Handball
There’s no great mystery to the rules of handball: With seven players on each side, the aim is simply to pass and throw the ball into the opponents’ net and to score more goals than the other side. Naturally there are more rules to add in but, in essence, it’s that simplicity that has made handball so popular.
The Global Events
The sport has a great following around Europe and this area of our sportsbook remains busy throughout the year. Irrespective of whether you are considering a bet, we have Unibet TV standing by for all customers with live streams of all the major handball events around the world.
Handball on the world stage is generally divided into two tournaments. Firstly, there is the summer Olympics while the sport also has its own world championships. Handball may seem like a permanent fixture on the Olympic schedule but, in fact, it was added relatively recently at Munich in 1972.
The former Yugoslavia were the first winners of the men’s edition and eastern European countries would go on to dominate the sport in those early Olympic years. Up to and including the Rio games of 2016, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, Croatia and France led the overall men’s medal table with two golds each. Other nations to have won handball gold in the men’s section include Germany, Russia and Denmark.
For the women, Denmark are clear at the top of the table with three gold medals while South Korea, Norway and the former Soviet Union have all won twice.
Has that pattern of success travelled across to the Handball World Championships? The very first edition of the men’s tournament took place back in 1938 so there is a long history to look back on. France lead the way here with six world titles and that tally puts them two ahead of Romania and Sweden who have won two trophies apiece.
Other nations to have enjoyed success at the men’s handball world championships include Spain, Russia, Germany, Denmark and Croatia.
The women’s edition of the handball world championship came along later in 1957. Czechoslovakia won that inaugural tournament while Russia are the most successful country with four wins to date. Of the countries still competing in the current competitions, Denmark, Norway, France, Hungary, Romania, the Netherlands, South Korea and Brazil are the other teams to have won gold. Those statistics show that the women’s event can be more open but will that pattern continue in the future?
Those indicators from previous tournaments aren’t guarantees for future success but countries such as France, Sweden, Denmark and Germany remain strong in modern day handball. Moving forward into future events, our outright betting markets will list the favourites but it’s down to you to decide whether to follow the odds setters or to take a longer priced pick from further down the list.
Don’t forget that Unibet TV is on hand so that you can watch your stakes play out in real time. You don’t have to bet on a certain match in order to view the action and you can simply decide that you want to watch some world class handball. Whatever your preference may be, our live stream is available and easily accessible for all of our customers.
Major Competitions
Away from the major global events, there are other international competitions plus a host of domestic leagues and cups from around the world. On the international stage, handball is played at regional tournaments such as the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games while the sport also showcases a European Championships.
All across Europe there are major domestic handball leagues in place and, not only do the teams involved have the chance of aiming for a national title, there is the potential to qualify for the Champions League. The best teams on the continent look to qualify for Europe’s major club competition and that’s an incentive which guarantees more thrills and drama throughout the season.
Whichever competition you happen to be following, Unibet are on hand to provide the best coverage and it all begins with a comprehensive set of betting options. Providing support to those markets is Unibet TV with its live stream of all the major handball leagues and tournaments from around the world.
Betting on and Watching Live Handball
Outright winner markets will be published for the big global handball tournaments some time in advance of the first game. Customers will then have time to consider an ante post stake or, they can wait and watch the competition develop before making their decision.
Match betting on individual results is backed by a wide choice of prop bets and these might include correct score and total points. Don’t forget that handball is also popular with our in-play bettors and those who want to look at bets once a game has started should head for the live section of our sportsbook.
Unibet TV can offer a tangible benefit to those live markets as it will show in-play odds as they update. The stream can also be picked up by your mobile device and this is all designed to make mobile betting easier.
Desktop and laptops can also pick up the feed and all that we ask is that you have funds in your Unibet account. Once on board, you can enjoy a vast choice of major handball events throughout the calendar year.
