Bandy is similar to ice hockey in appearance - it is played on ice with sticks – but that is where the similarities end. The game is more analogous to soccer; it is played on a rink the size of a soccer pitch with 11 players per team, two 45-minute halves, the same offside rule as hockey, and unlike hockey, there is no puck; instead, bandy players utilize a little plastic orange ball.
One of the main reasons that bandy is popular to bet on is that it holds similarities to other famous sports like ice hockey, football, and most especially, soccer. The game, like football, is divided into two 45-minute halves.
Bandy is not as harsh as ice hockey since there is less collision between participants and no barriers to bash opponents against. Players pass, dribble, and shoot like in soccer, with play only stopped when the ball is sent out for a goal throw, corner stroke, penalty stroke, stroke in, or by the referee.
The red and blue card system maintains discipline - red means you can't play for the rest of the game, while blue is a 10-minute penalty (three Blues in the same game result in a red).
With such obvious parallels between these two games, bettors who are familiar with either soccer or hockey may translate their betting talents to bandy. Despite the early love for the game, it eventually lost most of its appeal at the expense of ice hockey and football. Bandy was too bulky of a game to follow when ice hockey relocated indoors.