A-League Betting 2024

Head-to-Head Betting

Far and away the most popular pastime of A-League punters is betting on the result of matches – home win, away win or draw – and Australians love nothing more than to try and select the correct outcome of every game in a round.

Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart will kick off the 2012-2013 A-League season at Etihad Stadium. The betting market for the derby may look something like this:

• $1.83 Melbourne Victory
• $3.50 Draw
• $4.25 Melbourne Heart

What A-League punters who try to tip the full round forget is that they are having a bet in a 243-runner race and often they are taking odds of under $10. Every A-League match has three possible outcomes so the number of possible outcomes for a five-leg multiple is three to the power of five.

Correct Score Betting

Australian punters love their Australian Football League and National Rugby League margin bets so it follows that they love betting on the correct scores of A-League games.

A typical A-League correct score market would take up too much space to publish in full but bear in mind the odds about a goalless draw, which are typically around $10.

More about goalless draws and the frequency with which they occur in A-League matches later in this betting review.

Half-Time/Full-Time Double Result

Double results are a feature of AFL and NRL betting so they attract a fair amount of interest from A-League punters, most commonly when there is a short-priced favourite and favourite backers are looking to boost their returns.

A half-time/full-time double-result market on the 2012-2013 A-League curtain raiser in Melbourne may look like this:

• $2.75 Melbourne Victory-Melbourne Victory
• $17.00 Melbourne Victory-draw
• $51.00 Melbourne Victory-Melbourne Heart
• $4.50 Draw-Melbourne Victory
• $5.00 Draw-Draw
• $8.00 Draw-Melbourne Heart
• $29.00 Melbourne Heart-Melbourne Victory
• $17.00 Melbourne Heart-Draw
• $6.00 Melbourne Heart-Melbourne Heart

Match Betting Exotics

The undisputed king of A-League match betting exotics is first goal scorer, particularly when high-profile stars – usually Socceroos or international marquee players – are among the forwards for one or both of the competing teams.

Many Australian bookmakers offer bonuses on A-League first goal scorer bets but the book margins are so high – add up the odds of the 20 outfield starters and it is not unusual for the total percentage to exceed 200 per cent – that bonuses are required to give punters a fair go.

Championship Betting

The winner of the A-League regular season makes few waves in Grand Final-obsessed Australia so it follows that most of the futures betting action revolves around the A-League Championship, which goes to the Grand Final-winning club.

Six of the 10 teams qualify for the A-League Finals Series, with the Grand Final taking place at whichever of the sides earns the right to host the biggest game of the season.

Medals Betting

Australian sports competitions love their medals and the A-League is no different, although betting on the Johnny Warren Medal – awarded to the player of the season – and the Joe Marston Medal – awarded to the Grand Final man of the match – is not as freely available as that on AFL’s Brownlow Medal and NRL’s Dally M Medal, to name just two examples.

Do Not Bet on Goalless Draws

If recent A-League seasons are any guide, you can ignore 0-0 when considering your correct-score bets. In the 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 A-League seasons there were a total of 29 goalless draws in 456 matches. That is an average of one every 15.72 games. Suffice to say that the 0-0 odds being offered do not equate with that statistic.

Have an Atlas Nearby

Long-distance travelling is part and parcel of Australian sport but the A-League takes it to extremes with its games between Perth and Wellington. As the crow flies, more than 5,000 kilometres separate the Australian and Kiwi cities and, naturally, the trips take their toll on the away sides. Look to bet against the team that travels, not only in the antithesis of a derby but also in their next few matches.

Oppose the High-Profile Teams

The A-League may only be a 10-club competition but two of the teams – Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC – receive more media attention than the other eight sides combined. It does follow, however, that they are the best clubs and often they run around under the odds against less fashionable teams.