GAA Betting – Complete Guide for 2026

Live GAA Odds

Many Ireland bookmakers have GAA live betting sections where odds are constantly updating. If you open a bookmaker that offers GAA Sports, you’ll find GAA betting odds on markets like outright winners, handicap bets, and total points markets.

There are 3 types of odds format, namely, fractional, decimal, and American, which is also known as moneyline. Some bookmakers allow you to switch between fractional and decimal odds formats, so you can easily calculate. Let’s take a look at a few samples of what odds look like on bookmakers.

Outright Winners

Outright football winner odds are usually displayed as something like this:

Outright winner odds for hurling are usually displayed as:

Other than outright markets. There are also other markets you can bet on, including handicap, total points, and many others. Let’s take a quick look and what other live odds look like:

GAA sports live betting odds are constantly changing. As news is released, forms change, and betting volume increases. These examples are only meant to help you see how to easily compare odds across bookmakers so you find the best value. Go check out these bookmakers and compare their odds for yourself.

Top GAA Betting Sites

Before we were able to arrive at these top picks, we tested many bookmakers. These bookmakers stand out in offers, features, and many other qualities. You also don’t have to worry about licencing, because all of the bookmakers we’ll be listing are licensed by GRAI or EU-recognised authorities.

Markets Explained & Strategy

Under Gaelic football and hurling, there are many markets you can bet on. It supports pre-match and in-play markets. Let’s look at the markets.

Match Betting (Win/Draw/Win)

This is the most popular type of bet, and it’s very simple. All you have to do to pick who will be the winner or back the match to be a draw. Because hurling and football can be unpredictable, the odds are usually wider than in other sports. You’ll most likely find draws in Gaelic football than in hurling because of the lower scoring margins.

Handicap Betting

This is the market that levels the playing field for players. It has to do with giving one team a virtual lead. Bookmakers adjust the line based on studying historical performance, scoring averages, and public betting trends. From experience, favourites in hurling cover the handicap more often than favourites in football because hurling scores escalate quickly.

Total Points (Over/Under Points)

It has to do with betting on whether the total combined points will be higher or lower than the bookmaker’s line. Provincial hurling games usually exceed 55-60 total points, whereas defensive football counties usually keep their matches under the posted totals.

Scorer Betting

This includes betting on first goalscorer, anytime goalscorer, and total points by individual players. Free-takers are those who have the largest share of scoring in elite football and hurling. Track who is on free, and you may have found the hack.

Outrights

Outright betting is betting on the winner of the All-Ireland championships, provincial titles, league divisions, and top scorer awards. If you back outright picks early when prices are highest, you’ll get higher odds.

Draw-No-Bet (DNB)

In this type of market, your stake is returned if the match ends in a draw. It helps you to reduce risks. DNB is mostly useful in inter-county football games where scoring is low and margins are slim.

All-Ireland Predictions & Winners

There’s usually a lot of attention on All-Ireland Championships, and the tournament has not been short of attention. Here’s a detailed breakdown of who the favourites are in football and hurling.

Player Salaries & Amateur Status

One thing you should know about GAA is that it’s an amateur organisation. By that, we mean that players are not paid a salary for playing Gaelic football or hurling. This applies to even the highest levels of the All-Ireland Championships. It may interest you to know that GAA stars train several days a week, follow strict fitness programs, and mostly play in front of large crowds, but they do not do it for the money. They only do it for their county, for pride, and for tradition. Now that we’ve answered the question, Do GAA players get paid? Now, it’s time to dig deep into how they make their money.

Although GAA players do not receive wages, they can be reimbursed for things like travel and fuel costs, training expenses, nutrition and sports equipment, and the time taken off work for matches or events. GAA payments are designed to only cover costs; they are not a regular income stream. Many of the people who participate in GAA sports usually balance their GAA careers with full-time jobs, some go to college, or they have some other commitments.

Is €70,000 a Good Salary in Ireland?

