How To Bet On Bowls - Oddspedia’s Complete Bowls Betting Guide

Outright Bets

Outright bets are wagers placed on who you believe will be the winner. You’ll only win a profit if your chosen winner takes the match or tournament. Odds are usually more favourable before the tournament commences, so it can be in your favour to place an outright winner early.

Outright Tournament Winner

An outright tournament winner is a wager placed on who you think will top the ranks to win the number one spot at a tournament. In singles, this can be a named winner. You could also bet on teams or countries during competitive events like the Commonwealth Games. For example, you could pick Australia to win the Best Nation award or choose a single category, like Women’s Pairs, and who you believe will win that tournament overall. Alternatively, bet on Gold, Silver or Bronze positions.

Outright Match Winner

With this wager, you’ll predict the player or team that will win a particular bowls match. For example, at the World Indoor Bowls Championship, you could bet on Les Gillett beating Jason Greenslade when they come head-to-head as the matchwinner. There cannot be a tie in the singles format – so outright win-or-lose bets are the only options.

Each Way Betting

An each-way bet is a wager offered by some bookmakers that allow you to place two separate bets: a winning bet and a place bet. For the win portion of your wager, your selection must finish first in the event to return a profit. However, the second bet is often less precise and offers a return on a chosen placing, like a top 5 finish. While this place bet usually has worse odds, it will offer a return even if your chosen winner places second, for instance.

ACCAs

An accumulator is a bowls bet type that contains a number of predictions in one wager. Accumulators are sometimes known as combos, parlays and Accas. You have the ability to combine multiple bowls bets into one larger payout if successful. For instance, you could bet on the outcome of several matches. If both predictions are correct, you return larger (accumulating) stakes. The most common types are:

• Double
• Treble
• Four-fold
• Five-fold
• Six-fold

Accumulators are more popular doing major tournaments where you can bet on the outcome of bowls matches played on a single day or over several days.

Winning Margin

Winning margin bets are an alternative to outright betting but they still operate as single bets. Here, you bet on the score difference in a match. Team matches tend to be the highest scoring and so are preferable for winning margin wagers. Single bowls scores can be exceptionally tight in top-tier tournaments.

End Winners

This is a special bet that’s only available with live, in-play betting. It’s a straightforward wager as you only pick a player or team to win the next “end” (the round) – hence the “end winner” name.

Match-Ups

Match-up betting is similar to picking an outright winner. However, instead of choosing a winning team or player for a tournament, you choose which team or player will perform best in comparison to another. This does not always mean that your chosen team/player will win outright, they will just place better than the opposing match-up. The odds can be more favourable with match-ups as it allows you to choose from outsiders, rather than known winners. What’s more, it offers you greater variety than outright betting.

World Outdoor Bowls Championships

The World Outdoor Bowls Championships, often shortened to just the World Bowls Championship, is the premier international bowls competition. It sees different sporting nations compete for medals in various bowls categories. It was first held in Australia, one of the world's best bowls nations, and takes place every four years. The highest ranked nations thus far are (in order):

1. Australia
2. New Zealand
3. Scotland

World Singles Champion of Champions

The World Singles Champion of Champions is a global bowls event that was first launched in 2003. It is an international contest held annually between bowlers who have won their respective national titles. Men's and Women's Single Champion of Champion titles are both contested. While no male has ever won more than once, Jo Edwards of New Zealand has won the women’s title twice. As such, there isn’t a leaderboard for singles winners aside from Edwards. However, Australian players have taken home the most awards both for men's and women’s singles.

World Indoor Bowls Championship

The World Indoor Bowls Championships is an international indoor competition held every year. It includes a number of different categories, including men's and women’s singles champions, pairs and under 25s. The venue has changed over time but the tournaments are currently hosted at Potters Resort, Hopton-on-Sea. While betting is open throughout the competition, the last week hosts all four competition finals and sees the most engagement. The top performing nations are:

1. Scotland
2. England
3. Wales

Lawn Bowls National Championships

The Lawn Bowls National Championships is England’s premier lawn bowls event. Hosted annually at the Royal Leamington Spa Bowling Club, it involves national tournaments for men's and women's singles championships, as well as mixed pairs, fours and more. There are also junior and senior rounds for club players. The competition takes place annually every September and has done so since 1905. Inter-county events and knockout competitions also take place during this championship.

