If you’re a football betting fan wanting to find out more about Portuguese Primeira Liga betting, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll find out all you need to know about how we choose the best betting sites for wagering on it, how to claim offers on it, which markets are available, and we’ll round things off with a little bit of history about this iconic football league.
Is Primeira Liga Popular?
Though it can’t compete with the English Premier League or La Liga in terms of interest from overseas, it’s still a league that has proven very popular with punters, with the best Primera Liga betting sites seeing plenty of action on its matches every weekend. This is further aided by the fact that many online Primeira Liga betting sites also stream the matches.
And its popularity is certainly on the rise at home in terms of fans going to the games. Over the last three seasons, the average attendance at Primeira Liga matches, also known as Liga Portugal, has been increasing. In 2022/23, it was an average of 11,621 fans per game. In 2023/24, it was 12,155, with a tendency to grow even further in the coming seasons.
How We Rate and Evaluate Primeira Liga Betting Sites
If you’re thinking of betting on Liga Portugal, we have plenty of good news for you. Not only are there lots of online Primeira Liga betting sites to choose from, but we’re at hand to help you choose the ones that are suitable for your betting preferences.
We have reviewed sportsbooks so our players can know which are great sportsbooks in general and which ones tick the most boxes when it comes to Portuguese Primeira Liga betting.
Some features, like a generous welcome offer and a good variety of payment options, are important irrespective of what you’re going to bet on, whereas other features, like high odds when betting on Primeira Liga or Primeira Liga betting offers, are specifically relevant to betting on Portugal’s top division.
Only by considering both types do we get the full picture of which are the top bookies for Liga Portugal betting. Here are the most important factors to take into consideration.
Primeira Liga Markets and Odds
Seasoned punters who like to bet on competitions such as Ligue 1 will know very well that the quality of the odds is, more than any factor, what might make or break your betting balance. Every little extra in terms of odds makes a difference to each winning payout, and these things add up over time.
Of almost equal importance is that there’s a good and varied selection of Primeira Liga markets to choose from. The more available, the greater the number of choices for punters to always play their favourites.
Bonuses & Promotions
The absolute minimum you can expect at any one of the best Primeira Liga betting sites is that they’ll have a decent welcome offer for you, which is normally in the form of a free bet. In most cases, the bet can be used for betting on Primeira Liga matches but you can probably also use it to wager on, say, Premier League, Bundesliga or Ekstraklase betting.
But the best sportsbooks also hand out Primeira Liga betting offers to existing customers, such as additional free bets, odds boosts, acca insurance and reload bonuses.
Live Streaming
We’ve mentioned live streaming in passing, and one of the reasons why it’s so important for betting sites to offer it is that not many TV channels in the UK or Italy broadcast live Primeira Liga matches.
So streaming is a great alternative to watching it on TV.
You’ll also find streaming of many other football leagues at the best sites, meaning that you can also use it for Allsvenskan betting, Bundesliga betting or all the other leagues customers love.
Security and Payments
Security refers to such things as the site being protected from attacks by hackers who might be after your money or personal data. Customers can also expect a reputable bookie to pay out on winning bets as it should and without unnecessary delays or even settle markets accurately and fairly.
The betting site should also offer a good range of payment options, such as debit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers, as well as process deposits and withdrawals swiftly and hopefully without fees.
Primeira Liga Betting Apps
Betting apps are a great way to make sure you never miss a beat when it comes to betting on all your favourite events, including, of course, Primeira Liga matches, irrespective of where you are.
After all, you access the app from your smartphone, which is presumably with you at any given time.
Downloading and accessing betting apps on both iOS and Android phones is simple and easy.
All of this means that whether you’re using the betting app from the comfort of your sofa or while on the move, you’ll be able to do everything you need. Such as placing bets, streaming matches, depositing and withdrawing, and claiming bonuses.
Best Portuguese Primeira Liga Betting Odds and Markets
There are hundreds of different betting markets when it comes to football, and Primeira Liga betting is no exception. Seasoned punters will know that these days you can wager on such things as cards, corners, fouls, shots on target and saves by a goalkeeper.
But playing those types of bets and winning on them requires in-depth stats analysis of minor aspects of the game, so it might not be for everyone. Not to mention, those stats may not always be readily available for a league such as Primeira Liga.
