What is futures betting? Bet on future sporting outcomes
Interested in futures when it comes to sports betting? This handy guide explains just how big the sports betting market is and has some great tips to demonstrate how to bet on futures as part of a variety of possible betting methods.
What is futures betting?
Online future bets are essentially predicting who you think is ultimately going to prevail, such as who's going to win the next World Series or which team is going to lift the Summoner's Cup at the League of Legends Worlds Championship.
How do futures bets work?
Getting into futures betting is a piece of cake, and while it's based on the same general idea as moneyline bets, futures betting really entails fewer direct implications, such as the winner of next year's Super Bowl.
Briefly, the most popular futures betting markets focus on a future champion, either a team winning a championship or an F1 driver winning the World Drivers' Championship at the conclusion of the F1 season. To find these odds markets, you simply have to visit the futures market in online sportsbooks event pages.
Straight-out betting odds are appealing if you select a team that has the quality and reliability to win over the coming months.
Outright betting advice can take an eternity to be vindicated, but there is an immense feel-good factor if your selection is spot on.
Futures bets examples
If a prominent sporting competition or league is set to commence, or even if the tournament is already in progress, you can find outright odds on the final result. Take a glance at outright bet examples from major tournaments.
Premier League futures betting
The gaze of English football enthusiasts and global football fanatics is on the Premier League every August as the season opener nears.
If you believe you know that Liverpool will be champions again, Manchester City will see its crown returned, or Arsenal will put an end to its long search for victory, you can bet outright before the season – and once games have been under way.
Our EPL betting guide will help you to study the form of the top teams and give you some outright betting tips for next season.
US Open futures betting
Outright betting in the context of one of the biggest events in the tennis calendar? Simply put, it is being able to bet on the winner before the tournament begins, and after they begin their campaign.
You can bet Jannik Sinner will repeat his, or that Iga Swiatek can again be the US Open champion. The straight-up betting odds should be greater than their odds for winning the next game.
NBA futures betting
Long before the next NBA season is to start, and the next NBA Finals nearly a year off, you can wager on the winner of that series.
Will the Oklahoma City Thunder repeat their 2025 heroics? If they do, your bookmaker will already be placing outright betting odds.
You may also place an outright bet during the course of the season itself, though it is a different proposition altogether to make your choice well ahead of the first tip-off.
Ryder Cup futures betting
American and European golf fans relish the special test of the Ryder Cup – and not a few enjoy gambling on the biennial trans-Atlantic match. View the outright betting odds if you're convinced you can tell the victor of the next clash of the giants.
The activity is frantic and rapid over the three days of action, so having an outright bet if you believe the USA will win lets you focus on the golf.
NFL futures betting
Consider laying a bet on who will win the Super Bowl – in August. That's what outright bets are.
But if you think you can call your shot on who's going to be sitting atop at the end of next season, a straight wager is your bet. Keep an eye on your selection – if you bet on the Philadelphia Eagles to go back-to-back and they lose their first two games, it might be time to cash in.
Even after waiting for a while to make both of these futures bets cash, the payoffs will be larger than if you were to bet half way through the tournament. You can even go a step further and choose next year's Super Bowl winners and look at putting all three of these bets in a round robin bet.
How to read futures betting lines
When you visit your sportsbook sites and become a member, you will observe that futures markets are typically listed in the American odds format (+400, +1200, etc.). The figure mentioned precisely indicates how much money you will gain from a $100 bet.
For example, if you see that the Philadelphia Eagles are +650 to win Super Bowl LX in Levi's Stadium next year, laying a $100 futures bet today would have you receive $650 if they once again raise the Vince Lombardi trophy, plus your initial $100 bet back, of course.
It should be mentioned here that the bigger perceived favorites, the less the futures odds will be, and the huge underdogs can have odds of more than +5000.
Simple futures betting strategy
Ideally, if you wish to place long-term bets, you need an outright betting strategy. Let's see some examples.
Parlays
This is one way of adding to the problem of choosing the winner of a tournament quite far away. Add in other outcomes from the same tournament.
An example of a successful outright bet of this type is that NFL fans try to choose the winner of each of the divisions, while English soccer fans take an aggregate of their selections for all four pro leagues.
Short-term the long-term
You may find some enticing outright prices for a side that you come to realize has some simple early-season matches, but one that you don't think will stay at the front.
If you're right, their price will tighten up – and you can sell out with a good profit.
Research
The single most important outright betting strategy of all is that you need to be prepared to research thoroughly and extensively.
Utilize your information and judgment, but take into account as well all the relevant statistics that could determine the upcoming season and a team's potential to bring home the top prize. The longer you spend researching, the more likely your results are to be positive.
Conclusion
Futures sports bets work the same as any other bet on the teams and leagues that you enjoy. You decide who you think will win, find the best odds for your selection, and bet your money.
But there are a few things to bear in mind regarding your outright/futures gambling approach. You will have to wait a very long time for cash if you place a season-long wager, although the odds could be extremely enticing.
Be flexible, be smart, be prepared to do some homework, and learn as much as possible about your selection, and your outright betting tips are more likely to be successful bits of advice.
