The French Ligue 1 is one of the most competitive football leagues in Europe, so it’s no surprise that punters from all over the world want to bet on it.
If that includes you, read on because we’ll give you the lowdown on how to find the best Ligue 1 betting sites out there, the sort of betting markets you can look forward to playing, plus some stats and Ligue 1 betting tips, meaning you’ll be good to go in terms of wagering on this exciting league when you open an account.
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Ligue 1 has very rich history and is one of the oldest leagues in the world.
The biggest clubs like PSG, Marseille and Monaco boast some of the most famous, skilled and technically brilliant players out there, while some of the teams’ stadiums are among the most iconic in the world of football while being well-attended by loyal, passionate and knowledgeable football fans. So, it’s certainly good to watch from a purely sporting point of view.
From a betting perspective, it’s one of the more unpredictable leagues. Though PSG have mostly dominated proceedings over the last few years with their star-studded teams, they still drop plenty of points over the season so serious upsets at big French Ligue 1 betting odds are never too far away, even in matches against the Parisians.
And it’s not strictly true that it’s been all PSG because, since the change of ownership in 2011, three other sides (Montpellier, Monaco and Lille) have also won the championship. So, whereas Les Rouge-et-Bleu are always the favourites, plenty of money has been won by punters backing teams other than PSG at the start of the season, at fancy prices.
Another plus point of betting on it is that the matches are on at convenient times for punters in the UK, Ireland or other European countries, which is in stark contrast, for example, to betting on Brazilian Serie A, where matches are often on in the middle of the night. Yet another is that many sportsbooks offer free live streaming of Ligue 1 games so you can watch the action in addition to betting on it.
If you’re looking forward to some French Ligue 1 betting, the first thing you’re going to need is to have an account at one or more betting sites that tick all the boxes for what we consider a top bookie.
But what makes a bookie a top bookie and how do you know which ones come under that category? We look into a number of factors, such as whether the operator is licensed and secure, the number of sports and markets it offers, bonuses, available payment methods, and others.
Finally, given we’re focusing on Ligue 1 here, rather than, say, Serie A betting, we also consider how the sportsbook fares when it comes to specifically betting on Ligue 1, including such factors as how generous the Ligue 1 betting odds are, the number of markets they have on each match and any offers around it.
In other words, we do most of the work, so you don’t have to. Here are some of our key considerations.
A good welcome offer, which these days normally takes the form of a match deposit bonus or free bets, is a good starting point. It's even better if the free bets are considerably bigger than the qualifying bet you need to place to get them. Ideally, the free bets can be used on any sport, and there aren’t high wagering requirements on winnings from them.
But the betting site should also have regular and varied offers for existing customers, such as Odds Boosts, further free bets, and money-back bonuses. They should have these promotions across several sports, and they get brownie points for having special Ligue 1 betting offers.
Even more important than that is the generosity of their odds. On all markets, their odds should be at least in line with what their competitors are offering and, ideally, even bigger on a consistent basis.
Getting your money in and out of the sportsbook of your choice isn’t one of the more fun parts of Ligue 1 match betting, but it’s one of the most important parts.
For starters, the Sportsbook needs to offer multiple payment options, ranging from debit cards and bank transfers to e-wallets like Skrill, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Neosurf. It’s pretty much a case of the more, the better, and that applies to both deposits and withdrawals.
Speed is also important, meaning that with the exception of the notoriously slow bank transfer, most payment options should see the money arrive in your account instantly or within a couple of minutes.
Withdrawals aren’t quite as quick, but again, with the exception of bank transfers, most payment methods should have the money with you within a few hours of the withdrawal request.
Ideally, any fees relating to withdrawals will be extremely low or, better still, non-existent.
Another area of a betting site that’s not exactly fun but is extremely important is security.
That starts with the sportsbook having measures in place that stop hackers or other fraudsters from getting access to your account or, worse still, your funds or personal details. The bookie should also use the latest tech to make sure that all transactions are processed in a safe way rather than anyone else being able to intercept them.
Another aspect of safety relates to the betting company itself. Do they do everything expected of them, such as promoting responsible gambling, acting ethically, and paying out on winning bets without delays?
Strong customer support is essential, too. They should be available via multiple channels, such as phone, e-mail, live chat and social media, and should respond quickly.
Above all, they should be able to satisfactorily answer your query or solve your problem. So, they need to be efficient, knowledgeable and friendly as well.
