To start online sports betting on an online bookmaker today, you must choose a bookie website that you will use from thousands of online gambling sites. If you are considering which site is the best for you, ask yourself six questions and check some facts below before signing up.
The questions will help you select the best bookmaker that fits your purpose.
1. What sports do I want to gamble on?
The first question is simple, yet the most important. What sports do you want to gamble on?
You can bet on many sports on bookmaker websites. The most popular sports in online betting are Football (Soccer) and Horse Racing.
Other sports that hold events on weekends or public holidays, such as Christmas, are also popular: Golf, Tennis, F1, Boxing, Rugby, American Football, Basketball, Cricket, Ice Hockey, Baseball, etc.
Most bookmakers offer betting markets for all major sports above, so you can bet on them using any bookie. However, which leagues and competitions are available to bet depends on the site.
You can enjoy using any site if you bet mainly on European football or American sports. On the other hand, you have to check markets if you want to bet on lower-category leagues, minor leagues, or minor competition betting before registration.
2. How often do I want to gamble?
How often you want to gamble is an important question.
Bookmakers keep records of punters’ bets – loses and wins - and have people who monitor and check betting activity by different winners and losers. So if you have a gambling strategy or you hit a winning streak then the bookmaker may refuse to take your bet for a particular event.
WARNING – A bet is taken as an “act of faith”. Bookmakers do not HAVE to take your bet – they have the right to refuse any bet by any punter if they feel it is too high or suspicious!So if you intend to bet hourly or daily then it is a good idea to have at least 4 or 5 accounts (or more) at various bookmakers.
This makes it more difficult for them to track your gambling patterns and strategies as your gambling habits will appear to be more erratic and spread further apart – including your wins and loses.
However, if you prefer to gamble only on Saturday then this is not so important and you will only need one or two accounts.
3. Do I want to do "Live" betting?
If you want to do "Live" betting then you will need to find a bookmaker that offers this service. You will also need to consider where you will be watching the event.
Some bookmakers such as William Hill, Betway and Stake offer live streaming of events online while others do not - but they might still offer a "Live" betting service.
If you are in bar or are watching the sporting event on an electronic device such as a mobile-phone or tablet then you will want a bookmaker that has a quality APP. If you are at home and have access to the sporting event via your television networks then you might just want to use your PC to gamble.
Another thing to think about is the “time delay” it takes for the pictures to get to your device or television from around the world and the time it will take you to place your bet.
For example, if you see a “foul” and you think a team will score from the resulting “restart”, you want to be able to place your bet within 10 seconds of the foul otherwise you may miss the opportunity to gamble before the “restart”.
Bookmakers often have an in built “time delay” to stop “insider” (cheating) gambling so you need to check the “time delay” at the website.
4. Do I want to watch the event I gambled on?
If you do, then you can choose betting websites that offer online streaming services. If you are looking for it, open an account on bookmakers I mentioned above and deposit some money. Of course they will not stream all events but you can watch wide range of live-events.
Make sure that if you want to watch the event you want to gamble on you will need to make sure that the event is going to broadcast by the gambling company or check that you can get access to the event through television or other streaming websites.
5. Do I want to gamble for fun or to make a lot of money?
If you are gambling for fun and you want to gamble now and again or only on your favorite team or player then one of the top popular websites will be enough - Sportsbet.io, Betway.
However if you are more serious you will want to get higher odds and maybe even act as a bookmaker yourself and so you will want to check the various "Betting Exchanges" - Betfair is probably the oldest, the biggest and the most popular.
And If you want to become a professional gambler and aim to get huge profits from sports betting, we highly recommend you to use Pinnacle. They offer the highest price odds in most of the markets. And they never limit your account even if you keep winning!
6. How important is the design of the website to you?
The more complicated the website is - perhaps as a new punter you might find it annoying or difficult to use so you want to choose websites that are more user friendly. Sportsbet.io are very user friendly while others can take time to find the bet you are looking for.
Visit the sites and see how easy or difficult you find them to use before opening an account.
Final Word
This list is the summary of questions above.
- What sports (or casino games) do I want to bet on (or play)?
- How often do I want to gamble?
- Do I want to do live sports betting?
- Do I want to watch the sports event I want to gamble on?
- Am I gambling for “fun” and “excitement” or to make a lot of money?
- How important to me is the layout and design of the website?
If you are a newbie and want to start betting online, ask yourself these questions before choosing a bookmaker. Which bookmaker is the best depends on your residence because each has different geo-restrictions. But we recommend you start online betting with Sportsbet.io if you can see the website and make an account. They offer quite attractive bonus promotions for players.
Next guide: How to open an online betting account
