Sports betting is not a new hobby. In fact, people have been wagering for as long as sports have been around. But, in the 21st century, we’ve seen a different kind of betting. Thanks to the advent of the internet, people can now wager online. Not only that, but most top-quality online bookies feature different betting options. In this article, we’d like to share a brief introduction on some of the most popular options.
Match Winner
The classic betting option is to simply wager on the match winner. There isn’t much to explain when it comes to this one. Online bookies look at the past performance of the two sides, and generate odds of one side beating the other. They do so by using some rather complicated mathematical formulas, looking at statistics, and coming to the most likely conclusion.
However, while there are a lot of times when the match winner is not very clear, there are also those times when the favorite to win the match is obvious. So, to make things a bit more interesting, online sportsbooks have come up with something called handicap betting. In this next segment, we are looking at handicap betting and how it works.
Handicap Betting
As you might be able to gather, a handicap wager is one where the sportsbook has imposed some sort of handicap on one of the teams. For example, the favorite might be assigned negative points, whereas the underdog is given a positive number. In order for a wager on the favorite to be considered won, the team or athlete must win by a certain number of points.
Wagers like these don’t necessarily work for every sport. However, when looking at the most popular wagering games today, handicap betting is actually quite useful. For example, bets like these are popular for football, basketball, cricket, and could even work in horse racing, boxing, and MMA, if a few adjustments were to be made.
Some may wonder what the point of betting with a handicap is. Well, the first reason that these types of bets are so popular is because handicap wagers often have better payouts. That being said, it also makes the outcome a little less likely, which means there is a greater risk to be had. Of course, many punters enjoy that, so handicap betting has become quite a success.
Parlay Betting
Parlay betting is a simple concept, but quite complicated in execution. To put it plainly, a parlay bet is simply wagering on multiple outcomes for one game. However, rather than placing several different wagers, the punters place one bet, on multiple outcomes. While it may seem simple on the surface, the complicated part comes when one of the bets proves wrong.
As an example, let us take a look at a football parlay. You could wager that Team A will win the first game of a league, Team D will win the second, and Team X will win the third. If all three teams have won their respective games, you get a pretty hefty payout. However, if Team X fumbles and loses the match to Team Y, then you’ve just lost your entire parlay, even if Team A and Team D did win their games.
If it is so complicated, then why do people like parlays? Well, it is simple, there is a higher payout in parlay betting, should one of the punters get all of the wagers correctly. On top of that, the risk-taking is greater, which means many people who enjoy a thrill will flock to parlays. Of course, those who don’t enjoy taking risks might want to stay away from parlay betting.
Prop Bets
Prop betting is another popular form of wagering online, and in land-based bookies. It stands for proposition betting, and as the name implies, it revolves around placing wagers on certain propositions made by the bookie. Sometimes, experienced punters get bored of the same old “match winner” wager. So, bookies have created props to spice things up, so to speak. The best way to explain it is through examples.
- Football Prop Bets
In football, prop bets might involve wagering on the number of penalties, the first to score (both team or player), the score at half-time, and the likelihood of a player getting a hat-trick. As you can see, rather than wagering on the outcome of the match, the punter is wagering on the likelihood of a certain proposition coming to pass. Thus, bookies set the odds accordingly.
- Cricket Prop Bets
In cricket, prop bets might involve betting on the number of wickets, the first player to get a wicket, the best performing bowler or batsman, etc. Cricket betting is particularly popular in England, as the game is considered the country’s national sport. It is also quite popular in India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
- Darts Prop Bets
The United Kingdom has a soft spot for darts, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that the sport is quite popular to bet on, especially with the 2024 Grand Slam being a big success. In darts, prop bets might include stuff like Total 180s scored during the match or tournament, first to hit a 180, player to hit a nine-dart finish, etc.
Future Betting
Finally, we must talk about future betting, as it is one of the most popular betting options, especially among experienced punters who like to engage with their favorite sport over time. As the name suggests, future betting refers to a wager made on an event that will take place in the future However, where it differs from regular match betting is that it refers to an event taking place in the distant future.
Future bets might be placed regarding an event weeks or even months in advance. For example, a future bet would be placing a wager on the winner of the 2024-2025 English Premier League as soon as the league starts. It may be a risky wager, but it does come with a pretty big payout if the punter gets it right. That being said, for many, the risk is much greater than the reward.