There was a time when sport betting was nothing more than gambling on race horses and many of the organized sports saw betting as taint on their sport. Fast forward to many decades, sport betting has not only become a part of many sports, sometimes it is even what sustains the interest of the new generation of fans in the sport.
In 2020 alone, the value of the global sport betting industry was put at $203 billion. Many countries that once made sport betting illegal have found themselves legalizing it, either through court decisions or laws. An example is the United States of America after the ruling of the Supreme Court in 2018 that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was illegal, thereby paving the way for sport betting.
Now, more than 25 states have already legalized sports betting and many more are already putting bills together that will make it legal. Statista predicts that by 2025, the sport betting industry in the US alone will be worth $8 billion.
At the forefront of the sport betting growth is online sport betting which has made it easier and more convenient for people to bet on their favorite teams from the comfort of their electronic devices. Online sport betting has grown significantly to even include crypto based betting platforms like FortuneJack which is a great thing. But for beginners, it can be a lot confusing with various terminologies flying around when all you just want to do is bet on your favorite teams and win. Here, we discuss the basic things you should know.
The Components of Sport Betting
Apart from the fear of losing money, one major reason people shy away from sport betting is because they don’t understand it. But it is quite simple. At the basics, you are simply wagering on the outcome of a sporting event. If you are right, you win and if you are wrong, you lose.
No matter the sport you are betting on or what platform you are using, all sport betting are usually made up of three components. These are:
Selection
Every sport betting involves you choosing what you are betting. This means selecting the team you want to bet on and the outcome you believe will happen. For example, you can’t just say you are betting on the Super Bowl or the UEFA Champions League Final, you have to be specific in terms of which team do you think will win. You can go further to choose the winning margin, who will score, etc. Your selection will usually determine which kind of bet you make.
Stake
This simply refers to the amount you are betting and can vary based on your personal preferences. Generally, sport betting platforms will have a minimum amount you can stake and a maximum amount as well. For example, the minimum amount could be $5 while the maximum stake could be $1000. This means you cannot bet less than $5 or bet more than $1000. The essence of putting a limit on how high you can stake is to prevent any loss that will affect the gambler personally and lead to financial ruin.
Odds
This is where most beginners get lost and it is perhaps the most interesting of any sport betting because it is what determines how much you win. Technically, it means the likelihood of an outcome happening. The odds usually determine how much the betting platform will pay you if the outcome you bet on occurs. For example, if you bet $10 on Lakers winning a game, only a few betting companies will pay you $10 if that happens.
Most companies will pay based on the odds, this means the higher the odds, the more you are likely to win, but also the less likely the outcome will happen. So, it is sort of a high risk high reward thing. The odds are usually written in fraction or moneyline and you can easily identify it before selecting any game.
Another thing to identify when dealing with odds is points spread. Normally, odds are about who wins or loses. But when it has a point spread, it focuses not just on who wins or loses, but the margins or point of victory. With a point spread, it is possible for the team you select to lose while you will still win your bet because the margin is lesser than what was expected.
Once you understand these three basic components or sports betting, you are ready to start betting. All that is left is to choose a sport betting platform and create your own account.
In Conclusion
Sport betting becomes much more easier and fun when these basic principles are well understood. One could leverage on the avalanche of platforms to get more knowledge on how one can bet on one’s favorite team without much hassle on the web. All that would be needed is a little bit of dedication and time to the cause.
