Sports Betting Sites
"Sports Betting" - For as long as there have been sports, people have wagered on those sports. Despite its quasi-legal status in much of the world, sports betting is a multi billion dollar a year industry. People from all around the world bet on sports such as football, soccer, baseball, hockey and many more. If it’s a sport, you can safely assume that people bet on it.
Best Sports Betting Sites
Sports Betting Site Top Lists - Every Sport Covered
- American Football Betting
- European Football Betting
- Soccer Betting Online
- Badminton Betting
- Baseball Betting
- Basketball Betting
- Cricket Betting
- Cycling Betting
- Darts Betting
- Handball Betting
- Hockey Betting
- Hurling Betting
- Jai Alai Betting
- Olympics Betting
- Rugby Betting
- Tennis Betting
- Volleyball Betting
- Water Polo Betting
Best Online Sports Betting Sites
The best sports betting sites really vary by country and sport, below is a general guide and safe betting sites to deposit and bet real money as we hand picked each sports betting site based on ease of deposits, fast payouts, quality of support, and real money promotions.
1. Bodog.com is the best sports betting site for real money online sports betting in the US and Canada - please read my detailed Bodog sports betting site review for more detailed information on specific types of sports betting, bonuses and promotions, and accepted deposit and payment methods.
2. Bet365.com is the best overall sports betting site for most other countries, great lines and easy deposits, top notch customer support - live streaming coverage of most major sporting events and live "in-play" betting along side the best VIP program in the businesss. Check out my Bet365 sports betting site review for more information on betting at Bet365, including how to deposit and the best bonus.
3. BetUS.com is the best sports betting site for NFL, NBA, MBL, and other popular American sports. Free swimsuit calender to all new signups. Not many international sports are covered here, so it's very North American focused for the most part. Read my BetUS sports betting site review for signup and first deposit bonus information.
About Sports Betting Sites In General
Most professional sports organizations are opposed to sports betting because it can lead bettors to attempt to “fix” matches. With millions of dollars riding on the outcome of any particular match, the temptation to fix those matches is a very real one. Over the years, professional sports have experienced dozens of scandals in which referees, players and coaches have been caught wagering on the outcomes of their own matches.
As much trouble as sports bettors have caused over the years, the sports betting industry as a whole is good for sports. When people bet on their favorite teams and players, they stay interested in the matches and are more likely to purchase tickets or tune in on TV. That alone is good for any industry but its absolutely vital for sports. Without interest in the game, there is no money.
Making Bets On Sports At Online Betting Websites
If you want to place a bet on an upcoming game, you first need to find a sportsbook or bookie. A sports betting site is an organization of some sort that accepts sports bets and a bookie is an individual who does the same thing.
Many people today prefer to do their sports betting with online sportsbooks and online bookmakers instead of in person. In the United States, this is especially true because sports betting is illegal in most areas and local sportsbooks can be pretty shady. Even in places where sports betting is legal, many people prefer betting online because it’s so convenient and fast.
There are many online sports betting sites to choose from but if you want help narrowing down your choices, take a look at our online sportsbook reviews. We’ve been around the block a few times and know all about the best and worst online sites to bet on sports.
Once you find a sportsbook betting site that looks good, go to its website and create an account. You’ll see big buttons all over the place asking you to sign up or “get started now.” Just click on one of those buttons and follow the instructions. It should only take a couple minutes to get your account set up.
After that, you will want to fund the account by making your first deposit. You can do that by signing in to your account and visiting the cashier section. From there, you can choose your deposit method and amount. Most people use credit cards to deposit but there are several other options as well.
Understanding Sports Betting Site Odds
Sports betting bookmakers use odds to determine the payoffs you receive for placing bets on upcoming matches. Because some teams are more likely to win than others, the payoffs for betting on certain teams are different than for others. A team that is highly likely to lose, for example, always offers higher payouts than for a team that is highly likely to win.
Sportsbooks offer different payouts like this because they want to attract an equal amount of betting action on both sides of every match. If it’s well known that one team is much better than another team, many people will naturally want to bet on the stronger team. By offering higher payouts for the underdogs, sportsbooks are able to attract an equal amount of betting action on both sides of the match.
In doing so, sports betting websites minimize their own risk because they can just use all the losing bets to pay off all the winning bets. Sportsbooks can lose a lot of money if all the betting action goes on one side of the match and then those people win their bets. In that case, the sportsbook would have to pay off the winning bets with money from its own pockets.
Terms And Types Of Sports Betting
The odds in a sportsbook are listed in one of three formats:
- US / Moneyline
- Decimal
- Fractional
US Standard / Moneyline Odds At Sports Betting Sites
The US or moneyline format is the most common format for listing the odds. In the US format, sportsbooks use numbers such as +200 and -200 to represent how much money you must wager to win $100. For even money bets, the number +100 is used because you must wager $100 to win $100.
Let’s use an upcoming game as an example:
Denver Broncos -250
Baltimore Ravens +200
In this game, the Broncos are the favorite to win the game. In order to make betting on the Broncos less attractive (and therefore get an equal amount of action on both teams), the sportsbook has listed the Broncos at -250. This means that for every $250 you bet, you will win $100. The Baltimore Ravens are listed at +200, which means that for every $100 you bet, you will win $200.
Sports Betting Site Decimal Odds Sports Bets
Decimal odds are the second-most common format for listing the odds. In the decimal odds system, the number 2.00 is used to represent even money bets. Any team with a number less than 2.00 is the favorite and any team with a number greater than 2.00 is considered the underdog.
The same game as above would look like this in decimal format:
Denver Broncos 1.40
Baltimore Ravens 3.00
An easy way to figure out how much you can win with decimal odds is to simply multiply your wager by the decimal odds. The resulting number will tell you how much money will be returned to you after a successful bet.
For example, if you bet $250 on the Broncos, you would take 250 times 1.40 which would equal $350. Your total profit would be $100 – the same as in our moneyline example above.
Fractional Odds Bet At Sportsbook Sites
Fractional odds are mostly used for sports events in the UK. For even money bets, the number 1/1 is used. Here is the same game once again in fractional odds format:
Denver Broncos 2/5
Baltimore Ravens 2/1