Soccer betting is betting on football matches and competitions at fixed decimal odds, and most match markets settle on the score after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Because a match can finish level, the main market prices three results. Take illustrative prices of $2.15 home, $3.50 draw and $3.30 away: their implied chances, 1 / price, come to 46.5% + 28.6% + 30.3% = 105.4%, so the bookmaker has built a 5.4% margin into the market.
In Australia the round-ball game is usually called soccer, since football can also mean Australian rules or rugby league, and its national governing body is Football Australia. Online, every bet goes on before kick-off.
Soccer betting markets and the question each one asks
Each market asks one question about one stretch of play, usually normal time: 90 minutes plus the time added for stoppages.
| Market | The question it asks | Outcomes | Settles on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match result (1X2, three way) | Home win, draw or away win | 3 | Normal time |
| Double chance | Two of the three results at once: 1X, X2 or 12 | 3 pairs | Normal time |
| Draw no bet | A team to win, with the stake back on a draw | 2 | Normal time |
| Asian handicap | A team with a start of half, whole or quarter goals | 2 | Normal time |
| European handicap | A whole-goal start, with the handicap draw as a third result | 3 | Normal time |
| Total goals | Goals by both sides, over or under a line such as 2.5 | 2 | Normal time |
| Both teams to score | Whether each side scores at least once | 2 | Normal time |
| Correct score | The exact score, with a catch-all for scores not listed | Many | Normal time |
| Half time/full time | The result at the break and at the end | 9 | Half time and full time |
| Goalscorer | A named player to score at any time, first or last | One per player | Normal time |
| Corners and cards | Counts, handicaps or booking points | 2 or more | Normal time |
| To qualify | Which side goes through a knockout tie | 2 | The whole tie |
| Futures | A league title, a top-four finish, relegation or a cup | One per club | The season or competition |
To see what a market costs, add 1 / price across every outcome where exactly one can win; the amount over 100% is the margin, and the bookmaker margin calculator does the sum. Markets with many outcomes, such as correct score and first goalscorer, tend to total far more than a two-way line, and the sum does not work for anytime goalscorer, where several players can score.
One match, nine bets: how a final score settles them
Example: Illustrative prices and events, not a real match. Team A hosts Team B, and all nine prices come from one bookmaker before kick-off. The other sides of the two-way markets were Team B draw no bet $2.40, Team B +0.25 $1.97, under 2.5 goals $1.86 and both teams to score no $1.98.
Team A scores after 23 minutes and Team B equalises after 51. Player 9 puts Team A 2-1 up from the penalty spot after 64 minutes, and Team B equalises again in the third minute of stoppage time. The referee ends normal time at 2-2. With $20 on each bet:
| $20 bet | Price | At 2-2 | Return at 2-2 | Return if it had ended 2-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A, 1X2 | $2.15 | Loses | $0 | $20 x 2.15 = $43.00 |
| Draw, 1X2 | $3.50 | Wins | $20 x 3.50 = $70.00 | $0 |
| Team A draw no bet | $1.59 | Stake back | $20.00 | $20 x 1.59 = $31.80 |
| Team A or draw (1X) | $1.33 | Wins | $20 x 1.33 = $26.60 | $26.60 |
| Team A -0.25 | $1.91 | Half back, half lost | $10.00 | $20 x 1.91 = $38.20 |
| Over 2.5 goals | $2.00 | Won at the third goal | $20 x 2.00 = $40.00 | $40.00 |
| Both teams to score, yes | $1.83 | Won at Team B's first goal | $20 x 1.83 = $36.60 | $36.60 |
| Correct score 2-2 | $15.00 | Wins | $20 x 15.00 = $300.00 | $0 |
| Player 9 to score at any time | $2.60 | Wins | $20 x 2.60 = $52.00 | $52.00 |
Three rules decided that table:
- The goal at 90+3 counted, because normal time includes the minutes the referee adds. That one goal changed five of the nine results.
- Some bets settled early: both teams to score at Team B's first goal and over 2.5 at the third goal. The result bets stayed open to the final whistle.
- A penalty taken during the match is an ordinary goal, so Player 9's bet won.
