Types of Bets: A Comprehensive Guide
Betting has evolved over centuries from gentlemanly wagers between friends to a professional multi-billion-dollar global industry.
The popularity of having a bet continues to rise in modern society, aided by factors like the growth of online betting platforms, mobile betting apps, and the general legalization of sports gambling across more countries.
There is a diversity of betting options now available and it’s more important than ever to understand the different types of bets at your disposal. This is highly recommended before you start wagering significant sums.
This article will guide you through the intricacies of sports bets, online bets, exotic bets, and more – equipping you with the knowledge to navigate the landscape of betting with confidence.
What is Betting in Gambling?
At its core, betting refers to wagering money or something of value on the outcome of an uncertain future event.
While betting takes place informally between friends and colleagues daily, structured betting more commonly refers to gambling.
This is placing bets through either a bookmaker or on a betting exchange platform.
Common examples of having a bet within gambling include:
- Betting on the outcome of a sports match – whether that involves picking an outright winner, point spread, or the total points scored.
- Gambling on casino games with inherent randomness like slots, roulette, craps or baccarat.
- We were playing poker or other card games for money, either in-person or online.
- Wagering on competitive video gameplay as an e-sport.
- Betting on major political elections or entertainment event results.
And thanks to the age of the internet, the scope of gambling betting markets has expanded enormously in modern times.
It is now covering pretty much anything with an uncertain result, from celebrity gossip to the weather.
Betting differs from other gambling activities without an inherent wager, such as playing the lottery, bingo or non-monetary social games solely for entertainment.
It specifically refers to voluntarily risking money on uncertain outcomes for the opportunity to make a profit on your predictions.
How to Choose a Bet Type
With so many bet varieties to pick from, deciding what to wager on can feel overwhelming for newcomers.
Here are useful factors to consider before choosing your types of bets:
Assess Your Goals
What appeals to you most – the thrill of betting on exotic markets, maximizing potential returns from accumulator bets, or do you simply want an enjoyable way to add interest when watching sports? Prioritizing key motivations helps guide what bets suit you.
Match Bet Complexity with Your Skill Level
As a beginner, lean towards straightforward moneyline, point spread and over/under bets while you still learn the intricacies of sports wagering. More experienced bettors can evaluate whether they possess the advanced analytical skills required to profit consistently from complex accumulators or forecast bets.
Understand the Risk-Reward Tradeoff
Less likely bets generally bring proportionally larger potential payouts. Make sure you feel comfortable with the real risk and implied probability of any wager. For example, betting on obscure entertainment outcomes offers excitement but unlikely profits long-term.
Diversify Bet Selections
Wagering solely on favourite top teams brings consistency but smaller returns. Conversely, only betting high-risk outsiders can seem alluring but variance will catch out most bettors. Blend some speculative bets on underdogs at higher odds along with safer options.
Types of Bets For Beginners
When first getting started with sports betting, limiting yourself to simple types of bets for beginners is prudent while you learn the ropes. More straightforward types of bets for beginners allow focusing on mastering core factors like bankroll management, understanding odds, and researching teams/players.
Beginners should consider sticking with these popular types of bets:
Moneyline Bets
Moneyline bets rank among the most elementary types of bets for beginners. Simply pick which team or player you expect to win an upcoming fixture. The odds guide your potential payout. Losing bets forfeits your stake.
Point Spread
Point spread betting provides another very accessible type of bet for beginners. Here bookmakers set a margin of victory required for favourites to “cover the spread” and underdogs to stay within striking distance. Newbies find this type of handicap wagering easy to grasp.
Over/Under Totals
Predicting whether teams will combine to score over or under a set threshold presents another excellent beginner bet type option. You don’t need to call the outright winner, just expect a generally high/low-scoring game based on historical stats.
Gradually introduce more exotic types of bets for beginners like accumulators to your repertoire. But avoid overly complex bets initially – maximize your chance of building confidence and profits over the long run sticking to simpler beginner bet types.
Traditional Sports Betting
Sports betting remains one of the most popular forms of gambling, largely focused on events like football, basketball, baseball and horse racing.
There are a variety of ways to bet on the outcome of sporting events, including:
Moneyline Bets
These require you to predict the outright winner of a match or race, without any handicap or point spread taken into account. Typically the underdog team will have greater odds – meaning a larger payout if you correctly bet on them pulling off an upset victory.
Point Spread Bets
Also referred to as a handicap, bookmakers will set a margin of victory that the favoured team needs to exceed for a point spread bet on them to pay out. This helps level the playing field versus just backing the outright winner in a moneyline bet.
Over/Under Bets
With these, you’ll be betting on whether the total points scored by both teams finish over or under a threshold set by the sportsbook. It removes the complication of needing to predict an outright winner.
Common Online Gambling Platforms
The advent of online sportsbooks and betting exchanges has dramatically increased accessibility to gambling worldwide. Some of the most popular platforms include:
Bet365
One of the largest online gambling companies globally, bet365 allows members to live stream sporting events and supports an array of sports betting markets.
DraftKings
Originally daily fantasy sports focused, DraftKings expanded into online betting – leveraging its experience building fantasy platforms. It’s now legal in over a dozen US states.
