In its simplest form, sports betting is the act of placing a wager on the outcome of a sports event and attempting to win money based on your stake. But there's a little bit more to it than that.
Our handy guide gives you all the background you need to know to bet online on sports, breaking things down step-by-step.
What is sports betting?
Sports betting is a booming business. Placing a wager on the outcome of a sports event and, by predicting the correct outcome, winning money based on the stake amount and, of course, the pre-match, pre-event odds is something that millions of sports fans around the world do to enhance their enjoyment of their favourite game.
The most significant change in the sports betting industry in recent years has undoubtedly been the rise of the smart phone, which has allowed mobile betting integration by sportsbooks and seen the availability of sports betting increase even more. This has seen a huge boom in sports betting sites storming on to the scene and in a crowded industry firms are now using the latest technology and data to find their USP.
While the U.K. is known to be an advanced online gambling market, it wasn’t until 1998, via William Hill, that the first mobile sportsbook launched. Ladbrokes and Betfair followed by offering mobile functionality in 2000.
There's now an ever-increasing availability of options on where to bet, and how, in the U.K. But as you prepare to dive in, let's take a look at some of the considerations.
Choosing the right sport to bet on: Key factors
What makes a sport good to bet on?
A sport that is simple to pick up and learn the rules is hugely advantageous when it comes to deciding what to bet on. Familiarity can be a great way to hone your skills, but it’s not the key reason to bet on a chosen sport.
It’s essential to consider which sports are the most accessible, with the widest variety of betting markets, but ones that also offer the best welcome bonuses and promotions for new and existing customers. This also extends to free bets or deposit matches.
While sports betting sites can have great navigation on desktop, a big deciding factor these days is mobile compatibility to enable betting on-the-go. This will open the bookmaker up to a whole new and more diverse customer.
A reputable bookmaker will feature all the top U.K. sports on their app such as football, horse racing, greyhounds, tennis and boxing.
But also look out for more niche sports such as handball, lacrosse and bandy. Whilst popular pursuits in certain parts of the world, they can often represent greater value if traders aren’t as familiar with the sports nuances.
Live sports betting
Live betting does exactly what it says on the tin. Unlike traditional pre-match betting, where all bets must be placed before the event begins, in-play betting allows punters to make their plays as the action is unfolding, and to make decisions based on what is happening as the drama is unfolding.
It allows a level of flexibility and greater betting opportunities than traditional wagering methods, as bets can be made in a matter of moments in real time.
Watching a football match and you see some momentum building for one team? You can quickly bet on them to score the next goal.
Following along with a game and a key player gets injured? In-play means you can jump online and back their opposition to come out on top.
Sports-specific betting promotions
Bonuses and promotions are a great way to start off betting, where firms will often give you free bets or additional offers to sign up with a new account. A great example is Paddy Power, one of the leading firms in the U.K., who offer £30 in free bets for just an initial £5 stake.
But exactly what offers and promotions are available? Let's take a look:
Welcome bonus
A bookmaker may try to bring new customers on board by giving out free bets, or extra loyalty incentives, like deposit matches for bettors to sign up to their site.
Reload offers
For existing customers to entice you to keep betting on football on their site. The free bet will be added to what you deposit to give you more to play with.
Deposit matches
Deposit matches are very common. An example of a welcome offer could be; bet £10 and get a £10 free bet.
Cashback
Football betting sites may offer cash or a free bet back if one leg of an accumulator loses. Just read the T&Cs as there may be minimum odds or selections involved.
Free-to-play games
Most major bookmakers offer predictor games to land anything from free bets to the jackpot if you correctly predict score lines. SkyBet’s Super 6 is the most well-known game where you can win £250,000. Just check that it’s free-to-play.
MORE: Check out our guide to the best free-to-play games from leading U.K. betting firms here
Bet Builders
Select a team to win, both teams to score, a player to have a couple of shots on target and watch the odds rise!
Best U.K. free bets and promotions
You can bet online at several of TSN's selected partners on lots of different sports.
Most bookmakers also offer special welcome bonuses for new customers, which you can also take advantage of to get free bets and winnings boosts, as described above. Here's a selection of some of the best offers right now:
Remember though that terms and conditions apply for all promotions — click the links above for details on how each one works. And always gamble responsibly and within your limits.
Best sports to bet on for beginners
Football — Vast array of markets, prop bets and options
Football is the most popular sport in the world both to watch and to bet on. Although your heart may rule your head as a fan of a club, you’ve got to determine how much of a calculated risk you're prepared to make.
The biggest error a rookie bettor could make is not do their due diligence on the teams involved. Analysing current form, their managers, injuries, suspensions and even any boardroom-level unrest will contribute to more informed betting.
