IPL betting guide: How to bet, best bookies and more

An intro to betting on the Indian Premier League

When people think of cricket, they often think of the classic games such as The Ashes and those that we see in The Cricket World Cup. However, league cricket is something that keeps the players and fans occupied between such spectacles, with the Indian Premier League being one of the very best in the world. This league, as you might imagine, is contested in India usually, with eight different teams fighting things out in a round-robin format before we eventually see a winner after several months of action. Here are some of the bookmakers you can bet with this IPL:

Best Betting Sites for IPLRegistration Link
Bet365

Register Here
Ladbrokes

Click here to Register
William Hill

Register Here
Paddypower

Register Here

If you haven’t really followed this league before, you should know that it works as a Twenty20 format, and compared to other leagues in the world, it is actually quite new. The league itself was first established back in 2008, and after just a few seasons of operation, it grew to be one of the most followed and indeed the most-attended cricket leagues in the world. Not only is this due to the style of the games that take place, with huge hits and a very aggressive style of cricket, but also due to the sheer excitement shown by the fans at each game.

The atmosphere is regularly incredible, and there are thousands of people who also bet on the IPL every single season. With this in mind, this will be the primary focus of our article, to show you how to make bets on this exciting league, how to grab bonuses, what strategies to use when betting, and so much more. We are pretty excited to share all of this information with you, so let’s get right on with it.

We will be starting with what the main kinds of bets are that you can make for IPL games, as this is the first thing to know when betting on any sport.

Main types of bets to make

Just to recap, when engaging in any form of IPL betting, you will be betting on games that are played in a Twenty20 format. For this reason, the bets that you will be looking to make will naturally be different than if you were betting on test cricket, for example. With this in mind, there are some key bets that are particularly popular among punters that you should know about. All of these bets are discussed below.

Outright winner

This is a popular IPL bet, mainly because you can find some pretty huge odds should you take this market before the league starts. As you now know, there are just eight teams that compete in the IPL, which gives you a total of eight different choices to pick from when backing an outright winner. These markets are not just available before the league begins either – they can also be examined during the league, and naturally, the odds will chop and change based on how the results pan out.

Some players choose to make an outright winner bet when a team isn’t ranked at the top of the league after a few games, and this is a strategy that is employed to try and obtain a bit more value than usual. There will always be teams that are more favored than others here, and based on your own individual research, you can pick a team that you truly feel has a great shot at lifting the trophy at the conclusion of the event.

Individual match-winner

Unlike the outright winner market that we’ve discussed above, where you are betting who will win the entire league, here you are betting on who will win each individual game. This is a great style of bet to make if you don’t really plan to watch all of the games in a season, but you do feel like a wager on the outcome of a game here and there. After all, sports betting is much more fun when you actually follow the games and have an invested interest in the first place.

There is no shortage of games that take place in the IPL either, and throughout the couple of months that the league is played through, there is loads of action for punters to follow. You might find that the odds are a bit lower for individual match winners than they are for tournament outright winners, but after all, there’s a better chance of predicting one game correctly compared to the entire league.

Multi-team parlay bets

The previous two bets that we’ve discussed have been individual bets that consist of just one market, however, in this one you get the chance to combine a bunch of markets into a single wager. Basically, you can add several markets into the same wager here, and the odds are multiplied together, which can ultimately result in the potential for quite a large payout. The only thing about placing multi-team parlay bets is that you need to guess every single game correctly to win any cash at all.

With that said, there are online betting sites out there today where you will be offered some form of cashback if just one or two teams let you down with a parlay bet. While this isn’t a guarantee, it does offer some form of protection for those who go for these riskier kinds of bets.

Over/under number of runs scored

It’s fair to say that Twenty20 cricket is full of some rather big hits, as players want to put runs on the board as quickly as they can. This is precisely why the over/under markets for the number of runs can be particularly appealing, and of course, you will likely make your decision based on the talent of the batsman that are playing for any individual team. If you see that there is a team with a lineup of superstar batsman, you might want to go for an over bet, and most betting sites will give you a range of over/under markets to choose from.

