The sportsbook industry is an intensely crowded one and choosing one can be quite an arduous task. Bookmakers and sportsbooks are constantly throwing lucrative looking ads at the faces of prospective players, offering large bonuses and a variety of promotions. It indeed seems tempting to simply sign up after seeing impressive ads that bombard our pages every day.
However, if we can choose to spend a little bit of time to choose the right site, it will pay much more profitable dividends in the long run. Armed with reliable information, and after asking the right questions, it shouldn’t be too difficult investing into a sportsbook that would finally be profitable. Here are 5 points one should remember before choosing an online sportsbook.
Reputation of the Sportsbook
When joining a site, one obviously wants to know their deposited funds and financial details are secure, and that they will actually be paid out on winning, especially if they win big. This is generally not an issue with most online sportsbooks, especially those that have been part of the industry for a long time now.
Some notable pointers to a good sportsbook include holding a license under a known gambling jurisdiction, being listed on some specific stock exchange, and being a member of some known help site for gambling. Most of the well-known advertising websites don’t have any issues regarding these. There are also several independent sites that review sportsbooks, in case one isn’t sure about any particular website.
Good Prices/Odds
This is simply the bottom line for any such website, since one cannot expect value for money from a site with bad pricing. While shopping on the streets, one will obviously go for the cheaper alternative when choosing between the same product, and it is no different with online betting. I a certain website is offering 8/1 on a certain horse, and another offers 9/1 on the same horse, one would naturally choose the latter option.
In today’s environment, however, it is really easy compare between various prices, owing to the help of a number of odds comparison websites. On research, one might discover certain websites providing better odds on some sports than other websites. Hence, choosing sportsbooks from such comparison websites should be fairly easy.
Initial Deposit Bonus
Given that a player’s bankroll will be given a rather welcome boost early on, this is an important point to note. There are usually two kinds of bonuses – one that is based on a percentage of the deposit made by the player, or a free bet. Obviously, a player would want to choose the bonus that would provide them with the most amount of ‘free’ money. However, the full details of such bonuses must always be noted, which is why reading the Terms and Conditions is so important.
All bonuses come with certain rollover conditions, where a player will have to gamble the full deposit amount and the bonus a selected number of times, and any number of 5 or below is competitive. All bonuses also come with an ‘expiry date’, so one must be aware of how long one has to clear the bonus, or risk missing out because they were not aware of the exact conditions.
Offers at Site
A few sportsbooks will provide a huge range of offers available across several sports. For example, a website may offer a player a return of their money as a free bet if a football match stays goalless, or if a horse finishes second in a particular race. A player should ideally check out all such offers available at the websites, and then consider the most beneficial ones to them. Ideally, one would want to select a website that provides offers on bets they would either way be making, as they would then effectively make ‘free’ money when gambling. If a player specializes in cricket, a site providing offers on horse racing, football, or basketball is no good.
Mobile Betting Options
A number of sportsbooks have now designed apps or specific mobile websites for iPhones, Androids, and other devices. For a player that prefers to gamble on the move, or even for someone who uses these devices at home, these options are a must. Naturally, these apps and mobile sites vary in quality, and one would prefer the most user-friendly experience possible from a site that they would have to visit often. Fortunately, these can be easily checked out before signing up.
By keeping these 5 points in mind, a player can ensure that they maintain a great amount of quality control, and therefore manage choose only the best sportsbook for them, setting them off on the right track.