A better alternative is to play the more common ones, which are fairly priced up and for which you’re better prepared to make good betting decisions, such as these:
1x2 Odds
The 1x2 market is the most popular of all, and understandably so. One thing to be aware of is that the 1x2 market is often the first one to be made available at online Primeira Liga betting sites. So, if you see wrong (higher than they should be) prices on offer before they’re adjusted, you should back them as soon as possible.
Over/Under Betting
The most common over/under betting market is the one for 2.5 goals, and if you’ve ever wondered why that is, the answer is that in most leagues around the world, the average number of goals in a football match is close to 2.5.
That means that both ‘unders’ and ‘overs’ are generally close to even money, so it’s a very simple bet to place. But this market is also available for over/under 1.5 and over/under 3.5 goals.
Both Teams to Score (BTTS)
Another real favourite when betting on Primeira Liga. There are two options here.
The first is ‘no’, which means that you think at least one side will keep a clean sheet in the match. The second is ‘yes’ which means you need both teams to score at least once.
League Winner
This market is generally available as soon as the previous season finishes. It sees lots of interest in the two or three weeks before the start of the new season, and at the best Primeira Liga betting sites, it remains open throughout the whole season. Simply put, you’re betting on who will be crowned the Primeira Liga champion in May.
To Be Relegated
If winning the league is the best possible result for any team, then being relegated is the worst outcome. Every season three teams, those finishing 16-18th, are relegated from the Primeira Liga to the division below, and this market revolves around selecting one of those three for the drop.
European Qualification
A high finish in the Primeira Liga doesn’t just result in additional prize money, it also leads to playing European football the following season. At present, five Portuguese teams qualify for European football by finishing in the Top 5 positions in the table.
However, most betting sites will have a ‘To qualify for the Champions League’ or a ‘To Qualify for the Europa League’ market rather than one that covers all European competitions.
Top Scorer
There have been some great names from the past winning this market by outscoring their rivals over the course of the season, such as Mario Jardel, Jonas and more recently, Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting Lisbon.
Most of the time, the league’s top scorer is the main striker for one of the Big Three, but not always. And if they’re not, they’re generally available at very high prices, so there’s plenty of value to be found in this market.
How to Bet on the Primeira Liga Online
If all this Primeira Liga betting sounds good, let’s talk you through what you actually need to do in order to place your first-ever bet on it.
- Sign up: Read our sportsbook reviews here at Ask Gamblers, choose two or three betting sites you like based on the reviews and open an account at them. These days it really shouldn’t take you more than two or three minutes to provide all the necessary info.
- Deposit: Choose a payment option that suits you, and remember that some won’t qualify for the welcome offer when making that first deposit. Make sure you avoid one of those if you want to claim it. Choose the amount you wish to deposit and process it.
- Pick your games, odds and markets: Navigate to football/Portuguese football/Primeira Liga. If you wish to bet on a long-term market like the league winner, top goalscorer or relegation, go to Outrights. If you want to bet on an individual match, choose the match and then the market you wish to play, such as 1x2 or over/under 2.5 goals.
- Place your bet and enjoy live streaming: Choose the stake you want to place and process your wager. If you want to stream the Primeira Liga match, look out for the live streaming icon among the match markets or check the site’s streaming calendar to see if it will be shown.
In some cases, you’ll need to place a bet for a small amount on the game to stream it. In other cases, you just need to have a funded account.
Primeira Liga History
Founded in 1934, it’s one of the oldest football leagues in the world still in existence.
Since its inception, it’s been dominated by the so-called Big Three of Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon, who have won the league titles 38, 30 and 20 times, respectively. In fact, only Belenenses and Boavista, once each, managed to win the league from clubs outside the Big Three.
Sporting Lisbon is responsible for having both the player with the most Primeira Liga appearances, Manuel Fernandes (486) and the most goals, Fernando Peyroteo (332).
Since the 2014/15 season, the number of clubs taking part in it was reduced from 20 to 18, with the bottom three going down and three teams from the division below being promoted to it.
The Portuguese Superliga is well-known for its players having high skill levels and for many of the game’s superstars having started out playing here, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Figo, Rui Costa, Paulo Sousa, Pepe and Diogo Jota.
Add to that passionate crowds and some fine managers over the years, and you can see why it’s such a popular league to bet on. Now that you know how to choose the best sites for betting on it and place a bet on it, you’re all good to go.