A Guide to Futures Betting - NZ

Steven D. Thompson

Updated:

Do you want to bet on the entire season with just one bet? If you do, you will love futures betting markets. With futures bets, you wager on outcomes that will produce results at a later date, often months in the future, hence the name. Predicting which team will win the Bundesliga or who will be voted NFL MVP are two types of futures bets. You can bet on hundreds more when you join the top online sportsbooks.

Table of Contents

    Futures Betting: What Is It?

    When you place futures bets, you predict the winner of a competition or event consisting of multiple stages, such as game weeks or rounds. For instance, if you bet on Liverpool to be the winner of the English Premier League (EPL), you predict the Anfield team will collect the most points during the season and win the EPL title.

    Similarly, if you are betting that the Brisbane Heat will win the Australian Twenty20 Big Bash League (BBL), you are backing the team to be the eventual winner of the BBL title. Lastly, if you place a futures bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers and say they will win the World Series, you are backing the LA baseball side to be the outright winner of the biggest event in world baseball.

    And you don't only bet on teams. You can also place individual player futures bets. For example, you can expect Brock Purdy to be chosen for the Super Bowl MVP award, or you can predict that Nikola Jokic will be crowned Most Valuable Player of the regular NBA season. Other examples include betting on Jaren Jackson Jr. to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and Harry Kane to be the Bundesliga's top goal scorer.

    Futures Betting Futures Betting

    Futures Betting Markets and Examples

    Futures betting markets are easy to understand even without going into details about specific outright markets and examples. That said, looking at the types of futures bets will help you better understand how futures betting works. These are the most common types of futures bets.

    Futures Bets on Teams

    Most online sportsbooks will give you team futures betting markets. That goes double for the top online bookmakers we feature at Betpack. As the name implies, when you place team futures, you are backing one team to win a particular competition or predicting where that team will finish in the final standings once the season is over. Most of the time, bookies will allow you to place team futures bets before the season starts, but you will often get the chance to bet on these markets when the season begins too.

    Competition Winners

    One of the most common futures bet types Kiwi bettors choose is betting on which team will win a particular league or tournament. As you might imagine, this is a pretty straightforward wager. In other words, you have a winning bet if the team you picked wins the competition.

    Let's look at several examples. For instance, if you are an NFL fan, you probably know that the Cowboys, Chiefs, Eagles, and 49ers are among the strongest candidates to win the Super Bowl. So, after carefully analysing all the data, you decide to go with the Kansas City Chiefs. If they win the Super Bowl, you have a winning futures bet.

    You can also bet on the Kansas City Chiefs in other NFL futures markets. In addition to backing them to win the Super Bowl, you can also tip the Chiefs to be the division winner, as well as to be at the top of their conference at the end of the regular season. If the Patrick Mahomes-led side is the top team in the division and conference it competes in after the final game of the regular season has been played, you have another, or shall we say two, winning bets.

    To Qualify

    You might think of futures bets as wagers that you can use to predict the winners of various competitions. However, you can also bet on teams to place in a particular position in the standings and not necessarily win the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or World Series.

    For instance, if you are an American football betting enthusiast who enjoys wagering on the NFL, you can place a bet predicting that the Green Bay Packers will reach the Super Bowl. Or, if you are a football betting enthusiast who likes to bet on the Spanish La Liga, you can place a bet predicting that Atletico Madrid will qualify for the UEFA Champions League. As you can see, you are not backing the Madrid-based side to win their national championship. Instead, you only want the team to finish in one of the top places on the table, which would qualify them for the Champions League.

    Something similar can happen if you are betting on the NBA Championship. If you are an NBA bettor, you can predict whether a team will qualify for the playoffs or make it to the NBA finals. In other words, the team you choose doesn't have to win the league championship. It should only qualify for the post-season or progress to the next stage of a competition.

    To Get Relegated

    It might sound counter-intuitive, but you can also wager on futures sports betting markets that deal with which teams will get relegated or eliminated. For instance, you can bet on a futures line saying Burnley will be relegated from the English Premier League. If the Clarets do indeed drop a division after the season ends, you have won your bet. Similarly, you can predict that Germany will be eliminated from the FIFA World Cup in the semi-finals or that Nigeria won't make it past the quarter-finals in that same competition.

    Player Futures Betting Markets

    Sports bettors in New Zealand also have the option to place future bets on individual players. As with teams, the goal here is to predict which player will win a tournament or receive a particular reward or recognition. For example, if you think Iga Swiatek is going to win the Australian Open, you can back the tennis star to win the first Grand Slam of the year. If Swiatek wins on Melbourne's hard courts in January, you will celebrate a successful wager.

    You can also predict whether a player will achieve a particular milestone or get recognised for their efforts. For instance, you can place a future bet that Erling Haaland will be the top goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League or bet on a college football player to win the Heisman Trophy. Similarly, you can back Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks to win the NBA MVP or predict that Kylian Mbappe will win the Ballon d'Or. If all of these players receive these recognitions, you will have winning bets.

