Online Sports Betting
Sports betting is the most popular form of online gambling in Europe. Punters from across the continent place real money wagers on football, tennis, rugby, boxing, MMA, and other popular sports every day. You’re going to learn everything you need to know about online casino sportsbooks and sports betting here.
Online Sports Betting – What You Need to Know
Before you place any real money wagers, you need to learn some basics. These concepts will help you understand how to bet online and what some of your options are.
How to Place a Sports Bet
Placing a wager on your favourite sport is simple. It will only take you a few seconds once you have created a new sports betting account. The following is a step-by-step guide to placing your first bet.
Be Aware: This is a typical process for placing a sports bet. There are some differences between individual sportsbooks which may make the betting process slightly different from the description below.
- First, select the sport you are interested in from the sidebar or the sticky menu if you’re using a mobile device. For example, you might select football.
- The second step is to select the event you are interested in betting on. For example, you might select a football match between Liverpool and Manchester City.
- Next, select the outcome you want to bet on. You’ll also see the odds for the event listed beside it. For example, you might bet on Arsenal to beat Manchester City at 2/1 odds.
- Selecting the event will cause it to appear on your bet slip. You then need to enter the wager you want to make in €. Your potential profits and losses will be calculated for you.
- As a final step, confirm your bet. Once you do this, your real money wager will be executed and will settle when the event has finished.
The above is a description of a typical sports bet. However, the best sports betting sites have evolved far beyond simple wagers on game outcomes. There is now a multitude of different bets you can place.
The Different Types of Online Bets
There are many different types of bets these days. You’ll learn how they work below.
- Singles – You bet on the outcome of a game, match, fight, etc. For example, you might bet on Anthony Joshua to defeat Deontay Wilder. You won’t necessarily have to say how, in what round, or anything else. Single bets just require you to pick the winner.
- Doubles – This is one bet with two selections. For this type of bet to pay, both bets must be successful. For example, you might try to predict the winner of two different football matches on a Saturday. Doubles pay greater returns than singles because they are more difficult to have success with.
- Trebles – You must bet successfully on three events to win a treble bet. For example, you might pick three horses on race day. If all three win, your treble will pay. These offer even larger potential payouts than doubles.
- Accumulators – These are often called ACCAs. Doubles and Trebles are technically accumulators, but you can go all the way up to eight-fold bets with ACCAs. For example, you might bet on eight teams to win during a football weekend. ACCAs can pay huge amounts, but they’re much more difficult to win.
- Live/In-Play Bets – You can now bet on in-play events such as “Next Team to Score” or the outcome of a penalty kick. Live bets are typically settled faster than outright bets. You can bet on hundreds of outcomes. Live betting is developing quickly, and more betting markets open up regularly.
The above is not an exhaustive list of the different types of bets. There are dozens of others. Some are specific to particular sports such as horse racing, while others can be made across different sports.
How Does Live Betting Work?
The first section of this sports betting guide describes how to place an outright bet. Is Live Casino or live betting much different? Not really. The process of placing the bet is the same, but there are some differences to be aware of.
First, live bets are placed on events within a game or match. A good example would be betting on whether a free kick will be on target.
Second, bets are settled in real-time. For example, if a free kick goes over the crossbar, that bet is settled there and then. There’s no need to wait for the game to finish.
Third, betting windows open and close quickly. Whereas you can bet on some outcomes days before the game or match begins, live betting opportunities come and go rapidly. It might be a good idea to enable “one-touch betting” to ensure you don’t miss out on any opportunities.
Fourth, some live betting markets are much more developed than others. For example, you’ll often find hundreds of live bets on football. You might not find quite as many on athletics.
Fifth, you can place multiple live bets at the same time. For example, you could bet that a free kick will be on target, that the team taking it will be the next to score, and that the halftime result will be 2-1 as a result. Each bet will require a separate wager, but it’s possible to place them all at once.
Live/In-Play betting is often referred to as sports betting on steroids. It’s important to remember to gamble responsibly and keep your presence of mind when enjoying live betting.
Online Betting Offers – What Can You Claim?
Before we begin this section, please note that not every kind of betting bonus mentioned here is available at Getlucky.com. You’ll have to check the bonus offers to see what is currently on offer. Likewise, the following are only examples, and the amounts mentioned are not referring to real offers on this site.
Bonus Bets
These allow you to claim a match on your first deposit. For example, if you deposit €100, you may receive an extra €100 to bet with. This bonus will always come with terms and conditions such as playthrough requirements before you can withdraw it. If you have ever accepted a slot machine bonus, the wagering requirements work in the same way.
Risk-Free Bets
These are bets which return your stake if you lose. They’re sometimes called “second chance” bets. You will have to wager them before you can withdraw them. Sometimes, a percentage of your stake is returned rather than the whole amount.
Win Boosts
These are exactly what the name suggests. Your wins will be boosted by a certain amount. For example, you might bet a 50% win boost if you correctly pick the winner of a horse race.
Best Odds Guaranteed
If you find better odds on an event, the bookmaker will match them. Often, you don’t have to, because they have computer programs to monitor competitors and match their odds automatically.
Cash Outs
You may cash out early on either winning or losing bets. The bookmaker will make you an offer, and you can choose to accept or reject it. This allows you to take winnings early or cut your losses if things aren’t going as planned.
Now that you’ve learned about the different sports betting bonuses available online, it’s time to finish with some online betting tips.
Online Betting Tips
Before you place your first real money bet, take some time to review these betting tips. They may help you win more often, although nothing is guaranteed when it comes to sports betting.
Review Stats – Some punters are convinced that reviewing historical sports data can lead to better betting decisions. You can find lots of useful historical stats on all kinds of sports online. For example, you can use these stats to find out how likely a player is to make a fault when serving in a tennis game. Most tennis tips will tell you to bet on that outcome if the player has a history of doing so.
Hedge Your Bets – There’s a way to increase the likelihood that you’ll cover your losses if a bet does not come through. The trick is to find odds on a likely outcome that will cover you if your riskier bet does not win. For example, if you bet €100 on Man City to beat Wolves at 1/10, and you bet €10 on Watford to beat Liverpool at 14/1, you’ll make money if Watford win by chance, but you’ll win your €10 back if they don’t and Man City beat Wolves. Be aware that this is not guaranteed. You could have an unlucky day and lose both bets, but it’s unlikely.
Stick With What You Know – There’s no doubt that sports betting is somewhat skill-based. A knowledgeable football fan with 20 years of experience watching his favourite team is more likely to place winning bets than a complete newbie. Don’t stray into betting on sports you don’t have an interest in or bet on outcomes you don’t understand. Sure, you might win by chance, but it’s better to place smart, informed bets based on knowledge of the sport.