Football Betting Sites in Ireland

Of course, our list of the best football betting sites is subjective, and just because we rate the bookie high, does not mean it will work for you. But, we hope this guide will help you choose from the best football betting sites available while avoiding the worst.

Number of Tournaments and Events Available

Before joining a betting site, you want to make sure the bookie offers a wide range of football events and markets including the leagues/competitions you want to bet on. We recommend sticking to a league you know well, as soccer is a notoriously difficult sport to predict.

The majority of betting sites will offer the top football leagues from Europe, and the big competitions, but, it is also important to make sure they offer the smaller leagues as there is less data on these leagues, and often have great potential for high-value bets.

High Football Betting Odds

One of the most important factors is the football betting margins/betting odds available on each bookie. Betting margins are essentially the amount a betting site "charges" you to place a bet, and the margins can be as low as 0% up to 12+.

We independently test a small sample of betting markets to get an idea of the betting margins on each bookie. In our tests, the European based bookmakers consistently offer the lowest margins available on football markets for both domestic and international events.

1. Mr Play football margins - 3.35%
2. Unibet football margins - 4.61%
3. bet365 soccer margins - 4.85%
4. LeoVegas football margins - 4.92%
5. 888Sport football margins - 6.18%
6. QuinnBet football margins - 7.14%
7. Paddy Power football margins - 8.60%
8. BoyleSports football margins - 8.69%

Depth of Betting Markets

After calculating the betting margins, we check to see how many betting markets are available throughout the football competitions and leagues around the world.

The best betting sites offer 300+ betting markets, player prop bets, bet builders (a feature to let you create custom bets) Asian markets, and much more. Most punters do not need this many betting markets, but, it is often a lot easier to find value in the niche markets, rather than the regular markets available on all bookies.

However, some niche markets have horrendously high betting margins compared to the popular markets, and we encourage you to stick to a market you know if you are looking for long-term sustainable profitability.

Live Football Betting Experience

The best betting sites offer fantastic in-play/live betting experiences with free live streams, cashout options and a wide variety of live betting markets throughout the match.

bet365 and Unibet are two of the best bookies for free live streaming, with both offering 1000's of live sports streams each month if you have a funded account or a bet on the match.

Also, it is handy to join a betting site that offers live notifications for events in the match, and you can turn on notifications for a wide variety of in-game events such as goals, corners, cards, halftime/fulltime result and much more.

Football Betting Special Offers and Promotions

This ultimate guide has touched on some of the special bets that are widely available at sports betting sites in Ireland above, but in reality that barely scratches the surface.

There are so many football betting special offers and promotions out there nowadays that it is impossible to list them all in one place. New deals are also being launched regularly, including exclusive no deposit free bet bonuses for new Irish customers.

Part of the reason for this is that there is so much competition in the world of online sports betting that companies always have to be offering something different to stand out.

Some promotions are more attractive than others, though, with a lot of special offers for football betting turning out to be less worthwhile than they seem at first glance.

Sifting through the various football betting special offers and promotions that can be claimed is a challenge, which is where we come in to help out.

Here are some of the most common - and the best - football promotions to look out for.

Acca Insurance: A popular promotion now is acca insurance, which sees football fans refunded on their accumulator stakes in the event of just one of their selections letting the bet down. The stake is usually returned as cash, but sometimes bookmakers pay these out as free bets.

Free bets: Most bookmakers these days offer free bets to tempt new users to sign up. But free bets can be earned by existing customers at many of Ireland's best betting sites as well. These free bets are used by betting sites as a way to reward loyalty and encourage repeat visits. One thing to keep in mind with free bets, especially those that are routinely given out to new users, is there is often a time limit on when they can be used. The winnings from free bets might also be subject to wagering requirements, which means the money has to be bet a certain number of times before it becomes available to be withdrawn from a sports betting account. 

Enhanced odds/price boosts: One of the main ways that bookmakers tempt people into placing bets is through the use of enhanced odds, which might also be known as price boosts. These see prices increased for a particular bet, though there is usually a limit on the stake. 

Money-back specials: A common promotion is a money-back special, which various bookmakers offer now. The stake might be returned if the game ends goalless, for example.

Early payouts: Some bookmakers that are available in Ireland, such as Betway and Paddy Power, offer early payouts on certain football bets. As an example, bets might be paid out if a team goes two goals ahead in a game, regardless of what happens in the rest of the match. 