Had the match been called off after 80 minutes at 2-1, with no official result, the NSW rule book set out below would have kept the three bets already decided and refunded the other six.
The draw and the two-way markets built around it
Soccer prices the draw as a selection of its own, so in the 1X2 market a bet on either team loses when the scores finish level. The three-way market can also be listed as head to head, so check that a draw price is shown, and head to head betting sets out how other sports settle a level score.
The other result markets differ only in how they treat a draw:
| On a draw, your bet | Markets that settle this way |
|---|---|
| Loses | Team A or Team B in the 1X2; double chance 12; Asian -0.5 |
| Wins | The draw in the 1X2; double chance 1X or X2; Asian +0.5 |
| Returns the stake | Draw no bet; Asian 0 |
| Settles half each way | Asian -0.25 (half back, half lost); Asian +0.25 (half back, half won) |
Draw no bet and double chance are cut from the same three results, so the cover each gives on a draw comes out of the price. In the example, Team A pays $2.15 in the 1X2, $1.59 draw no bet and $1.33 as part of 1X.
An Asian handicap gives one side a start. A half-goal line cannot finish level, and a whole-goal line refunds the stake when the margin lands on it, which is called a push. A quarter line splits the stake across the two lines either side: -0.25 is half at 0 and half at -0.5, a convention to confirm in your bookmaker's terms.
The two-way lines carry less margin here. The quarter line adds up to 1 / 1.91 + 1 / 1.97 = 103.1% and the goals line to 1 / 2.00 + 1 / 1.86 = 103.8%. Draw no bet comes to 1 / 1.59 + 1 / 2.40 = 104.6%, against 105.4% for the 1X2. That pattern is common but not guaranteed, so add up each market before you compare them.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Less margin means a smaller average cost per bet, not a better chance of winning it, and on a quarter line both halves can lose together. There is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Betting on goals instead of the result
Goals markets ignore who wins. They settle on the goals scored in normal time, and an own goal counts for the side it is credited to:
- Total goals. Over 2.5 needs three goals or more. A whole-number line such as 3.0 refunds on exactly three, and an Asian total such as 2.25 splits the stake between 2.0 and 2.5 (over/under goals betting).
- Both teams to score. Yes needs a goal from each side and is settled when the second side scores; no wins whenever one side fails to score (both teams to score).
- Correct score. One exact score from a long list, with a catch-all such as any other score for the rest (correct score betting).
- Clean sheet and win to nil. A side to concede nothing, or to win without conceding (clean sheet, win to nil).
These markets describe the same goals, so they move together. A 1-1 draw is both teams to score yes but under 2.5, and 3-0 is over 2.5 but both teams to score no; every other score with a goal at each end is over 2.5. Price them from one view of each side's goals, which Poisson distribution betting turns into a chance for every score, using inputs such as expected goals.
The 90-minute rule: which minutes count
Law 7 of the Laws of the Game (2026/27) sets two halves of 45 minutes, plus time the referee adds at the end of each for play lost to substitutions, injuries, reviews and other delays. Once the minimum is shown, the referee can increase it but not reduce it.
The NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules govern sports bets with bookmakers authorised under NSW law. They decide a soccer match at the end of normal time, "in most circumstances, ninety minutes plus injury time", unless you and the bookmaker agree otherwise (clause 5.2.7.3). Their normal time includes time added for stoppages and excludes anything played to break a tie. Online bookmakers licensed elsewhere write their own versions into their terms, and stoppage time shows which late goals count.
Where a competition needs a winner, Law 10 allows an away goals rule, extra time of two equal periods of no more than 15 minutes each, and a penalty shootout. The shootout is taken after the match has ended and is not part of it. Under the NSW default, the stretch of play a market covers decides whether any of that counts, so check your bookmaker's terms for its own markets:
| Market | What counts | Extra time and penalties |
|---|---|---|
| Result, handicap, goals, goalscorer, corners and cards markets | Normal time, stoppage time included | Ignored |
| First half, second half, half time/full time | The half named, with its own added time | Ignored |
| To qualify, to lift the trophy | The whole tie, however the competition decides it | Counted, as is any away goals rule |
| League winner, top four, relegation | The final official table | Not relevant |
In a one-match tie, extra time follows only a level score, so a 90-minute bet on either team has already lost and one on the draw has already won. In a two-legged tie it needs a level aggregate, so the second leg can have a winner (lose the first leg 1-0, win the second 1-0), and its 90-minute bets settle on that leg's score. Extra time and penalties follows one knockout result through each kind of market, and half time/full time betting covers the results that need both halves.
