Our AFL specialists have carefully checked the quality of the bookmaker’s odds and the choice of markets for bets. So we’ve put together a list of the best portals to predict AFL events. Scroll down the pages to find out what options we have offered you, or check out other sections of the guide dedicated to the top mobile betting apps and the most interesting AFL markets.

Top Australian AFL Betting Sites

Selecting the top five sites has been a real challenge for us. After all, all Australian AFL bookies, which we had to review and evaluate, offer a huge number of different options for placing wagers.

Despite the fact that the task turned out to be difficult, we chose the best, in our opinion, online portal for AFL bids for Australians. It is a Unibet platform, which is slightly ahead of Palmerbet and bet365, and is the official partner of the Australian Football League on wagers. The final list of our selected betting portals for bids for Australian football can be viewed above.

Unibet – No1 For AFL Betting!

As we mentioned above, the bookmaker Unibet has the status of the official partner of the Australian Football League for wagers. They are part of the Kindred Group gambling firms and are based on the Maltese island. Unibet is a legal bookmaker licensed by Northern Territory. In addition, all transactions are protected by 2048-bit encryption.

If you intend to bet on the result of the match, place a futures bid or make any other type of betting on Australian football, Unibet is one of the best options for you. This platform also creates markets for potential Brownlow Medal winners, including top-3 and top-5 spots. Moreover, on the Unibet site you can even predict which AFL player will end up with the most fantasy points.

AFL Odds – Get The Best Price!

If you decide to bet on a football match or a futures market, you first need to find the best AFL odds 2022. The odds offered by the bookmaker will directly affect the amount of winnings that you can withdraw in case of success. So the bettor must take a responsible approach to receiving funds from the bids for the Australian Football League. Make sure you fight for the maximum possible amount of winnings. Next, we’ll take a brief look at the odds for the new AFL season, and you’ll see that different bookies’ odds can vary greatly.

AFL Premiership Odds Comparison

In the odds table you can see a comparison of prices on the top online platforms for betting on the Australian Football League in Australia.

Top 3 AFL Odds Betting Sites

This table perfectly demonstrates how different the odds can be on different bidding sites. If you intend to cheer for the victory of Collingwood or Richmond, it will not matter on which online platform you place your wager. But if you’re an avid West Coast fan, BetEasy will only offer you 5.75 for your favorite team’s victory, while Unibet gives you all 6.50. So, if you bet $ 100 on the site of the first bookmaker, you will have a chance to pick up $ 575. And if you put that amount in Unibet, you can get $ 650.

Overround is also an important indicator of the profitability of offers on online Australian football betting sites. We evaluated the chances for the opening match of the new season between Carlton and Richmond.

The bet365 overround in the wagers market for Australian Championship football matches was 105% (1.25 vs 4.00). At Unibet, this figure is 106.62% (1.24 vs 3.85). When it comes to AFL flag odds, bet365 offers the highest numbers.

AFL Betting Tips

If you set a goal to surpass bookies by betting on AFL matches, you need to decide on an approach to betting. Our pros have prepared several tactical options for AFL wagers, which you can successfully use when forecasting.

Analyze the chances of outsiders. If you steadily support only the favorites and potential winners of the Australian Championship matches every week, you will hardly be able to fill your pockets with large bills. The best deals can often be found when betting on outsiders.

We recommend in such cases to make single bets, instead of accumulator bets. Multis are popular because of their high total odds AFL and consequently large amounts of potential winnings. But it should be understood that the chances of this type of betting are very small. So, if you make one successful single bid every week, you will be able to earn more efficiently. 

Don’t limit your betting opportunities. Don’t focus solely on predicting the outcome of AFL matches, explore other markets that also offer good chances for punters. In particular, you can bet on the future Brownlow Medal winner, or guess which team will take the last place at the end of the season.

Pay attention to weather conditions. The season of the Australian Football League is held in winter and quite often the pace and quality of football players’ performance is affected by weather conditions. Examine the teams’ results in rain, heat, low and high temperatures, when the lawn is slippery, sometimes even muddy, when the ground is harder, etc. If you identify a team that often shows the same results in certain weather conditions, this can be your key to success!

