Handball

This relatively unknown sport has a history extending back a century, developing from an outdoor sport into the modern indoor version. Transitioning from an indoor to outdoor game allowed handball to become much faster and dynamic, opening up various avenues for handball betting.

Handball explained

The game is played by two teams of seven players (six outfield and one goal) on a 40m x 20m indoor court for 15 minutes a-side. The rules of handball are similar to basketball in that players use their hands to move the ball and dribble, but – like rugby – players are able to use force to stop an attacker. Goals area scored by throwing the ball from outside the zone or while ‘diving’ into it, and the team to score the most points wins the game. The game is often high-scoring with professional teams typically scoring between 20 and 35 goals each.

History of handball

The game of handball was first codified in Denmark at the end of the 19th century, with the modern rules published in Germany in 1917. In 1925, the first men’s international games were played, followed by international women’s handball in 1930. In 1936, men’s handball was played at the Summer Olympics in Berlin as an outdoor sport, transitioning to indoor at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

In 1946, the International Handball Federation was formed and currently consists of around 200 member federations. It’s most popular in Europe, with only two non-European countries ever winning the World Championships – South Korea and Brazil.

Handball betting options

The rise in popularity of the sport means there are many ongoing matches throughout the year, promising a number of betting opportunities. These include:

• Match betting – bet on outright winner of a handball match
• Handicap betting – each handball team has a handicap assigned and the goal number determined according to this
• Totals betting – how many goals will be scored by a team in a fixture
• First-half betting – bet on the score but only after the first half (through Sportingbet SA’s Live Betting option)
• Future betting – bet on a team or group to win a tournament

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