The number of markets available at most sportsbooks should be somewhat similar to those available for Bundesliga betting, though maybe not quite as many as you might see for the Premier League.
Given the incredible popularity of Bet Builders at the moment, it’s not surprising that pretty much all sportsbooks let you place them on Ligue 1 games and in many cases, you can combine selections from dozens of different markets in any way you like.
Bet Builders aside, here are some other popular Ligue 1 types of market you can bet on.
Also known as Ligue 1 title betting, you’re simply wagering on who will win the league title.
The Ligue 1 champions betting odds will be available a few weeks before the start of the season. They will be available throughout the season, at ever-changing odds, until one team officially wins the league.
As we started by saying, PSG has been the dominant force for the last decade and a half, but Montpellier (2011-12), Monaco (2016-17) and Lille (2020-21) have all won it in recent years, so PSG isn’t invincible.
However, because they’re expected to win, anyone other than the Parisians is always available at high odds, so you’ll get some big payouts if someone else does win it and you saw it coming.
If you like keeping track of the score and statistics while the match is ongoing, you can do that on our AskGamblers Live Scores page.
Ligue 1 handicap betting is a little more complex.
At the start of the season, the bookies will award 17 different teams with a handicap in the form of a number of (positive) points.
The exception is favourites - PSG – who don’t have a handicap.
The weaker a particular team is, the greater the positive handicap they’re given.
The stronger a team is perceived to be, the less of a handicap/head start they’re given.
So, for example, Le Havre, who narrowly avoided relegation last year, might be given a handicap of +40 points, while a possible title contender for 2024-25, like Monaco, might only have a handicap of +8 points. All 20 teams will have different odds available on them, just like they would on the winner market and the relegation market.
Once the season ends, the bookies then just add the pre-season handicap to the total number of points they actually got in the league table. So, if Monaco ended with 60 points, the bookies would then add the +8 handicap points, and they’d end up on 68 points.
Whichever team has the most points after adding together their actual points and handicap points, is the winner on the market.
Ligue 1 spread betting can be done in two ways: on season-long markets or on individual matches.
For season-long markets, you could spread bets on how many points a particular team will end up on. For example, the spread for Monaco season points might be 62.5/63.5, and then it’s up to you as to whether you want to buy (the more points they get, the better for you) or sell Monaco points (the fewer points they get, the better for you). For example, if you ‘bought’ for a pound a point, then every point they got more than 63.5 would win you a pound.
Spread betting on individual matches includes doing so on such things as the number of goals, corners or cards in the match, and the buy/sell options work in exactly the same way.
Here are a few other popular betting markets for Ligue 1.
And now for some quickfire facts and trivia about the popular Ligue 1.
Whereas the Ligue 1 season always starts in August, the exact date varies from one season to the next and is often dependent on which football tournaments, such as the Euros or the World Cup, were played that summer and when they finished.
In 2021-2022 it started on August 6, in 2022-23 on August 5 and then in 2023-24 almost a week later on August 11. In 2024-25 it will start even later: August 16.
It’s a similar story with the final day of the season. In previous years it’s sometimes ended in mid-May, while in other seasons, such as the 2022-23 edition, it only ended in early June.
Unlike certain leagues, such as the Bundesliga, there’s no winter break, though there aren’t any matches over the Christmas period.
Ligue 1 is an exciting football league full of regular upsets where some of Europe’s best players are in action on a weekly basis.
European-based punters can look forward to the fact that matches are on at very similar times to their own domestic leagues such as the Premier League and Serie A, and that most games are shown on both the biggest sports channels, and also via live streaming at many betting sites.
As one of Europe’s top leagues, there’s also no shortage of available content related to it to help you with your betting, such as podcasts, stats, match previews, and betting tips.
Speaking of tips, a good one ahead of the 2024-25 season is to go with Nice to keep plenty of clean sheets. Despite finishing just fifth last season, the 29 goals they conceded were less than any other team, including champions PSG.
Another tip is to consider whether to take on PSG in the winner market. They may have won last year’s title by nine points, but the loss of Mbappe to Real Madrid, his goals, assists, influence and raw pace could hurt them badly, and they may need a season to recover from it.
All of Marseille, Monaco and Lille are available at odds of between 10.0 and 17.0 and could well win Ligue 1 in 2024-25.