Most Popular AFL Bets

After reading this section, you will learn everything you need to know about the popular betting markets for Australian football. From the winner of the Australian championship to the main loser of the competition (AFL Wooden Spoon). If you are wondering how to bet on AFL events, read this guide to the end!

AFL Grand Final/Premiership Betting

One of the most popular markets on the eve of the new season of the Australian Championship is the market of the winner of the AFL Grand Final and the championship. Just bet on the team that you think will win at Melbourne Cricket Ground in the AFL Grand Final.

In addition, you can place wagers on the winners of regular-season (minor premier odds). And on the Unibet bookmaker’s website there are bids on the four best teams and the eight best teams. Moreover, on the sites of bookies from our list, you will find bets on those who will not be able to get into the top eight.

AFL Brownlow Betting

Every new AFL player dreams of winning such a prestigious award as The Brownlow Medal. At the end of the season, it is awarded to the footballer who played the most successfully and at the same time most honestly, with maximum observance of game discipline.

The referees vote for the nominees for this award after each match. The best footballer of the match receives three points, the second – two points, the third – one point. The player who scores the most points in the championship will be awarded and declared the winner. You can bet on The Brownlow Medal winner on the Unibet and bet365 platforms.

AFL Wooden Spoon Betting

The team that takes the last position in the league at the end of the season, becomes The owner of the AFL Wooden Spoon. This is an unofficial award that is not given to anyone, but betting on its winner is quite popular among punters.

In particular, on the Bet365 website and on a number of other Australian Championship betting portals, you will find the odds on the AFL Wooden Spoon.

AFL Line Betting

Many bettors from Australia do not prefer betting on football matches, but betting markets AFL Line bet markets. When you place wagers on the line, you are actually making a bid with a handicap. The favorites of the matches get a negative handicap, and the potentially losing team gets a plus handicap.

In order for your bet to bring you money, the team you choose must cover the line. For example, if you predict Richmond’s victory over Carlton with a handicap (-26.5 points), then you need the favorites to beat rivals by at least twenty-seven points. Otherwise, your pockets will remain empty.

Total Points Betting (Over/Under)

You should also pay attention to the Over/Under Totals markets. If intuition tells you that there is a high probability that a certain number of points will be scored in a given match (or vice versa – the maximum), then you can safely bet on the Total Number of points, which will be highlighted on the scoreboard after the confrontation.

This market is very popular among punters, it is especially relevant in cases where there are very equal opponents and it is difficult for you to choose the favorite of the match. The score of the match does not matter in the Total Points market, you just need your opponents to score more or less points than bookies predict.

AFL Multi Bet

As we mentioned above, in our opinion, single wagers are more efficient than multis. However, each punter has its own approach to gambling and its own tactics, which may not be the same for all forecasters. AFL Multis is worth a try for those who want to win a really huge amount of money and at the same time risk a small amount.

If you intend to make several accumulator bids, make predictions for no more than 3-4 events. A large number of legs will significantly reduce your chances of winning, because each of them can let you down and spoil the overall forecast.
The Multi Express function is available, in particular, on the BetEasy bookmaker’s website. You have the ability to place accumulator wagers very quickly and conveniently. You need to carefully compare AFL betting odds, because they will add up.

First Goal Scorer Betting

You should also consider options for goal scorer markets, which are available for all AFL meetings. Most of our selected top sites for wagers for the Australian Championship offer markets for first goalscorer in a specific duel. You can also predict who will be the first to score in the quarter or half of the match.

This is not the end of the bids on scoring players. You can choose who will score first in a particular team. As a rule, the footballers of the offensive line have the best chances to excel at the beginning of the game. But you can get better odds if you are sure that the first goalscorer will be a midfielder. Take a look at the statistics of the players and think about whether the opposing team will allow him to create enough chances to score at the beginning of the match.

AFL Live Odds – Bet365 Lead The Way!

If you are a gambler and love football, it’s time to start AFL live betting! To do this, you will need any modern phone. According to the Interactive Gambling Act, AFL bids online platforms in Australia cannot offer their users wagers online. However, it is allowed to show all the odds on phones, PCs or laptops. And if you decide to leave your prediction for a live event, you just need to call a certain bookmaker and the operator will place a wager for you.

