As recently as a few years ago, most U.S. lawmakers were steadfastly against the idea of legalizing sports betting. But in the last year and a half alone, more than a dozen states have legalized sports gambling—and that number is expected to rise in the coming months.
Did your state just make it legal for you to place bets on sporting events? If so, you might be thinking about giving it a try. Betting on sports is a great way to make things more interesting when you’re watching an NFL or NBA game.
Need sports betting explained to you before you get started? Check out our guide below, which provides you with useful tips to get your sports betting adventures off to a profitable start.
Begin by Signing Up for an Account With the Right Sportsbook
Now that sports betting is being legalized in more and more states, there are tons of people who didn’t bet on sports before beginning to do it. This has led to an influx in the number of sportsbooks located throughout the country.
If gambling on sports is legal in your state, you likely have more than a few options when it comes to sportsbooks. Track down the one that you like best so that you can start placing sports bets.
A good sportsbook should have:
- Plenty of experience in the gambling industry
- Sports betting options on a variety of different sports
- Easy deposit and withdrawal methods
- A helpful customer service department
A good sportsbook should also offer new customers a generous sign-up bonus. You can use this bonus to get your feet wet when you’re placing wagers on sports.
Bet on the Sports You Know Best
As we just alluded to, the best sportsbooks give people the opportunity to bet on just about any sporting events. From NFL games in Florida to tennis matches in Bulgaria, you should be able to bet on any sports you want.
That being said, you shouldn’t necessarily start betting on sports that you’ve never seen before just because you can. You should stick to betting exclusively on sports that you know and love.
You can give yourself a slight edge by betting on sports that you know about. You’ll have at least a little bit of insight into which teams and players are good and which ones you should stay away from betting on.
Get Into the Habit of Researching Bets Before Making Them
Many newbies make the mistake of waiting until the last-minute to plop down bets on sports. They don’t do any research in advance and often pay the price for their lack of preparation.
Don’t make the same mistake as these newbies! In the days leading up to a sporting event, you should:
- Pay attention to how the betting lines for a game change
- Take a look back at what’s happened the last few times two teams have played against one another
- Keep an eye on the injury report and monitor who will and won’t be playing for two teams
You can learn a lot about what might happen during a game by digging around and trying to find statistics related to it. A little bit of research can really go a long way for a sports bettor.
Learn About the Different Types of Bets You Can Place
A lot of new sports bettors are under the impression that betting on a sporting event calls for them to do little more than pick which team is going to win.
But this isn’t the only way to bet on sports! When you have sports betting explained, you’ll learn that there are so many other types of bets you can put down.
The bet we just described is called a moneyline bet, and to make it, the only thing you need to do is choose which team you think will win a game. There are several other types of bets you might want to consider making, though.
For example, point spread bets have become very popular over the years. To make one of these bets, you have to bet on either a favorite beating an underdog by a certain amount of points or an underdog losing to a favorite by under a certain amount of points or, better yet, winning the game outright.
There are also parlay bets that have turned into big moneymakers for sports bettors. To put down one of these bets, you’ll need to place moneyline or point spread bets on two or more teams and have all of the teams you pick win or cover the point spread.
Don’t be afraid to use the bonus that you receive from a sportsbook to test out the different types of bets available to you.
Figure Out How to Manage Your Money
When you first start betting on sports, you should create a bankroll for yourself. Your bankroll should be some sum of money that you can afford to gamble with.
You should also determine how much of your bankroll you’re going to use when placing bets on sports. It should be a small percentage of the total amount of money that you have.
If you have, say, $100 as your starting bankroll, you don’t want to throw down $50 on a single bet on an NFL game. That’s a good way to blow through your bankroll in no time.
Instead, you want to throw down $5 or so on each bet you make. This will make your money last a whole lot longer than it might otherwise.
Go Win Money Now That You’ve Had Sports Betting Explained
Betting on sports is so much fun. There’s nothing like sitting down to watch a bunch of NFL games on a Sunday afternoon when you know you have money on the line.
But you shouldn’t begin betting on sports until you’ve had sports betting explained. You’re going to have a tough time winning much money if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing while wagering on sports.
We’ve done our best to break down sports betting for you in this guide. But you should never stop learning about sports betting if you plan on being successful at it.
Read our blog to find more great advice on sports gambling.
