When placing bets on Own Goals, one of the most disappointing experiences is celebrating what you think is a big win, only to discover that your bet wasn’t successful after all.
This usually occurs due to misunderstandings about the rules related to the bet, such as how own goals are counted.
Bookmakers usually make their rules about own goals quite clear, but understanding them often requires sifting through a seemingly endless list of betting terms and conditions.
To spare you the trouble of handling this repetitive task yourself, we’ll provide a comprehensive explanation on how own goals affect football bets.
By the conclusion of this article, you will fully comprehend when own goals affect your bet and when they do not.
When Are Own Goals Considered in Betting?
In most betting markets, own goals are considered the same as any other goal. To clarify this concept further, consider a scenario where you placed bets on Liverpool’s 3-2 win against QPR in the 2014/15 season.
The match featured three own goals: two by QPR players (Richard Dunne and Steven Caulker) and one by Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard.
If you had placed a bet on over 4.5 goals, it would have been successful since your own goal counts just the same in this market.
Likewise, betting on Liverpool to score more than 2.5 goals would have resulted in a win; QPR players contributing two of those goals doesn’t matter when wagering in the team goal market.
As for which team scored first? That honor goes to Liverpool—despite QPR’s Dunne scoring against his side.
In most cases, if the market isn’t focused on who scores a goal, it doesn’t matter whether it’s an own goal or a regular one.
When considering the timing of the first goal in a match? What matters is simply when the ball crosses into the net for any reason; therefore, own goals are counted equally.
For instance, in this situation above explained earlier, winning bet options would have been predicted between the 60-70 minutes mark or before 70 minutes and similar scenarios apply.
Similarly marked markets that total up all scored minute Goals within game duration don’t separate counts metrics among different types either: both self-scored ones alongside opposite earned result holders inclusive scoring rules-wise there too.
In which situations do own goals not count in betting?
As previously mentioned, when placing a bet on a team or match market, such as:
- The team that scores first
- First goal time
- The outcome of the match
- Each team to score
- Accurate score
- The objective within the upcoming x minutes
- To secure a victory with a handicap
An own goal is treated the same as any other, allowing you to celebrate a defender’s blunder just like a striker’s skillful finish.
However, in markets focused on individual scorers, the scenario changes. In such cases, own goals are disregarded entirely and not factored into consideration at all.
Considering the QPR versus Liverpool game mentioned earlier, if you’d confidently placed a first goalscorer bet on Richard Dunne, you wouldn’t have received any payout. In betting terms, own goals don’t count as ‘actual’ goals.
Therefore, it’s not advisable to place bets on clumsy defenders with hopes of earning from them scoring against their team.
However, placing a bet on Eduardo Vargas as the first scorer would have been successful because his goal is recognized after an initial own-goal scenario is disregarded in such wagers.
In the same vein, for a last goalscorer bet, Phillipe Coutinho emerged as the winning choice instead of Steven Caulker since he was the final player to score at his own goal.
However, win-only bets on first and last goalscorers are not the only markets that exclude own goals.
No Goal Scorer and Own Goals
Keep in mind that own goals don’t count towards a no goalscorer bet, which is why savvy bettors anticipating a 0-0 draw prefer this market over placing bets on the correct score of 0-0.
This approach ensures they win as long as only own goals are scored, regardless of the final result.
On the other hand, betting on an exact 0-0 outcome would mean losing if any goal occurs during play—even just own goals—unless both odds are nearly equal or very close anyway.
Conclusion
While some goals are undeniable, others can be more ambiguous. This often happens when a striker takes a shot that significantly deflects before going in.
To avoid any allegations of bias or misconduct, bookmakers never make these decisions on their own. Instead, each competition designates one or several officials to determine the ‘official’ ruling in such instances.
In the 2-2 draw between Leicester City and Manchester United in 2020, the last goal was initially attributed to Jamie Vardy.
However, after further review, it seemed his shot might have been going wide until it deflected off Axel Tuanzebe and went into the net.
Consequently, the Premier League’s Goal Accreditation Panel decided to record it as an own goal by Tuanzebe.
The panel’s decisions frequently face criticism because of their potential impact on bets. In this particular borderline case, anyone who had placed money on Jamie Vardy to be the last scorer or to score next when the score was 2-1 would have experienced a loss.
