On a global scale, soccer betting is one of the most popular forms of sports betting activities that takes place. Many Americans would be surprised to know that in Europe, soccer betting is the equivalent of professional football wagering in the United States. It's extremely popular.

Soccer betting is similar to wagering on professional baseball or the National Hockey League, in that it uses the money line, but there is one major difference. In soccer betting, not only can you place a bet on either team, you can also wager that it will be a tie game. Since you can wager on a tie, that means if you bet on a soccer team that team must win the game or you lose your bet.

Examples of Soccer Lines

The typical odds on a soccer match may look similar to this:

Rotherham United - 182 
Draw + 230
Forest Green + 450

In this example, if a bettor wagers on Rotherham United, they will risk $18.20 to win $10, while those backing Forest Green stand to win $45 for every $10 wagered if their team comes through and gets the win. Bettors also have the option of betting the game will be played to a draw and those bettors will risk $10 for the opportunity to win $23. Remember, as you can wager on a tie, your team must win the match or you will lose your bet.

The odds on another soccer match may look like:

Bristol Rovers + 140 
Draw + 220
Leyton Orient + 150

In this example, both teams are underdogs, something that could never happen in baseball or the NHL, because of the possibility of a tie match.

Others Types of Soccer Bets

On many soccer matches there may be a total (over/under) posted, so that a bettor may wager over a certain number of goals or under a certain number of goals. A typical number for these types of bets is 2.5, so that a bettor wagering on the over would need at least three goals to be scored to win the bet, while a person wagering on the under could have no more than two goals scored to win their wager.

A number of soccer matches also will have proposition bets available, such as the time of the first goal, the team to score first, or the team ahead at halftime. These can be profitable for the bettor who is extremely knowledgeable on the soccer teams they are wagering on.

There you have the basics of soccer betting. Those familiar with money line betting should have no trouble making the plunge into the world of soccer.