Everyone has different betting limits. For instance, if you play World of Warcraft and use the in-game betting system, you may find that you’re only willing to wager up to a certain amount of gold. But what is the standard practice for sportsbooks? Is it a 100 unit max bet? Or perhaps a $25 max bet? Or maybe there isn’t even a standard practice at all and it varies from place to place?
Sporting betting is a multi-billion-dollar industry and it’s growing rapidly. Many major sports events now generate enough interest to support a full schedule of betting activities. Whether you’re a high school student looking for a way to make your school’s basketball season meaningful or a retired NBA player looking to make a comeback, there are plenty of opportunities for you to place bets on sporting events.
Let’s examine the betting limits that you’ll commonly encounter and why they are the way they are.
The $1000 Dollar Max Betting Limit
You’ll probably find that most sportsbooks have a limit of $1000 on wagers. This is a holdover from the glory days of sports betting, when people were more likely to wager large sums of money on large sporting events like horse races and football games. Since then, banking regulations have made it more difficult for individuals to set up shop as a bookmaker and the industry has adjusted to compensate for this change. But it hasn’t changed the fact that there is still a demand for large wagers.
This $1000 maximum is usually applied to all betting activities, including all bets of straight-up winners and spreads. If you do make a wager that is worth more than $1000, the bookie will typically give you the option of redacting your bet or betting again at a reduced rate. You’ll most often find this option presented to you when you place a wager in the first place. But sometimes it’s not until after the fact and you’ll have to hunt down the person you dealt with on the phone to get your winnings.
Live Wagers
It’s often said that cricket is the game that truly embraces sports betting. After all, you can make a lot of money from betting on cricket matches! And, in fact, you can. Backed by a strong betting exchange and a bustling fan base, international cricket matches are widely available for wagering on. Many bookmakers will give you the option of placing live wagers on cricket matches, so you can lay down a cricket bet and watch the action unfold as it happens.
With cricket, as with all sports, you’ll encounter different limits and regulations from place to place. But, generally speaking, you’ll find that live wagers are heavily restricted in comparison to other sports. For instance, many bookmakers will only allow you to make a single live wager per match. After that, all bets are settled as they come in (i.e., they are not live bets).
Lay Wins
There is also the option, which many bookmakers will encourage you to take, of laying bets on sporting events where you believe your team is going to win. For instance, if you’re backing the Green Bay Packers in the NFL and your team is laying 3.5 points per game, you may decide to lay a bet on the underdog Arizona Cardinals to win the game. When the ball is put into play, your bet will be paid off whether your team wins or loses.
As you may imagine, many people take advantage of this feature. Professionals who place these types of bets are often called “spread betters.” In the NFL, for example, the spread bet may pay off dramatically. In 2019, a spread bet on the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl earned a single customer over $100,000. That’s a lot of money!
Totals and Runners-Up
In addition to placing bets on the outcomes of individual games, you may also decide to make some wagers about the final scores of events. For instance, if the NBA season were to end today and you placed bets on all the games you watched, you may decide to lay down a total bet on the final score of the playoffs. Similarly, if you saw a game today between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics and you believe that Atlanta is going to win, you may place a bet on the Over/Under for the final score. If that score is over or under that which you’ve set your wager at, your bet will be paid off. But if it’s not, then you’ll have to settle for what you’ve got.
These are just some of the most common types of bets you’ll encounter. There are many others, but this should get you started. And don’t be afraid to ask the people you’re betting with for help if you’re not sure what type of bets are allowed in your area or with the company you’re dealing with.