The Best Asian Bookies for Football Betting in 2024

Australian Football

When Asian football betting is discussed, Australia is often omitted from the conversation. This is perhaps due the fact Australia has a very mature betting market. Perhaps the other reason is Australia was originally part of the FIFA subdivision OFC.

However, since 2006, they have been part of the AFC, and have come close to major success in this division. In 2008, Australia’s Adelaide United finished runners-up in the AFC Champions League and in 2011 the Australian national team finished runners-up in the AFC Asian Cup. The national team bounced back in 2015 by winning the AFC Asian Cup on home soil.

All Australian football competitions are governed by Football Federation Australia (FFA). If you live in Australia, you will want to use one of the best Australian betting sites to bet on football (called soccer in AU).

Besides offering a comprehensive range of A-League betting markets, these sites also accept bets on the NSW Premier League, Victorian Premier League, Western Australia Premier League, Brisbane Premier League, South Australian Super League, and all other football competitions played in the country.

Chinese Football

Outside China, there is only a small following for Chinese football. Once a threat in any competition, the China national team’s last noteworthy accomplishments were a runner-up finish in the 2004 AFC Cup and winning the 2005 East Asian Football Championship.

In 2006, they failed to advance through the preliminary qualifying stage for the FIFA World Cup. In 2007, they toured the US and managed to lose 1-0 to the lowest-ranked MLS team, Real Salt Lake, who had just finished last in the league. This was followed up with a disappointing failure to advance out of the group stages in 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and failure again to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after home losses to Qatar and Iran. China will hope for better results as the host country for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

China does, however, have one of the most exciting domestic leagues for football betting – the Chinese Super League, which is the highest tier of professional association football in China. If you live in China, please refer to our article on sports betting in China for the best sites to use for betting on the Chinese Super League.

Other leagues governed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) include League One, League Two, and League Three, but only the best Asian bookies for football betting cover these leagues and the Chinese FA Cup.

Indonesian Football

Football is very popular in Indonesia, both for betting on major European leagues and for domestic football betting. Indonesian football has only limited appeal to other countries because of many changes, such as replacing the top league twice since 2008 and having a breakaway league.

Before 2008, Liga Indonesia Premier Division was the top professional football league in Indonesia (because of conflicts, in 2011 two different versions of this league were organised). This league was replaced as the top level with the Indonesian Super League (ISL) in 2008. Then in 2011, the Super League was replaced with the Indonesian Premier League (IPL). This triggered the Super League to break away from PSSI. Since 2017, the top Indonesian football league is named Liga 1.

Indonesia has never had much success in the Asian Cup (nor has their teams in the AFC Champions League), but has had decent success in the ASEAN Cup competition. They reached the finals in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2010, though they were defeated each time, never lifting a trophy. These appearances have helped their domestic leagues gain a small following in other Southeast Asian countries. The rest of Asia – and the world for that matter – find the conflicts and instability confusing, so for the most part those betting these leagues are local Indonesian punters and professionals looking for value.

It’s worth noting while not a large international appeal, both English Premier League and Liga 1 are very popular for betting in Indonesia. If you live here, you can find the best websites for Indonesian football betting in our article on Indonesian bookies.

Japanese Football

Japan is the most successful footballing nation that is part of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is currently ranked #1 in the AFC rankings calculated by FIFA. The men’s national team have won the Asian Cup four times (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011). Japan has qualified for the FIFA World Cup on six occasions to date, reaching the round of 16 in 2002, 2010, and 2018.

Japan also has a popular domestic league called the J League. This consists of J. League Division 1 (J1) and J. League Division 2 which are both fully professional. Clubs from J1 League have done well in the AFC Champions League, with JEF United Chiba (1986), Tokyo Verdy (1987), Júbilo Iwata (1999), Urawa Red Diamonds (2007 and 2017), Gamba Osaka (2008), and Kashima Antlers (2018) having tasted success.

If you live in Japan and want to bet on local football competitions online, read our article on Japanese betting sites for our top recommendations. If you live elsewhere, it should come as no surprise that almost all betting sites offer odds on J1 League matches and the Japanese Super Cup.

Malaysian Football

Malaysian football has little international following. The team hasn’t qualified for the Olympics since 1980 and has never qualified for the World Cup. Their domestic clubs have also had no success in the AFC Champions League.

Despite being one of the lowest tier countries in AFC, many Asian bookies do offer odds on leagues of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The top professional football division in the country is the Malaysian Super League, followed by the Malaysian Premier League. Both those located in Malaysia and other countries can bet on these competitions at a limited number of sites.

Malaysia has also hosted the longest running football tournament in Asia. This is the Malaysia Cup, which was first held in 1921. The top 16 teams participate in this tournament, with Selangor enjoying the most success to date.

If you live in Malaysia and are new to online betting, read our article on Malaysia online bookies.

Singaporean Football

Singapore football betting is an interesting topic. Despite considerable financing by state-run betting SG Pools, their national team has never had any success in the AFC Asian Cup, nor has their domestic team in AFC Champions League.

