Ahhh… the subtle charm of good, old, British sports betting! The English have always had it in their blood. Just think that Henry VIII had to outlaw gambling because it distracted his soldiers from fighting!
And yet his daughter, Elizabeth I, was the one to launch the first National Lottery, in 1569, to raise tax revenues. Since then it has been a bumpy road, in and out of legality in different moments, for English betting.
Today gambling is legal in the UK, very well regulated and controlled. The star of the show is sports betting. Football became relevant on this scene at the turn of the century and quickly became a multi-billion market.
The debate on “is sports betting gambling?” is raging on. Sure, if you just want the quick thrill of spinning the wheel you can easily find US casino bonus codes to give it a try, without making your brain sweat too much.
Sports betting, on the other hand, requires skills. Some aficionados even maintain that it is 100% skills.
The Premier League is to football what the Royal Ascot is to horse racing. You can get real satisfaction from betting on something top quality. And real money.
BUT
You have to put some more effort into it. Read how.
1. You'd better love football!
The (English) Premier League is the most popular on the globe. More than Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A combined.
In numbers, this means more than 4 billions people regularly watching the broadcast of its fixtures.
Practical consequence: it is difficult to beat the bookmakers!
How so?
More than a billion dollars' worth of bets is placed on each Premier League match. This means there are armies of betters out there, and thousands of competent opinions that contribute to shaping the odds.
This results in an “efficient betting market”. In other words, the odds are pretty much realistic, an accurate reflection of the actual chances of victory of each club.
The bottom line is: study as much as you can! Become an expert. Study all things Premier League: the news, the stats, the upcoming fixtures, the details about top players.
There are hundreds of possibilities in Premier League betting. Not only the 20 clubs and 380 games each season. You can practically bet on anything and anyone, and this PL-lore requires a lot of study.
This is why you have to be passionate about football.
2. You can bet on the loosers too
Relegation Odds are available before and during the season: you can bet on which three of the 20 PL clubs will position lowest and move down to the Championship. Or bet on the “Will Stay Up” option: which clubs will stay in the Premier League.
“Next Manager To Be Sacked” is one peculiar set of odds. Football is a competitive and ruthless market, where failure is not tolerated. The turnover of managers is so dynamic that is has become a favourite betting theme of its own.
3. The FA takes the integrity of football seriously
Insider trading can cost you your career, in the Football Association! If you are a player, staff member or anyone professionally involved with English football (not only the Premier League), you are strictly prohibited from betting. Whatever type of bet on football wherever in the world.
Passing inside information on to someone is out of the question too. Fines and bans will hit anyone trying to provide a third party with unfair advantage in betting.