Best Odds Guaranteed: Commonly found on horse racing betting sites but increasingly offered for football too, Best Odds Guaranteed does just what the name of the promotion suggests. If a bookmaker offers a bet at a lower price than a rival, they pay out the winnings at the higher odds. Best Odds Guaranteed reduces the need for football fans to hunt around the internet to find the best price for a bet that they intend to place on the big game. 

The football betting industry is highly competitive and is worth billions of euros in Ireland alone. 

New betting sites are also entering the market regularly in a bid to battle for customers with the biggest companies in the sector.

We love to highlight an underdog so new football betting sites always catch our eye. These sites need to offer something different from the crowd if they are to have a chance of surviving.

Here are a few of the top new bookmakers for football betting in Ireland right now:

• Mr Green 
• Mr Play 
• Mansion Bet 
• Casumo 
• Quinnbet

Mr Green is primarily known as a casino, but the site has a handy sportsbook attached as well. Benefits of Mr Green include fast withdrawals for winners, as well as 24/7 customer support.

A big sign-up offer will attract a lot of football fans to Mr Play. But this new football betting site has a lot more to offer, including the chance to bet on over 60,000 sports events.

A recent entrant into the Irish market, Mansion Bet is already a trusted betting brand. Odds on football on the Mansion Bet sportsbook are extremely competitive, while promos are good too.

Casumo is more known for its online casino, but like Mr Green, there is also a sportsbook to use on the site too. Good odds and thousands of online casino games is a strong combination.

Many Irish football fans are finding Quinnbet to be just as good as the top names for betting on the sport, even though the site is very new. Online casino games are available on the site too. It is also worth pointing out here that Quinnbet is also a wholly-owned Irish company as well.

Mobile betting is a big part of the industry now, with many people preferring to use a device such as a tablet or a smartphone to place their wagers.

Now, mobile betting means that football fans can even place a bet on the match they are watching from inside a stadium - as long as they can get internet access, of course.

In order to place wagers via mobile, betting apps are likely to be needed to speed up the process. Benefits of using betting apps include that they are tailor-made for mobile, meaning they are quick and simple to use, which is perfect for live in-play betting on the big game.

Here are a few of the best football betting apps available to download in Ireland right now.

• Betfair 
• BoyleSports 
• William Hill 
• Paddy Power 
• Bet365 
• Unibet 
• BetVictor 
• Mr Play

Although football is a year-round sport, it might still sometimes be the case that fans of the sport cannot find a game that they want to be on.

When this happens, an alternative betting option could be to have a wager on virtual football.

This is increasingly popular on football betting sites, even though there is no real skill involved.

Players can select from a range of markets, just like with a real-life match, then they watch a virtual representation of the game to see if their bet is a winner or not.

As well as virtual football betting, some sportsbooks offer various other virtual sports, like racing. Here are some of the top betting sites for virtual football betting in Ireland:

• 888 Sport 
• BoyleSports 
• Bet365 
• Paddy Power 
• Quinnbet 

It is not uncommon for a big game in a competition like the English Premier League or the Champions League to have hundreds of different markets on sports betting sites.

However, here are some of the most common football betting markets - and what they mean:

1x2 (full-time result): A simple one to start off, 1x2 is the match odds market. 1 refers to the home team, 2 to the away team, and the x is the draw. Backers have to predict the final result.

Accumulators: Very popular with football fans in Ireland and around the world, accumulators are cherished as they offer a chance to win life-changing money from relatively small stakes. Backers combine a number of bets into the same wager in order to bump up the odds by a lot. 

Draw no bet: This bet does exactly what the name suggests. Backers pick a team to win and, if the final result of the game is a draw, their stake will be returned back into their betting account. 

Double chance: Again, this bet is what bettors would expect. Double chance bets give players two opportunities to win. An example of a double chance bet would be backing the result to be either a draw or a win for the away team. It is particularly useful when backing the underdog. 

Correct score: Predicting the correct score in football betting is famously difficult, but that does not stop a lot of fans of the game from trying. The correct score bet is only valid for the first 90 minutes, in the event of a match in a cup competition going to either extra time or penalties. 

Halftime/fulltime: Similar to 1x2 bets, the extra facet of halftime/fulltime bets is that backers have to guess the result at both the break and the final whistle. For example, fans might want to bet on the away side to be in front at halftime but for the home team to turn it around by the end. 

Halftime/fulltime correct score: This is the same as the above betting market, but the backer has to pick the score for the break and the end of the game, not just the result. 

Goalscorers (first, last, and anytime): Very popular for football betting in Ireland, goal scorer markets can provide a lot of value. It is possible to bet on who scores the first goal in the game, or the last goal, or even just betting on a player to score at any time in the game. Additionally, a lot of the top betting sites in Ireland offer similar markets such as to score and win the game.

