Welcome to Sportbetsites.com – a free online resource for everything you need to know about online betting sites. We specialise in providing extensive information about online sports ooks, including in-depth reviews and tips on what to look for in sports betting site. We also have articles on key topics like how to bet on certain sports, what sort of wagers you can make online, and what all the bookies’ jargon actually means.
Best Bookmakers for Online Sports Betting
Picking the right betting site is the most important thing about having a punt on the Net. For starters, you need a bookie which offers competitive odds on all your favourite sports and racing markets. You also want a site which accepts your local currency.
Most of all, and we cannot stress this enough, you must only use sports books which employ the highest quality security protocols, are fully licensed and regulated by a recognised gambling authority, and adhere strictly to international online gaming laws. We at SportsBetSites only recommend online bookies which meet all these key criteria, like these two:
– William Hill is one of the most recognised names in the industry, with sports betting, race book and online casino operations all over the world. The UK gaming giant is the place to go if you want great odds and diverse markets across an enormous spread of international and domestic sports.
– Bovada specialises in North American sporting divisions like the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and MLS, as well as collegiate basketball and football matches in the United States. It is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Quebec, Canada, and accepts players from most US states.
How to create a betting account
Signing up for online sports betting is much like opening an email account and takes just a minute to do. Simply head to a secure sportsbook site like www.WilliamHill.com, click the ‘Join Now’ button near the top of the page and fill in your details. The registration form requires only basic boiler-plate info like your name, nationality, date of birth and so on. Tick all the boxes, pick a username, and in a matter of moments you will be ready to make your first deposit and start betting online.
Secure Deposit & Withdrawal Methods
The best Web bookies support several different options for funding and cashing out your betting account. Depending on the options available for your selected currency, you might be able to choose from credit cards, debit cards, secure e-wallets, prepaid cash tickets, direct online banking and cheques.
Trusted brands like Visa, MasterCard and Skrill (Moneybookers) are accepted for instant deposits at most real money gambling sites, while withdrawals can usually be made via wire transfer and cashier’s check. See our full bookmaker reviews for more info on transaction methods at top sites like William Hill and Bovada.
Popular bet types at Internet sportsbooks
Straight betting: This is the most common kind of sports wager, where you bet on one team or player to defeat the other. In racing, you can also pick a runner to finish in the top three (place bet), or cover both the win and the place at once (each way bet). Straight bets are typically offered as moneyline odds in the United States.
Point spread: Known as line betting outside the US, this is a kind of handicap wager where you bet on whether the winning margin will be more or less than the figure offered by the bookmaker. Another variation is the over/under bet, which focuses on a team’s overall score or the total number of points, runs, or goals scored in a match. Spread betting is extremely popular in NFL football, NBA basketball, cricket and other high-scoring team sports.
Futures/outrights: Instead of focusing on single matches, outright bets typically ask you to pick the eventual winner of a tournament or competition. Futures markets can also include more specific wagers on team and individual performances – e.g. who will score the most goals at the 2016 European Championship. Outrights and futures bets can be placed months in advance, especially for major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon and the US Masters.
Exotics and props: You can bet on just about any aspect of a sporting contest these days, including a range of wagers which focus on specific incidents within a match. These exotic bets or proposition wagers (“props” for short) can cover anything from the number of aces hit in a tennis match, to the first goalscorer in an English Premier League soccer game, to the number of free throws scored by a certain player in an NBA clash.
Multi bets or parlays: Place two or more wagers on the same ticket, and you have yourself a multi-bet. Sports multis can come in a few different forms, including doubles and trebles (where you must pick the winners in two or three matches/races), accumulators (same deal, but four or more), and custom multibets where you can mix it up with a whole heap of different sports and wager types on the one bet slip.
How to Read bookmakers’ odds
Bookmakers can use a variety of different formats to lay-out their betting odds. Some Internet gambling operators, like Bovada, allow you to choose between the three most common styles:
– Fractional odds are the common format in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and remain in favour with many racetrack bookies all over the globe. This option shows the profit amount (left) relative to the stake size (right). For example: if Manchester United is paying 7/2 (read as “seven to two”) to defeat Chelsea in the FA Cup final, a $1 bet will return a $3.50 profit. To calculate the total return, just add up the two halves of the fraction (e.g. $3 bet at 10/3 = $10 win + $3 stake = $13 total return).
– Moneyline odds, or American odds, are laid out in a +/- format to show how much each team/player is paying either side of even money. These are like British odds converted into percentages; positive prices are usually read in relation to a $100 stake, while negative odds show the stake required in order to win $100. For example: if the Dallas Cowboys are priced -200 (1/2) and the Denver Broncos are listed as +500 (5/1), a straight bet on Dallas will pay $0.50 to each dollar wagered and Denver will pay $5 per dollar. Even money (1/1 in UK odds) can be written as either +100 or -100.
– Decimal odds are used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and most of mainland Europe. This system quotes the total return for a win relative to a $1 wager, inclusive of the original stake. For example: if Rafael Nadal is priced at 1.76 to win the French Open, a $100 bet will return $176 all up ($76 profit + original $100 stake). In relation to UK and US odds, 1/1 or +100 would be written as 2.00 in decimal prices.
Top sports for online betting
Leading bookmaker sites like Bovada and WilliamHill.com offer real cash betting markets on hundreds of domestic sports leagues and international competitions seven days a week, all year round. Popular sports for Internet betting include:
– American football (NFL)
– Athletics
– Australian rules football (AFL)
– Baseball
– Basketball
– Boxing
– College sports (NCAA)
– Cricket
– Cycling
– Darts
– Harness racing
– Gaelic games (football and hurling)
– Golf
– Greyhound racing
– Ice hockey
– Mixed martial arts (UFC)
– Motor sports
– Olympics
– Rugby league
– Rugby union
– Soccer
– Surfing
– Tennis
– Thoroughbred racing
– Triathlon
– Volleyball
– Winter sports (skiing and snowboarding)
– Wrestling
Customer service
The best online sports bookies go to great lengths to keep their patrons satisfied. Most sites run dedicated phone lines for sports and racing bets, as well as a separate hotline for general queries and customers support. There is usually a live chat option, too, and you can always drop an email to the support team for less urgent matters.