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Online Sports Betting

By Ann MacDonald

The Internet has made sports betting as close as your fingertips. Not only are there many betting sites to choose from, most of them offer incentives and bonuses for you to get started and try them out.

What is sports betting?

In most sports bets, money is wagered on whether a particular team or person will win a game or an event. In most matches, there is a competitor who is considered more likely to win – this is the favorite. There is also q competitor who is more likely to lose – this is the underdog.

In order to make betting more interesting, and to add incentive for people to bet on the underdog, a system of odds is used. With odds, you bet on the likelihood that each competitor will win and the winnings are weighted to accommodate these odds. In other words, if you bet on the underdog and the underdog wins, you will earn more money than if you had bet the same amount on a winning favorite.

How to get started

Once you choose a web site that features online sports betting, you will need to register in order to get started. Find the "registration" or "sign up" link and fill out the required information; it is usually just your name, address, phone number, email and other basic information.

 Next you will need to deposit money into your account. Most sites allow you to use credit cards or deposit using online payment services. Others will allow you to link directly to your bank account. Once you have placed money in your account, you can use it to place bets.

 Once you have registered and made a deposit, you are usually ready to go. Some sites may require you to download software that runs on your computer. Often, this speeds up the betting process, but if you do not want to do this look for a site that advertises "no-download" betting.

Placing a bet

Since the goal of online betting sites is for your to place bets, betting is usually the easiest thing to figure out how to do. Choose the game or event on which you would like to bet and follow links to place bets on it. Indicate the amount you would like to play, remembering not to exceed the amount in your account. Once you are sure you have your chosen bet, click to place your bet and then root for your favorites!

Cashing out

So, you've won big! Woohoo! But, you have to do a little more than hit a "cash out" button. Different betting sites all have their own policies, but often you have to place a request for your winnings and it may take some time for you provide the identification they may require and to receive your winnings. Some sites charge fees for withdrawing your winnings, so make sure to read the fine print before you start betting.

Sports betting terminology

Need to know a little more about placing sports bets? Some commonly used terms are defined below:

Odds: The odds are the statistically calculated chances that each sports team or competitor has of winning. The odds determine the amount of money that is paid out to winners of each possible bet.

Sports book: A sports book is an establishment that offers sports betting. They may also be called bookmakers or bookies.

Player: The person placing a bet is the player

Wager: The bet placed is also called a wager.

Limit: The limit is the maximum bet that the site will allow for that particular type of bet.

Squares: Squares are bettors who always play their favorites.

Pointspread: Betting on a pointspread means that you are betting that a competitor will not only win, it will win by a minimum number of points.

Off the board: An off the board game is a game on which the bookmaker is not accepting any bets.

Over/Under: In this bet, the player is wagering that the combined total score for the game is over or under a certain number.

Parlay: In a parlay, the player bets on multiple competitions. In order to win the parlay, all of the individual bets on the competitions must be winners.

 

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