AFL Betting Sites

Aussie Rules Football is hugely popular in Australia and if you’re looking for the best AFL Betting Sites, you’ve come to the right place. This will be your ultimate betting guide for the AFL as it will discuss all the important features of AFL betting that you need to know about. Which will include betting strategies & tips, features to look out, what promotions are offered, who has the AFL best odds and much more.

Let’s get started! ➡️ 

The AFL stands for Australia Football League and is a Aussie Rules Football competition that is played in Australia. The season starts each year in March and ends with the finals series in September. During the regular season, each team will play 22 games and every team will play against each other at least once.  

AFL Teams

The league consists of 18 teams at the moment that are located around the country. Most teams are based in the state of Victoria since this is where Aussie Rules Football was born in the late 1800s. Some teams have been established for over 100 years, such as Collingwood and Carlton. There are newer teams that have entered the competition over the last 20 years as well, with the last being the Gold Coast Suns.

There is an AFL ladder that determines which teams will play in the finals. After a game has been completed, the winning side will be awarded 4 competition points. There are draws in the AFL that happen if both sides finish on the same points at the end of the four quarters and this will give each team two competition points. At the end of the regular season, the top 8 teams in terms of competition points will compete in the finals for the chance to win the AFL Grand Final.

Here is how the finals structure works:

Qualifying / Elimination finals 

• QF1: 1st vs 4th
• QF2: 2nd vs 3rd
• EF1: 5th vs 8th (Elimination)
• EF2: 6th vs 7th (Elimination)

Semi Finals

• SF1: Loser of QF1 plays the winner of EF1
• SF2: Loser of QF2 plays the winner of EF2
• Preliminary Finals
• PF1: Winner of Q1 plays the winner of SF2
• PF2: Winner of Q2 plays the winner of SF1

Grand Final

• Winner of PF1 plays the winner of PF2 

Generally, it’s very common for certain teams to dominate certain periods of the AFL if they have used the draft, free agency and salary cap to their advantage. So it’s a sound AFL betting strategy to bet on these types of teams during the regular season, in futures markets and in the crucial finals. At the moment, the most consistent teams that are reaching the finals include the Geelong Cats, Richmond Tigers and Brisbane Lions

There is a draft system in the AFL and this takes place after the full season, usually in November. The team that finished last in the previous season will pick first and like the NFL or NBA, the #1 pick is a huge deal. Players will be mainly be drafted from the Under 18 competition and the higher draft picks will be expected to play a larger role in their drafted team for the next season. Usually, the highest draft picks are great selections for the Rising star medal at the end of the season.

Along with the draft, the AFL has adopted the free agency model of major American Sports in the last couple of years. Generally, most Australian players are loyal to their current clubs and this mean’s there isn’t a huge amount of player movement during this period compared to the NBA or NFL. Most of the time, a player will seek a trade to a new team if they’re looking to move home as a lot of players are drafted to interstate teams but may want to move closer to their family members again. It’s also common for fringe players to seek a new team for better playing time opportunities.

In recent times, the AFL has established a Women’s competition and it’s possible to bet on AFLW games at the majority of betting sites in Australia. The AFLW league is continually expanding with new teams and the league usually takes place in January/February every year.

Aussie Rules is a unique sport and there are definitely some betting strategies that can only be applied to the AFL. However, there are common strategies that you can employ from other sports as well.

Let’s run through some of our best strategies that you can use to bet on the AFL ➡️ 

• Early season upsets: In the early rounds of the AFL, this is generally the best time to pick upsets. Why is this the case? It’s mainly because the odds will favour what happened last season but teams may have recruited better players in the offseason or have changed to a more improved game style. So before the odds can catch up to this improvement, punters can take advantage by backing underdogs.
• Injuries: In a brutal sport like Aussie Rules, injuries do have a critical impact on betting. If a team is missing their best player with injury, it makes sense to bet against them. It’s also hard to replace key positions such as full forward or full back and teams with these types of injuries will likely struggle to overcome this adversity.
• Team Form: It’s important to monitor the form of certain teams because when they’re playing well, it’s an ideal betting strategy to stick with the hot team. On the flipside, it’s good to avoid betting on teams that are struggling and back the other team that they are playing.
• Home ground advantage: In the AFL, the majority of teams play in the state of Victoria at only a few venues. So they don’t get much of a home ground advantage if they’re playing another Victorian team. However, there are Interstate teams in WA, SA, NSW and QLD that enjoy a much better home ground advantage as travelling to these locations and winning is usually a difficult task.
• Weather: As an outside sport played in Winter, the weather does play a crucial role in AFL sports betting. For example, games with rain predicted will generally be low scoring and this means you should bet on the Under total points. On the flipside, games played in warmer climates such as Queensland are generally higher scoring.
• Indoor stadium: There is only one indoor stadium in Australia, located in Victoria which is currently named “Marvel Stadium”. This is relevant because when the roof is closed, the probability of a high scoring game is increased as there are no weather elements to deal with such as wind or rain.
• Head to head history: Some teams can match up well against another team as long winning streaks are fairly common. For example, the Port Adelaide Power have currently won 12 straight games against the Gold Coast Suns. So this strategy can go two ways. You can either keep betting on Power to keep the trend going or back the Suns at high odds to finally end the streak.

