Sports Betting Types Explained: Full List 2021
Legal online sports betting is quite new to American players, but if you live in the USA and are looking to bet on sports, you have nothing to fear. BettingBilly is here to help you figure out all the ins and outs of online sports gambling and this particular guide will help you understand all the different betting types you may find in online sportsbook lobbies.
Top 7 Betting Types Explained
If you have never bet with a proper bookmaker before, you may only be familiar with the most basic of sports betting markets. However, there are many sports betting types you can put your money on, and this is the list of the 7 most popular ones offered by online bookmakers:
- Single Bet: The simplest way to bet on any sport is to pick just one betting market and place a single bet. Single bets are usually made for larger sums of money compared to one’s bankroll and offer low variance in the big scheme of things.
- Combination Bet: Combination bets or parlays are betting slips with several different selections all placed together. The betting odds of these picks are multiplied, often resulting in massive returns on investment for the winners.
- System Bet: System bets are types of combo or acca bets in which you can afford some mistakes. A system bet only requires some of your picks to be winners and pays a fraction of the overall win for each winning combination.
- Handicap Betting/Asian Handicap: Asian handicap and other types of handicap markets allow punters to bet on favorites and still get decent betting odds. By requiring one side to win by a certain margin, these markets even out the odds and make mundane matches more exciting.
- Over Under Betting: If you can’t decide which side is going to win the match but believe it will be an action packed or a boring one, placing an over/under bet on the final number of points or goals can be extremely lucrative in some sports.
- Double Chance Bet: This betting market allows the punter to win with two different outcomes such as home/away, home/draw or away/draw. This means your bet will only be a losing one if the final of the three outcomes happens.
- Spread Betting: Similar to handicap betting, spread betting is all about the points. In order to win a spread bet, you will need your chosen side to win by a certain margin. Modern bookmakers have also introduced points betting for an even more interesting variation on this theme.
Different Rules in Different States
For the most part, the sports betting laws in different states are similar but there are some differences that players need to be aware of. Certain types of betting may be excluded from the offer in some states and this is primarily the case with college and other amateur leagues which are sometimes not offered by the bookmakers. The main reason for the exclusion of these betting markets is the belief that amateur sports are easier to fix and interfere with, which is why most states don’t allow punters to bet on at least the teams from that particular state.
Top 5 Sports Betting Sites
There are dozens of different sports betting markets offered at online sportsbooks these days. Some of the most popular ones in the USA include spread betting, moneyline betting, over/under betting and prop bets of all sorts.
It is very hard to say what the best betting types are, but you should always make sure to bet on those markets that allow for some skill to be involved. Betting on which team will get the first ball is a loser’s proposition, while betting how many points the match will end with may have some merits.
There is a growing number of legal US betting sites out there every day but we recommend always betting with the biggest named ones. Make sure to sign up with a bookmaker that is legally licensed within your state and follow our sportsbook reviews to make sure you are making the right decision.
In order to make real money bets within the USA, you will need to register with a proper legal American bookie first. Avoid any international or offshore bookmakers that don’t have any license in your state and you will have a chance to bet for real money completely legally.
Parlay bets are betting slips with multiple picks on them, which are combined to form longer betting odds. In order to figure out your parlay betting odds, use our parlay calculator and enter the individual betting odds of each of your selections first.
