Euro 2021 Betting Offers

The European Championships are UEFA’s premier international competition and sees Europe’s elite footballing nations face-off once every four years to decide the continent’s best team. Bringing together players from the best leagues on the planet, including the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga, you can be assured of some best football betting action around.

Euros in a Nutshell

Tournament Format

The tournament will begin with a group stage including the twenty teams who finished top or runners-up in qualifying, plus the four nations who qualified via the UEFA Nations League playoffs. High-profile teams such as England, Spain and France regularly reach the finals, but you will often see minnows such as Iceland and North Macedonia make it through the qualifiers to compete on the European stage. 

Sixteen teams will then qualify for the round of 16, where the tournament will become a knockout competition. The winners will then battle it out through the quarter-finals and semi-finals for a coveted spot in the final. 

Euros History 

The first European Championships were held in France in 1960 and were won by the Soviet Union after they beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in Paris’ Parc de Princes. Germany and Spain are the tournament’s most successful nations, having both won the tournament on three occasions, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal are the current Champions, beating hosts France in 2016. Ronaldo is also the joint highest goalscorer in the competition’s history, sharing the accolade with Michel Platini with nine goals. England’s Alan Shearer is just behind on seven, while France’s Antoine Griezmann is third with six. 

Best Historical Betting Odds 

The competition is no stranger to an upset with outsiders being crowned champions on several occasions. The knockout format means that every team is only a few good results away from lifting the trophy. As such, there’s potential for speculative punters to cash in on one of the less fancied sides. 

Denmark were unlikely 20/1 winners in 1992 before they beat world champions Germany in the final, despite only qualifying after Yugoslavia were forced to drop out of the tournament. But it is Greece that pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset back in 2004. They defied the bookies’ 80/1 odds to lift the trophy after beating other finalists and hosts Portugal. The Portuguese themselves pulled off somewhat of a shock when they were crowned champions last time out, with the bookies pricing them at 20/1 and seventh favourites pre-tournament.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo lifts the European Championship trophy in 2016

Available Euros Betting Markets

With its star-studded matchups, do or die knockout games and penalty shootouts, the European Championships provide one of sport’s most exciting betting experiences. The best bookmakers offer a range of markets, giving customers a wide variety of betting options. Here’s a look at some of the most popular football markets:  

Match Result 

Who’s going to outplay who? Is there an upset on the cards? Or do you fancy these two to cancel each other out? With the match result market, all you have to do is decide how you think the game will finish after ninety minutes. Choose which side you think will win or if you think the game will end in a draw. Some match result bets may not take into account extra time, so it’s best to check the terms and conditions before you lay a wager on any games beyond the group stages. 

Correct Score 

Just like the match result market, the correct score market is pretty straightforward. Just select what you think the score will be over ninety minutes and if your selection is correct, you win. The most common scoreline in European Championship matches is 1-0, nonetheless, picking the correct score is much harder than choosing a winner. As such, the odds will often be longer. As such, these bets are much harder to win. 

Over/Under Goals  

This market can be a little more complex than others but is ever-popular amongst football punters. All you have to do is select whether you think there will be more or less than a certain number of goals scored in a game. So for instance, if you think there’ll be three or more goals scored in a particular match, you can select over 2.5 goals to be scored. 

Both Teams to Score 

The Both Teams to Score (BTTS) market is pretty straightforward. It simply hinges on whether both teams will score in a single game. The market will offer both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ selections, so if you fancy betting against both teams scoring you’ll be able to back that. Additionally, if you think either one or none of the teams will score, then you can back that too by selecting ‘no’. 

Popular Goalscorer Markets

Goalscorer markets are a particular favourite amongst punters and most betting sites allow you to bet on a player to score in a particular game, be their nation’s top goalscorer or score the most goals in the tournament outright. Understanding the form a player takes into the tournament is a good way to judge this market. On the way to winning the Golden Boot in 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 51 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid and won the Champions League. He was, therefore, full of confidence heading into the tournament which helps explain his exceptional performances throughout. Make sure you bear this in mind when you wager on the likes of Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku or Kylian Mbappe. 

Outright Betting 

One of the best betting features of international tournaments is the outright winner market. You can choose a team that you fancy to go all the way and watch how their journey pans out. If you don’t think you can pick a winner, then you can play it safer and simply wager on who you think will reach the final at Wembley. With so much football played in such a short space of time, however, there is a lot that could happen. As such, we would recommend waiting until the first few games have been played before you place any outright bets.

Claim a Betting Bonus

Matched Deposit 

Matched deposits can potentially be one of the most lucrative welcome bonuses on offer to new customers. These bonuses see the bookie match the value of your initial deposit up to a certain amount. For instance, if a site offers a 100% matched deposit bonus, you’ll receive bonus funds up to the value of £100 but no higher. Always make sure you read all the terms and conditions of these offers. There are usually wagering requirements that you need to play through before you can make a withdrawal, however, so keep an eye out for those. 

Free Bets 

Free bets are amongst the most common offers you’ll find on betting sites. Often new customers will qualify for a free bet if they deposit and place a qualifying bet above a certain amount. They’ll then be credited with free bets to play with on the site. Like matched deposits, these offers have wagering requirements and other terms and conditions attached to them, so make sure you’ve read the fine print before signing up.   

