The Australian Football League (AFL) is arguably one of the world’s most exciting sports leagues to bet on. With 18 teams battling it out for a place in the finals series each season, the AFL always delivers high-class action and tons of betting opportunities.
If you’re new to betting on Aussie Rules – or you want to take your AFL betting to the next level – you have certainly come to the right place. In this guide, we cover all the popular AFL betting markets and explain the format for every season.
Most Popular AFL Betting Options
Let’s begin by going over the most popular options when it comes to betting on the AFL. There are plenty of different AFL betting markets to take advantage of, including match betting, futures, in-play betting and props.
Betting on AFL Matches
Wagering on individual AFL matches is undoubtedly the most popular form of AFL betting. Not only can you predict the winner of a game, but you can also access other match markets such as handicaps and winning margin.
AFL Futures
Futures allow bettors to make long-term predictions, enabling you to wager on the premiership winner, Brownlow Medal winner and other end-of-season titles/awards. For example, you could back Melbourne to win the premiership, or you might back Ollie Wines to win the Brownlow.
Live AFL Betting
There are plenty of exciting in-play AFL betting markets out there, many of which offer tasty live odds. You can wager on the next team to kick a goal, the next player to kick a goal, the next player to make a tackle and various other aspects of a match.
AFL Props Betting
Will Player A score over 20.5 points in the match? Will Player B kick over 50.5 goals in the season? Will Player C kick more goals than Player D in the season? These are examples of AFL prop bets that you may come across.
AFL Season Format for New Fans
Before you start betting on the AFL, you will need to know how the season works. After all, understanding the format of the AFL season will give you the best possible chance of winning money.
Typically, the AFL season begins in March and ends in September. Each team plays 22 home-and-away matches, with the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the postseason (finals series).
The remaining teams then compete in the qualifying and elimination finals, while the victorious sides move into the semifinals and preliminary finals. Subsequently, the winners of the two prelim finals meet in the grand final.
The grand final is held at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which boasts a capacity of just over 100,000. The winner of the grand final collects the premiership cup, while the player of the match receives the Norm Smith Medal.
Essendon (16) and Carlton (16) have won the most grand finals over the years, while Collingwood (15), Richmond (13), Hawthorn (13), Melbourne (13) and Geelong (10) are the only other clubs to have reached double figures in terms of titles.