Betting on the AFL Europe: Aussie Rules Online
Keen to get in on the action? This guide helps Kiwi punters navigate the world of Aussie Rules betting, from the game's origins to placing winning wagers at online sportsbooks. While the Australian Football League (AFL) primarily governs the sport, its European counterpart, AFL Europe, promotes and organises competitions across the continent.
AFL Europe oversees several tournaments, with the Euro Cup and European Championships as key events held in rotating member countries. Although these European Aussie Rules games are amateur and don't offer prize pools, you can still find great betting opportunities on these and other Aussie Rules events at top online sportsbooks. Find the best odds and bonuses tailored for New Zealand players right here!
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Everything you need to know about AFL: Aussie Rules in NZ
The first of the major Aussie rules tournaments is the European Championships, held every three years to crown the best national team. With teams of 18 players from 23 countries, it's a premier Aussie rules event and a fiercely contested three-day competition. Kiwi fans can also get involved by backing their favourite teams.
The second biggest Aussie rules event is the Euro Cup, an annual 9-a-side competition that welcomes non-European teams as well. Both major Aussie rules championships feature women's matches, offering even more opportunities for New Zealand punters to place bets on online betting sites.
All You Need to Know About Aussie Rules Football
Despite having "football" in its name, this sport blends elements of rugby, American football, basketball, and soccer into a thrilling, unique game. It's a contact sport played between two teams of 9 players on an oval pitch, using an oval ball.
The objective is to score as many goals as possible through the two tall posts at either end of the pitch. A match lasts 80 minutes, divided into four 20-minute quarters. It's a fast-paced game with various passing techniques.
Why is AFL Popular for Betting in NZ?
AFL is the most popular game in Australia and attracts massive audiences. Its popularity is steadily growing in Europe and beyond, even drawing nearly half the spectators in the US that American football does; a remarkable feat for an emerging, largely amateur sport.
In Europe, spectator numbers have surged by 50% and continue to climb. Numerous TV stations and online streaming services ensure fans can follow the action closely, placing bets on online betting sites and choosing from a wide array of markets.
The Euro Cup and European Championships, alongside all other leagues and tournaments, present abundant betting opportunities for this unique sport. Punters can opt to bet on individual matches, teams, or players. A popular betting market is the Moneyline (known as Head to Head in Australia), where bettors simply wager on which team they predict will win.
The next popular option is line betting, where punters predict how a handicapped team and opposing team will perform in relation to each other. Other markets include margin betting, derivative betting, proposition betting, and futures betting.
How to Bet on AFL
First, players need to find their best online bookmaker that offers AFL betting markets. Selecting a trusted site with a reputable license is essential to ensure the safety and security of personal and financial details.
Other factors to consider could include welcome bonuses, good odds, and a payment method that suits the player. The player simply needs to register on the site, open an account and then fund the account. To start playing, punters need to go to AFL on the site, choose a match, select a bet and then confirm the bet.
Players can do a lot to help their chances of winning by developing knowledge. This includes researching statistics on teams and players and keeping up with the latest news on them. Knowing player injuries and level of fitness is essential information when placing, for example, proposition bets.
Also, knowing how teams perform during the various stages of the game, coupled with the type of weather and home and away performances, could all be crucial to more successful wagering on derivatives.
The Best AFL Betting Sites in 2026
Bettingranker has made it easy to choose the best AFL betting sites in 2022 with their detailed reviews of the sites. There are many good sites to bet on, but 1xBet (9.2), Melbet (9.0), and Malina (8.9) all scored very highly, as did a number of other online sites.
The absolute top winner is Casumo, which scored a perfect ten. As one would expect, all of these sites are secure, properly licensed, and protected by SSL technology. Many of them offer great bonuses; for example, up to $500 at the Casumo site.
They can be accessed from an incredible number of countries all around the world and offer many currencies, languages, and deposit and withdrawal methods to suit a wide range of people. Mobile apps are also available for punters who like to bet on the go. These online sports betting sites give lots of different markets to bet on, including Moneyline, margin, derivative, proposition, futures, and live betting.
Live betting is an exciting experience that allows in-game betting and makes the punter follow the game very closely to place the right bets. With the odds constantly changing during the match, it makes it exhilarating for punters who must time their bets accordingly.
Other Events and Tournaments Held by AFL Europe
The year following the European Championships, AFL Europe arranges the AFL International Cup, where teams from all over the world compete for supremacy. As this is an amateur competition, no team or players from Australia are allowed to compete as they are professionals.
AFL Europe also has a list of sports tournaments that it organizes, including the Fitzpatrick Cup, which is an annual 9-a-side competition played between university and college students from across Europe.
They also organize the AFL Europe Champions League, where every year, Aussie rules leagues across Europe compete to find the European club champion. As with all other AFL Europe games, all competing teams are amateurs. Another annual event is the Anzac Cup which has been taking place since 2012 and commemorates the liberation of Anzac by Australian forces during WWII.
Players from Australia with connections to Anzac play against the French national team as part of the annual commemoration events. AFL Europe is also involved in test matches played between England and Ireland, two of the powerhouses in the sport.
History of AFL Europe
Aussie rules football has been played in Australia for over 150 years, and its popularity was brought to Europe in the late 80s by expatriates, initially starting in the UK and Denmark. So it began with just two leagues that have now grown to 15, with national teams in 23 countries and still expanding.
The year 2005 saw the first central body established that eventually became AFL Europe in 2010. This is the body that organizes all AFL events and tournaments in Europe, with the first Euro Cup being played in 2005. The European Championships have been played since 2010.