Both teams to score: This bet is handy for games where goals are expected. As long as both teams in the game can find the net, then the BTTS bet will be a winning wager. 

Result/both teams to score: A useful combination bet, backers pick the result of the match as well as betting that each side will be on target during the game as well. 

Over/under goals: Goals markets are a very popular choice, with over/under the main choice. It is usually the case that over/under 2.5 goals is the default. This means if there are three or more goals in the game, over 2.5 wins, and if there are two or less, then under 2.5 goals wins. This bet works the same whether the number is 2.5 or 0.5, 1.5, 3,5, 4.5 and so on.

Win to nil: If a backer thinks a team will win a game and keep a clean sheet, then the win to nil market on sportsbooks is going to be the right selection for them to make.

European handicap: Handicaps are increasingly popular for football betting in Ireland. Essentially, the handicap means teams have goals either added to or taken away from the number of goals they actually score in the game. For example, if Chelsea are -1 against Tottenham, they need to win by two clear goals or more for the bet to be a winner. Handicaps work in the other direction too. If a fan bets on Tottenham +2, then the bet wins even if Spurs actually lose the game by a single goal. Handicaps can provide a lot of value in matches where there is a strong favourite to win the game, with their odds to win very short as a result. European handicap markets are sometimes shown as EH for short on sports betting sites.

Asian lines: Asian lines are another type of handicap. They are named as such as they originated in Asia, but these markets can now be found at sportsbooks all over the world, including in Ireland. The difference between European and Asian handicaps is that in Asian lines, the number can be a fraction, whereas it is always a full number on the European handicap. Chelsea -1.5 on the Asian handicap would be the equivalent to Chelsea -1 as an EH bet. The half goal means that the draw is eliminated from the potential outcome of the bet, whereas in EH the draw can result in a push and the stake being returned to the player as a result. The Asian and European handicaps are effectively a form of spread betting, but with sport. Asian lines can be used on various markets, including total goals scored, as well as for which team will win. 

Specials: Among the ways that the top betting sites in Ireland try to beat their competition in the industry is through the use of special bets. These can be a variety of markets, including request-a-bet wagers where customers can effectively build their own accumulators. Enhanced odds and price boosts are some of the other special bets that are widely available at Irish bookmakers. There might also be special football markets offered at times, for example offering the chance to bet on which manager will be the next to be sacked in the English Premier League. Many online bookmakers also allow bets on football transfers nowadays, with wagers taken on which club a particular player will sign for before the end of the transfer window.

Football is a truly global sport, which is great for betting as there will always be a game on.

However, it is natural that certain leagues and tournaments are a lot more popular to bet on in Ireland. Here are some of the main competitions for football betting in this country:

