First goalscorer
A first goalscorer bet is a wager on which named player will score the first goal of a football match that counts for settlement, usually within normal time plus stoppage time. If anyone else opens the scoring, the bet loses, and a 0-0 draw beats every player selection. Most bookmakers also list a No Goalscorer option, which wins only when no player is credited with a goal. Extra time and penalty shootouts are normally excluded, though each operator’s rules page has the final say.
How first goalscorer bets are settled
Own goals are the first thing that catches people out. They count on the scoreboard but are credited to no player, so the major bookmakers roll the market on to the next goal scored by a player at the right end.
Substitutes follow a separate rule. If your player was not on the pitch when the first valid goal went in, including a sub who came on after it, the bet is void and the stake comes back; a player who goes off or is sent off before that goal counts as a loser. Wording differs between operators on edge cases, so the football rules page is worth reading before you stake.
A goal ruled out by VAR does not settle anything.
What do the first goalscorer odds really say?
Take a striker priced at 6/1. Implied probability is 1 divided by the decimal odds of 7.0, which gives about 14.3%, and that figure already carries the bookmaker’s margin.
Add up the implied probabilities across every player and No Goalscorer, and the total usually runs well past 100%, because this market spreads its margin over many selections. Do the sum yourself before judging any price.
It is often confused with anytime goalscorer, which pays if the player scores at any point in the match and is priced shorter as a result.
