Bandy, not to be confused with Ice Hockey, is a sport played in winter during which ice skaters use sticks in order to score a goal using a ball, by landing it in the opposing team’s goal. The sport’s name presumably comes from the Middle French word “bander” – meaning to strike back and forth.
Bandy dates back 200 years, and is typically played with 11 players on a side. The sport requires much more stamina from players, as a larger surface of ice is covered during a game. Players are also not permitted to be substituted as often as in Ice Hockey.
The earliest records offering proof of a Bandy sports club, date back to 1813. Being England, the temperatures in winter were ideal for a game of Bandy. Bandy is very popular in countries like Sweden, Russia and even in the United States, and the very first national league was launched in Sweden in 1902. Bandy is now the world’s second most popular winter sport.
World Championship
The Bandy World Championship is regulated and organised by the Federation of International Bandy. The first Bandy World Championship was played in 1957, and only men participated. Women joined in on the game in 2004.
Understanding the Rules
Bandy has become an all-time favourite for sports betting. In order to make an accurate call as to winning probabilities, it is vital to understand the rules of the game.
In a typical match, a team is permitted to use five substitute players – in addition to the 11 players to each side. Four of the substitutes can be field players, and the fifth a goalkeeper. A player who has however been penalized from the remainder of a game, may not be replaced by another player. This is an important rule to keep in mind, especially where sports betting is concerned.
A Bandy match is played in two halves of forty-five minutes each. During extremely cold temperatures, a referee may decide that the game be played in more than two parts. This is especially done during heavy snowfall. The additional parts may allow time for the snow to clear. Thus making the expected temperature another key factor.
Punctuality is key. Teams arriving late shall face a time penalty of 5 minutes. The team captain may decide which of the players is to serve the penalty.
A player may elect to direct the ball with his body, instead of with his stick. This is permitted as long as the player is within the limits of the playing field, and wearing his skates.
Popular Types of Bandy Bets
Like different options to wager at https://onlinebettingoffers.biz/soccer, there are two favourites when selecting a type. The first is Bandy Handicap Betting. With this type of bet, bookmakers make an estimate as to the probability of each of the two teams to actually win the game. A goal handicap is then offered in order to level the playing field. These goal handicap values are then ultimately added to the final score. The winner is the winning team once the additions have been factored in.
The other popular type of bet is Bandy Totals Betting. This allows the player to take a guess at whether the total number of goals scored by both teams will be more or less than a pre-set value.