Grand Prix Bowls

Grand Prix Bowls is an indoor tournament held in England multiple times throughout the year, with 8 tournaments in total. With a summer and winter season, many future national title holders take place in this event. The main fixture is the Champion of Champions competition which sees winners duke it out in a thrilling competition. The tournament streams live at sportsbooks.

Look Out For The Best Available Odds

Bookies often offer different bowls odds, sometimes drastically so. Ensure you get the best odds available for your wager by using comparison tools at Oddspedia. Opt for the most competitive pre-match or live odds, depending on your bet. Bigger odds mean bigger return profits if you win. It is also worth choosing an odds format that works for you. This can be decimal or fractional.

Take Advantage of Sure Bets

Sure or arbitrage betting is the holy grail of bowls betting. It essentially allows you to make a guaranteed profit by betting on all possible outcomes. This is done by finding the best odds for each method so that you always return more than you've put in. There are different kinds of sure betting techniques, including taking advantage of bookmaker bonuses like free sports bets to simply shopping around with your wagers.

Follow Bowls Tipsters and Their Expert Predictions

You definitely should not bet on a sport unless you understand it. Still, there are always keen experts out there with statistical predictions. Oddspedia tipsters can help you understand the most sensible betting options based on history and performance. You'll find crucial match information and market details. You should always look at these predictions and research findings before placing a bet, even if you decide not to take it.

Take The Small Wins and Profits

Sensible bowls punters take small profits from bets to place on new bowls wagers. The opposite of this is placing big wagers on high-stakes games and hoping for a big payout. Punters can win big with this latter method, but the risk is also huge. By taking the small wins and profits, you can maintain your bankroll and mitigate your losses. This betting strategy is crucial across all platforms, not just sportsbooks.

Study Head to Head (H2H) History

A head-to-head record is a crucial piece of information to keep in mind when betting on bowls. It indicates any historical confrontations between players and teams. For whatever reason, some players/teams seem to struggle when coming head-to-head with another particular player/team. However, you should not just blindly follow a winning H2H team/player. Place them in the context of the current and previous tournaments and performances.

Use Reputable and Trusted Online Betting Sites

Ensure your money is in safe hands by gambling at a verified and trusted bookmaker. There are plenty of regulated bookmakers out there, including all options available at Oddspedia. By wagering only at trusted sites, you avoid the risk of losing data or money.

Not Familiar With the Bowls Format & Indoor and Outdoor Games

You cannot expect to make money from bowls betting if you don't understand the rules. While bowls is a fairly simple game, different variations create different outcomes. Indoor and outdoor bowls, lawn bowls and indoor bowls all have different features. You can't expect an indoor champion, for instance, to go toe-to-toe with an outdoor champion when playing outdoors.

Singles and team games also follow different rules, from reaching specified shot numbers in singles to adding up all scores after a number of ends with pairs. Most professional competitions make use of sets - but you'll still find variations of tiebreakers, etc. Know the rules and format to make informed betting decisions.

Ignoring Form and Injuries

Health and injuries can drastically affect bowls performance. Look out for players with joint or tendonitis issues as they will not be able to bowl as fluidly. You can also look at the age range of competitors. Knowing this information before you place a wager is useful as even the best players can be taken out by small injuries.

Mismanaging Your Bankroll

Maintain a healthy betting habit with sensible wagers that don't overreach to manage your bankroll successfully. Many amateurs make the mistake of going big on wagers they think will win and end up losing everything. When you are new to bowls betting, in particular, you will learn that small but educated bets are better. While you will not win lottery sums, you'll wager within your means. When you set yourself limits, never exceed them to avoid setting a bad precedent.

Betting on Your Favourite Team

Our own biases can interfere with sensible wagers. Never make the mistake of betting big on your favourite or home team just because you want them to win. Look at the stats to avoid emotional betting. If you want England to win the championships but the Australians have the edge, do not hesitate to bet against your team.