We analyzed the sites of reputable bookies and determined that Bet365 offers one of the best AFL in-play bet suites on the Internet. You can get constant access to live bet markets and odds thanks to the appropriate software installed on your phone or laptop. Their software is reliable, convenient and allows you to view constantly updated prices.

If you already have an account on the site of another platform for betting AFL, no problem, all the bookmakers we listed above allow to place AFL wagers live.

Best Betting App for AFL

When it comes to betting on sporting events in Australia, the bookmaker Unibet is mentioned as the most popular and reliable platform. This site accepts wagers for all major national and international competitions, including the Australian Football League.

If you register quickly and easily on the Unibet portal, you will have a modern, functional and well-thought-out application for placing bids. So you can easily view the information you need and instantly make wagers on your favorite AFL.

All markets of the Australian Football Championship, which you can bet on using a laptop with Unibet, are also available on all modern phones. If you are an iPad or iPhone user, just go to the App Store (requires iOS 9.0 or any newer) and download the Unibet iOS mobile app.

In turn, users of Android phones can get Unibet Android software simply on the bookmaker’s portal by downloading it through a regular browser. If you do not intend to download this software or do not have such an opportunity, the Unibet Web App works in the same way as Unibet Android. All you have to do is log in via your mobile phone and start making predictions on the AFL.

AFL Fantasy Betting

The Australian public has loved wagers for a variety of sports, including AFL Fantasy betting. DraftStars should become the home page of your main browser if you decide to join AFL fantasy betting.

Unlike a traditional betting platform, you will need to pay an entry fee to join the Fantasy League. You will compete with teams and other participants. The winner is the team that can score the most points.

On Draftstars you will find fantasy leagues for each round of the current season of the Australian Football Championship. You have the opportunity to play without contributions, but the more money you pay to join the League, the more money you can then withdraw as a prize.

You can play for real money for only two dollars. There is also an interesting feature ‘Create Contest’, thanks to which you can create private fantasy leagues and hold tournaments between acquaintances and friends.

AFL Live Streaming in Australia

Unfortunately, there are no online betting platforms that would broadcast live AFL matches for users from this continent. On the portals bet365 and Unibet you will find live broadcasts of a very large number of popular sports.

In addition, after registration, the BetEasy website makes it possible to watch two Sky Racing channels. However, live broadcasts of the Australian Football Championship are not currently available on any of the top portals for placing wagers on local football in Australia.

History and Records

Initially, the Australian rules were played mainly in the state of Victoria. In 1896 was founded the Victoria Football League (VFL). Ninety-four years later, the game became national, and the official organization that regulated the competition was renamed the AFL. The Australian Football League represents all states of the country, the only exception is Tasmania. In 1981 was introduced a draft system. Since then, the first pick goes to the team that was on the last place in the past season. 

In 1989, the championship received a new official name – the Australian Football League. Two years later, the first club from the south of the country, Adelaide, joined the league. The West Coast team Fremantle joined the AFL in 1995. And the following year, the Fitzroy Lions and Brisbane Bears merged over the club’s financial problems. New clubs have emerged – Brisbane Lions and SANFL.

In 1997, emerged a new implacable enemy of Adelaide, the Port Adelaide Power team. In 2011, the AFL took in The Gold Coast Suns, and a year later – the Greater Western Sydney Giants. Eighteen teams are competing for the championship today. The AFL is an elite sports tournament and one of the strongest organizations in the world of Australian football.

One of the unusual features of the Australian Football Championship is the Father-son rule, which allows any team whose father has played more than a hundred games in its squad to draft a new footballer. Some of the AFL teams recruited Ireland players, and one of the most successful drafts was Jim Stynes from Dublin. He managed to win the Brownlow Medal thirty years ago and set a new record for the number of consecutive matches in the league (244).

Essendon and Carlton won the Grand Final the most. Each of them triumphed sixteen times. Collingwood has a slightly more modest achievement – thirteen successful seasons. Richmond and Melbourne were able to become champions twelve times. In turn, Greater West Sydney, Gold Coast and Fremantle never became AFL winners.

Legendary St. Kilda player Tony Lockett set an incredible goal record (1360). And in 1976, during the meeting Melbourne – St. Kilda, was recorded the highest individual result, which was 18.1. This historic achievement belongs to Fred Fanning.