The more far fetched the outcome, the larger the odds will be. You can actually make wagers based on an individual’s run score or the team’s overall run score for this market, and just like the other betting types discussed in this section, the choice is completely yours.

Number of wickets taken for an individual

Just like you can bet on the IPL for a player’s number of runs scored, so too can you bet on which player will take a certain number of wickets. You can try to pick the exact number of wickets if you like, although this is an extremely risky way of betting, with the tradeoff being that there can be large payouts for guessing this correctly. However, it is far more common to reduce the risk and simply try to bet on an over/under market concerning the number of wickets a player will take.

These markets will be a little different based on the style of a bowler, their recent form, and of course, the quality of the batsman at the other end of the wicket. With that said, it’s always an exciting market to bet on, and it almost removes the need to worry about what the ultimate outcome of a game will be, as all you will care about is who is taking the wickets!

Important teams to follow

At this point, you will know that the Indian Premier League is a competition that is played out with eight teams all vying for a place to lift the trophy. However, among the eight teams that are competing, there are a few teams that have a greater shot at going home with some silverware compared to others. We’ve highlighted these teams in the information below.

Mumbai Indians

First up on our list of teams to look out for includes the Mumbai Indians, and as many of you might recall, this team managed to lift the trophy for the 2019 IPL. Many are touting the Mumbai Indians as favorites for this year’s competition following this previous success, but they are certainly up against some tough competition. While it’s important to recognize that the league will not be a walk in the park by any means, we also cannot ignore the fact that the Mumbai Indians have won an amazing 4 IPL titles.

This is something that no other team in the league has been able to achieve, which shows that the Mumbai Indians have the experience, as well as belief in their abilities. The team is led by Rohit Sharma, a formidable captain with a rather impressive individual record in IPL cricket. To add to this, they have players like Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah all bolstering the starting lineup. As you might imagine, these guys will prove a handful for whatever team the Mumbai Indians play this year.

Delhi Capitals

The second team we would like to draw your attention to is the Delhi capitals. This team is quite a contrast from the Mumbai Indians, as they have had relatively little success considering the history of the IPL. Interestingly, the Delhi Capitals are actually the only team involved in the league who are yet to appear in the IPL finals. While some punters might see this statistic and instantly think that the Delhi Capitals have no chance, they did manage to make the playoffs in the 2019 season, and they have since made even more changes to the squad to compete successfully in the IPL.

Players like Amit Mishra and Virender Sehwag are particularly prolific for the Delhi Capitals, as these guys are the leading bowler and batsman, respectively. Other players to have recently joined the squad include the likes of Daniel Sams and Anrich Nortje, who have replaced others in the role with the hope of leading the Capitals to victory.

On a side note, and this is particularly important from a betting perspective since the Delhi Capitals haven’t enjoyed too much success in the IPL, you might find some rather high odds on them to win the league. This is perfectly common when a team hasn’t demonstrated long term success in the league, so we believe that the Delhi Capitals are worth an outside shot at least.

Chennai Super Kings

Last but not least, we have the Chennai Super Kings. These guys are pretty much the second most popular team when compared to the Mumbai Indians, as they have lifted the IPL trophy an amazing three times. To make things even better, especially for Chennai Super Kings fans, this team has the best winning percentage of any other team in the league. They are certainly no stranger to the playoffs either, having reached this stage of the IPL in 10 out of the 13 seasons in which the IPL has been played.

As you might imagine, the Chennai Super Kings are always hot contenders for the league, and the quality of their players speaks volumes for the squad. Players like Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma, Dwayne Bravo, and Mitchell Santner are some big names to look out for when this team takes to the pitch.

IPL betting tips that everyone can apply

As promised, we have a few betting tips lined up that you can apply when betting on the Indian Premier League. These tips follow a more generic format rather than individual tips on specific games, but you can definitely apply the strategies and tips when placing your wagers on the IPL. Let’s get straight into it.

Hold out for the live markets

This is a great strategy to use for a whole range of sporting events, but it can be particularly useful when betting on the IPL. You will always find a ton of pre-match markets for IPL games, yet the IPL odds might not always be favorable, and they might not suit what you are looking for. With this in mind, it can be beneficial to wait for a game to begin and then monitor the live betting markets accordingly.

