Looking for some betting fun beyond ordinary sports? If you’re like most betting enthusiasts, you’re always looking for some more excitement. The most popular sports that come to mind for bettors in the UK are football, horse racing, tennis, and cricket, but you would be surprised just how popular Gaelic football betting is as well.
Gaelic football is one of Ireland’s two most popular sports under the Gaelic games, the other one being hurling. The ancient Irish games have emerged as popular betting markets for bettors after more creative and thrilling options.
If you want to try your hand at Gaelic football betting, at VRscores we want to give you the insight you need to understand the sport. With this knowledge, it becomes easier for you to place bets and boost your chances of winning.
Gaelic Games in Brief
Gaelic games are a collection of ancient Irish sports organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The games are Hurling, Gaelic Football, Ladies Football, Handball, Rounders, and Camogie. What makes these games popular is their close connection with Irish history.
The games unite the Irish people across the world and are part of their rich heritage. The GAA has a role of preserving these games as part of Irish traditions as they have been around for more than a millennium.
The games are Ireland’s most popular sports, placing ahead of rugby and football with thousands of people attending GAA organised tournaments.
Gaelic Football
Before you bet on any sport, start with some research to understand how it’s played. Here’s an overview of Gaelic football.
The Team
This is a team sport played by 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch with a ball that’s smaller than that used in ordinary games. There’s a goalkeeper, six defenders, two midfielders and six forwards with six substitutions allowed in a game.
The Play
What makes Gaelic football interesting is the combination of playing action that includes kicking, carrying, bouncing, hand-passing, and dropping and toe-kicking the ball into the hands (soloing). All this makes for an intense game, which is what adds to the thrill.
When carrying the ball, the player has to bounce or solo it every four steps. If a player wants to carry the ball, they can’t lift it off the ground but must lift it with their leg.
To add to the fun, shoulder-to-shoulder contact is allowed and more than one player can tackle the one with the ball. Like in football, the tackle should be on the ball, not the player.
Scoring
Players have more than one objective in Gaelic football. The players aim to score by kicking the ball or punching into the opponent’s goal to earn a maximum of 3 points. Players can also earn a point by scoring above the crossbar above the goal posts.
A team’s score reflects the goals and points. For instance, 3-8 means a team has 3 goals and 8 points. When a team scores, the umpire raises a green flag and a white one for a point.
Gaelic Football Betting
Like other popular sports, Gaelic games including football have become popular on sportsbooks across the world. Gaelic football betting offers bettors multiple betting selections with attractive odds. Some of the popular betting options are:
- Money line bets, or straight bets: These are straightforward bets where you place your money on a winner or a draw. The number of points scored doesn’t matter as long as your team wins. look for variations of these straight bets such as draw no bet (DNB)
- Futures bets: Gaelic football bettors love futures bets because of the good odds. This type of bet allows you to choose the team you think will win the championship or a tournament
- Handicap bets: For handicap bets, bookmakers give a head start to the underdog and a virtual handicap for the favourite to win. The task for you is to choose the team that will overcome the handicap
- In-play betting: With most betting companies now online, it’s easy to follow games and place bets during Gaelic football action
- Alternative Gaelic football bets: You have many other betting options on Gaelic football including first goal scorer, both teams to score (GG), 2-way total points, footballer of the year, over/under bets, anytime goalscorer and others
Winning in Gaelic Football Betting
Gaelic football is not only interesting to watch but it’s also thrilling to bet on. However, you must do your research and understand the rules, the teams and players in the championship. Draw a strategy to use, set a bankroll and stick to your plan. You have to update yourself on the latest happenings in the football league, and keep comparing odds from multiple bookmakers.
Ready for the thrill? Gaelic football is easy to understand and so are the betting options. With the popularity of Gaelic games continuing, more bookmakers will start to provide the betting selections which adds to your betting options.