• Premier League: England's top division is often described as the "best in the world". That might not be true, but it does draw a huge amount of football betting attention in both Ireland and all over the world. One of the things the Premier League does have over rival leagues is that it tends to be a lot more unpredictable, both for individual games and for which side will come out on top at the end of the season, whereas some leagues are monopolised by a certain club. Many special football betting offers centre on the EPL.
• Championship, League One and League Two: Below the Premier League in England is the English Football League, comprising the Championship, League One and League Two. Many big clubs who drop out of the EPL get stuck in the EFL - the Championship is one of the best-supported leagues in the world despite it not being a top division.  
• La Liga: The appeal of Spain's top division has faded a little of late with their traditional powerhouses, Real Madrid and Barcelona, both going through a period of transition. The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Madrid has also lessened the league's appeal. Nevertheless, La Liga remains one of the most popular leagues to bet on in Ireland. 
• Bundesliga: The fan culture of the Bundesliga is the envy of the world, though the fact Bayern Munich tend to dominate makes it less watchable than La Liga or the EPL. Lots of young British talent now plays in the Bundesliga, which increases the league's appeal. 
• Serie A: Ronaldo joining Juventus gave Serie A a big profile boost, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still thriving in Italy despite coming towards the end of his career. The theory that Italian football is staid and boring has been displaced in recent years by teams such as Atalanta, who have lit up both domestic and European football of late. 
• Ligue 1: France's top league is another monopoly, with Paris Saint-Germain seemingly able to top the table at the end of each season without having to break into a sweat. Regardless, many football fans in Ireland still like to have a bet on Ligue 1 regularly. 
• Other domestic leagues: Football fans usually have a preference over which leagues they like to bet on, but the choice is almost endless. Scottish football gets mocked regularly but there are opportunities to profit, while the top divisions in Holland and Portugal are some of the most popular from a betting perspective as well. 
• Champions League: Moving on from domestic football, the Champions League is the cream of the crop when it comes to the beautiful game in Europe. Dominating the midweek schedule throughout the season, the Champions League sees the best players and managers on the continent test themselves against each other, making it a captivating proposition for football lovers. Regular upsets make it great to bet on. 
• Europa League: Many big clubs often end up in the Europa League, whether they failed to qualify for the Champions League or got knocked out by finishing third in the group stage. That means that the Europa League still enjoys a lot of attention from football fans, with the Thursday night action very popular to bet on in Ireland and around the world. 
• Europa Conference League: From 2021, UEFA will be launching a new domestic club competition, which like the Europa League is going to be played on Thursdays. At this point it is hard to guess how popular betting on the Europa Conference League might be, but the fact some Irish teams are likely to feature will make it of interest in the country. 
• European Championship: Internationally, the European Championship is up there with the most important tournaments from a betting perspective. The level of interest in the European Championship - which is often shortened to the Euros - in Ireland depends very much on whether or not the Boys in Green have been able to qualify for the event. 
• World Cup: Ireland's presence at the World Cup is unfortunately quite rare, but football fans love tuning in to this festival of football. Taking place every four years, the World Cup is one of the biggest football betting events on the planet. With a handful of countries usually having a strong chance to win the World Cup, the outcome is very unpredictable, while the fact holders like France and Germany have crashed out in the group stage at some of the recent World Cups add to the interest. 
• Nations League: There was a lot of cynicism when the Nations League was launched by UEFA a few years ago, but the new international tournament has proven to be relatively successful, despite Ireland's own underwhelming performances. The Nations League is also built so that teams can qualify for the Euros and World Cup through it. 
• League of Ireland: Wrapping things up domestically, many Irish football fans love to have a bet on the League of Ireland. The Premier Division is traditionally dominated by Shamrock Rovers, though Dundalk have been strong in recent years and Cork City are always in with a chance of success too. Despite being based north of the border, Derry City also play in the League of Ireland, which has two divisions and youth leagues.

There are no shortcuts to success when betting on football. After all, if it was easy to make a lot of profit from football betting, everyone would be able to do it. The bookmakers would go bust!

However, following a football betting strategy can be a good way to increase the chances of getting one over the bookies. Many people find that sticking to a certain type of market, such as both teams to score, is their best way of maximising earnings as a result of placing football bets.

Research is the key. With so much information out there, much of it in the form of data and statistics that is easy to digest, there is no excuse for not being clued up before having a bet. It is also crucial to know all the latest news from the world of football, as an injury or illness to a key player is likely to have a big impact on a team's chances of winning their next games.

Football betting tips can be found all over the internet these days, but it is hard to know which ones are worth following. The best football betting tipsters are open about their records.

Many football fans also use strategies such as matched betting in order to profit. In theory, matched betting provides a guaranteed profit as a result of all potential outcomes being covered. This tactic relies on using free bets from bookmakers and then betting on exchanges as well.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Football Betting

Some of the most common mistakes to avoid in football betting are relevant for other sports.  For example, chasing losses is almost always a bad idea. It is also important to remain in control by ensuring a budget is maintained - never bet more than you can afford to lose.

On a similar note betting while emotional, or while under the influence of alcohol, is never a good idea. There is nothing wrong with taking a break from football betting when on a bad run.

Having unrealistic expectations over how much money can be won through football betting is another common mistake. The vast majority of accumulators lose. While they offer the chance to win big, the likelihood is that at least one result will let down this type of bet. It is often better to stick with singles and doubles that bettors have full confidence in.

Missing out on the best odds is also a mistake many bettors make. Even when a bookmaker has enhanced odds for a certain bet, this is not necessarily the best price that is available. It is usually worth taking a bit of time to shop around with various bookmakers in order to ensure the top value is taken from a wager. A small difference in odds might not seem like it makes a big impact. However, those who regularly bet on football will see it all mounts up in the long run.

Linked to the above is the need to have accounts with a range of different football betting sites. There is nothing wrong with doing this, in fact, it is recommended. While some bookmakers do try to reward the loyalty of their customers, usually the number of free bets that are offered across the industry means that it just makes a lot of sense to have many more options.

Lastly, placing too many wagers is something football fans should avoid when betting. It is usually more profitable to carry out deep research on a few well-chosen bets rather than spreading money around a large number of wagers. While it might seem as though more bets equals more chances to win, this is not the case if they are bad bets.