 titles to its name.

Copa America has traditionally featured 12 teams, including 10 CONMEBOL teams and two others from different confederations. In 2016 and 2024, the tournament expanded to 16 teams.

The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly called AFCON, is the official international men’s soccer tournament of Africa. The first tournament took place in 1957, and there were just three participating countries: Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The number of teams expanded to 16 in 1996 and then to 24 teams in 2017. Egypt is the current leader with seven wins, including three consecutive titles from 2006 to 2010.

The AFC Asian Cup, founded in 1956, is the second-oldest continental football championship in the world. It traditionally welcomed 16 teams but expanded to 24 teams in 2019. Japan is the most successful country in this tournament, with four titles, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran, with three titles each.

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is another tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations. It was founded in 1955 and originally called Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or European Champion Clubs’ Cup in English.

At the start, the UCL was a knockout tournament that only allowed European domestic leagues to compete. The tournament added a round-robin stage in 1991 and began allowing competitors from other countries in 1997.

Qualification usually begins in July, with three rounds played across two legs. The winners move into the league phase, where they join 29 other teams that qualified in advance. Teams that don’t make the cut in the qualifications can instead play in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.

Spain is the current leader with 20 titles, including five victories in a row from Real Madrid. Runners-up include England with 15 wins and Italy with 12 wins.

Premier League (EPL)

The Premier League (EPL) is England’s most elite soccer league system featuring the best of the best. It’s contested by 20 clubs and is the most-followed soccer league worldwide, with a TV audience of about 4.7 million.

The Premier League came about as England’s answer to the woeful state of the nation’s soccer industry in the 1980s. Back then, players were forced to contend with dilapidated stadiums, and violence among fans seemed to be par for the course. It wasn’t uncommon for fistfights to break out between fans of opposing clubs, as seen in the infamous Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985.

England turned things around with the Premier League, which was founded in 1992. Manchester United is the Premier League’s top-performing team with 13 titles, followed by Manchester City with eight titles.

La Liga - Italy Serie A - Bundesliga - Ligue 1

La Liga, officially the Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, is the highest men’s soccer division in Spain. It was founded in 1929 and, like the Premier League, features 20 competing teams. Lionel Messi is the current top goalscorer for La Liga at 474 goals, and Real Madrid holds the honor of winning the most titles in the league (36 to date).

Italy Serie A was founded in 1898, making it one of the oldest soccer leagues in the world. It originally featured regional and interregional rounds but switched to a round-robin format in 1929. In addition to the Coppa Campioni d’Italia trophy, winners take home the scudetto (small shield), which they wear on their uniforms to commemorate their victory. Inter Milan is the 2023-2024 Serie A champion, and Juventus is the top team overall with 36 titles.

Founded in 1962, Bundesliga is Germany’s premier soccer league. In terms of attendance, it’s the top soccer association league worldwide, with more than 45,000 fans per game during 2011 and 2012.

Bundesliga was formed in part due to the national team’s defeat at the hands of Yugoslavia in 1962. Leading soccer coaches called for its formation to unify the country’s teams and attract more talent to Germany.

Ligue 1, currently called Ligue 1 McDonald’s because of the company’s sponsorship, is France’s top-association soccer league. Created in 2004, it’s one of the most recently founded association leagues. It features 24 clubs, each of which plays the other clubs twice. Plymouth Argyle holds the most titles (five), followed by Wigan Athletic with three titles.

Major League Soccer (MLS)

Sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and features 29 teams (26 from the U.S. and three from Canada). Prior to the founding of MLS, the top league was the North American Soccer League (NASL). The U.S. founded MLS as part of its bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Originally, the MLS wasn’t as successful as proponents hoped. By 2002, it had folded two teams and lost several million dollars. MLS eventually came into its own, enjoying an attendance of about 21,000 fans per game in 2022.

Each MLS team plays 34 games, and the one with the top record takes home the Supporters’ Shield. The MLS Cup Playoffs feature the best 18 teams, and those who prevail in the playoffs proceed to the renowned MLS Cup.

MLS is unique because, unlike other soccer associations, the league owns the teams, and investors individually operate each one. It’s also one of the only leagues that doesn’t use a relegation and promotion process.

The Columbus Crew is the current MLS Cup holder, and the LA Galaxy, with five wins, holds the most MLS Cups.

If you’re an MLS fan, you can place your bets at any of the best soccer betting sites. The season starts in early March and runs through October, so be sure to mark your calendar so you don’t miss out.