The football betting market is colossal, with bookmakers offering an enormous variety of both pre-match and in-play betting markets as well as live streaming services to keep you in the know. It’s a journey and one you will need to take with care and thought.
There are a wide array of stats-based services, such as Opta analyst, to help you make the most educated bets possible. You can also check out TSN's expert betting section, where we carry tips and predictions on all the big games.
Football’s nature also makes it great for live in-play betting, where you can often find value bets as the odds shift quickly and thus find the edge over the oddsmakers.
MORE: Read our complete guide to how to bet on football
Horse racing — The long-shots make a good choice
The favourite doesn’t often win in horse racing. That’s the long and short of it. But we know you want a bit more, right?
Well that’s what makes it exciting for beginners to bet on. The volatility can be tricky to predict a winner but with plenty of betting options and fast outcomes to races, it can lure in the casual bettor who wants to back some outsiders with a bit of value behind them.
It might be ideal for beginners to bet on places rather than an outright win, minimising risk and keeping it interesting. So backing a horse to finish within the first four, five or even six places could see you gain some returns. And we’ve discussed how to calculate payouts in our full betting odds breakdown.
Before having a wager, consider the weather conditions, information about the horse such as age, form, weight and favoured distance. Bankroll management is vital, and only have a flutter once studying the stats and utilising your knowledge of horses, jockeys, trainer-influence and tracks.
Tennis — Great for stats heads and data can often prevail
Tennis is an in-play bettor's paradise, and momentum swing is a massive opportunity in tennis that can make or break your betting performance (as well as the players on-court, too).
However, with the huge market opportunity means you don’t have to bet on the outright winner of each match. There is masses of data and stats to explore and get stuck into to help find the best value plays. Researching head-to-head data, court surface indicators, weather conditions as well as long and short-term form can provide you with the best insights.
Take advantage of the live streaming of tournaments for in-play betting on individual matches, sets and games to find the edge.
If you don’t feel confident to back an outright winner, you can bet on a player to win their quarter of the draw, their half, reach the semi-final or the final. This maintains interest through a tournament, but minimise risk on an overall winner.
MORE: Read our complete guide to how to bet on tennis
Cricket - The great all-rounder
No pun intended, by the way. The sport of cricket can be a complex one to not just bet on but also to follow, with so many different forms of the game. Are you wagering on a five-day Test match, a one-day international or a Twenty20 match?
You can bet on team-specific markets, such as the over/under markets, most runs, team of top bowler or team of top batsman, you can also bet on whether the match will be completed (weather plays a major part in the fate of cricket matches), as well as the coin toss.
However, it’s betting on the player markets that can give you the most juice. Backing the top individual batsman (most runs), top bowler (most wickets), player of the match, a player to reach 50/100 runs, or to hit the most sixes.
These markets require a sharper eye for the value and make cricket so exciting to bet on.
Rugby Union - Fledgling up and comer
Rugby is increasing in popularity among bettors. Both codes, Rugby League (13 players) and Rugby Union (15 players) have similar formats over 80-minute matches but offer an array of different betting markets to choose from.
It is rare for games to finish tied or all square, as it is a high-scoring and an intense game across both codes. With that being said, it’s ideal for something like over/under betting to reap rewards.
Tournaments like the Six Nations, the World Cup and the Super League can be exciting for both new and experienced punters to bet on. There’s markets like top try scorer, to score first try or outright winner.
MORE: How to bet on rugby, a complete guide
Data and sports betting
The influx of data in football doesn’t just benefit the players and staff on the pitch but can also play a pivotal role in successful sports betting.
The availability of this data and statistics has grown exponentially over the last 15-20 years, with dedicated sports data platforms revolutionising how we play the game, how we analyse it and our gambling habits too.
The likes of the aforementioned Opta from Stats Perform and their Expected Goals (xG) model, FotMob, the former football-centric data system Infogol and Podium are just some examples of data-led systems used to equip you with the best knowledge for your sports betting.
Bookies build algorithms by combining this kind of data into their API’s and sportsbooks across a variety of sports. After all, the goal of a sportsbook is to produce the most accurate predictions to make a healthy profit.
The upside of these data platforms for bettors is it equips them with the insights to bet on not just the outright markets but prop markets such as corners, cards, fouls and goalscorers too.
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Summary
Successful betting is a skill and requires knowledge and strategy, so determining whether you prefer making regular bets on favourites or fancy something a bit more in-depth to extract the best value possible will be key to working out what sports are right for you.
Whatever you chose, make sure you stay within your limits and gamble responsibly.
Good luck!