Sports betting is one of the few forms of gambling in which skill can greatly outweigh the benefits of luck. For this reason, sports betting has become one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United States and around the world. Add in the passion that many people have for their favorite sports and it’s easy to see why Americans alone bet $ 12.3 billion in 2010 on horse racing alone. Add in all the other sports that you can bet on and it’s easy to see that sports betting is a favorite pastime for many people around the world.
Bet on your favorite sports team
Every year, people bet billions of dollars on sports teams. These bets can be between friends (which is often illegal), through office groups (again often illegal), and through legally established online and physical gambling dens. The exact terms of the bet must be examined on a case-by-case basis, but there are some basic principles that are followed, especially for legal gambling houses.
Not all sports teams are created equal. Often times, the likely winner of a game is known even before it is played. Consider the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team, one of the most dominant teams in college football. And suppose they are playing the University of Toledo Rockets football team, which comes from a much smaller and less established school. Crimson Tide would almost certainly win. If the Toledo Rockets pull off a surprise, it would be a major event, likely to make national headlines.
Therefore, most people would not bet on the Toledo Rockets winning in a direct game. The odds would be extremely slim. Instead, bettors set an over / under score that dictates that Alabama Crimson Tide must win by a certain score in order for players supporting Crimson Tide to collect their money. So let’s say Crimson Tide receives a score of (-14). This means they must beat the Rockets by more than 14 points to “beat the odds.”
Bet on horse racing
If you don’t like team sports but still want to enjoy the thrill of sports betting, a day at the races is what you need. Gambling in horse racing is among the oldest and most prestigious forms of gambling and is enjoyed in the United States, the Middle East, Australia, and Europe. Some horse races, such as the Kentucky Derby, are among the most iconic sporting events in the world.
There are numerous ways to bet on horse racing. The most common form is the “win” bet in which the player simply bets on the winner of the race. However, like sports teams, not all horses are the same. Because of this, horses are assigned probabilities based on how likely they are to win. For example, a highly favored horse may have odds of 1 to 9, which means that for every $ 2 bet, the winner will take home $ 2.10. However, a severely underprivileged horse can be assigned odds of 50 to 1, which means that the winner will receive $ 102 for every $ 2 wagered. Most horse racing tracks place a minimum of two dollars on a “winning” bet.
There are many other types of bets, such as “Trifecta Box” in which you must correctly guess which three horses will finish first, second and third (in any order). If you want to learn more about horse betting, you should visit the local racecourse and learn about the different ways of gambling.