As access to online sports gambling sweeps across the world, the need for knowledge about how to bet online becomes increasingly more important. The information below will serve as a tutorial about what online sports gambling is, how it is done and what someone can expect as an online sports bettor.
Establishing a Sports Betting Account
As long as the individual lives in a region where online sports betting is allowed, the process of finding a sports book should not be difficult. For people living in India, there's dozens of licensed sports books operating in the UK and parts of Asia, which should provide ample choices.
After selecting an online sports book, the gambler will need to register for an account. The most important required information will be the gambler's place of residence and age. As long as ample proof of both can be provided to the online sports book, the verification process should go smoothly, resulting in an approved account being established.
Before wagering can begin, the gambler will need to make a deposit into their gambling account. While the available deposit options may vary from one online sports book to the next, the following options are usually available: credit cards (MasterCard, VISA), eWallet options (Neteller), bank wires and in some cases Bitcoin. Once funds have been successfully placed in the gambler's account, they can begin wagering on their favorite sports.
Betting Markets
The number and kind of betting markets an online sports book will offer will depend a great deal on which jurisdiction the online bookmaker is operating within. Indian sports bettors will likely be most interested in betting on sports like Cricket, Soccer, Field Hockey, Badminton and Martial Arts. They should have no problem finding sports betting markets related to these and other sports with a top online sports book operating in Europe. A good bookmaker will provide as many as 25-30 betting markets and 250-500 matches/games every day.
The Betting Process
At this point, it's time to discuss how to bet online. Most top online sports books will offer betting access through PCs with a traditional web browser or through the use of mobile devices that are compatible with popular operating systems like Windows Mobile, iOS (Apple) and Android.
While the sports betting industry is always hard at work trying to innovate new types of wagers, there are six types that are still considered sports betting standards. They include:
- Straight Bets - a wager on single team, individual or occurrence to win an event/match/game in question
- Parlay (accumulators) - A wager that has two or more teams, individuals or occurrences on the same betting slip, in which case all the selections have to win in order for the overall bet to be a winner
- Teasers- Betting on some sports (American football, basketball, Cricket, Aussie Rule Football) are based on point spreads. A teaser allows the bettor to move the point spread a predetermined number of points per game, over at least two games on the betting slip
- In-Game - A modern innovation that allows bettors to place wagers on certain activities within a game or match while the game or match is in progress
- Proposition Bets - Wagers on the specific accomplishments of a team or individuals during a given game or match. The prop bet might be a wager against statistics or between two teams/individuals comparatively
- Future Bet - Future bets allow bettors to wager on a team or individual in a match or event to be held at some point in the future
Understanding Betting Lines
Whether a point spread is included or not, each betting option is expressed as a money line. A money line represents the amount a bettor needs to wager in order to win predetermined net profit. Hopefully a couple of examples will clarify how betting lines work.
In every match/event/occurrence, there's most likely going to be a favorite and underdog. The money line for a favorite will be expressed with a minus (-) in front of the money line. The minus represents the amount the bettor would have to bet to win an even $100. The money line for an underdog will be expressed with a plus (+) in front of it. The plus represents the amount the bettor will win if they bet an even $100.
Calculating Winnings
Straight Bet Example: Chelsea is playing Arsenal in a Premiere League soccer match. Chelsea is favored, therefore, the betting/money line might look like this:
Chelsea -150
Arsenal +120
Using a $100 dollar betting increment, the payouts would come back as follows:
The bettor would have to bet $150 on Chelsea in order to win $100
A $100 bet on Arsenal would return an net win of $120
Parlay Example: The bettor decides to use Chelsea but they also add Manchester City at +150 in a game versus Liverpool on the parlay betting slip. The wager is $100 and they must win both games to cash.
Here's how the potential payout would be calculated"
First step: $100 on Chelsea at -150 ($100/150 = $67 + $100 = $167)
Second Step: $167 from Chelsea win on Manchester City at +150 ($167 x 150 - $250 + $167 = $417.
The amount received back would be $417 - $100 (original wager) = #317 net profit
Note: Calculating payouts might seem complicated, but it gets easier with experience. As a rule of thumb, the bet amount is divided by the minus amount to determine winnings while the plus amount is multiplied by the bet amount to determine winnings in the other direction.
Conclusion
Sports betting online is a wonderful source of entertainment for tens of millions of people all over the planet. However, the risk is real. Under no circumstance should anyone ever wager more than they can truly afford to lose. Gambling dollars should be what's left over after bills are paid and savings has been set aside for the individual's future. Learn before start betting from this "how to bet online" guide.