Markets, Bet Types, Odds

• Win / Head to Head: The most simple form of AFL betting is backing one team to win over another team. This can be a good bet type for multi betting and single betting on underdogs.
• Line / Handicap: The line or handicap is the projection of how many points a team will win by. You can use the line to back a team to lose by under a certain amount of points.
• Over / Under Total: Each AFL game has a total projection of how many points each team will score. As a result, punters can bet on if the points will fall under or go over the projected total. It’s possible to bet on the over/under for the full game or per half/quarter.
• Same Game Multi: Betting sites offer the ability to create a AFL multi bet for a single game. It works in the same way as multi betting with a variety of the most common bet types available.
• Multi Betting: There is the ability to place multi bets on a range of outcomes for the AFL.
• First Goal Scorer: For every game of AFL, there is the ability to bet on the first goal scorer from a single team or both teams.
• Game/Player Props: Most betting sites will offer the ability to bet on player statistics and fantasy points, such as disposals or goals kicked.
• Futures: It’s possible to bet on future betting markets such as the AFL betting premiership winner or Brownlow medal.

AFL Betting Rules

Here are a couple of major AFL sports betting rules to be aware of. Keep in mind, these should be used as a guide because some bookmakers will have slightly different rules. This can be found in the terms and conditions on their website.

• If a game ends in a draw, a head to head bet will be paid via a dead heat reduction. For example, if you bet $5 on the Swans at $2.20 to win, you would receive $5.50 (half of $11).
• If there is a drawn game in your multi bet, the leg will be marked as void and won’t count towards the final payout.
• For Brownlow medal betting, a player can be suspended during the season, making them ineligible for the award. However, all bets will still stand for the selected player.
• If you bet on “time first goal kicked”, the official time will be sourced from the AFL website.

 How to bet on the Future Grand Final winner  ❓ 

• It’s a good idea to focus on teams that don’t have a lot of injury issues as they can play more consistent football with a similar squad, especially during the finals.
• Most teams stay fairly consistent for a couple of years so look at the previous seasons for any trends.
• Look for teams that have consistent finals winning records as a lot of teams can struggle under the pressure of the finals. For example, Essendon hasn’t won a finals game since 2004.

How to bet on the Coleman Medal  ❓ 

• It’s rare for a Coleman medal winner to be any other position than a full forward. Most teams will have a key forward that kicks most of their goals and this is where you should be betting.
• Focus on teams that don’t have a lot of goal scoring options. This means a player’s chance of kicking the most goals is higher than a player with a lot of competition around goals. 

How to bet on the Brownlow Medal  ❓ 

• Similarly to the Coleman medal, it’s a good idea to focus on players that don’t have a lot of competition for votes from their teammates. For example, a player in a stacked midfield is not a great choice as there is only 6 votes to go around.
• Try and place bets on proven vote-getters that have performed well in previous Brownlow medals. As the medal is decided by umpires, there is some human bias that comes into the votes.
• It’s very rare for a non-midfielder to win the Brownlow medal so try to back players that play in the midfield.

How to bet on the Rising Star Medal  ❓ 

• Generally, the higher draft picks will get the most opportunities for game time and make the best choice for the Rising Star.
• Teams that are higher on the ladder won’t always play the rising stars as they tend to favour more experienced players.
• It is possible for a Rising star winner to play multiple seasons due to the rules surrounding eligibility. This happened recently in 2021 when winner Luke Jackson played 6 games in 2020 and 24 games in 2021.

It’s a good idea to sign up with multiple betting sites to get the AFL best odds available and take advantage of different features. But there are sites that are better than others and our goal is to provide you with the right advice before creating an account.

In the below section, let’s discuss the top AFL betting sites.

• Bet365 - One of the best sports betting providers in the world is also a good choice for the AFL. They have excellent betting odds,AFL live betting, cash out, mobile app and much more. While it’s not possible to live stream AFL, Bet365 has arguably the best range of live streaming options in Australia.
• Unibet - As an International betting site, Unibet has a large range of betting features and that makes them a suitable option for the AFL as well. One of their best features for the AFL is their statistics section where you can view a full overview of each game. They will also have great promotions during the season.
• Palmerbet - The team at Palmerbet places a large focus on member betting promotions and you can expect this for the AFL as well. Not to mention, some of the highest AFL odds in the industry for every game of the regular season and finals.
• Topsport - One of the best AFL features at Topsport is same game multi and that’s available for every game of the season/finals. There’s also a decent range of futures markets such as Rising star winner. During the AFL season, they’ll also provide their members with regularly updated promotions.

