The European Championship is always accompanied by a certain degree of hype. This year, there is even more of a buzz around the tournament than usual, especially in the UK. After all, we’ve had an extra year for the anticipation to build up, the final is going to be held at Wembley and England are being touted as one of the favourites to finally hold that trophy aloft.
Best of all, Frank Skinner has resisted the urge to burst into song for this year’s event. It’s added up to a feel-good vibe that we all desperately need. Understandably enough, there are many who want to get a piece of the action by placing a wager or two, even if they’ve never placed a bet before in their entire lives. If you count yourself among their number, the following tips might help.
Choose your bookie with care
In days gone by, it would have been a simple case of strolling into your local bookmaker’s and filling out a betting slip. Today, you can choose from dozens on your smartphone without leaving your armchair. Most of the big name bookmakers are offering special deals to new account holders, but always read the small print – often, what looks like “free money” has onerous wagering requirements, meaning that you can’t withdraw any winnings without placing lots more bets. If you’re usually more into games than sports betting, it is worth checking out the casino sites using a resource like https://www.australiancasinosites.com/games/, as many of these also offer sportsbooks.
Decide on your wager
Bookmakers will be posting odds on individual games throughout group and knockout stages. However, with an event like Euro 2020, it is always the outright bets that attract the most attention. These relate to a team’s overall performance in the tournament, and there are plenty to choose from.
The most obvious is the outright winner, but take a look at some of the other outrights, too. These range from individual player performances, such as top goal scorer, to predicting which team will win a particular group.
Which team should you back?
As we’ve already suggested, there will be more English supporters backing their national team to go all the way this year than ever before. From a team loyalty perspective, that’s understandable. But if you look at it dispassionately, it might not be the wisest bet to place.
Take a look at the tournament’s history, and you’ll see England have been here so many times in the past, yet they have a habit of self-destructing, sometimes tripping over the most improbable obstacles, as happened last time out.
It doesn’t only happen to England. This is a tournament that has a habit of throwing up surprises, and that’s why it can be a shrewd move to back an outside shot to at least make the final, if not to win it. Teams like Denmark and even Switzerland are long odds, but should make it to the knockout stages – and from there, anything is possible.
