Is it worth betting on own goals in soccer?

Perhaps the most interesting way that sportsbook deal with own goals can be seen in the Goalscorer betting odds and markets, such as:

• First Goalscorer
• Last Goalscorer
• Anytime Goalscorer bets.

Obviously when it comes to Anytime Goalscorer wagers there’s no impact that an own goal could have, given that you’re betting on a player scoring at any time rather than in a specific order during the match.

How does betting on goal scoreers work?

Let’s say that you’ve placed a bet on Manchester United’s Paul Pogba to be the First Goalscorer in a game, but instead Marcus Rashford has scored an own goal.

Fear not, for betting purposes that doesn’t count as being the first goal of the game, so as long as Paul Pogba scores the game’s second goal (or third or fourth if there are two or three own goals) then you’re fine.

However, if the opening goal of the game is an own goal scored by Pogba then it’s worth remembering that that won’t count towards your bet either. He’d still need to score the first non-own goal of the game in order for your bet to be a winner.

Last Goalscorer Betting

When it comes to Last Goalscorer bets then the same thing is true. Let’s stick with the idea that you’ve selected Paul Pogba as the player who will score the last goal of the game.

In our new scenario, Pogba scores after two minutes of the game you’re betting on, with no further goals in the game until Marcus Rashford scores an own goal with one minute left on the clock.

If the match finishes 1-1 with those two goals being the only ones scored then your bet will be a winner.

That’s because the own goal isn’t counted as far as Goalscorer bets are concerned, so the one scored by Pogba early on was, in effect, the only goal of the game.

That means that as well as being the First Goalscorer he’ll also be considered to be the Last Goalscorer and you’ll be in the money.

Online sportsbooks in the USA, such as bet365, Caesars sports or Unibet NJ, might be happy to ignore own goals when it comes to the Goalscorer bets, they’re not as quick to dismiss them when you’re placing a bet on whether or not both teams playing in a match will score a goal.

In that sense, the only thing that matters is the scoreline at the end of the 90 minutes. If you’ve bet on Both Teams To Score and the final, official scoreline of the match is anything from 1-1 to 100-100, your bet will be a winner. It doesn’t matter if the goals were own goals.

The reverse of that, of course, is also rue. So if you’ve bet on a team to not score a goal and there is an own goal, you lose the bet.