As the legal, regulated sports betting market heats up in the US, more and more bookmakers are jumping on the band wagon to provide live betting for sports fans.
Live betting has become immensely popular amongst bettors with the COVID-19 pandemic as many sports fans couldn’t physically go to the stadiums to enjoy their favorite teams. Additionally, many sportsbooks have opened their doors to non-US residents as a way to gain more customers and hopefully make more profits.
With the summer sports season upon us, now is a good time to assess which online sportsbook has live betting. Here, we’ll rank the top 5 online US sportsbooks by offering live betting along with some general information about each bookmaker’s interface, games, and perks.
What Is Live Betting?
With regular betting, you’re either placing a wager on whether a team will win or lose a game. If a game ends in a no-contest or a push, you’ll receive no payout. However, with live betting, you’re watching the game as it happens and being able to place wagers while the game is in progress.
While the legality of online sports betting is still being debated, almost all sportsbooks offer some variant of live betting. However, not all online sportsbooks are created equal, and it’s important to do your research to find the best one.
Top 5 Online Sportsbooks For Live Betting
The top 5 online sportsbooks for live betting will be compared based on a number of categories including games offered, odds, and customer experience. In general, you should try to avoid using offshore sportsbooks as they may not be regulated by the US government and may not provide the same level of service as a US-based bookmaker.
On the subject of customer experience, Wirecutter analyzed the experiences of more than 10,000 sports bettors and found that the best online sportsbooks offer personal and responsive customer service. Additionally, they need to offer reliable and fast payout systems which make deposits and withdrawals easy and secure. Finally, the best online sportsbooks offer a diverse selection of games from different leagues and sports so you don’t get bored playing the same sport day in and day out.
Bovada
Bovada entered the US market in 2014 and quickly became one of the biggest online sportsbooks in the country due to its wide variety of sports and leagues, excellent customer experience, and fast and reliable processing times. One of the key games they offer is the US Open Cup – a tournament that pits teams from the MLS against teams from the US Soccer Organization (USSF) with proceeds going to charity. You’ll find the US Open Cup listed as “Listed Matches” under the “Soccer” tab on Bovada’s sportsbook page.
Bovada also provides live wagering for college football, NBA, and NHL games as well as some international football contests like the 2018 World Cup. One of the main attractions on Bovada’s website is “The Vegas Edge” which provides in-depth analysis about upcoming sporting events and provides betting odds along with useful information about each respective game. This is a great resource for sports fans who want to follow the action even though they aren’t in front of a TV set.
BetOnline.ag
Based in the US, BetOnline.ag was founded in 2010 and specialized in providing live betting for major national sporting events. Their specialty is boxing with a variety of major boxing events including world championship fights being live-betted. In addition to major boxing contests, BetOnline.ag also provides live betting for NASCAR races, college football games, and European football matches.
One of the unique things about BetOnline.ag is how they display multiple betting markets for a given game. For example, you can put a flag at the top of the screen to show the home teams, the away teams, and whether the game is a head-to-head meeting or if it’s a rematch of some kind. This feature makes following sporting events a bit easier as you don’t always have to search for the latest odds or make assumptions about which team is the home team based on the surface features of the game (like colors or logos).
Interactive Betting (IBO)
IBO entered the US sports betting market in 2014 and specialize in providing real-time betting for national sporting events. Their interface is incredibly sleek with clean and modern design. This is a good fit for those who want a quick and easy-to-use sportsbook experience.
Additionally, IBO offers a wide variety of games including the ability to create custom groups of games and bettors. They also offer a “My Pool” feature where you can track and manage the bets you make along with some additional perks like free mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.
Betsafe
Betsafe entered the US market in 2013 and quickly became one of the biggest online sportsbooks in the country. They provide live betting for a variety of sports and leagues including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and more. One of the key games they offer is the Stanley Cup Finals which pits the New York Rangers against the Metropolitan Division winner of the NHL’s Eastern Conference. In the past, the Rangers had some incredible seasons where they went undefeated in the NHL. It would be wonderful to see that kind of run continue this year with their superstar player, Taylor Hall, leading the way.
Betsafe also provides live wagering for college football games and some international football contests like the 2018 World Cup. On the subject of odds, Betsafe is one of the more generous sportsbooks with a minimum bet of $2 being the smallest unit of measurement.
Finally, like many other sportsbooks, Betsafe provides good customer experience by responding promptly to inquiries and providing helpful and friendly advice.
Matchbook
Matchbook is yet another big name in the US sports betting market and has been around since 2002. They provide live betting and a variety of games including the ability to place bets on a specific team or tournament. Similar to other big-name sportsbooks, Matchbook provides a solid product and great customer experience.
On the subject of odds, Matchbook is one of the more generous sportsbooks with single-game odds available for just about any major sporting event. However, be forewarned as they do charge a $10 fee per quarter wager (which equals $40 per year) plus sales tax.
Like many other sportsbooks, Matchbook also provides a safe and secure place for their customers to make deposits and withdrawals. This is one place you can rest assured that your financial information will be safe.
MyBookie
Last but not least, we have MyBookie which specializes in providing betting odds and an online betting experience for users in the United Kingdom. They were the first major betting company to offer live betting back in 2012 and continue to impress with their customer service. MyBookie has been around for a long time and was one of the first to offer both single and multi-game bets as well as a live betting platform. They are also available to residents of the EU so if you’re based in the United Kingdom but play on the EU servers, you’re good to go!
Even though they are UK-based, MyBookie provides excellent customer experience by ensuring that all inquiries are answered in a timely manner along with some great information about each respective game.
Overall, these are the top 5 online sportsbooks for live betting. Which one will you use?
If you have a particular favorite, please feel free to leave us a comment with your thoughts. Additionally, if there are any other online sportsbooks you think are deserving of a mention, please feel free to leave us a comment with your thoughts.