We explain them in detail so you can become an expert sports bettor.
What are they for?
Odds in betting serve simple functions: to define the probability of an outcome occurring in a match or event and to establish the odds you would win if you get it right. For example, odds can indicate how likely it is that a team will win, draw or lose in a match, or that a certain event will occur during the match (e.g. the total number of goals or points).
What types are there?
You have three odds options: American (e.g. -130), decimal (1.50) and fractional (117/100), with the American odds being the most widely used in the betting world and the one we will use to explain how they work.
If you want to change to another format it’s easy: in the sports section you can find a tab above the featured events where you can choose the one you like the most.
How do they read?
Let’s take the game between Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints as an example. If you go to the Sports section, you’ll find something like this: Carolina Panthers (+537) and New Orleans Saints (-769). When a team is a favourite to win, their odds will have a negative number (like the Saints), while the underdog result will have a positive number (like the Panthers winning).
You might also find some sporting events where both teams have positive or negative odds, such as the Buffalo Bills-New York Jets game; in these cases, the favourite team is the one with the more negative number (as strange as it sounds).
How do I calculate my winnings?
There are formulas depending on the odds to calculate your winnings, but we don’t want to bore you or make you get out your calculator. So that you don’t struggle, our recommendation is that you choose your favourite result and in your Betting Slip enter the amount you want to bet; our website will automatically calculate the potential winnings and you will know what you can wi.
How long does it take to place a bet online
Placing a bet is so quick and easy that you can do it even on the busiest of days.
It’s not uncommon during the festive season to be running around looking for the perfect gifts, shopping for dinner parties and preparing delicious meals. But if betting on your favourite sports is one of the things you’d like to do even in the midst of all the chaos, don’t get in the way! It won’t take you more than a couple of minutes.
For starters, you don’t even have to turn on a computer to bet. You can do it from the comfort of your mobile, tablet or iPad. Admittedly, sometimes websites take a little longer to load on some mobile devices, but in general, logging into shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds.
If you know exactly which sporting event you want to bet on, just head specifically to the “Sports” section and type in the name of one of the teams playing. Quickly you will be presented with the available options, you can select the one you want to bet on, tap on the team you want to bet on and that’s it. This won’t take you more than two minutes, by far.
The betting slip is at the bottom right of your mobile screen. Just tap on this section and the event you have chosen will appear and you can enter the amount of money you want to bet. You will also be able to see what your potential winnings are and finally place your bet. All this in no more than a minute.
Thus, placing a bet on an event you already have in mind will take you less than four minutes, depending on the quality of your internet or data. In case you know what sport you want to bet on, but have not yet decided on a specific match, the process could take just a couple of minutes longer.
It’s basically the same, except that you don’t have to type anything into the search engine, but go to the bar where all the sports are listed, choose a sport and then select the league. For example, tap on the American football, select “United States” and finally choose “NFL”.
Once you have done this you will see all the games available to bet on with their respective dates, times and odds. A quick glance to choose the event(s) that catch your eye will only take about three minutes of your time. So yes, even in this situation it would take you only six minutes to place one or more bets.
Starting with a couple of bets can leave you glued to your phone and wanting to place more. We recommend that you look at your watch before you start betting and set yourself a time limit so that you can get on with your activities and be with your family. Happy holidays!
