Online Sports Betting: Everything You Wanted to Know

Online Casino Reports (OCR) readers are exposed to sports betting articles daily and in order to make sure nobody stays in the dark, we're presenting you with this quick intro to sports betting so you could get up and running to enjoy the summer's big sporting events and especially the World Cup. The premise is simple: Placing a wager on the outcome of a sporting event based on predictions or estimations.  

Pre-match Betting

Pre-match bets are the classic types of bets in which punters place wagers on a predicted end score or result. This could be, for example, the winner of a football match or a horse race. Online sportsbooks offer many interesting pre-match bets which are much more specific, like how many goals a specific player will score or how many cards will be drawn. These bets also extend to tournaments, for example: placing a bet on a predicted winner in the 2014 World Cup.

Live Betting

Live betting, also known as in-play betting, is the most popular betting form offered by online sportsbooks. Live betting allows placing real-time bets on a sporting event as it happens. These bets are targeted for more sports-savvy people and it's recommended to have a prior knowledge of the sports and the active competitors to make learned bets (this is also where OCR comes in).

Aside from the excitement involved, live betting's big advantage is that it gives an opportunity to make real-time assessments and to re-organize bets; for example, seeing that despite pre-match predictions, a team is doing worse or better, or a player is in a great condition – wiser bets could be placed live in accordance with the situation. It is highly recommended to watch the event live; usually online sportsbooks stream in-play events on their own TV channels.

Odds

Odds are given to every betting market, reflecting the differences between the competitors or teams in order to give a prediction of the end score. Odds are usually either represented in fractional or decimal format. Fractional odds work quite like they sound: For example, if the odds for Liverpool to win a game are 6/1, you could win £6 for any £1 you risk – with the original stake back you'll have £7. In decimal odd format, you would be looking at 7 odds (6/1) for Liverpool to win; your potential win is calculated by multiplying your original bet with the odds. The mathematics is not very complicated but make sure to always check twice before wagering.

Online Sportsbooks

Online sportsbooks are where the magic happens. Some big names include bet365, 888 Sport, Winner Sports and William Hill Sports. Apart from being well-established and trusted, these sites cover a wide range of sports coupled with worthy offers aimed at reducing one's expected losses. The FIFA World Cup taking place in Brazil nowadays presents a great many wagering opportunities, so get your game on and start betting!