    How to Place Futures Bets

    Kiwi bettors looking to place their first futures bet will be happy to hear that betting on futures is one of the easiest forms of online wagering. So, even if you have never wagered on pre-match or live events, you will take to futures betting like a duck to water. Here's what you need to do.

    • Estimated Time Needed: 10:00
    • Tools Needed: Account
    • Supplies Needed: Money, Time
    Browse Betpack's Top Bookmakers Step 1

    Browse Betpack's Top Bookmakers

    Before you do anything, look at the top-rated bookmakers at Betpack. These bookies are all licenced businesses with competitive odds and bonuses. So, browse the list and shortlist the sportsbooks you like.

    Choose a Top Bookie Step 2

    Choose a Top Bookie

    Next, pick the sports betting site that has the best futures betting markets. Look at other elements too, such as futures betting odds, available payment methods, and whether the sportsbook has lucrative bonuses.

    Join and Activate the Welcome Bonus Step 3

    Join and Activate the Welcome Bonus

    After you choose an online bookmaker, join it. It is very easy to open a sports betting account and make your first deposit. While you are doing that, check if the bookie has a welcome bonus. If it does, claim it.

    Place Your First Futures Bet Step 4

    Place Your First Futures Bet

    The time has come for you to place your first futures bet. The fastest way to do that is to click on a league or tournament and then select the "Futures" or "Outright" section. Then find the futures bet you want to place and add it to your bet slip.

    Strategies and Tips for Futures Betting

    You can improve the winning prospects of your futures bets by doing a lot of research and utilising a betting strategy or two. Read on and learn about some useful tips and strategies when betting on futures or head to Betpack's betting strategies for more in-depth analyses of popular sports wagering systems.

    Compare the Same Futures Markets at Different Bookies

    Use No Wagering Free Bets to Place Futures Bets

    Single Futures are Better than Parlay Futures Bets

    It is always a smart move to stay on top of the current futures odds for the bet you want to make. That way, you will get the best value and winnings if your wager is successful. Another wise move is to find the futures market you are interested in at other bookmakers. Often, rival bookies will offer better futures odds for some markets, so a little research can go a long way.

    You probably know that when you join a top-quality sports betting site, you can benefit from a lot of enticing sports betting offers, such as first deposit bonuses and free bets. However, the first instinct of most Kiwi bettors is to use a free bet or their deposit funds on pre-match or live betting events. Not many punters use a free bet promo or a welcome bonus when betting futures.

    We know that it often takes a long time for futures to produce an outcome. The problem with this is that most betting offers are only valid for a week or a month at most. During that time, you must activate the bonus and meet the wagering requirements. So, it is easy to see why you cannot use some free bets on sports betting futures markets.

    That's not the case with free bets and bonuses that come without wagering conditions, though. In most cases, you can activate these within the predetermined time window, and because there is no wagering, you won't be in a race with time to clear playthrough requirements.

    Many seasoned sports bettors avoid placing futures parlays, even though sportsbook operators allow combining several outright events into a single wager. The reason is simple: if you include more than one future betting outcome in your bet slip, you risk losing your entire bet if one selection doesn't come to fruition. And that can be devastating to a bettor who has been waiting for the better part of a year for several leagues and tournaments to finish to find out whether he has a winning parlay or not.

    Conclusion

    Futures betting options allow you to wager on future winners of tournaments, leagues, awards, and recognitions. In other words, when you place futures bets, you stay engaged for the entire season with only a single bet. So, they are ideal for punters who only place bets from time to time, but they are also good options for betting veterans. Another great thing about futures is that most sportsbook operators have them.

    However, that doesn't automatically make all bookmakers good choices for your futures wagers. At Betpack, we analyse and examine the best online bookmakers in New Zealand and tell you which bookies have the most competitive futures odds and markets. We also inform you which sportsbooks offer enticing bonuses, have bettor-friendly payment methods, and provide the most reliable support. So, if you are looking to place futures bets, these are the best NZ bookmaker options for you.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What are Futures in Sports Betting?

    Futures bets allow you to bet on the eventual winners of multi-stage competitions. With futures bets, you can also predict which players will win particular trophies and awards, as well as whether teams will qualify for or be eliminated from popular leagues and tournaments.

    What are the Best Strategies for Betting on Futures in New Zealand?

    There are many strategies you can use to improve the success of your future bets in New Zealand, such as backing strong favourites with larger bet stakes or betting on multiple teams while ensuring you still have some profit.

    Which are Some Popular Futures Bets in New Zealand?

    Bettors in New Zealand are avid fans of futures bets and wager on the winners of popular competitions such as the NRL, Super Rugby, the National Basketball League, the NFL, the NBA Championship, etc.

    Can you Cash Out a Futures Bet?

    You can, sometimes. It all depends on whether the online sportsbook offers early cash out opportunities. If it does, you will have the chance to opt out of your original bet winnings and settle for a lower cashout amount.

    Our odds and reviews have been featured in:
    Sigma Logo Business.com Logo ESPN Logo Bloomberg Logo The Wall Street Journal Logo
    Playbet.io
    9.5
    Rating
    25% Free Bet up to 100 USDT
    Welcome Bonus
    Play Now