Questions about income often come up because GAA players rely on their regular jobs. In Ireland, a salary of €70,000 per year is considered well above average. A typical full-time worker in Ireland earns significantly less than that. €70k can provide a comfortable standard of living for most individuals or families, depending on their location and the expenses they have lined up.

Where to Watch & Schedule

GAA games are scheduled to run all through the year, so fans have something to watch. Now the question is, where do these fans watch GAA games?. You can watch GAA games through RTÉ, TG4, or the official GAA+ streaming service. You’ll find National League games, provincial championships, and the All-Ireland series on these streaming channels. Other types of sports you can stream are club finals and underage fixtures.

GAA schedules can change due to bad weather conditions and changes in fixtures. To be up to date with the changes, we advise that you always check the GAA’s official website. Let’s take a look at GAA Championship Schedule.

The streaming channels we mentioned may need a bit more explaining. Here’s what you need to know about where to watch GAA:

• RTÉ: It is a free-to-air broadcaster that shows major championship and league games.
• TG4: They cover club matches, underage games, and select league fixtures.
• GAA+ (GAA GO): This is an official streaming service. They offer live inter-county and international coverage. If you’re outside Ireland, this is for you, or if you want access to every televised match.

Related Competitions

Though GAA games are most popular in Ireland, the sport has many fans all over the world. The same players who love GAA games also find some other types of sports and competitions interesting. Some of the sports that they actively place bets on include:

• Grand National: The Grand National is one of the most famous horse racing events in Ireland and the UK. Irish jockeys and trainers usually play important roles in this tournament, which makes it a favourite event for many Irish fans.
• Cheltenham Festival: Another competition that interests GAA bettors is the Cheltenham Festival. This competition is the pinnacle of National Hunt racing, and it draws top Irish trainers and horses over four action-packed days. It's one of the tournaments worth trying.
• Royal Ascot: This event is known for its elegance and top-level flat racing. Irish horses and jockeys often compete. It’s one of the competition GAA players find interesting.

In addition to these competitions, other sports may Irish punters also play are football, rugby, darts, snooker, and greyhound racing. These sports will give you more options you bet on all year round.

Expert Tips & Analysis

If you’re really interested in betting profitably on GAA games, then you should pay close attention to this section. GAA requires attention to small details. This is what we mean: to be able to do this better, you need to learn how to study factors such as player form, team dynamics, and match conditions.

If you’re able to identify top scorers, for example, that alone can change a close football or hurling game around; meanwhile, when important defenders are injured, you already know that can also change how a match plays out. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that can directly impact the outcome of a game.

If you’re really interested in being profitable while you bet on GAA, then we suggest you keep these points in mind.

• Focus on the recent form and injuries of teams and key players, rather than just relying on their historical success.
• Don’t forget to consider the impact of the home advantage and travel fatigue that visiting teams face.
• Always check the weather forecasts before matches, especially when the match is being played in an open stadium.
• Spend time analyzing the scoring patterns in provincial and All-Ireland championships.

If you want more tips on how you can predict GAA better, then we recommend you check out our many GAA betting strategy. We include in those sections detailed statistics, expected line-ups, and tactical breakdowns.

Responsible Gambling & Legal Info

If you’re already considering how to bet on GAA safely, but you’re unsure about the legality of this sport, then we assure you there’s nothing to worry about because betting on GAA events is legal in Ireland.

Before we recommend any bookmaker, we always ensure that we check if they’re licensed, we check their market coverage, odds quality, payment methods, and reliability of their customer support. We keep track of the changes in odds and bookmaker information regularly to make sure you have accurate comparisons.

One thing we always emphasize is that every player should take advantage of the responsible gambling section of bookmakers. Visit the page and set limits on deposits, losses, and betting time. This is what will help you never bet more than you can afford to lose. Many bookmakers provide tools like self-exclusion, deposit limits, and reality checks.

Check them out, they’re there to help you manage gambling safely. If you ever feel overwhelmed and you know gambling is becoming a problem, we highly recommend you contact any of the support organizations available on the bookmaker's site to get help as soon as possible. These support organisations are GAMCARE and BeGambleAware.