FIBA World Cup Betting Guide
This summer sees the FIBA Basketball World Cup being held in Spain in August and September. The event sees 24 of the best basketball teams from around the world coming together in a massive event. This will be the last FIBA World Cup until 2019, as the event changes its cycle. This means if you are looking to enjoy the FIBA World Cup, and make the best of the betting opportunities afforded by this sort of event, you will want to get involved as quickly as you can.
Free FIBA Basketball World Cup Tips
| Tipster | Tip-off | Home Team | Away Team | O/U | Odds | Free Tip | Sportsbook | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [+] Show TrendsFIBA Basketball World Cup - Men tip locked in at 13/09 09:20 (Spread Result: 110.5-92, Totals: 221) | ||||||||||
| giorgio | 14/09 20:00 |  | USA |  | Serbia | 175.5 | 1.87 | Under 175.5 | ||
| SPREAD | -18.5 | +18.5 | 1.65 | USA |  Bet ► | |||||
| Tipster | Tip-off | Home Team | Away Team | O/U | Odds | Free Tip | Sportsbook | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [+] Show TrendsFIBA Basketball World Cup - Men tip locked in at 11/09 20:40 (Spread Result: 86.5-90, Totals: 175) | ||||||||||
| giorgio | 12/09 22:00 |  | France | | Serbia | 141.5 | 1.87 | Over 141.5 | ||
| SPREAD | +1.5 | -1.5 | 1.87 | France | Bet ► | |||||
- Please have a look at our Basketball Betting Tips section for more free tips for betting on 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup games.
This is our FIBA World Cup Betting Guide for the 2014 edition being held in Spain.
Futures
A futures bet is one that is placed on an outcome that comes at a later date. This style of bet is usually placed on the eventual winner of a tournament and you’ll find that the FIBA World Cup bets focus on the outright winner of the tournament. When the official rosters are announced, you may find some sites providing futures bets on MVP or leading points scorer but the most common bet is based on the outright winner of the tournament.
The Futures betting for the 2014 FIBA World Cup is already underway with Bwin placing USA as massive favourites, with odds of 1.30. Next in line is Spain with odds of 3.50 and the France are next at odds of 21.00. It is clear that the betting community believes that the winner will either be the Americans or the Spanish but if you believe that there is going to be a massive upset, there is value to be found. If you believe in the biggest upset in the world of basketball, Bwin will offer you odds of 4001.00 for Egypt or South Korea to win the event. Bwin is also offering futures bets on the individual group winners, so if you fancy a team to romp away with their group, you can find a bet here.
| # | Betting Site Review | % | Bonus | Visit Betting Site | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Bovada Review |  |  | 50% | $250 | Bovada |
| 2 |  | BetOnline Review | | 25% | $1000 | BetOnline | |
| 3 |  | SportsBetting Review | | 50% | $500 | SportsBetting | |
Bet365 T&Cs: New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
Totals
This is an extremely popular bet in basketball and the totals will be in place for the FIBA World Cup. A point marker will be listed on site and you place a wager on whether fewer or more points will be scored in a game. If you bet over, and more points are scored, you win your bet. If you bet over, and fewer points are scored, you lose your bet.
The opening round of games in the 2014 FIBA World Cup sees Iran play Spain. If the points marker is set at 152.5, you need to place a wager depending on whether you think Iran and Spain will score more or less than 152 combined. This means it wouldn’t matter if Spain won 153-0 or if Iran won by a score of 77-76, both of these scores would provide a total that was higher than 152 points. This means that a wager going over the total would win, while a wager going under on the total would lose.
Always bear in mind that it is the total points scored that counts, not the team that scores them if you are betting on the totals market.
Point Spreads
You will find that wagers involved with points spreads take into account the accuracy of the bet, not just who will win or lose. In games that a team is expected to win convincingly, say the match between USA and New Zealand on the 2nd of September, there is no value to be found in betting on the USA and it is very unlikely that New Zealand will win.
If you bet on the points spread, you can get better value. You may find that the bookmakers offer you odds of 1.90 for the USA to win with a -5.5 start. This means for your bet to come off, Team USA needs to triumph by 6 clear points in the game. It doesn’t matter what the overall score is, but if you place this bet on, USA need to score at least 6 more points than New Zealand to win your bet. It doesn’t matter if USA wins by 6 points or by 60 points, as long as they win by at least 6 points, a points spread bet of this nature is won.
Similarly, you may find odds of 1.90 for New Zealand to win with a +5.5 start. This means as long as New Zealand wins the game, ties the regulation game or loses by 5 points or fewer, you have won your bet. If USA win the game by points, your points spread bet comes in, even though New Zealand didn’t win.
Props
Prop bets include all of the side bets or additional bets that you find in basketball. Whether you are looking to place a bet on a team leading at half-time, or you want to bet on which player will score more points in a game, this is the style of bet for you. There will be prop bets for every game at the FIBA World Cup and while you should approach these bets with caution, there will be plenty of opportunity to have more fun and excitement when you place these bets.
Bovada
Bovada Bonus: 50% up to $250
Pros
- Offers a fantastic range of North American sports betting options
- Provides live betting
- Offers a lot of promotions
- Offers plenty of assistance in getting you started
- Live in-game betting options
Cons
- Not a great deal of deposit and withdrawal options
- Not much focus outside of the US
There are plenty of FIBA World Cup bets to look forward to
One thing that it is important to remember about the FIBA World Cup and all of the games is that the big name players don’t always have the big game attitude in games like this. Yes, you would think that representing your nation at the World Cup would be the biggest highlight of your career but for plenty of players, particularly in the NBA, this is not the case. This means you should approach certain over/under bets with caution and this may mean that prop bets that seem like bankers on paper don’t pan out that way on the court.
While this may seem annoying, it should be viewed as an opportunity. If you think the favourites in the game or group will underestimate an opponent, there is a chance for great value. A recent example of this can come from the soccer World Cup in Brazil. Costa Rica were paired with Italy, England and Uruguay with most experts predicting Costa Rica would finish bottom of the group. Incredibly, they won two matches and drew the other (after they were already qualified), which means that shocks and surprises happen, especially in the group stages. If you can spot the big teams that aren’t fully focused or the smaller teams that are entirely geared up to be a success at this summer’s leading basketball event, there is a genuine chance to grab some value with what is on offer when you bet during the 2014 FIBA World Cup.