If you are not interested in playing sports and do not find it enjoyable then you can always give sports betting a try.
With the advancement of technology and growing internet penetration across the world, especially Africa, online sports betting has become the new trend.
The legalization of online betting has been a gamechanger globally. There are thousands of online betting sites. However, before making a bet, it is extremely important to understand what online sports betting actually is and how it works.
What is online sports betting?
Sports betting has been around for many years now and is one of the most exciting activities to enjoy when it comes to sports events or matches. It adds so much more tension and nerves to a game than simply just watching it or supporting your favourite team/player(s).
There has been a rapid rise in sports betting because of its availability online and the convenience of being able to place bets from mobile phones and tablets. Bettors can now easily bet without having to physically visit a storefront to place their bets.
The simplest bet in sports is picking who will win the the game. This is basically known as the outright pick where you choose the outright result. This can be the winner of a match, quarter, half, set, race or an entire tournament as well. Odds will differ for each so keep that in mind.
If that team or player wins, then you also win the bet and make money.
Online sports betting is not like gambling. Gambling has major luck involved whereas in sports betting, one has to do lots of research to succeed over the long term. Luck does play a factor but you can eliminate as much luck as possible by doing your own analysis.
There are many sports bets offered by various online sportsbooks, such as how many goals will be scored in the match, how many corner kicks will be taken, or will any player get a red card. There are plenty of sportsbooks for different types of bets so take a look and choose wisely.
Popular sports for online betting
Football (Soccer)
Football is the most popular sport in the world by far.
Simple evidence and proof of that is that the FIFA has 210 international teams registered under it!
The most popular football events are England’s Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and of course, the FIFA World Cup.
Horse racing
Online horse racing sports betting is one of the classic sports for betting.
Betting sites have agreements with the local tracks to let viewers watch live races and place their bets.
Basketball
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. In fact, it is the 2nd most watched sport in the world that has viewers from across the globe.
This sport is the 2nd fastest sport after ice hockey, which makes it all the more exciting for bettors.
The game is end-to-end so keeps everyone on their toes, which can mean that your team may win the first 3 quarters but still lose the entire game by losing big in the last quarter.
This unpredictability is what makes basketball great for betting and an amazing spectacle. Many people bet on the NBA, Euroleague and the Summer Olympics basketball games.
Boxing
There is nothing more exciting than combat sports when two quality fighters are going head-to-head inside the ring.
Boxing has many betting options available including round winners, the outright winner, the prediction on the round for the knockouts and even whether the game will end by knockout or not.
Boxing sees massive volumes when it comes to betting so you can find some really tempting odds to leverage.
Mixed martial arts
MMA has now grown into a popular sport for betting. The UFC deserves lots of credit for this.
MMA fights are gruesome and are extremely dangerous. Combat sports thrives on betting money so it is no surprise that this has become one of the most popular sports when it comes to online betting.
Predicting the winner in MMA is extremely difficult because all it takes is one shot for the game to potentially end by knock out.
The most popular event that sees crazy volumes of betting is the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and many a times, we have seen huge favourites losing so a general trend is pick the underdog if the odds are good but do your research before.
Motorsports
Motorsport betting is very different from the other sports.
When betting on racing, you would typically pick the race winner.
Formula 1, Moto GP, the Dakar Rally and NASCAR are the most popular betting events in motorsport.
How to bet on sports online
Here are the basic steps on how to bet on sports online from the convenience of your home or on-the-go from your handheld device.
Select an online bookmaker/sportsbook
A sportsbook is a place where you can place your bets.
Once you have decided to join the online sports betting world, you should first know what site or sportsbook you’re going to place your bet on.
There are many sportsbooks available online. But before making an account and placing your bet, do make sure that the website is licensed and official. Read up on the reviews, scan through the platform to confirm if it has all the betting options that you wish to use and also go through the deposit terms to see if they are favourable.
Create an account and deposit some money
Once you have selected the sportsbook of your choice, you can create an account.
After creating an account, all you need to do is deposit some money into your betting account to start betting.
This entire process should not take you longer than 10 minutes and the payment options are all secure as long as you use reputed and legitimate online sportsbooks.
Place your bet
After you have some money deposited into your betting account, you can start betting. Do your research on the games you wish to bet on and then study the odds.
Once you are sure on what type of bets you wish to place and on which games, all you need to do is submit the bet.
Lock the bet in and then hope for the best in the hopes of making some money.
Conclusion
Although playing sports is enjoyable, not everyone can play sports or enjoys it as much as watching.
Online sports betting fills in this void. This helps bettors feel closer to the game since they actually have something at stake during the game.
These basics should suffice for you to start betting so join the party. The world is at your feet!
