Sports fans are known for their enthusiasm for their preferred game. Some fans enjoy some interactive action with friends in a pick-up game while others prefer to watch the pros as they battle it out on the playing field.

If you enjoy a bit of gambling you can combine your betting pursuits with your sports interests. You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home – when you open a betting site you can move from the fun online games page to the sports page and place bets on your preferred sport.

Sportsbooks

If you’re at a corner bookie or at the race track you can place your bet right at the venue where the competition is taking place.

If you’re watching your sport from home and want to place a bet online you can open a sportsbook and wager on your PC or mobile device. Sportsbooks are virtual spaces where you can wager on any of the featured sports competitions. There are betting options for golf, baseball, basketball, hockey, football (both American football and European “soccer” football), horse races, car races, boxing, mixed martial arts and more.

The method of betting varies according to the type of sport on which you are placing a wager. After the sporting event has ended (you can often watch these events right on the sportbook’s site) the payouts are delivered. If an event doesn’t play long enough to become official, the wager is returned. Since there can be a difference between what the sports league considers official and the sportsbook considers official, it’s suggested that participating gamblers read the sportsbook rules carefully before placing a bet.

You can use the sportsbook to wager on an individual athlete or on a team. Sometimes you’re given the opportunity to wager on a team’s performance in a regular season game while at other times, you’ll be able to place a bet on a major sporting event. Sports betting activity peaks when big sporting events, such as the World Cup or the Olympic Games are taking place.

Sports Betting in the UK

Sports betting in the United Kingdom has a long history. Brits have been wagering on sports for hundreds of years — there were more than 400 bet shops operating in London in the early 1800s.
British sports betting was made illegal in 1853 but underground bookies continued to take bets until the ban was overturned in 1961. UK gambling laws were rewritten in 1961, making sports betting, once again, legal throughout Great Britain. Today over 8500 high street bookmakers operate in the UK making sports betting second in betting popularity only to bingo.

In the 21st century much of UK sports betting has migrated to the Internet. High-street bookmakers offer their services online and online sportsbooks give sports aficionados the chance to place their wagers through their venues. UK sports fans can now wager on all sports including sports that involve British teams and non-UK sporting events.

Top Tips

There’s no problem with taking a guess when you bet on your favorite sport but seasoned, veteran sports fans try to follow tips from the experts so that they place bets that give them optimal returns.

Some of the best 2018 tips include:

Sportsbooks vs. High Street Bookies

UK internet bookmakers enjoy better odds than those that are given by high street bookies. One reason is that online sportsbooks make use of major betting exchanges that match Lay and Back bets. This decreases the bookmaker’s profit margins as the numbers shift in the punters’ favour.

Additionally, online sportsbooks have lower overhead than their online counterparts. The online operators don’t have to pay building expenses. Staffing expenses are also kept to a minimum. For that reason, the odds tend to be better for online sports bettors.

Odds and Lines

It’s important to compare odds and lines. It takes a few seconds to make the comparison when you place your wager and your subsequent win or loss may depend on that. Basically, this means that you should shop around a little before you place your bet. Betting sites and bookmakers offer slightly different odds and lines. You want to make sure that you get the best possible deal on your bet, especially if it’s a big deposit.

For instance, one sight may give you 1.73 odds when you bet on an athelete or team. Site #2 may give you odds of 2.10.  So, on a $50 bet you could win $37.50 through the second site vs. $36.50 on a bet through the first site. It may seem that the differences in the lines and odds are small but those differences do add up over time. In this case the difference was almost 10% — an extra 10% every time you bet will make a big difference.

Record

Keep records of your betting activities. First of all, it’s important to keep track of your spending since you should be sticking to your pre-determined entertainment budget.

Secondly, you can review your records periodically to watch for patterns that can point you to improved results.

As with any investment, you want to make a profit. Any business plan should be based on previous experiences that give you clues as to how to improve your performance. Record the selections that you make, the odds on each of the selection, the size of the stake and results of the wager.

Little by little, you’ll be able to determine which strategies work best for your wagering activities.

Personal Preferences

Ignore your personal preferences. It’s human nature to want to bet on “your team.” Try to ignore that gut reaction because betting on a team or an athlete just because they represent your town or share some history with you isn’t a very intelligent bet.

Research the athletes and teams so you know their strengths and weaknesses. Then your bet will be more reasoned and you’ll have a better chance of collecting on a win.

Regardless of your sport or your preferred betting site you’ll get the most out of your sports betting activities if you follow basic sports gambling advice.