June 19 2017

Crystal Palace (Photo: Andy Roberts)

We invite the Crystal Palace faithful on a virtual trip to Australia to expand their wagering worldview and to learn how to bet on sport upside-down.

The Crystal Palace season may be over, and its lads taking a well-deserved rest, but that doesn’t mean you should rest on your… laurels. It may not have been the best of seasons, but that doesn’t mean that next year won’t be better. Bet on it!

Off-season for the Holmesdale Road Faithful is a good time to stretch your sporting muscles.

We don’t mean exercise, heaven forbid! We have more in mind a little world tour for the ambler in all of us. You don’t even need to put down your ale. One hand should suffice.

Online sports betting is big business, and nowhere in the world is the venerable sportsbooks more alive and kicking than in the UK. With a legacy going back a few decades, sportsbooks are well-established, carefully regulated, and never more popular.

Part of the surge in popularity is no doubt the result of sportsbook mobilisation. British punters easily can place wagers from their mobiles between throws in a friendly of darts.

The range of bet options seems limitless, but if you’re a newcomer to sports betting, best to start simple. Of course, simple as it gets is just picking who will win. But win what? In mid-summer, cricket and rugby have big matches, and there are Formula One races on week-ends.

You can bet on golf even, or tennis. Then come the World Cup qualifiers. And more football.

We have a better idea for bettors. We promised you a stretch, so why not take an extended trip to the other side of the world, to the Land Down Under.

Australia may have once been a prison colony, a dumping ground for our social misfits, but they’ve come a long way, baby.

Next to the UK, the Aussies have one of the most active sportsbook scenes in the world.

Down in Oz the lads will bet on whether the chicken will cross the road, and double down on whether it will get to the other side.

If you’re more familiar with the stands at Crystal Place than the betting scene in Oceania, here’s a little primer on Australian sports betting, so you can show those marsupial-loving, Barbie-boys in Sydney that Palace lads can hold their own in wagering even on foreign turf.

The most popular sport in Oz is Aussie Rules Football or footy. It’s a contact sport played with a football resembling the American variety on a field that is oval rather than rectangular.

The top league for footy is the Australian Football League, or AFL for short.

Do a little research before you put down any cash, maybe find a crew which reminds you of an upside-down version of the Palace lads.

Benefit from the newcomer bonuses and free bets on offer. Then put your money where your infallible punting instincts point you.