Ready to bet on sports?

You know what sports betting is all about and you just want to get straight to it. Well, as more states are legislating to ensure residents can enjoy legal online betting, more operators are entering the scene. So let us introduce you to the best sportsbooks the US has to offer.

 

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What sports can you bet on?

Any good sportsbook out there might overwhelm you with the vast betting choices on offer. We’re not just talking about sports here. Any event that is happening live and has an unknown, unpredictable outcome is fair game. That means players can now enjoy real money betting on anything from the outcomes of elections to who is going to win the next series of American Idol. 

Popular sports events you can bet on

All year-round, no matter the season — and who doesn’t like an NFL game where the gridiron is covered in snow — there’s some form of sporting event going on. Many of the major sports leagues run annually, and other international events run every 4 years, such as the World Cup or the Olympics. This means there are plenty of chances for players to try their luck and place a betting payment.

In the US, the three most popular sporting events are:

1. National Football League (NFL) every February holds the Superbowl the NFL betting event of the year
2. Major League Baseball (MBL) concludes in October/November in a best-of-7 game World Series.
3. National Basketball Association (NBA) crowning their yearly champions in the NBA Finals in June.

The legal situation in the US

Since 2018, when New Jersey won their Supreme Court ruling stating they can legalize sports betting, every state in the US can legislate to allow betting on sports. Before that, betting on sports was only legal in Nevada.

Now we’re seeing many states have either already legislated to make sports betting legal, or are in the process of finalizing legislation. Every state has the power to make its own rules and it’s the reason why some states have an online sportsbook but others don’t. For example, you can play at Tennessee online sportsbooks and Louisiana sports betting sites, but those states are yet to legalize online casinos.

Out of the 50 states, 32 have already regulated retail sports betting and many of these have also legislated to allow online regulated sports betting. Some even have esports betting on the cards, but the situation is more fluid there.

Most states allow fantasy sports betting, as it’s seen more as a game of skills rather than pure gambling.

Another 15 states (Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont) are moving towards legislation.

In Idaho and Wisconsin, there’s no movement towards allowing any form of sports betting. In Utah, it’s unlikely that sports bets will ever be legal in the near future. Anti-gambling is in the state’s constitution, and they’re firmly opposed to gambling in every form, including sports bets.

Sports betting is not available (at the time of writing) in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin. 

Things to consider when betting on sports

If you’re new to online sports betting you might be feeling slightly overwhelmed at the amount of choice you’re presented with when accessing a betting site. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. But, once you get to grips with a few terms and maybe even try out a few straightforward bets things will start getting clearer.

The best online betting sites will have information within the bet slip to help you out. Many will also give you information such as the final payout of your bet so you know exactly how much you might win.

In this section, we talk about the main components of online sports betting. Areas such as betting odds will help you get the most bang for your buck, while betting offers can stretch your bankroll further. Some sportsbooks do live betting and cashouts better than others too. We also look at the payment methods offered (for instance, is it one of the sportsbooks that accept PayPal?), safety measures the operator is taking, and mobile performance.

Sports betting tips and guides

We need to be clear here, betting on sports is not a straightforward affair and you need to have a good degree of knowledge of the sport. Some people think that you need to live and breathe a sport before you make a bet on it — but that’s a bit of an exaggeration. The best chance you have at making successful bets is if you follow the particular sport, and you’re able to make informed deductions about an event.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take a chance on an online sports bet if you’ve never watched a game. Unpredictable sporting upsets happen all the time — and it’s exactly that, that makes online betting a mix of skill and chance.

So sports knowledge does go a long way, there‘s always an element of chance and risk. The favorite may not always have the best performance, players may be injured, the weather may not be favourable to a certain team and myriad other factors. That doesn’t mean you can’t play smart, and that’s why we’ve created a series of guides to help you bet smart.

Betting guides (coming soon)

How to bet on sports — Types of wagers

Each sport lends itself to different types of wagers. The most straightforward ones are the moneyline bets where you pick the winner straight up. When the two teams are evenly matched a moneyline bet won’t yield any good returns so the best way to get a better wager is to combine it with other bets in a parlay. You’re increasing the risk here as all bets have to be correct in order to win but you do end up with better odds.

These are the simplest of wagers but as sports betting evolves so do the types of wagers. We’re talking about over/under bets for example, where a bettor tries to predict a number from a game statistic (like the number of goals in a match). Then there’s a total bet where bettors predict the exact number of say goals during a football match. The list goes on and you can read our in-depth guides to the different types of wagers by clicking the appropriate link.

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