The same rule book covers matches that do not finish as planned, and abandoned and postponed matches compares other rule types:
- Called off, no official result: bets already decided stand, and the rest are refunded (clause 5.2.7.1).
- Called off, official result declared: bets settle on it, but those that depend on the number of goals, handicaps included, are refunded (clause 5.2.7.2).
- Moved to another venue: void unless agreed otherwise (clause 5.1.14).
- Postponed and not rescheduled within three calendar days of the original scheduled completion date: treated as abandoned and refunded (clause 5.1.6).
Goalscorer, corner and card markets
Player and event markets follow the official match record rather than the score. A goalscorer bet backs a named player to score at any time, first or last, and anytime goalscorer betting compares the three. The rule types to find in your bookmaker's terms:
- Own goals. An own goal credits no player on the side it counts for. Under the NSW rules, a first or next goalscorer bet skips it and settles on the goal that follows, unless an own goal was priced in that market (clause 5.2.7.3); own goal sets out both rule types.
- Players who never take the field. The NSW rules make bets all-in unless agreed otherwise (clause 5.1.1), so a bet on a player who never plays stands and loses; other terms refund a player who takes no part. Player did not play rules compares the types.
- Players under 18. In Victoria, a direction the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission announced on 3 August 2023 bars bets on individual players under 18, such as a player to score first, and bets on under-19s events. Team bets on senior competitions remain allowed.
Corner markets count corner kicks, and card markets count the cards shown, one by one or in booking points, with the points each card scores set in your bookmaker's terms. Those terms also decide whether a corner awarded but never taken, a coach's card or a second yellow counts, and corners and cards betting works through each.
When soccer kicks off in Australia: A-League and overseas leagues
A-League Men clubs play 26 regular-season games each in 2026/27, from Friday 16 October 2026, and the Grand Final weekend is 3 to 6 June 2027 (A-Leagues, 16 July 2026). The women's season starts a day later (A-League Women fixture release). Until eastern daylight saving ends on 4 April 2027, an illustrative 7:30 pm kick-off in Perth is 10:30 pm in Sydney, and a 7:30 pm kick-off in New Zealand is 5:30 pm in Sydney. A-League betting covers the finals, travel and team news.
Most Premier League weekend fixtures are first published at 3 pm Saturday London time (Premier League, 19 June 2026), before broadcasters move many of them to other slots. Champions League matches kick off in principle at 9 pm Central European time, with two of each Tuesday's and two of each Wednesday's league-phase matches at 6:45 pm (UEFA Champions League regulations 2026/27, Article 25). The exception is the last league-phase matchday, Wednesday 27 January 2027, when every match kicks off together at 9 pm (UEFA's 2026/27 dates). From 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027, when the gap is widest:
| Kick-off | Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart | Brisbane | Perth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League, Saturday 3 pm in London | Sunday 2 am | Sunday 1 am | Saturday 11 pm |
| Champions League, Tuesday or Wednesday 6:45 pm Central European time | Wednesday or Thursday 4:45 am | 3:45 am | 1:45 am |
| Champions League, Tuesday or Wednesday 9 pm Central European time | Wednesday or Thursday 7 am | 6 am | 4 am |
Adelaide is half an hour behind Sydney. Until 24 October 2026, and from 28 March to 3 April 2027, each time in the table is an hour earlier. From 4 April 2027, when Sydney's daylight saving ends, the Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart times are two hours earlier than in the table, and the Brisbane and Perth times one hour earlier.
The UK and the EU change clocks on the same Sundays, so Central European time stays an hour ahead of London (UK clock change dates, EU summer time rules, NSW daylight saving dates).
European line-ups land during the night or early morning in the east, so a price taken the evening before is taken without them. EPL betting from Australia times the Premier League's team news and converts every slot through the season.
