Betting seems to be one of the most ancient social activities. One can only imagine a tribe of Homo Rhodesiensis, circa 130,000 years ago, placing a bet on who is going to give the final blow that kills the mammoth. After the bet was placed and prize decided, no doubt the men were much more hyped for the chase.

In the modern age, or more accurately since the rise of the internet, betting has taken a more secluded nature; every man to his keyboard. And his Excel tables.

Also, betting got much more one-dimensional. It is all about winning money.

Taking Football Betting Seriously

Those who bet on football are certain they got it. They feel secure and confident that their set of knowledge + skills will lend them the coveted Big Win. They know the teams and their histories, are well versed with the players, their health, temper, strengths and weaknesses.

They keep meticulous records of home and away and swear, every game, that this is the one; they have inside information that nobody else have…

That’s before we even get into betting strategies. Oh boy. You got your back & lay, your double-chance and your handicap – all intended to better control your bet and increase your chances of winning.

Why Everyone Doesn’t Win in Football Betting?

Football betting, some would argue, is skill-based, not a matter of luck or chance. But is it? There are so many variables that are out of your control, tons of information that isn’t available to you.

The most obvious example – an injury that is kept quiet from the press. Another one – the goalkeeper is having a miserable day for no apparent reason. It happens to all of us. And then your whole knowledge-based betting strategy falls and crumbles.

If football betting was truly skill-based, wouldn’t many more people win?

Online Gambling – Is It Really Just About Luck?

Online gambling is on the other side of the spectrum. Meaning, that public perception is that gambling is based purely on luck. Or chance. That winning real money is completely out of your hands. It doesn’t mean your won’t win, but you have no control over it.

To examine this let’s take online slot machines, allegedly, the most pure chance game out there. In blackjack you can count cards, in poker you can use your face, but slots? Just spin and cross your fingers.

First of all – that’s true. In slot games all you can go for the free spins at Prime casino slots option; you hit the Spin button and watch the screen until the reels stop. But that’s not the whole story. For example, you decide on how many pay lines you bet, and how much you bet on each line. So basically you can bet 10 pence on one single line, or 50 pence on 20 different lines – in a single spin. That’s already significantly changes the odds, isn’t it?

Slot Machines – What Are The Chances?

Even if we assume that online slots are purely based on chance, who said chance is so bad? Online casinos have an average rate of 91% Return to Player on the slot machines. Meaning, the casino pays 91% of the money back to the player. It doesn’t mean that you personally are guaranteed to win back 91% of your money no matter what, but it does mean that 91% of the total money placed on bets is paid back to players.

There’s more. If you came across the phrase ‘new slot sites with no deposit bonus’ and never knew what it means, it’s your lucky day. It means that an online casino will give you real money to bet on as a welcome gift without you even needed to enter your credit card information.

That’s pretty incredible if you think about it. You get real money to bet with, and stand the chance to win more money.

Mobile slot sites that also want to incentive you to gamble, will award you all kind of bonus rounds and other perks.

So where’s all that leaves you? Indeed, online slot machines are a chance-based game, but if you take into consideration the flexibility of betting, the high return rate to players and the entire set of incentives and giveaways, chance starts to look a little bit better.

It’s Anyone’s Game to Win

There is no exact science here. No way to say whether football betting or playing online slots will give you the upper hand in ‘securing’ your Big Win. But what is apparent is things aren’t as black-and-white when it comes to skill-based betting vs. chance-based gambling.