Betfair
As one of the largest betting exchanges, Betfair facilitates peer-to-peer online betting – matching backers and layers directly rather than risking its own capital. This gives great flexibility but requires an understanding of highly advanced bet types.
While convenient access and potential profits entice online punters, responsible gambling is vital. Protect yourself by analyzing trustworthy platform reviews, understanding territorial restrictions, considering identity verification rigour, and crucially – setting strict losing limits.
Understanding Core Types of Bets
Before evaluating more complex exotic bets, get familiar with some standard bet variations:
Single Bets
As the name suggests, this involves betting on just a single outcome – for example wagering on Team A to win an upcoming match. This contains your risk exposure versus betting on multiple outcomes.
Multiple Bets
Here you combine single bets across two or more events, such as betting on Team A to win along with predicting over 2.5 goals will occur across the match. This lets you potentially boost winnings but risk compounds.
Accumulator Bets
Popular online, accumulators combine four or more single bet selections into one combined bet, with exponentially increasing returns if your predictions are correct. However, just one incorrect pick results in an overall loss.
Exotic Bet Types
Once confident with traditional betting formats, exotic bet markets open up a world of alternative options:
Forecast & Tricast Bets
In horse racing, forecast bets require correctly predicting which two horses finish 1st and 2nd, while tricast betting also demands accurately picking the 3rd place finisher.
Each Way Bets
These bets cover both your selection to either win outright or place within the first set number of positions, typically 2nd or 3rd. The odds on each component of an each-way bet differs.
Asian Handicaps
Used frequently on football betting exchanges, Asian handicaps eliminate the chance of a draw result by applying a predefined goal advantage margin to a stronger team. This appeals to traditional fixed odds betting.
Betting on Non-Sporting Events
Sports comprises the majority share of the global betting industry currently, although more novelty betting markets continue emerging, including:
Political Betting
Especially popular surrounding major democratic elections, political betting allows you to wager on outcomes like the winner of an upcoming US Presidential vote result or which party will win the next UK General Election.
Entertainment Betting
Turn your passion for entertainment into profits by betting on outcomes like the winner of reality television singing competitions, major celebrity relationship news or even movie awards results.
Novelty Bets
Fancy betting on unconventional events like the gender of the next British royal baby that’s born or what color suit the Prime Minister will wear to a major public address? Novelty bets cover pretty much anything you can imagine!
Legal & Ethical Considerations
While placing the occasional casual bet adds enjoyment for many people, responsible gambling is essential:
Responsible Gambling
Be honest with yourself by analyzing your motivations for betting and avoid chasing losses obsessively. Consider affordable budgets for discretionary gambling and stick ruthlessly within your limits.
Legal Regulations
Most countries now implement strict regulations surrounding online betting. Understand territorial restrictions, platform certification validity in your jurisdiction, identity verification requirements, and consequences like suspended payouts for violating terms of service.
Seeking Help
If gambling begins negatively impacting personal relationships, professional productivity or financial stability – seek support immediately through reputable problem gambling organizations that can provide guidance confidentially.
Tips for Betting Success
Follow these tips to help make informed betting decisions:
Understand Betting Odds
Learning to calculate implied probabilities from the fractional, decimal or moneyline odds presented allows for judiciously assessing the real risk-reward ratio of betting options.
Budget & Bankroll Strategy
Restrict betting solely from a dedicated discretionary budget that losing entirely won’t impact essential outgoings, along with a system for disciplined staking levels relative to the current bankroll.
Research & Analysis
There’s no shortcut for thoroughly doing these; researching teams, individual players, venue statistics, weather forecasts, expert opinions, line movements and a variety of other factors that can influence likely betting outcomes across different sports and events.
Common Sports Bets Platforms
Common Sports bests platforms in Africa;
- Betway – Licensed across multiple territories, local banking and support.
- Sportybet – Nigeria-focused with competitive odds.
- Supabets – South African online betting site, offering a range of sports.
- Betika – Kenya’s largest online and SMS platform.
Bets Platform in Europe;
Europe enjoys access to a highly competitive landscape of international and locally regulated betting platforms, like:
- Bet365
- Betfair
- Paddy Power
- Unibet
- William Hill
Common Sports Bets Platforms in Asia
Some top sports betting sites used across Asia include:
- SBOBet
- Dafabet
- Fun88
- 10CRIC
The aforementioned are all along with numerous licensed operators focusing on individual countries to offer localized betting sites.
Common Sports Bets in North America
Despite sports betting remaining federally illegal outside limited states, offshore sportsbooks thrive, including favourites like:
- Bovada
- MyBookie
- BetOnline
- Intertops
As state-regulated mobile sports betting gradually unfurls across America, platforms like DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars Sportsbook keep gaining market share domestically.
Conclusion
While betting increasingly permeates modern culture with the convenience of mobile apps and globalized platforms, pause to understand the diverse options now available before risking significant capital.
Start slowly, bet responsibly within strict limits, and equip yourself with the foundations covered here; from traditional handicap bets through to exotic betting forms and everything in between across the ever-evolving landscape.
