Sports Betting | Everything You Need to Know about Types of Bets, Betting Markets, and More

What Is Sports Betting?

The main idea behind sports betting is for players to predict the results or events of a sports match, wherein you can win a higher return of money than staked if you make a correct guess or otherwise lose money if you make an inaccurate guess. There are various forms of legal online sports betting, all of which are provided by registered casinos or dedicated sports betting providers. Bookies track wagers and pay out winning bets accordingly. Sports betting thrives on the already thrilling experience of watching sports, offering entertaining ways to play, whether punters want to test their sports knowledge or back their favourite teams.

There are several forms of online sports betting. Before placing bets, the bettor must deposit funds in their accounts and decide what they're wiling to bet.

Types of Sports to Bet on

There are several types of sports that gamblers can bet on; such as hockey, Canadian Football League, tennis, golf, Boxing/MMA, baseball, rugby, and a host of others. There are a plethora of betting markets for each of these sports, as we'll explore below.

Types of Bets

There are three main types of sports bet: moneyline, spread, and total.

Moneyline

Otherwise known as match betting, to win this type of bet, you simply need to select correctly the team or individual that will win a sports event.

Spread Betting

Spread betting, much like moneyline betting, is based on selected teams or individuals winning a match. The difference with spread betting, however, is that bookies introduce hypothetical advantages and disadvantages to the competitors based on their perceived likeliness of winning. A team that is seen as more likely to win will be giving the disadvantage and vice versa. For instance, if the Miami Heat were going to play against Oklahoma City, and Miami were predicted to defeat Oklahoma, bookies may give a point spread of -3.5 for Miami and +3.5 for Oklahoma City. This would mean that if you bet on the former, Miami would have to win by more than 3.5 points for you to win your bet; if you bet on the latter, you would win your bet if Oklahoma won or lost by less than 3.5 points.

Total (Over/Under) Bets

Total bets are based on the total score between two teams or individuals playing. Your betting options will be whether this combined score will be over or under a total set by the bookies. Taking the previous example, the bookies could set a total of 169.5 points for a match between Miami Heat and Oklahoma City. You would then have to bet on whether you thought both team's combined scores would be more or less than the 169.5 total. If you took the over bet, both teams would have to score 170 points or more for you to win your bet; if you took the under bet both teams would have to score 169 points or less.

About Multiple Bets

A multi bet is a type of combination bet, whereby a player will combine two or more selections in a single bet. This could be on the same sports event, on different sports events, or a mixture of both. For a player to win a multi bet, all of the chosen selections must come true. If even one selection does not turn out as predicted, the bet is lost.

Live Betting and How It is Done

Live betting is a form of online sports betting which involves players placing bets or making predictions for a sports event while the action is going on. Some sportsbooks refer to live betting as in-play or in-game betting, but they all mean that the bettors can bet on a contest that is currently taking place. In live betting, the odds for each market are shown in real-time, and reflect what has happened in the game so far. That means odds will fluctuate from their starting price, which means they may be more or less favourable, depending on what has happened thus far. For instance, in a match between the Edmonton Oilers and LA Kings, the Oilers could score an early flurry of goals, which could result in odds for an Oilers win becoming shorter due to them looking more likely to win and odds for the Kings becoming longer.