A Beginner’s Guide to Floorball Betting

An Introduction to Floorball  

Floorball is played indoors on a court that is 18 to 20 metres wide by 36 to 40 metres long. Each team has six players, including the goalkeeper. One striking aspect of the sport is that the goalkeeper can be removed for an outfield player for a short period of time if the coach wishes to do so.  

During the match, teams can make as many substitutes as they wish, and there is no need to inform the referee. A match is played over three 20-minute periods with the time stopped in the case of penalties, goals, time-outs and any situation where the ball is not considered to be in play. There is a 10 to 15 minute break between periods (depending on the competition), during which teams change ends. Furthermore, each team is allowed one-time out of 30 seconds. If a game ends in a draw then 10 minutes of extra time may be played with the first team to score declared the winner. If there is still no winner then a penalty shootout takes place.  

Players are not allowed to jump and they must have one foot on the ground when receiving the ball. Furthermore, players may not go down on two knees to make plays or block shots, only the goalkeeper may do so.  

The ball must be received by the stick below knee level and if contact is made with the ball above the knee, then a two-minute penalty is awarded. When shooting, the stick must stay below the waist. Checking is not allowed, but shoulder-to-shoulder contact is. There are various other things that are banned and can result in a two-minute penalty, most of which are aggressive forms of play.  

After a foul, if the ball is considered unplayable, then play is resumed from a free-hit or a face-off. A free-hit sees a player from one team starting play from the place where the ball was last deemed unplayable.  

A face-off is awarded when the ball is damaged, the ball is not playable, the referees cannot decide the direction of a free-hit, after a failed penalty shot, or when a player suffers from serious injury.   

There are a number of additional rules to learn, but the above will be enough to help you follow the game. 

When it comes to betting opportunities, you can bet on many leagues, the biggest being in Finland and Sweden. The Floorball World Championship takes place every two years, and there is also a European Cup tournament.  

Floorball Betting Markets 

It is not uncommon to find more than 50 different betting markets available on a typical floorball match, and this can be quite overwhelming for newcomers. However, most of the betting markets are entirely self-explanatory and you will have no problems getting to grips with them. Here we shall explain the most popular ones.  

1X2 Full Time (Match Winner) 

This is the most straightforward bet that you can place. It is simply a bet on which of the teams will win after full time or the game ending in a draw. It is important to remember that this market does not include any extra time played or a penalty shootout.  

Spread Full Time (Handicap Betting) 

If you want to bet on the favourite to win, then you may find that the odds are quite short, meaning that you have to bet a large amount to be in with a chance of winning a large amount. In order to offer longer odds, bookmakers will give the favourite team a handicap that must be overcome in order for them to win. 

For example, you may see Team A -1.5 Goals, Team B +1.5 goals. This means that if you back Team A, then you will win your bet as long as they are still the winners once 1.5 goals have been subtracted from their total. If you back Team B, then you win the bet as long as they win after 1.5 goals have been added to their total. The half goals are used to eliminate the possibility of a draw. Sometimes you will find this kind of market offered for individual periods as well as the entire match.  

Over/Under Bets 

There are many betting markets that are offered as Over/Under. The most basic is Over/Under Full Time, and it is a bet on the total number of goals scored between the two teams. For example, you may see Over/Under 11.5, which means that you bet Over if you think the game will see 12 or more goals and you bet Under if you think there will be 11 or less. You can also find the same bet for each of the three periods and the number of goals scored by each team.  

Score Betting 

There are many more betting markets that relate to the score, all of which are very easy to understand. For example, you can bet on Both Teams to Score, the Highest Scoring Period, First Team to score, Last Team to Score, Both Teams to score At Least 2 Goals, and the Exact Score. These markets will always vary slightly from game to game, but it is worth taking the time to look through them carefully to see what opportunities you can find.  

Double Chance 

This type of market builds some insurance into your bet. Rather than backing a team to win, you are backing one of the three possible outcomes for the match: home win or draw, away win or draw, or home win or away win. Essentially, your bet covers two outcomes, giving you an extra chance to win.  

Draw No Bet 

This is similar to the Double Chance bet but it requires you to pick a winner. Essentially, if your chosen team wins then you win the bet and if the game ends in a draw then your bet is returned to you.  

Outrights 

Outright betting markets are on a league or a tournament as a whole rather than the individual matches taking place. The most basic of them is a bet on a team to win the league or competition. However, you may find many more markets on offer, such as on which team or player will score the most goals in a tournament. These markets are updated as the league/tournament progresses, and as a general rule, the earlier you place your bets, the more generous the odds will be.  

In-Play Betting 

In-play betting allows you to bet on a Floorball match as it is taking place. Many of the markets explained above will be on offer and the odds are updated as the match progresses to reflect what is happening. Furthermore, in-play betting offers a type of market known as ‘next to’. These are bets on the next thing to happen, such as the next to score, the next to foul, and so on. As such, by carefully watching a match and the odds, you may spot some excellent betting opportunities.  

What to Consider When Betting on Floorball  

As with any sport, the more research you do and the more knowledge you have, the better your chances are of placing successful bets.  

When researching floorball, the starting line-ups of each team are particularly important. As with any sport, there will be star players and you need to know if one of them is absent due to injury or for any other reason. You should also be staying on top of team news so that you are aware if they have signed any strong players, particularly during the off-season. The goalkeeper is also extremely important in floorball and teams rarely have a comparable replacement for their first choice. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are aware if the goalkeeper is absent.  

Unlike other sports, fatigue has less of a role to play in floorball. This is because the matches are nearly always a week apart and teams can make unlimited substitutions. However, you should still be aware of a team’s form and checking their recent results before betting. It is also worth monitoring team news to check if there have been any problems with the coach or management.  

You should watch as much floorball as possible to try to understand the teams’ styles. Some will be very attacking and fast while others will rely more upon defence. Most teams will also play better in the third period, but there are some exceptions to this.  

In short, the more you know about the teams and players before placing a bet, the better. By utilising your knowledge across the different betting markets, you will hopefully soon be placing numerous successful bets.