You may have heard of sports betting, but do you know how it works? What is the difference between sports betting and regular betting? How does it work on the ground?
To fully understand how sports betting works, you first need to know a bit about how regular betting works. In the UK, bookmakers set the odds of various sports and horse races, so when someone bets on a sporting event, they are simply placing a wager on whether the team they support will win or lose.
Bookmakers generally take bets in the form of straight wagers, whose objective is to pick a winner at a pre-set odds. So, for example, if you bet £10 that Tottenham Hotspur will beat Leicester City in the Championship, bookmakers will offer you odds of 3.0 (3/10) for Tottenham to win and 10.0 (against Leicester) for them to lose. The payout for a successful bet is therefore £30. Should you lose, you would lose your £10 bet.
How Does Sports Betting Work?
When someone opens a betting account with a bookmaker, they are usually given the option of placing bets on numerous sporting events. This is where the name “bookie” comes from – bookmakers accept wagers on sporting events, and the accounts of those who place large numbers of bets are often called “betting accounts” or “bookies accounts.”
To start with, they will usually place bets on the traditional football matches, with a view to making a profit from the volume of bets placed. The UK government, who regulates sports betting in the country, sets the maximum stake that a person can wager at £100. So, should they place a £100 wager on the match, they will either win or lose £100. This is known as a “unit bet”.
However, with the growth of eSports and online betting, bookmakers now offer a wider range of sporting events than just football. Some of the more popular events that you can bet on are tennis, golf, cricket, and boxing. When a bookmaker lists all of the sporting events that they offer as “sporting opportunities,” these are the events that you can choose to bet on.
When someone places a bet on a sporting event, the betting organization will perform various tasks. First, they will establish whether or not the bettor has placed a valid bet and, if so, the amount of the bet. They will also check the event’s odds and the status of any ongoing bets on that event. Once this is done, they will move on to processing the winnings and paying out any outstanding bets. Finally, they will collect any overdue payments and account for their services.
The Differences Between Sports Betting and Regular Betting
The concept behind sports betting is that you are placing a wager on whether or not a sports team will win or lose a particular competition. For example, you might bet £100 that Manchester United will beat Sunderland in the FA Cup final. This is known as a “pool” or “parlay” bet because you are basically placing a wager on multiple events at the same time. The bookmakers might offer odds of 3.0 on Manchester United to win, 1.5 on Sunderland to win, and 1.0 on neither team to win. So, in theory, you could win a combined total of £30 if all three events went according to plan.
These are known as “composite bets.” You can also make “unit bets” on individual sports matches, where you place a wager on whether or not one team will win an event, such as the FA Cup. In this example, you are essentially placing a bet on Manchester United to win the FA Cup. Other differences between sports betting and regular betting are:
- The maximum stake that you can lose on a single bet in sports betting is generally set by the bookmakers; it is usually £100 in the UK. This is in comparison to £30 in regular betting and £100 in unit betting. If you lose £100 in a unit bet, you will not lose your entire stake; you will receive it back plus some extra funds to make up for the fact that you betted on a sporting event.
- With unit betting, you can only win back your initial stake; you cannot win additional money. This is different in sports betting, where you can win or lose as much as you bet. For example, if you bet £100 on Manchester United and they win, you will win £300 ($400) because you bet on a winning team. You will not get your original stake back.
- In sports betting, you are often given the option of choosing which events you would like to bet on. If you are feeling unlucky, you can choose to bet on as many as three NFL games in the next twenty-four hours. This is generally not possible in regular betting.
- You don’t need to have an account with a bookmaker to participate in sports betting. As a non-registered bettor, you will simply need to make a wager on a sporting event and, if you win, you will receive your winnings. There is no subscription or payment plan required.
That is quite a lot of information about how sports betting works, but it is important to fully understand these differences if you decide to get involved in the growing trend. This is because, although sports betting can be relatively straightforward, it is advisable to do some research into the subject before you engage in any action.