The 2014 World Cup officially kicks off tomorrow with a matchup between Brazil and Croatia in São Paulo. If you’re even slightly interested in betting on this match or any of the others coming up in the World Cup, it’s time to find a safe place to do your betting.
All the biggest sports betting sites are accepting real money bets on the World Cup as of today. It doesn’t matter if you live in the United States, the UK or elsewhere – there’s a site that’s ready to take your business.
For those who are new to online sports betting:
If you’re completely new to online sports betting, fear not. You’re at the right place. I know a lot of people first get into sports betting during major events such as the World Cup and Kentucky Derby. Here’s the deal: if you live in the USA, you can only bet at specific sites that accept Americans. If you live elsewhere, you have a different set of sites to choose from.
The legality of online sports betting in the USA isn’t very well defined, but millions of Americans bet on the World Cup and other events every year at gambling sites. The laws on the books seem to target banking institutions and those who operate sportsbooks, not individual bettors. Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’ve been betting on sports for close to a decade now and haven’t even heard of someone getting in trouble for betting on sports in the US.
Best US Sportsbook for the World Cup: Bovada.lv
Bovada.lv is the easy choice for all my American readers. Bovada is US-friendly and it is taking bets on the World Cup right now. All you need to do is sign up for an account and make a deposit. Here’s what Bovada has for the first matchup right now.
Point Spread
- Brazil: -1.5 EVEN
- Croatia: +1.5 -120
Moneyline
- Brazil: -375
- Croatia: +1000
- Draw: +475
Total (2.5)
- Over: EVEN
- Under: -120
Click here to get started at Bovada
I’ve been betting at and promoting Bovada since the site first went live and I’ve always been impressed with how they run things over there. Bovada is one of the fastest-paying sportsbooks in the US and it has an excellent credit card acceptance rate for deposits.
Best International Book for the World Cup: Bet365.com
Bet365 is my favorite non-US betting site by a long shot. The company was established in 1974 and remains privately owned to this day. They are headquartered in the UK and have a perfect record of hosting fair bets, paying winners and protecting customer privacy.
Best of all, Bet365 takes football very seriously. In the first World Cup matchup alone, Bet365.com already has well over a dozen different types of bets. You can bet on the exact score, the point total, first/last/top goalscorers and more. There are even Asian handicaps and prop bets such as who will kick off.
As far as the straight-up bets go, here’s what Bet365 has for Brazil vs. Croatia.
- Brazil: 1/3
- Croatia: 12/1
- Draw: 4/1
Click here to get started at Bet365
Bet365 will also be offering in-play bets on all World Cup matchups. If you keep the sportsbook open in your browser, you can watch matches and place bets after they have already started. You can bet on who will score the next goal, who will win the match at updated odds and more. In-play betting is some of the most exciting stuff to come out of online bookmaking in recent years.