Betting on Euro 2008

As the 2008 European Football Championship draws near, bookmakers are looking for ways to capitalize on the hype and attract bettors to their sites. Major sporting events have always been accompanied by heavy sign-up bonuses, and the Euro 2008 is no exception. As always, we want our readers to be well prepared. GamblingPlanet.org is proud to present the first in a series of articles dedicated to the UEFA Euro 2008.

The Euro 2008 is scheduled to start on June 7th and end on June 29th, but the betting action starts much earlier and is already in full swing. There are many future bets that may be placed well before the tournament even starts. Perhaps the most popular bet is the 'overall performance' (or 'outright win') wager. It is a bet on any single team to go all the way and win the tournament. You can also bet on a specific team to advance past a certain level, as well as on the outcome of first-round games.

As the event draws nearer, more and more people will be placing their bets on their favored teams. This will very likely change the odds offered by bookmakers, so you should keep track of the trends on a number of different sports betting web sites before placing your bet. Remember to shop around for the best odds, since the difference between a good bet and a bad one is the odds offered by the bookmakers.

The tournament will take place in Austria and Switzerland. Far from the ‘Group of Death’ spotlight (which includes France, Italy, Holland and Romania), Germany is favored by most bookmakers to win the tournament. Austria and Poland are making their debut appearance, and both are ranked by bookmakers as the least likely to win the tournament, with Austria literally given less than a 1-in-a-hundred chance to become the next European champions. Most experts agree that Switzerland, the other co-host, is more likely to cash in on the home-field advantage, but will also surprise many if they advance past the first round.

Here is a listing of the current odds offered by some of the major online sports bookies. The figures represent the lowest (L), highest (H), and most common ( C ) decimal payouts found for each team, in case that team goes on to win the tournament outright.

Germany: L – 4.50, H – 5.60, C – 4.5
Spain: L – 6.0, H – 8.0, C – 7.0
Italy : L – 6.0, H – 8.6, C – 8.0
Portugal: L – 7.5 , H – 9.2, C – 8.5
France: L – 9.0, H – 10.3, C – 9.0
Holland : L – 11.0 , H – 14.0, C – 13.0
Croatia: L – 11.0 , H – 14.0, C – 13.0
Czech Republic: L – 11.0, H – 17.0, C – 15.0
Switzerland: L – 17.0, H – 30.0, C – 21.0
Greece: L – 21.0, H – 32.0, C – 26.0
Sweden: L – 26.0 , H – 35.0, C – 29.0
Russia: L – 21.0, H – 37.0, C – 34.0
Turkey : L – 29.0, H – 42.0, C – 34.0
Romania: L – 29.0, H – 51.0, C – 41.0
Poland : L – 34.0, H – 51.0 C, – 41.0
Austria : L – 81.0, H – 110.0, C – 101.0

GamblingPlanet.org is in no way responsible for these odds, and you must check all aspects of your bet directly with the bookmaker.

Remember: These odds will constantly change as more bets are placed, so keep your eyes open and look for the best odds you can find.

The simple table above clearly illustrates how important it is to shop around for the best available odds. The value most commonly found is, obviously, the easiest one to come across, and you can expect to find it in most mainstream sports betting sites without much trouble. As an intelligent bettor your mission is to seek out the highest paying odds, and avoid the lowest. Though these two extreme ends (i.e. lowest and highest) are subject to change more rapidly and more drastically, the average odds will also surely change as the tournament gets closer. So it is our advice to act fast in case you come across odds that you feel are extremely advantageous to your bet.

If you know which team you want to bet on regardless of the odds being offered (for example, if you want to bet on your country's team), you should find the site that offers the best odds, and place your bet early. Though the odds may change every which way (becoming higher or lower), if you find very strong odds, chances are they will not get much stronger. The specific site that offers these strong odds will, most likely, correct itself according to the other sites, so you should act sooner rather than later.

Comments