The reason for this is because the odds can start to fluctuate quite rapidly depending on what is occurring in a game. If you are hot on the trigger, you could then lock-in a highly desirable odd for a market that just simply did not exist in the pre-match offerings. This is all the more true since the IPL is played under the Twenty20 format, with players going for a much more aggressive style of cricket compared to other formats.

Make full use of IPL bonuses

The Indian Premier League is a major sporting league, and not just for cricket either. This league carries a certain degree of prestige among the sporting community, and for that reason, online betting sites are big fans of coming up with bonuses that relate to IPL games. Of course, if you open an online sports betting account, you can then take advantage of these kinds of bonuses and make them work in your favor.

There is a selection of bonuses that are often tied in with IPL games, including the likes of parlay boosts, free bets, exclusive markets, and more. These can often be redeemed by both new players and existing players, and all you need to do is check out the promotions tab of your online betting account for full details.

Sign up at multiple sites for more bonuses

We’ve gone into a brief bit of detail above for what bonuses you can expect to find at an online betting site, but now let us show you an easy strategy to implement should you want to lock in an even higher range of bonuses than usual. This can be done by creating accounts with multiple online bookmakers since they all have different bonuses with different rewards on the table. Basically, by creating an account with as many of these sites as you can, you will be casting a wider net for the number of bonuses you can redeem.

Say that you only had the one online betting account, and this site had a $10 free bet on offer, this would be the only kind of bonus that you could redeem. However, if you then had five accounts, and they were all offering a $10 free bet, you would essentially be able to wager with $50 in free bets for the IPL. This is how powerful it can be should you have many online betting accounts running at the same time, and they are all free for you to have.

Look out for exclusive markets

Since the Indian Premier League is a highly followed event, especially from a sports betting perspective, online bookmakers can occasionally come up with exclusive markets where the odds are much higher than usual. This is sometimes referred to as ‘enhanced odds’ markets, and while some of these are reserved for individual events, some betting sites will come up with parlay bets where the odds are significantly higher.

There is no guarantee that your chosen providers will have these kinds of betting markets, but if they do, they can be a great tool for you to use in search of higher rewards and payouts. If you can then combine a free bet bonus with these exclusive markets, you are in a very good position to potentially win a bet with a decent return, and at the same time – you haven’t had to gamble with your own money.

Top online betting sites for the IPL

There are quite a number of betting sites out there today that cover the Indian Premier League, so this does work in your favor really. With this in mind, there are certain betting sites that we believe offer players much better value than others. These are the online betting sites that we have chosen to highlight for you below, so do take the time to familiarise yourself with these brands before joining any site.

Bet365

bet365 sign up offer info
Once you join this site, you will find that the bet365 IPL markets are some of the best in the business. Not only are the odds competitive, but also these markets can be wagered on from one of the top mobile apps you can find. Bet365 also offers other desirable features such as streaming options for certain betting types.

Ladbrokes


Ladbrokes is often regarded as a great site for horse racing and football betting, however, cricket betting is actually something that has been dramatically improved on the site. This is especially true for the Indian Premier League since Ladbrokes now offers hundreds of markets during the event, and live streaming is an option for certain games too.

William Hill 


If you are looking for style and sophistication when betting on the IPL, then William Hill is definitely an option that you should keep in your back pocket. Not only does this site have a fantastic signup bonus, but William Hill also comes up with betting markets that are tailored to a great range of reload offers for existing players. Of course, you can use these offers when betting on the IPL.

Paddy Power


Last but not least, Paddy Power is a pretty exciting betting brand to get started with. If you choose to sign up through our exclusive promo code links, you will be able to hit up the Paddy Power betting markets with a signup bonus that is twice as large as the standard offer. This is obviously a fantastic way to explore the IPL markets in a risk-free manner, to begin with, so you can basically have some fun without risking a whole bunch of money.

Closing thoughts

By following the IPL betting tips and strategies that we have shared with you throughout this post, you will be able to wager on these exciting games with a bit of inside knowledge on how to improve your chances of betting success. We would like to wish you the best of luck in your IPL betting activities, and of course, don’t forget to tune in for the action!