Future Odds & Futures Betting explained

Betting on events that happen in the distant future is something that bookmakers are very cautious about. There are many factors that make this practice very risky. Future odds are odds provided on an event, well ahead of that event taking place. Centrebet offers a range of future odds, on a range of sports. Future bets are wagers that are made before the season is over. The typical futures bet is made before the first game has been played, but will continue to attract bets throughout the season with prices changing with money flows and as more information comes to light. Futures betting can be found in every sport. For example, in NFL you can bet on the team you believe will win a division title, a conference title and even the Super Bowl - before training has even started.

Football betting is the most popular sport for a Futures bet at Centrebet. For every competition that Centrebet offers bets on, there is an opportunity to bet on the seasonal winner. On the secure Centrebet sports selection page, futures betting of this type can be found in the sports menu under Football - Championships. American and Australian sport also offer plenty of chances to take a futures bet.

The typical futures book is based on a very high betting percentage, often running 40 to 50%. The reason is quite simple. The high betting percentage protects a book's action. It is tough enough for a sports book to get balanced action with only two teams, and it's virtually impossible to get it when there are over twenty teams. When a book ends up having a very disproportionate amount of money on one team, the high betting percentage will act as a cushion. This, of course makes futures betting difficult for the player as well.

When planning your betting strategy it is worth taking into account the following points. You need to win a larger percentage of your bets when backing favourites than when betting on long shots. Backing heavily favoured outcomes is a very questionable practice. For example, if you know baseball betting - then you know that a baseball team needs to win about 60% of its games to win its division. If you need to win between 65-70% of the time, then you are heading down a path of unlikely outcomes. The underdog is often the right bet however this is not always the case. Sometimes promoters will oversell an outclassed opponent to sell more tickets. In some sports, as the end of season approaches it becomes more important for the favourite to win to qualify for the finals. In every case, take care and look at all possibilities.

Centrebet offers football betting odds for a wide range of European soccer fixtures - including futures betting on the English Premier League, as well as offering future odds betting facilities on many major sporting codes and events. We've recently reviewed the upcoming tennis betting, the early golf 2007 season and the NRL State of Origin betting opportunities. Centrebet's Formula 1 betting opportunities let you to bet on the Drivers and Contructors Championship throughout the season, as well as on each individual race. Books for these sporting codes are now open for Centrebet customers. In order to bet on these international sporting events, you first need to register to bet with Centrebet on our secure bet site. You can check our online sports betting calendar for more information on upcoming events.

Last modified 13 June 2007