Rugby League Betting Sites 2023

Head-to-Head Betting

Neither money-line betting nor straight-up betting is part of the Australian lexicon, with Australian bookmakers and punters using head-to-head betting to describe markets in which there are odds about the two sides winning the match.

Also, Australians use decimal odds and have the tendency to, incorrectly, insert an Australian dollar sign in front of them. So, for example, head-to-head betting on an NRL game between two of the competition’s joint ventures may be:

• $1.65 Wests Tigers
• $2.30 St George Illawarra

Line and Points Betting

Undoubtedly the most popular rugby league match betting type, line betting is when bookmakers handicap games by awarding a head start to the head-to-head underdog.

For example, they may hand the Tigers a three-and-a-half-point advantage over the Dragons, a head start that results in punters being able to take $1.92 about either team:

• $1.92 Wests Tigers (-3.5 points)
• $1.92 St George Illawarra (+3.5 points)

Points betting is line betting with enhanced odds. However, unlike head-to-head and line betting, bookmakers are not guaranteed to pay out on a winner because the handicaps do not align.

For example, if the Tigers won the example match by four points, punters who backed the Tigers in either head-to-head betting or line betting (-3.5 points) would receive payouts but neither Tigers nor Dragons supporters would land their line betting wagers:

• $2.10 Wests Tigers (-5.5 points)
• $2.10 St George Illawarra (+1.5 points)

Margin Betting

Irrespective of the head-to-head betting, line betting and points betting, rugby league bookmakers offer margin betting on all NRL and State of Origin matches, with the margins generally being 1-12 points and 13+ points per side:

• $3.10 Wests Tigers 1-12 points
• $3.25 Wests Tigers 13+ points
• $3.50 St George Illawarra 1-12 points
• $5.40 St George Illawarra 13+ points
• $23.00 draw

Match Betting Exotics

Rugby league fans love betting on outcomes other than the raw result of games, with popular exotics including first scoring play, first try scorer and 40/20 kicks.

There are four scoring plays in rugby league matches – a try worth four points, a conversion worth two points, a penalty goal worth two points and a field goal worth one point. As conversions cannot be scored before a try, there are only three first scoring play possibilities for each team. And both penalty goals and field goals are rare ways to break the deadlock.

A typical first scoring play market may be:

• $2.00 Wests Tigers try
• $11.00 Wests Tigers penalty goal
• $2.20 St George Illawarra try
• $11.00 St George Illawarra penalty goal
• $151.00 field goal by either side

First try scorer is a bit of a lottery because rugby league is a sport in which everyone on the field has a reasonable chance of scoring, unlike, say, Australian Rules football, football or rugby union. But that does not stop punters falling over themselves to bet at around $10 the field.

A 40/20 kick is a facet of rugby league that rewards teams for accurate, long kicking in general play. There are risks associated with attempting 40/20 kicks but the rewards are terrific in terms of field position and ball retention. Punters can bet on whether there will be at least one successful 40/20 kick in NRL and State of Origin games.

Futures Betting

Premiership Betting

Sixteen teams dream of NRL Premiership glory at the start of the season. Each side plays 24 matches – the draw is unfair but not as bad as the AFL one – and the top eight qualify for the NRL Finals.

The NRL Finals system is complicated, although what is easy to understand is that the top four teams have the best chances of reaching the NRL Grand Final, which takes place at ANZ Stadium, which was called Stadium Australia during the acclaimed Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Medals Betting

The Dally M Award is given to the fairest and best player in the NRL competition. Even though it does not enjoy anything like as high a profile as the AFL’s Brownlow Medal, it does generate a fair degree of betting activity, particular in the days immediately prior to the televised announcement.