The March Madness betting tournament is only a week away from crowning its latest champion. When that happens, fans, media and sports gambling sites alike, will need a new sport to focus their attention on. Baseball would still be a week away, so why not handicap soccer, right here. Soccer is played globally, and offers bettors an intriguing amount of options. Here is a guide on how to bet on soccer.

Soccer handicappers focus on lines in two ways, that are comparable to the big four North American sports. Firstly, soccer uses the universal straight bet, known as the moneyline. At first glance, all you do is bet on either the favorite or the underdog to win the game outright and then place your money. However, that isn’t all that happens, as soccer provides an option that the big four sports do not, the ability to tie. If you wager on a game to tie, and one of the teams wins the game, then your bet is a loss. On the other hand, if you bet on a team to win and the game ends in a draw, your bet is considered a loss. Since the tie happens often, you would bet the same as if you were handicapping an MLB underdog. In other words, you would bet less to receive more.

Another option to wagering on soccer is by using the goal line. Similar to the run line or puck line in the NHL and MLB, you are giving an advantage to the underdog, by requiring the favorite to score more goals to win the game. Here is how it appears

Manchester City -1.5 (+300)

West Ham +1.5 (-200)

In this example, the bettor requires that Manchester City win by a score of two to nothing to win the game. Since Manchester City is at a disadvantage, bettors taking them to cover the one and a half goal deficit need only risk $100 to get back $300. Conversely, because West Ham only needs to lose one to nothing or draw with Man City, bettors taking them are required to risk $200 to get back $100.