How To Bet On GAA Football

What Is GAA Football And How Does It Work?

Played on a rectangular pitch, two teams compete for the highest score at the end of the match. Goals are scored by getting the ball into the opponent’s net with additional points earned by getting the ball through the goalposts. With a number of moves available for advancing the ball up the pitch, from carrying and bouncing, to kicking and soloing, there is plenty of action taking place in every match. This opens up a range of betting markets.

Gaelic Football Bookmakers

Being part of the extremely popular Gaelic Games, it wouldn’t make any business sense for a bookmaker to accept Irish punters and not offer Gaelic Football betting in some form. This means there’s a good selection of bookmakers out there. With plenty of choice, it’s important to find the right bookmaker for you.

The first thing to check is that the online betting site offers a good range of markets, particularly the ones you are interested in. Being an Irish sport, Irish bookmakers typically offer the best ranges.

After finding a selection of bookmakers, you then want to search for the best odds. With GAA Football, the difference in odds offered by bookmakers is likely to vary widely so it’s a good idea to shop around.

Another important consideration is sign up offers. Many of the mainstream bookmakers offer introductory deals that give you more for your money, such as 100% welcome bonus up to €100, or bet €10 get €30 in free bets.

The Most Popular GAA Football Bets

While GAA Football may not host the same extensive variety of betting options as say Soccer or Rugby, there are still plenty of betting markets to choose from. Here are the ones punters opt for the most:

Draw No Bet	In a game of Gaelic Football, there are three possible outcomes at full-time. These are a home win, a draw or an away win. The Draw No Bet option removes the draw outcome when placing your bet, giving you a bit of a safety net as should a draw occur, your bet will be refunded.
Winning Margin	The aim of the game is for the teams to score points, with the winner being the team with the most at full-time. This bet allows you to predict how many more points the winning team will score compared to their opposition. This type of bet can be a little more complex because as well as selecting the winning margin, you also have to select the team you think will win the match.
First Scoring Play	As the name suggests, with this type of bet you are selecting an individual player to be the first to score. This can be done in one of two ways. Either you can wager on the first player to score a goal, or the first team to score a point, the first being a more complex wager with a greater number of potential outcomes.
Accumulator	An Accumulator bet can be a great way to increase your payout, but requires you to get more than one thing right. With an Accumulator, you select four or more teams to win specific matches. This becomes a single wager with individual odds which creates a cumulative price. For you to have a winning bet, you need each individual selection to come good.
Match Betting	Match Betting is a simple market with three possible outcomes: a home win, a draw or an away win. You simply have to bet on which outcome you think will occur. Draws are highly unusual in Gaelic Football, so this outcome typically has higher odds.
Handicap	A Handicap bet works just like Match Betting but with an additional element. With an aim to even out a match, a bookmaker will give a hypothetical handicap to a team. For example, they might give Dublin a handicap of -3 leaving Kerry with +3.   If you bet on Derry to win with the handicap, they would need to win the match by 3 or more points. For Kerry to win with the handicap, they would either need to win the match or lose by no more than 3 points.

Strategies For Betting On GAA Football

As with all sports, there are some betting best practices to be aware of. To help you make the most of your bet and have the best possible chance, we’ve put together the strategies we’d recommend adopting when betting on GAA Football.

•  Check recent performance

While it may seem like an obvious activity to undertake, you’d be surprised how many people overlook recent performance of a team or player. A common error is only looking at league standings, but this can be misleading and looking at how well each team has been playing over their recent matches is more beneficial. This isn’t just about looking at wins and losses. To get the most useful information, look at the manner in which each team won or lost. For example, was it an overwhelming win or a narrow victory? Were there any controversial circumstances around the result?

• Focus on National League games

The Championships may be the main event in GAA Football, but National League games work up the best value. There is a smaller gap between the top and bottom teams, making the matches potentially more even. With more punters focusing on the Championships, professional punters focus on the smaller games because there is more chance of finding better odds.

If you want to take this further, you can move down to the lower or junior league matches. While all the information you need about a team to make an informed decision might be less readily available, you are likely to find a much greater range in prices.

• Pay attention to the number of games each team plays in a season

The number of games each team plays in a season can vary and is a very important element to keep an eye on. Teams like Dublin and Kerry who are consistently making finals will be playing more games than teams further down the rankings. With increased gameplay can come fatigue, or saving their A-game for the bigger events. This gives way for smaller, fresher teams to perform better in comparison. This can work really well with handicap bets as the smaller teams don’t necessarily need to win, they just need to get close to their opposition’s final score.

• Take advantage of bonuses

As we’ve mentioned, it’s a good idea to pay attention to welcome bonuses or sign up offers provided by bookmakers. Some will even have deals for existing customers too. These can equate to free bets or extra funds so it’s a good idea to take advantage of them to make your money go further.

• Keep an eye on suspensions and injuries

Any seasoned Gaelic Football fan knows that it can be a rough sport at times, leading to injuries or foul plays. It’s important to keep an eye on both scenarios as if a team is missing their top players for either reason, it could highly impact their upcoming game performance.

• Study opponent history and future matchups

There’s more to consider when two teams are up against each other than their individual skills and performance. Consider the history of the two teams together. When looking at the head-to-head, also take a look at the recent record between the two teams. If one has recently struggled to beat the other, this loss could still be in their minds and can impact their performance.

Key Events In GAA Football

There are two key events on GAA Football that could be worth betting on:

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – As one of the most prestigious and anticipated tournaments in the GAA Football calendar, this Championship offers plenty of betting opportunities. It takes place annually and consists of 33 teams, primarily from Ireland.

National Football League – This League runs throughout the year and includes 32 teams, primarily from Ireland. Behind the Championships, this is the next big event in GAA Football. In this league, each team only plays each other once, with venues alternating each year between home and away. Currently, Kerry is the most successful team in this league with Dublin in close second.