How to Bet on Football in Zambia? Beginner Guide for 2024

Many Zambian bookmakers have football betting selections on their platforms. Learn how to place a football bet and about the different options and markets in this handy guide.

How to Bet on Football?

First, you can learn about betting on football with just a few simple, easy-to-follow steps. Use the instructions below to place your first bet on this popular sport today.

Choose a Bookmaker

First, you will need to join an online betting site before you can wager on football. Before you commit to a betting brand, check to make sure it has all the markets and football leagues you prefer.

Also, check that the provider has the betting services you want. For instance, you might want live streaming, good points spread options or bonus bets.

Make a Deposit

Then once you have chosen your provider, you can register with the site and make a monetary deposit.

Usually, you will have to enter some personal details, like a phone number, name, and password. After this, you can send funds to your account using the provider’s payment options.

Select Your Wager

As soon as the funds clear into your betting account, you can select your football wager.

Head to the sports section, find your favourite teams or league and browse the odds. Then when you are ready, click the odds or moneyline you want to bet on. 

Confirm Your Stake

Lastly, a virtual betslip will load on the screen. Here you can input your stake before committing to the bet.

Be aware of any minimum amounts before you place your stake. Also, check you have selected the correct betting option, check the potential payout, and click confirm.

Best Football Betting Sites

Currently, all of the best betting sites have football betting options available in Zambia. At the leading sites, you will find a range of football wagers for domestic and international competitions throughout the season.

Football Betting Odds

Generally, the leading Zambian sports betting sites will have three types of odds. These are fractional, decimal, and American. 

If you are unsure of what these options mean, check out a description of each below.

Fractional

Fractional odds use fractions to show the possibility of an event or outcome. With fractional odds, the first number shows the increased win rate, and the second digit shows the potential stake.

For instance, 4/1 odds means if you bet 100 ZMW, you would receive four times that amount from your potential payout.

Decimal

However, bettors can also use decimal odds. These odds are displayed as decimal units such as 1.5, 1.8, 2.3, etc.

Decimal odds simply show how much a wager could return for a 1 ZMW stake. For example, if you wagered on a team to win at 1.9 odds, you would receive 1.9 ZMW for every 1 ZMW you stake.

American

American odds are more common in the United States, and these odds show how much you could win for each $100 stake. Plus and minus signs are used to show the favourite and underdog.

Therefore, you might see one team win a match at +200, which indicates you would win $200 from a $100 wager on this team. Alternatively, the other team might have -125, meaning you would risk $125 to win $100 from the bet.

Football Betting Markets

In addition, betting providers will have a variety of markets available for football betting. Check out some of the most popular selections below.

Moneylines

Firstly, one of the most common football markets is the money line option. This is also known as the matchwinner selection, but moneyline is more commonly used in United States betting.

In a money line bet, players wager on the final score of different football games. For example, if Arsenal are playing Tottenham, you could place a moneyline wager on Arsenal to win.

Often, new bettors place a moneyline wager as their first bet as there are only three limited options in football. These are, a home win, draw or away win. 

Future Bets

In most sports, bettors can select a future bet for a particular occurrence to happen during or at the end of a season.

This could be the team to win a particular league by gaining the most points. Or it might be a player who scores the most goals in a competition. 

Often, punters place future bets before a season or tournament begins. They then track their wager throughout the entire season or competition. 

For example, before the Africa Cup of Nations begins, you could select the outright winner of the competition. Alternatively, you can choose teams that could finish in the top four or nations that might be eliminated at the group stages. 

Total Goals

A more modern football market is total goals. Here bettors select how many goals in total will be scored in an upcoming match. 

Often, bookmakers will run total goals odds as decimal options, such as over 2.5 goals or under 1.5 goals. Ultimately, this eliminates the possibility of exact goals being scored.

For example, you might wager on under 2.5 goals in a Man City vs Liverpool match. Then, if the result finishes with two or fewer goals, the bet wins. 

Point Spreads

Point spreads are when you back one competing team to win by a certain number of goals over their opponent. Sometimes, bookmakers also refer to this football market as handicap betting.

In point spreads or handicaps, the exact final score is important.

For example, you might wager on Paris St Germain to beat Nantes by a two-goal margin. These odds would be displayed as PSG -2 and the team would have to win by two clear goals. Therefore, some winning results would be PSG 3-0, 4-1, 5-2, etc.

Parlay

Bettors wager on several teams to win their respective matches under one stake in a parlay bet. Also, you can wager on different events and outcomes during one match under a parlay wager.

Occasionally, bookmakers might also refer to this market as a multi-bet or accumulator.

For instance, you could choose for Man United to beat Newcastle and for total goals to be over 2.5 goals in a parlay football bet. But for this wager to win, United would have to win and the match would need three or more goals. 

Usually, players can get increased odds for a lower stake by using a parlay bet. However, the more outcomes you select in your wager, the less chance it has of winning. 

Football Betting Tips

Before you commit to football betting, try to use some strategies to help your decisions. Generally, players could potentially benefit from just a few tactics when making selections. 

Here, you can find some of the most common strategies for football betting and live betting.

Team Form

First, always try to check the team form of both sides before you make a bet. Often, you can see how well teams are performing by looking at their last three to five games.

If a team has lost their last three matches, they are unlikely to do well in the upcoming fixture. Alternatively, if a team has won their last five, they are in good form and worth considering.

Moreover, look at the previous three to five head-to-head results of the competing teams. Usually, you can see trends and patterns in recent scores between competing sides, including who wins matches more often. 

Home vs Away

Secondly, consider the home vs away rule when you are selecting a pre-match wager. Generally, in most sports, the home team or player has a slight advantage over their visiting opponent.

Clubs can sometimes improve their performance in front of a home crowd. In addition, a travelling side could suffer from travel fatigue, especially if they have travelled long distances.

Then this can impact the outcome of a match, and you will often see the home team with lower odds as a result.

League Table

In addition, a quick glance at the league table can reveal a lot about competition and its teams. For example, if Southampton were bottom of the Premier League and had won just two games out of 20 all season, it shows they’re in poor form.

But if a team like Man City has been on top since matchday one or two, they are likely to win their next match. 

Pre-Match News

However, try not to just use statistics for money lines or points spread odds. Also, read one or two match previews to find additional details that could help.

Some of the best betting apps even have previews available for the top football games worldwide.

For example, Barcelona might be playing Real Madrid in an upcoming game.

But you might notice that Madrid’s three best players are out, and Barca has a full-strength team. Ultimately, this shows that Barca could get the upper hand in the contest.

Betting Journal

Lastly, whether you place a parlay wager, a money line bet, or a future bet, try to keep track of your wins and losses. Over time an accurate sports betting journal can reveal a lot about your betting habits.

But it can also show you where to stop placing wagers and where your potential winnings are, and you can adapt accordingly. 

Football Betting Review

Once you learn how to bet on football, you can select a bookmaker, deposit, and start placing wagers. However, it’s important to select a bookmaker that has your preferred services, such as competitive odds, live streaming, cashouts, or other features. 

In addition, before you start outlying money on any game or competition, remember to learn more about the markets you want to use and also implement some betting strategies. Generally, these are effective long-term strategies that lead to sensible betting activity.

How to Bet on Football in Zambia – FAQ

Lastly, you will find answers to common questions about football wagers in Zambia here.