Best AFL Betting Apps

• Bet365 - Similarly to the desktop website experience at Bet365, they also have designed an excellent betting app. It’s easy to find the latest and updated AFL betting markets. You can also take advantage of all their great features right from your mobile device.
• Palmerbet - Palmerbet have designed an easy to use mobile app that is quick and responsive. This is great because when there are multiple AFL games per day, you’ll need an app that can keep up with the fast-paced nature of the sport and PalmerBet app gived you exacly that.
• Topsport - We highly recommended the Topsport app as sometimes, it’s actually preferred over their desktop website. For AFL, you can enjoy all of their great features such as same game multi.

• Playup: A simple and easy to use betting app.
• Boombet: Excellent provider of updated AFL future markets.
• Winnersbet: Recommended for beginners.
• Bet365: Great odds, promotions and mobile app.
• Unibet: They have an impressive AFL stats section.
• Draftstars: The only provider of AFL Daily Fantasy Contests.
• Picklebet: Regularly updated betting markets for the AFL and decent odds.
• Palmerbet: Some of the best betting promotions for the AFL and generally offering the highest AFL odds in the industry.
• Topsport: Same game multi available for every game of the season and finals.

At My Betting Australia, we aim to spend time reviewing and comparing the best bookmakers so you don’t need to. We look at the overall features of certain betting sites and provide honest information for our readers.

As a result, we can be considered experts and can help you save time in search of the best betting sites for your needs.

In the below list, let’s go through the most important features you need to be aware of in your search for the best AFL betting sites.

• Betting Markets - There should be a wide range of AFL best betting markets from the basics to the more advanced, such as player props. With most games being played on Saturday/Sunday, the markets should be added at least 3 days before the action as well.
• Bet Types - Along the similar lines as betting markets, you’ll need a good variety of bet types to take advantage of different odds and such.
• Betting Odds - Punters are looking for the best odds and we make sure our recommended sites are offering the highest odds possible.
• Promotions / Offers - Enticing betting promotions always add to the betting experience and we look out for the sites that have regular offers during the season
• Mobile App - Betting on the go is a key consideration for finding an Aussie bookie and luckily, most sites have focused on their betting apps in recent times.

During the AFL season, betting sites will be battling for your attention and this can be used to your advantage. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities to make more money from your bets with enticing betting offers and promotions.

The majority of AFL betting sites in Australia will offer promotions for their members and it’s definitely recommended to sign up with these types of websites. Otherwise, you may be wasting your time or not winning the potential money you deserve.

AFL betting sites will aim to target the most popular betting events with their promotions. This includes AFL Grand Final, the Brownlow medal and the highly-anticipated finals series.

In the below list, let’s talk about some of the common promotions or offers that have been regularly added to betting sites in the last few years.

• Same game multi - At the moment, bookies love creating promotions for same game multi’s, mainly because it is a fairly new feature in the industry. With a maximum of 9 games per round, punters can take full advantage of this promotion type.
• Multi betting - It’s common for Aussie bookmakers to provide their members with multi leg betting promotions. This can include money back bonuses if one leg fails.
• 24 Up Promotion - For the last few seasons, AFL betting sites have offered a 24 up promotion where they would payout single bets if your team led by over 4 goals at any stage. The interesting part about this promotion is that due to AFL’s high scoring nature, there were occasions where both teams reached a 24+ point margin. As a result, bookmakers had to payout twice!

There are features that are not so important and others that can define a betting site. In this section, we’ll aim to provide an overview of the top AFL betting sites features that you need to be aware of before creating an account.

✔️ AFL Betting Promotions

As the AFL is one of the most popular leagues in Australia, betting sites will run enticing promotions during the season to cater for this popularity. So it’s recommended to find a betting site with promotions that you can take advantage of.

✔️ AFL Odds

Similar to any sports betting, you’ll want the highest possible odds so that you can make more money from your bets.

✔️ AFL Same Game Multi

With a maximum of 9 AFL games each weekend, the same game multi feature is a great way to enjoy the action. The majority of Australian betting sites now have this feature and it’s also very common to be used in their betting promotions. 

✔️ AFL Player Props

There’s a lot of focus on player stats in the AFL, especially with the popularity of fantasy football. So we definitely recommend looking for a betting site that offers a huge variety of player props for every AFL game of the season. It’s also ideal to find AFL betting sites that update their player props regularly, especially if there is late injury news.

✔️ Live AFL Betting

While live online betting is not allowed in Australia, it’s still possible to place live bets over a phone call with the betting sites that offer live betting.

✔️ Cash Out

A lot of betting sites will offer a cash out feature that can be used to take the money before a multi or futures bet ends.

✔️ Multi Builder

A multi builder is a great feature for creating quick and easy multi bets.

✔️ Blog

The majority of betting sites in Australia will have a blog that aims to provide free AFL betting previews and tips for upcoming games. This is useful for beginners or people that are looking to bet via expert advice.

✔️ Legal / Security

It’s important to only sign up with legal betting sites and focus on bookmakers that offer a range of security features. This will help keep you safe online and your money will be secure.