As fans in Australia gear up for an action-packed year in the world of football, there’s no better time to explore potential betting opportunities.
Football betting in Australia provides fans with an additional layer of excitement as they follow their favourite teams and players in domestic competitions or on the global stage.
With a variety of Australian footballing events to choose from, the opportunities for savvy punters and bettors across the country to sink their teeth into are diverse.
Many of the horse racing sportsbooks listed at OnlyRacing.com also offer a wide range of markets on major football leagues and competitions.
Several of them have exclusive betting offers designed to be used on numerous sports, giving you even more bang for your buck.
Read on as we analyse three football bets that promise to captivate supporters while they enjoy the beautiful game.
A-League
Australia’s premier football competition – the A-League – is always a focal point for local fans and the nation’s betting community as a whole.
Several teams have made their mark during the early part of the season, and the race for the play-off places is already taking shape.
Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix are jostling for position at the top of the table, while several other teams are in contention for a top six finish.
Victory have been punted to go all the way this season. They can be backed at odds of 3.00, while local rivals Melbourne City are priced at 5.00.
City have put a disappointing start to the campaign behind them and could be the value bet in what looks to be an extremely competitive title race.
Despite their lack of experience in winning the play-offs, Wellington Phoenix are also expected to be in the mix at the business end of the season, with the team rated at 5.50 odds to be champions.
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur’s Australian manager Ange Postecoglou has reinvigorated the club, implementing a brand of football that’s got the north London side challenging for the Champions League places.
Spurs missed out on European football last season after finishing eighth in the Premier League table. But under Postecoglou’s leadership, they have recaptured their mojo.
Ten games into the 2023/24 Premier League season, Tottenham were considered one of the title contenders after an unbeaten start to the campaign that consisted of eight wins and two draws.
However, injury problems across every facet of Postecoglou’s squad led to a decline in performances and various poor results, culminating in Spurs getting knocked off their perch.
During November and the early parts of the festive period, Tottenham embarked on a five-match winless streak that consisted of a draw and four defeats.
Their only point during that wretched run of form came in a pulsating and dramatic 3-3 draw against Premier League defending champions Manchester City.
However, Postecoglou’s side have turned their fortunes around in recent weeks. A top four-finish is a plausible ambition for the club, and odds of 2.25 to finish in the Champions League places are a fair reflection of their chances.
Tottenham will lose Heung-min Son, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma to the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup competitions, which could impact their top-four hopes.
Despite the absence of Son and co, Tottenham still represent a reasonable top-four bet for Australian punters who will have their eye firmly fixed on Postecoglou’s progress in north London this season.
World Cup
The Australian national team are one of the favourites for the upcoming Asian Cup tournament, alongside Japan, South Korea and hosts Qatar.
The Socceroos will back themselves to mount a deep run in the competition despite failing to get past the quarter final stage during their title defence.
Australia’s only Asian Cup triumph came in the 2015 instalment but they’ve been handed favourable odds by online bookmakers to go all the way this year.
After the Asian Cup competition, Australia will turn their attention to the AFC World Cup qualifiers, which they will kick off with back-to-back fixtures against Lebanon.
The Socceroos are unbeaten against the eastern mediterranean nation, winning their previous two meetings by a pair of 3-0 scorelines.
Australia are heavily fancied to extend their winning streak against Lebanon in March, after which they will face Bangladesh.