Enhanced Odds 

Punters can also benefit from enhanced odds offers, which allow you to bet on a particular selection at an improved price. The good news for existing customers is that they can claim these bonuses too. Many bookies regularly price boost a range of different markets for big sporting events like the Euros, as well as the Premier League, Champions League and the World Cup. 

Check out Bonus Terms and Conditions

Wagering Requirements 

Wagering requirements are a common feature that come with almost all bonuses. They will often require users to bet a certain amount of cash before they can make a withdrawal from the site. For instance, a sportsbook may require users to play through the value of their bonus ten times before making a withdrawal. This would mean that for a £10 free bet, you’d have to wager £100 of your own cash before you can withdraw any funds won using the promotion.

Time Limits 

Time limits are another restriction you’ll come across when using bonuses. Typically, you’ll find that there is a set amount of time within which bonuses can be claimed and played with. After the specified time period has passed, you’ll no longer be able to access or use that bonus. 

Winning Restrictions 

Another thing to take into consideration when using bonuses are the winning restrictions. The maximum winnable amount can be found in the terms and conditions of the bonus so it’s a good idea to read the small print before you claim. These limits will even apply if the odds of your selection offer a much higher return.

Withdraw Your Cash Early

Many online betting sites offer punters a variety of cash out options including full, partial and automatic cash out. These options can give you more flexibility when it comes to withdrawing your winnings in-play. For instance, you could use a partial cash out option to lock in some profit or cut your losses and still leave some of your stake to run. The automatic cash out feature allows you to create a rule which will withdraw your winnings automatically as soon as the cash-out value goes above a certain amount.

How to Make the Most Informed Bets

Check the Form 

This is perhaps the most important tip on this list. Whether you’re betting on a player or a whole team, understanding their form is a great way to help you make the most informed bet. If you’re backing a goalscorer, check out how they’ve been playing for their club side and take a look at their form for the national team too.  Do your research on what kind of games they usually score in and whether they struggle to find the net in big games. You should also check whether key creative players will be lining up alongside goalscorers too; it’s no use backing a finisher if their supply line has been cut off. 

Know Your Team

With national teams, it’s important to take into account the make-up of the squad. A run of form for a national team may be over the course of months or years rather than a few weeks. But you should also be wary that a team may consist of entirely different players to the last tournament they played in. It’s also important to check how they usually fare on the big stage. A team such as England may have a fantastic record in qualifying campaigns but then crumble when it gets to the tournament proper. 

Work Out a Potential Route to the Final 

With fixtures already decided before the tournament, it’s possible to study the groups and the knockout ladder and try to work out how each team will fare. This can be particularly important if you’re looking to place a bet on the tournament’s top goalscorer, a team to reach the final or the outright winner. 

Bet on the Euros from Your Mobile

Native apps and mobile sites allow you to place and cash out bets, claim bonuses and stream live sport all from the palm of your hand. Purpose-built apps offer the best user-experience as slick interfaces and rapid load times mean you can bet and play anywhere. So no matter where you are you can tune in to a live stream, add selections to your betslip and place a bet. You’ll also have the same access to special offers like free bets and enhanced odds just as you would with a desktop site. 

How to Keep Your Betting Safe and Responsible

It’s important to remember that gambling should always be a form of entertainment and not a way to make money. If betting stops being fun, you should consider taking some action. Here’s a look at some of the ways that you can stay in control: 

Set Deposit Limits 

All betting sites will have an option for you to set deposit limits on your account. Deposit limits put restrictions on how much and at what times you can deposit funds into your betting account. You’ll be able to set weekly and monthly limits that will take effect instantly and will prevent you from depositing over that set amount in that period of time. 

Take Time Outs 

If you feel the need to take a break from betting for a while, online bookmakers also give you the option to take a time out period. You can activate this yourself from your account and you will no longer be able to access the site for periods ranging from 24 hours to a number of months. If you think you’d benefit from taking a longer break from betting, you can also self-exclude yourself from all gambling sites for six months or more.  

Get in Touch With Charities 

If you’re worried that your gambling is becoming an addiction or are concerned about someone else’s gambling, you can get in touch with a variety of charities. BeGambleAware, for example, run the National Gambling Treatment Service which you can reach out to via phone or online live chat. Here you can talk to a trained advisor who will offer free, confidential support.

Ready to Place Your Bets?

The fixtures have been decided, the squad announcements are just around the corner and that first whistle is now just a matter of weeks away. All that’s left is for you to get in on the action. If you fancy making use of some of our tips or claiming a welcome bonus, you can use the links on our site to head over to one of our top-rated bookies and create an account.

See our references & visit related external links

Please note that Compare.bet is not responsible for the content of third-party websites.

1. goal.com – ‘Ronaldo finishes top scorer in 2015-16 Champions League’
2. bleacherreport.com – ‘La Liga Results 2016 Week 38: Final Table and Top Scorers After Matchday 38’
3. uefa.com – ‘What are the most common EURO finals results?’ 
4. uefa.com – ‘EURO final tournament goals: All you need to know’