Without overstating the obvious. Futures betting is basically betting on events in the future.
It really is as simple as that. In this guide, I will explain more about futures betting, I will cover what futures betting actually means as well as covering various examples when it comes to betting on soccer.
Also during this guide I will explain the probability of your bet actually being a winning one. Enjoy.
Instead of betting on a single match result or a first goalscorer, futures betting allows you to back the winner of a competition.
Normally, future bets are put on to determine the winner of a league or cup tournament, and those bets are put on before the season or competition gets underway.
You can still place bets on the outcome once it has started, but if you back a team that has started well then your odds will shift based on performances, so you could get poorer odds than if you did it before it started, or better odds if a team starts badly and you have a feeling they will come good..
Some bookmakers will name their Futures Betting market as an ‘outright’ bet, so if you are struggling to find a section about Futures, just look for the outright tab.
Futures Betting | Premier League 2023/24 |
---|---|
To win outright | To win outright without |
Top goalscorer | Top goalscorer without |
To be relegated | Not to be relegated |
When betting on a futures market, you will see the odds in the form of a list. So, a team with short odds to win the FA Cup will be at the top of the list, while teams with longer odds will be at the bottom end of the list.
If you decided to back England to win Euro 2024, then that would be a futures bet. The tournament has not yet started but the market is available – so it is in the future.
Backing England to win the FIFA World Cup in 2026 is also classed as a Futures Bet. That one is way into the future as the qualifying campaign has not been sorted yet.
Other markets include relegation from competitions, top goalscorers, teams to be relegated and even teams to finish in the top four or six. You can also bet on the winner of the Ballon d’Or as well for next year. So if you fancy Harry Maguire to win the Ballon d’Or – well you’d be wasting your money – but you could still do it.
We have all done the following. Seen a nice odds figure on a certain team to win the Euros or the Premier League, backed it without knowing the real value of the bet or the percentage in which it could happen.
There are ways to convert your Futures Bet into a Probability. You can use one of the many odds converters online, but sometimes it’s good to get the old brain ticking over.
Let’s take Euro 2024 as the main example. I have included four odds on countries to win the tournament in Germany and I will work out the probability of those bets happening.
The calculation for the probability of all these bets is as follows. The odds in fractions indicate the denominator divided by the denominator and numerator. Once you have done that you will need to multiply by 100 to get the percentage. In a fractional bet, the denominator is the second number and the numerator is the first figure.
Bet | Odds | Implied Probability |
---|---|---|
England to win Euro 2024 | 7/2 | 22.22% |
Germany to win Euro 2024 | 6/1 | 14.29% |
Italy to win Euro 2024 | 16/1 | 5.88% |
Scotland to win Euro 2024 | 80/1 | 1.23% |
The following steps will allow you to place your first Futures Bet:
In my eyes, Futures Betting is very similar to Prop Bets. They are fun and entertaining and keep your interest for quite a while.
Futures betting is good if you follow that tournament for a whole season. You will watch out for the results and check their injury problems. It will be like playing Football Manager but without having to actually do anything.
As long as sports still have leagues and cup competitions, then Futures Betting is here to say. If you have never bet on anything in the future, I would recommend it. One piece of advice, do not forget you have actually placed the bet, but remember each bookmaker website will have a ‘My Bets’ section so you can keep track of it there.
A Futures Bet allows you to focus on a bet that is happening in the future. For example, backing on the winner of Euro 2024 months in advance.
The majority of online bookmakers will have a Futures market. They might word it as an ‘outright’ bet but it is the same. You are betting on the winner of a tournament in the future.
No that is not the case. Sports like American Football, Ice Hockey, Rugby League and Union, Golf, Basketball and Baseball will all have Futures Bets available for their respective competitions.