How to bet on soccer in Australia
- Choose a provider licensed under an Australian state or territory law, the only kind that may offer online sports betting (Interactive Gambling Act 2001, s 15AA). ACMA's register of licensed wagering providers lists them by trading name. Offshore operators are illegal to offer betting here, and their customers lose Australian protections (offshore betting sites).
- Open an account in your own name. You must be 18 or over, and your identity has to be verified before your first bet.
- Set a deposit limit before you pay in. Providers must offer one: a cut applies at once, a rise only after 7 days (deposit limits explained).
- Pay in by a method the provider accepts: since 11 June 2024 the law has barred credit cards, credit-linked wallets and digital currency for online and phone wagering (ACMA credit card ban).
- Pick the market, then find how it settles: the stretch of play it covers, the own goal rule and the rule for a player who does not play.
- Check the team news and compare the price at more than one bookmaker.
- Place the bet before kick-off. The Act defines an in-play betting service as one that takes bets after a sporting event has begun (s 10B), and allows online sports betting only when it is not in-play (s 8A(3)). The legal position on sports betting and in-play betting in Australia set out the rest.
Three costly mistakes, and when to stay out of a market
With the illustrative match above:
| Mistake | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Counting a result bet as won once the clock passes 90:00 | $20 on Team A at $2.15 returned nothing after the 90+3 equaliser, where 2-1 would have returned $43.00 |
| Judging draw no bet on a win alone | If Team A wins, $20 at $1.59 returns $31.80 against $43.00 in the 1X2, $11.20 less, but a draw returns the $20 where the 1X2 bet pays nothing, and at 104.6% against 105.4% draw no bet is the cheaper market here |
| Assuming a player who never plays gets a refund | Under an all-in rule, $20 on Player 9 at $2.60 is lost if he is left out; a takes-no-part rule hands it back |
Stay out of a market when:
- You cannot find how your bookmaker's terms settle the case your bet turns on: an own goal first up, a corner never taken, a second yellow or a match called off.
- The bet depends on one player and the line-up is not out. For a European match that means waiting until the early morning or carrying the risk.
- The price is shorter than your own fair price. At a 45% rating, the break-even price is 1 / 0.45 = 2.222, so $2.22 or shorter returns less than the stake on average, and soccer betting strategy sets out a method for building those ratings.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Your fair price is an estimate, and a bet priced above it can still lose, and often does. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Comparing prices and building same game multis
The same bet can carry a different price at each bookmaker: $20 on the draw returns $70.00 at $3.50 and $74.00 at an illustrative $3.70 elsewhere. Taking the best available price on each result also lowers the market percentage you face, and line shopping covers the habit.
A same game multi joins legs from one match, such as Team A to win and Player 9 to score. Those legs are linked, since a side that wins must have scored, so the bookmaker prices the combination itself (correlated bets), and same game multi rules covers a leg that cannot settle.
The sports side of B337's live odds board sets bookmakers' head to head, line and total prices side by side, with player props where bookmakers offer them and the best available price picked out. It covers AFL, NRL, NBA, soccer, tennis and more, whenever bookmakers have markets up. Prices update on a repeating cycle, not tick by tick, so what you see can lag the bookmaker's own; check it in your bookmaker account before you bet. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Soccer is one of four sports, beside AFL, NRL and NBA, that SGM Saver works on. On the games you pick, it builds a same game multi for a saver or stake-back offer your account already holds, and places it once the bookmaker confirms the offer covers that multi. It works at seven bookmakers, and only where the bookmaker offers a same game multi on that game.
It comes with Full Automation, which is set up with the team and priced before you pay, and each bet it places uses credits, a per-bet usage charge. Nothing is placed unless your own computer is on, awake, online and running B337, and multis go on before the game starts. Many bookmakers restrict or prohibit automated betting and third-party access to accounts in their terms; a bookmaker can cap your stakes, void bets or close the account, and that risk is your own.
For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A stoppage-time goal can sink a multi that looked won, a saver offer does not stop a same game multi from losing, and a better price changes the payout, not the result. Automation can bet far more, far faster, than by hand, so set a deposit limit with each bookmaker, and there is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.