US States Where You Can Legally Bet on Soccer

Betting on soccer is a blast, but not all states have yet seen the light. We’ve put together this handy chart to help you know whether soccer betting is legal in your state.

State	Online	Retail	Legal Betting Age
Alabama	No	No	N/A
Alaska	No	No	N/A
Arizona	Yes	Yes	21
Arkansas	Yes	Yes	21
California	No	No	N/A
Colorado	Yes	Yes	21
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	21
Delaware	Yes	Yes	21
Florida	Yes	Yes	21
Illinois	Yes	Yes	21
Indiana	Yes	Yes	21
Iowa	Yes	Yes	21
Kansas	Yes	Yes	21
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	18
Louisiana	Yes	Yes	21
Maine	Yes	No	21
Maryland	Yes	Yes	21
Massachusetts	Yes	Yes	21
Michigan	Yes	Yes	21
Mississippi	No	Yes	21
Montana	No	Yes	21
Nebraska	No	Yes	21
Nevada	Yes	Yes	21
New Hampshire	Yes	Yes	18
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	21
New Mexico	No	Yes	21
New York	Yes	Yes	21
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	21
North Dakota	No	Yes	21
Ohio	Yes	Yes	21
Oregon	Yes	Yes	21
Pennsylvania	Yes	Yes	21
Rhode Island	Yes	Yes	18
South Dakota	No	Yes	21
Tennessee	Yes	No	21
Texas	No	No	N/A
Utah	No	No	N/A
Vermont	Yes	No	21
Virginia	Yes	Yes	21
Washington, DC	Yes	Yes	18
Washington	Yes	Yes	21
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	21
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes	21
Wyoming	Yes	No	18

Soccer Betting Tips and Strategies

Betting on soccer may seem like a big gamble, but following the right strategy can significantly boost your odds of turning a profit. Let’s go over a few strategies that work for both beginners and more advanced bettors.

Seek Out Welcome Offers and Sportsbooks With the Best Odds

If you’re serious about soccer betting, you’ll want to pad your bankroll, and the best way to do that is by signing up for welcome offers with various sportsbooks. As we mentioned above, sportsbooks reward you for making your first deposit by matching that deposit. The right welcome offer could boost your bankroll by $1,000 or more.

And don’t feel as though you need to be loyal to a single sportsbook. You’re free to shop around and sign up for multiple welcome offers at different sportsbooks, so definitely take advantage. Don’t forget to check the odds at a few different sportsbooks before betting, as some have better odds for a given match than others.

Arbitrage Betting: A Favorite of Odds Hunters

Arbitrage betting — or “arbing,” as fans affectionately call it — is when you place bets with a few different sportsbooks. By doing this, you’ll cover all possible outcomes of an event, essentially guaranteeing yourself a profit.

Arbs crop up when sportsbooks disagree on the outcome of an event, so they set different odds. If the variance in odds is big enough, you earn a profit no matter which of your bets win. That’s why you may see arbitrage bets referred to as “sure bets.”

As you might expect, calculating odds discrepancies can take a ton of time, and it may not be for you if you’re not mathematically inclined. Fortunately, you don’t have to calculate odds manually. You can use bots, software, or odds comparison websites to identify arb opportunities for you with little to no effort.

Sportsbook Made a Mistake on Odds? It’s Your Time To Shine

Suppose you come across a bet with odds that don’t seem to reflect reality. For some reason, the sportsbook’s odds don’t match up with the likely chance of a team winning an event. Taking advantage of opportunities like this one is called “value betting.”

The easiest way to illustrate how value betting works is to imagine a coin toss. You know that when someone flips a coin, the odds of it landing on either heads or tails are 50/50 (that’s 2.00 in sports odds form). But what if the coin flipper offered you 2.20 on heads? You’d take that bet without a second thought.

Tracking down value bets isn’t quite as easy as predicting how a coin toss will end up. Finding these bets and determining whether they’re worth making can take quite a while. However, this is one of the easiest strategies for newbies to nail down, so it’s worth a shot if you’re just getting into soccer betting.

Hedge Your Bets on Corners

“Bet on corners,” top soccer tipsters say, but what exactly does that mean?

A corner is when the soccer ball goes over the goal line that a defending team member last touched. Corners usually have good odds because they’re unpredictable, and it doesn’t matter who wins the game. So, even if your preferred team loses, you can still make money by betting on corners.

You could bet on which team will score the first or last corner, how many total corners there will be in the game, and so on.

The 1-2-3-6 Strategy: A Strong Pick for Even Money Bets

If you're a roulette buff, you might already be privy to the 1-2-3-6 betting method. This strategy works when betting on soccer, too, and it has the potential to net you steady profits if you nail down the basics.

