While the term ‘futures markets’ does sound rather like something you would find stockbrokers chatting about on Wall Street, this is purely a betting term for the purposes of this article!

More to the point, we are going to explore how this particular form of betting can be one of the most profitable for you, especially when compared to standard pre-match betting markets that are available in the 24-hours or so before a fixture takes place.

However, to ensure we provide you with a broad, fair and balanced picture of futures betting, we are also going to point out some of the disadvantages of this type of betting, as well as why it can be more beneficial to customers. This will give you all the information you need to decide whether betting on futures markets is the right option for you.

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Remember too that futures betting is also very popular in the United States and if you want an overview of what the current sports betting picture is like across the U.S.A and what different offers and bonuses are available, check out the exciting new site bestbetusa.com for more information.

So, let’s begin our look at this particular type of betting by first discovering what it is and how it differs from standard sports betting markets.

What Is Futures Market Sports Betting?

In its simplest form, betting on a futures market for a sports event is simply backing the outcome of an event that is not set to take place any time soon (say within the next 24-hours or so). Because the result of an event will only be known in the future, the phrase ‘futures’ betting is used to identify these markets.

However, in horse racing betting, this type of betting is also known as ‘ante post’ betting, although it is essentially the same thing as futures betting in other sports.

The reason bookmakers offer these futures markets is that many of them are extremely popular with punters that want to have a long-term bet running throughout the course of a season, or throughout the year. As such, these markets have grown in popularity over time and the number of bets available on futures markets has increased markedly across sports.

What Are The Advantages Of Futures Betting?

So, what are the big advantages of betting on futures markets? Well, the single most important advantage you have is that the odds on your chosen selection are likely to be far better in a futures market than they are once the event/season or fixture is underway.

A perfect example of this came in the 2015/16 Premier League season. At the start of the season you could have placed a futures market bet on Leicester City to become Premier League Champions at odds with some bookmakers of 5,000/1.

However, by the time we hit March and April and it was clear Leicester were in a two-way race for the title with Tottenham Hotspurs, their odds had been slashed right down. So if you backed them at this point, much nearer the end of the season, you’d have been lucky to get much better than even money on the Foxes winning the league (which they duly did).

This is an extreme example, but in general, the earlier you place a bet on a selection ahead of the event, the greater the odds on them winning the bet for you tend to be. That is the big appeal of futures betting for so many punters.

Are There Any Disadvantages When Futures Betting?

Of course, futures betting does come with its own additional risks and these can scupper any bet before the event even starts.

For example, at the moment, you could place a bet on the 2021 Grand National race with bet365 Sport. However, the number of horses available for you to bet on in the race is far more than the 40 that will start the race in April.

Therefore, there is a risk that a horse you select to win the race may not run in the race for whatever reason (injury, withdrawn by the trainer, conditions not being right for the horse etc). So, there is that additional risk you have when placing a bet now on a horse, compared to waiting until the 40 runners are named in the days leading up to the race.

Another issue is that you cannot predict what will happen in the time between making your bet and the bet being concluded at that future date. For example, if you backed Sergio Aguero of Manchester City to be the Premier League leading goalscorer this season, the fact that he has been injured for most of the campaign so far means that your bet is very unlikely to be a winner.

So, while Futures betting does offer better odds, there are far more unknown factors you have to try and weigh up when making your bet, all of which can lead to your bet losing.

What Sports Offer The Most Appealing Futures Market Betting?

The great thing for punters is that sites like bet365 Sport offer futures market betting across many different sports nowadays, not just the most popular ones. You can also place many ante post bets on future horse races too if you so wish.

Horse racing and football betting are the two most popular markets for futures betting, but you can also find great future betting markets across other sports such as Golf, Tennis, NFL, Formula 1, Rugby, Cricket and many more.

What Are Some Of The Most Popular Futures Markets Bets?

Outlined below are some of the most popular future markets bets made by sports bettors over the course of a year:

  • Horse Racing – Who will win the big races of each year, such as the Grand National, Epsom Derby or 1000 Guineas.
  • Soccer – There’s a whole host of future bets made each year on football on who will win the league title in a chosen country, who will win the FA Cup/Europa League/Champions League or even the next World Cup or European Championships. A number of other popular future markets bets include Top Goalscorers for domestic leagues and which teams will be relegated from each division.
  • Who will win the Superbowl in American Football
  • Who will win the four Major tournaments in Golf
  • Who will win the four Grand Slam tournaments in Tennis
  • Cricket futures betting often centres on the next World Cup winner, or Ashes Winner.
  • In Formula 1, betting on which driver or team will win their respective championship
  • And many more bets across a wide range of other sports.

Is Future’s Betting Right For Me?

If you are a punter that does not mind having to wait a long time to see the results of your bet bear fruit (or not) then futures market betting may be a great choice for you. There is no doubt that having a bet on the outcome of an entire football season for example, does make you more invested in the action that unfolds over the course of the season.

While it is not easy to land future bets on the money every time, wins can happen and can be very satisfying. My brother-in-law placed a £10 bet last summer on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win Superbowl LV this past February as soon as they signed Tom Brady for the New England Patriots.

The Bucs were much shorter odds than that when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Superbowl earlier this month, but thanks to his future market bets, my brother-in-law landed the win at odds of 20/1.

Call it luck, call it judgement, but that is proof that if you have a bit of both, futures betting can be a great way to get better odds on your bets!