Play Of The Game

A key difference between Australian football and other types of football is the appointment of a set kick, or mark, if one of the players was able to catch the ball immediately after the shot of an opponent who was more than fifteen meters away. The one who makes the mark can freely strike on the opponent’s goal from any position behind the place where he managed to mark. The best spectacle for fans is the high mark, when 3 or 4 opponents jump (often on the shoulder or back of another player) to take possession of the ball and get the best mark.

The match serves one field judge, two gate judges (one on each side) and two boundary judges (also one on each side). The match starts with that field judge hits the ball on the lawn, and rivals jump to convey ball to partners. After a goal, the judge will again hit the ball on the lawn in the center of the field. When a behind is scored, a team that scored the ball kicks it off from the goal area. Each game consists of four quarters that last twenty minutes. 

Unlike soccer, Australian football is a more contact sport, and here you can see more often collisions and falls, but less often than in rugby. Players fight for the ball in different ways – using the shoulders, thighs, arms, chest, provided the ball is at a distance of five meters. Free kicks are appointed by the referee only if someone pushes a player from another team over the shoulders, below the knee line or directly in the back. In addition, penalties are awarded to a defending team if a player of the opposing team holds the ball for too long or runs with it without bouncing. 

The referee counts a goal when the player clearly hits the ball through the two goalposts. One goal brings the team six points. The referee counts “behind” when the ball is behind the back line or when it flies over the goal line, but no goal is recorded (particularly when the ball hits the post). Behind gives the attacking team only one point. There are four posts in Australian football. The score of the match is fixed in the following sequence: goals, behinds and total points. For example: 21.10.136.

League Format 

The season in the Australian Football League begins in early spring and is held in a circular system of twenty-three rounds, at home and away. That is, each of the eighteen teams will play a total of twenty-two games for the entire season. In addition, each team will receive one “goodbye” during the championship. Whoever finishes the season in first place will win the Minor Premiers title and the prestigious McClelland Trophy. 

In the final rounds of the AFL season, the top eight teams advance to the Finals Series, a four-week mini-competition. The Qualifying/Elimination stage of the tournament is held first. Then the four most successful teams of the AFL season take part in the ‘Qualifying Final’ (first vs fouth, second vs third).

The winning teams of these two matches advance to the Preliminary Final. In turn, those teams that are ranked fifth to eighth, participate in the ‘Elimination Finals’. Those who lose are eliminated, and the winners in semifinals get a chance to play with the losers of the Qualifying Finals.

Finally, the teams that managed to triumph in the two semifinals are competing with the winners of the two Qualifying Finals, and those who are defeated are eliminated. This stage of the competition is called the ‘Preliminary Final’. The two winners of this round meet then in a decisive duel at MCG in the Grand Final.

Football And Its Fans

Australian rules football, like the UK, is an important part of public life. In particular, it is most popular in those parts of the country where there are no rugby zones – in Queensland and New South Wales.

The first teams had their crazy fans, known as “barrackers”. Many of them were members of football clubs. Among the fans of such a unique sport as Australian football, there have always been plenty of women who regularly attended championship matches. In 1900, women made up more than a third of the total audience. In the 1930s, teams already had their own original songs, many of which were based on famous American tunes.

The Grand Final has been held since 1898. Beginning in 1904, the decisive match was regularly held at the MCG in Melbourne. It later became very popular and became a significant sporting and cultural event in the Victoria state calendar.

The popularity of the championship also continued to grow. Especially after the first radio broadcasts of league matches were organized in 1925. Live broadcasts of the Grand Final began only in 1946, as they were not allowed by cricket officials, who controlled the stadium in Melbourne. At the end of World War II, attendance at league meetings greatly increased, and radio coverage expanded. When TV appeared in 1957, at first it was only allowed to broadcast the last quarter of a match or to show the game with a delay.

The record attendance of all league matches in the season was recorded in 1957, when the total number of fans in the stands of the stadiums was about 2.5 million. And the Grand Final between Melbourne and Essendon was attended by more than a hundred thousand Australian football fans. This record was updated in 1970, when one hundred and twenty-one thousand fans visited the MCG to support Collingwood and Carlton in the final duel.

AFL Betting FAQs

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