The same is true for world competitions. The only success Singapore has had is against other Southeast Asia countries. They won the ASEAN Cup (now known as AFF Suzuki Cup, and previously as the Tiger Cup) in 1998, 2005 and 2007. During that 2007 run, they set a national record defeating Laos 11–0 in a match where Mohd Noh Alam Shah scored seven goals.

Despite the only excitement to speak of coming from success in Southeast Asia competitions (the area Asian bookies mostly target), few Asian bookies offer betting on Singapore football. What makes this a bit strange is the fact that nearly all European betting sites and even US betting sites do offer betting and a large number of markets on Singapore football matches. In fact, even the Czech Republic top legal bookmaker Fortuna.cz, covers the S-League, League Cup, Singapore Cup, and Singapore Charity Shield.

The reason Asian bookies avoid these leagues is because most use Singapore as a banking hub and they don’t wish to run into legal challenges with the specific Singapore leagues, clubs, or governing bodies.

If you live in Singapore and are interested in betting on football, read our guide to online betting in Singapore to find everything you need to know.

South Korean Football

If you live in the Republic of Korea and are new to online betting, be sure to read our article on online betting in Korea before proceeding. In this article, we cover the banking methods, ID requirements, and how to get around blocks that redirect gambling sites to warning.or.kr. We also cover which Asian bookies offer betting on K-League, National League, Korean Cup, and the League Cup.

For those living outside Korea, not familiar with Korean football, note this is one of the top AFC nations. Their men’s national team is currently ranked second in the AFC by FIFA, trailing only Japan.

They finished third in the past two Asian Cups. In the AFC Champions League, their K-League teams have had great success. The Pohang Steelers lifted the trophy in 2010 (adding to wins in 1998 and 1997) and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (adding to their win in 1995) did the same in 2011. More recently, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the competition in 2016 and Ulsan Hyunai added to Korea’s tally by winning the 2020 AFC Champions League.

Thai Football

Thailand is a very popular country for football betting. Back in 2000-2001, the betting website Ladbrokes.com was the principal sponsor of Liverpool FC’s 2001-2002 Asian tour, which saw them compete in Thailand. This was the first real betting website presence in the country, and Ladbrokes took full advantage by translating their website to Thai language. This caught on in a hurry and today Thailand has many ties to European football, especially the English Premier League.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (the self-exiled brother to Thailand’s current PM) made bids to purchase EPL clubs Fulham and later Liverpool while still the head of state. After leaving office he finally got the team he desired purchasing Manchester City on 21 June 2007 for £81.6 million. This turned him a nice profit as he later sold the club to Abu Dhabi United Group for £200 million.

Thailand’s two most popular beers – Chang and Singha – are heavily involved in European football sponsorships. Chang has been the shirt-sponsor of English Premier League club Everton and Spanish football giant’s Barcelona and Real Madrid. They’ve also developed a Chang Football Academy for up-and-coming young Thai footballers. Meanwhile, their prime competitor Singha has sponsored English Premier League’s Manchester United and Chelsea.

As far as Thai football is concerned, only the Thai Premier League is offered by a select number of online betting sites. If you’re from Thailand and want to know where you can bet online, please refer to our article on Thailand bookies to learn everything you need to know.

Vietnamese Football

Football is the most popular bet sport in Vietnam. V.League 1 is the only Vietnamese football league that betting markets are offered on. This is despite the existence of a Vietnamese First Division, Second Division and Third Division, which all use the usual promotion and regulation system. While very popular in Vietnam, this league is not well followed outside the country.

The Vietnamese football leagues have been subject to much controversy regarding corrupt officiating. There was a threat to form a breakaway league as the result of a September 29, 2011, meeting that included the VFF and the 14 V-League teams and 14 First Division teams. They decided to form a new corporation, the Vietnam Professional Football, to manage the V-League. The VFF holds a 36% stake in the new corporation, and the rest is held by clubs.

The V-League receives some decent sponsorship money. Each team is allowed five foreign players, which is more than most Asian football leagues offer. About half the foreign players in the league come from Brazil. Back in 2003, the league was sponsored by Pepsi, but has used local sponsors since. Currently it is named Eximbank V-League for sponsorship reasons.

The Vietnam national football team hasn’t had much success in the AFC Asian Cup, but they have won the AFF Championship twice (2008 and 2018).

Football Betting in Other Asian Countries

There are many more Asian countries than the nine covered here that are part of the AFC region. Some of the other AFC nations not mentioned in this article include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Jordan, and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia is home to the Saudi Professional League, which includes teams such as Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad which have won the AFC Champions League on multiple occasions. Al-Sadd from the Qatar Stars League has also tasted success in the competition, lifting the trophy in 1989 and 2011.

If you’re interested in betting on football from any of the other countries mentioned here, there are several bookies that make it possible. You can bet on the Uzbek League, Jordan Premier League, Kuwaiti Premier League, Syria Cup, Indian Super League, and many other Asian football leagues and competitions at our recommended sites.