The 1-2-3-6 system is so named because it involves making a series of progressive bets. It works beautifully for even money bets, such as over/under, match result, etc.

This system works like so:

Place a bet on the market of your choice. For instance, you might bet $5 that your favorite team will win the match by three goals.
If the bet loses, you’ll start over and place another $5 bet. But if the bet wins, you place another bet that’s three times higher than your winnings. In this case, you would bet $15.
If your second bet wins, you’re up to $30, which you’d then use to place a third bet.
Should this bet also win, you’ll have $60. At this point, you can take the money or start the process over again with another $5 bet.

Lots of beginners like this system because it’s easy to memorize and pretty low-risk. However, it relies on you winning several bets in a row to come out ahead.

Take It Easy on Accumulator Bets

Accumulator bets, or accas, allow you to combine multiple bets into one. Soccer betting experts sing their praises because, if you play your cards right, you can score a lot of cash with not much stake.

The trouble is that accas are very risky, and the more teams you bet on, the less likely it is you’re going to win. To win an acca, all of your bets need to succeed, and you can probably imagine that the odds of that happening are rather low.

That’s why it’s much smarter to stick with single bets, at least until you have a better handle on odds. Your profits might not be that impressive at first, but you’re much less likely to spend your entire bankroll in one sitting.

Be Careful Which Tipsters You Follow

You’ll find plenty of soccer betting tipsters out there, all bragging about their betting history and offering you the same impressive results. Should you listen to their advice or treat them as a scam?

It depends. Unscrupulous tipsters can tidy up a losing streak by deleting or changing bets, making it appear as though they’re more “in the know” than they really are. Following one of these fakers is a surefire way to lose your bankroll fast.

If you must follow a tipster, look for a platform that doesn’t allow people to alter their betting histories.

Practice Good Bankroll Management

This isn’t so much a soccer betting strategy as it is smart advice. Soccer betting is lots of fun, and it’s very easy to overspend. Do that, and you’ll run out of money for betting faster than you can blink.

Follow these tips to keep your bankroll and betting in check:

Decide on your bankroll before you start betting, and don’t deposit more money once that bankroll is gone.
Don’t chase your losses. Some bettors believe they’re “due” a win after a losing streak, but such beliefs are sadly nothing more than fantasy.
Pick a less-risky strategy to start with, such as arbitrage bets. Your profits won’t be as high as they would with a higher-stakes method, but you’ll learn the basics of soccer betting and get some wins under your belt.
Never neglect financial obligations, like paying the rent, to bet on soccer. And don’t borrow money from others (especially not a loan shark or payday loan company) once your bankroll runs out.

History of Betting on Soccer

It’s hard to know exactly when soccer betting got its start, although it probably began sometime after it became an organized sport (late 19th to early 20th century). Back then, there weren’t many official sportsbooks around, and sports betting wasn’t yet legal, so fans had to place bets under the table. If you were a fan in the early days, you might head to the pub to bet against your friends and neighbors.

Sports betting steadily became legal in countries around the world, which was surely welcome news to soccer fans who were tired of placing bets with shady, mob-operated sportsbooks. Now, fans could place bets legitimately without worrying about ticking off a gangster. Sportsbooks also introduced new ways to bet, like soccer props, player and team futures, and betting on corners.

The introduction of formal soccer betting odds brought appeal as well. Soccer enthusiasts could use their knowledge of the sport to generate tidy profits.

Compared to other countries, it took the U.S. a long time to legalize soccer betting (or any type of sports betting, for that matter). Sports betting was criminalized in 1992 when the U.S. Supreme Court signed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) into law. PASPA came about after Senate Judiciary hearings determined that sports betting caused “serious harm.” PASPA outlawed sports betting nationwide with the exception of certain sports, like dog and horse racing.

In 2018, after heavy pressure from unhappy sports teams and investors, the Supreme Court finally saw the light and overturned PASPA, allowing the states to decide whether or not to legalize sports betting. Today, 38 states have legalized retail sports betting, and 30 have given the okay to online sports betting.

There’s never been a better time to check out soccer betting sites. The best ones offer enticing odds, hefty bonuses, speedy payouts, and lots of other can’t-miss perks.

Ready To Hit It Big? Score a Goal With the Best Soccer Betting Sites

Now that you’ve learned all about soccer betting, are you ready to dive in and place a bet? Our top soccer betting sites are gold-star winners, so no matter which you pick, you truly can’t go wrong.