The League of Ireland First Division offers punters tons of ways to bet on one of the most competitive football competitions around.
Finding reliable betting sites that offer odds on First Division Ireland games can be tricky, with some leaving it until game day before they publish their prices.
We’ve saved you time and effort by showing you where to find the best bonuses, odds, markets and more, so let’s get stuck in!
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The League of Ireland First Division is the second tier of football in the Republic of Ireland.
Formed in 1985, the competition operates during the summer months and provides a route into the Ireland Premier Division.
There are nine teams in the division, with each one playing the others three times during the regular season. The champions win automatic promotion to the top flight.
The teams finishing second to fifth take part in end-of-season play-offs, with the winners facing the ninth-placed Premier Division team in the final.
The winners of that game participate in the Irish Premier Division the following season, with the losers competing in the League of Ireland First Division.
Much like other football leagues, there are loads of ways to bet on the League of Ireland First Division before and during the season.
This includes ante-post, match betting, both teams to score and more. Let’s delve a little deeper and look at some of the best places to wager on the First Division in Ireland.
We’ve worked hard on your behalf to identify the best betting sites to find odds on the League of Ireland First Division. These are as follows:
| 888sport – €30 in free bets plus a €10 casino bonus
| | If you enjoy receiving bonuses and promotions from betting sites, 888sport is a superb place to access loads of special offers on football.
Their League of Ireland First Division coverage is solid, offering punters the opportunity to wager on all the popular football betting markets. With an informative statistics service helping you keep up to speed with each team’s form, 888sport is well worth checking out if you’re a fan of Irish football. |
Several other bookmakers offer odds on Irish football including Boylesports, 10bet, 22bet, BetVictor, bwin, Unibet, bet365. Their odds tend to be available on each game day.
There is little to choose between Mr Play and 888sport in the mobile betting department, with both operators offering user-friendly betting apps.
There are plenty of betting strategies you can use on football, and one of our favourites in the League of Ireland First Division involves exploiting the draw market.
Generally speaking, bookies offer odds of at least 2/1 for a draw in each match, which makes it ripe for our system.
In this example, we’ll use Cork City’s 2021 fixtures as an example. We start by placing a €10 wager on their first match against Cobh Ramblers.
Assuming odds of 2/1, if the game finished as a draw we would receive €30 – a €20 profit. We could either walk away at this point or start the system again.
However, Cork won that match 2-1 so our bet was lost. We must now double the next bet and so on until our selection is successful.
Cork’s first draw came in their sixth fixture of the season, meaning our outlay would have been €10 + €20 + €40 + €80 + €160 + €320 = €630.
Our return (assuming odds of 2/1) would have been €960 – a €330 profit. Now we’ve shown you how to win, here are some other things you need to know about betting on the League of Ireland First Division.
As we have mentioned, bookmakers who cover the League of Ireland First Division generally stick to the most popular betting markets. These are as follows:
The most popular bet types are singles and accumulators, while the in-play markets offer punters the opportunity to grab better value odds.
Many shrewd bettors use live betting portals to wager on short-priced favourites when they fall behind in a match.
The odds at this point usually make them a more viable betting proposition, especially with the statistics still favouring them to win the game.
Each operator publishes their own betting rules. Here are some of the main ones you need to know for wagering on the League of Ireland First Division.
Everyone can use a little advice when it comes to their betting, and it’s no different when it comes to the League of Ireland. Here are a few top tips to help you in your betting adventure on Irish soccer:
Other League of Ireland First Division betting sites include Boylesports, 10bet, 22bet, BetVictor, bwin, Unibet, bet365.
Our impartial gambling experts are suckers for special features on sports betting sites.
As with most punters, we love to see a competitive bonuses and promotions which have fair wagering conditions attached to them.
Odds are also hugely important, particularly when it comes to trying to eke out additional betting value from First Division Ireland matches.
From the perspective of the betting site as a whole, we’re keen to see elements such as live betting, live streaming and Bet Builders featured.
The mobile betting experience is also crucial, so any site that offers a standalone app with a slick interface gets bonus points from us.
We’re also keen to see that sites are fully licensed and regulated to offer their services in Ireland. After all, we all want our winnings to be paid out!
The top League of Ireland First Division betting sites offer new customers a bonus when they first sign-up for an account. Examples of these are as follows:
Before you deposit real money, always read the small print on bonus deals to make sure the wagering conditions are not too restrictive.
Some operators require you to ‘play through’ the bonus a set number of times, which can make it difficult to unlock any winnings accrued.
Ongoing promotions such as boosted odds, Acca Boosts and cashback specials are amongst the ways betting operators reward regular punters.
| Year | Winners | Points | Top scorer |
| 2020 | Drogheda United | 39 | Yousef Mahdy |
| 2019 | Shelbourne | 60 | Rob Manley |
| 2018 | UCD | 57 | David O’Sullivan |
| 2017 | Waterford | 59 | Georgie Kelly |
| 2016 | Limerick | 75 | Gary O’Neill |
| 2015 | Wexford Youths | 61 | Daniel Furlong |
| 2014 | Longford Town | 60 | David O’Sullivan |
| 2013 | Athlone Town | 42 | David O’Sullivan |
| 2012 | Limerick | 62 | Kevin McHugh
Daniel Furlong Sean Maguire |
| 2011 | Cork City | 69 | Graham Cummins |
| 2010 | Derry City | 69 | Graham Cummins
Mark Farren Willie John Kiely |
| 2009 | UCD | 74 | Conan Byrne |
| 2008 | Dundalk | 71 | Robbie Doyle |
| 2007 | Cobh Ramblers | 77 | Conor Gethins |
| 2006 | Shamrock Rovers | 72 | Philip Hughes |
| 2005 | Sligo Rovers | 61 | Kieran O’Reilly |
Whether you use new betting sites or well established sportsbooks, you will want to be able access plenty of special features.
Bonuses, promotions and great value odds are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to features, particularly in a sector with so much competition.
As we alluded to earlier, we love to see in-play betting and live streaming on betting sites, especially where the League of Ireland is concerned.
Bet Builders, Cash Out, Acca Boosts, form guides, expert analysis are other great features that take the betting experience to another level.
Mr Play and 888sport both boast plenty of great betting features, while leading Irish sites such as Boylesports are also worth visiting.
