Soccer, or soccer as it is known almost everywhere outside of the US, is the most popular team sport in the world, and due to the international nature of several of the major leagues, the game has a truly global reach. Fans of top-tier Premier League teams like Manchester United or Chelsea can be found everywhere, and people from all over tend to follow their national teams to the World Cup. Wherever you are, if you know football, you can probably start a conversation with the locals.

Soccer’s prominence as a popular team sport and its international character has also led to the creation of one of the largest betting industries in the world. Betting allows fans to play an active role in their favorite sport by giving them a personal stake in the game, making it even more exciting. With a soccer fan base in virtually every country and many of the most popular leagues being international, online soccer betting is steadily replacing local bookmakers as the preferred method of soccer betting. In the US, for example, where bet making is largely illegal or highly restricted, online betting with foreign websites provides an effective means of being more than just a spectator.

The huge football-based betting industry, as well as the diverse betting traditions of fans around the world, has given rise to a wide range of betting options. The most common types of bets are: “win bets” where you bet on which team will win a match or a cup; “Operation bets” where you bet against a team winning a game or a cup; and “each way bets” where you bet on one team to win, but also win if your team “places” or almost wins. Beyond these most popular bets, the types of soccer bets available are only limited by your imagination. These can range from betting on the performance of individual players, the number of cards or penalties a team receives, to the number of goals scored or conceded.

Soccer betting lets you get in on the game by giving you a stake in the outcome, lets you support your favorites with more than just words, and gives you a big thrill if you win. Nowadays, regardless of where you are, if you can get online, chances are you can bet on football, making an already great game even better.