In the present day, online sports betting is almost as popular in the UK as watching the sport itself. Lots of sports fans relish the opportunity to bet on their favourite teams and players while tuning into the live action, either via a live stream or a television broadcast. There are countless betting sites registered to operate within the UK, which gives punters a lot of choices when it comes to choosing their preferred bookmaker. But regardless of where you place your bets, there are certain things that don’t change. Here are some tips on how to bet online to give yourself the best chance at success.
1. Start with research
When you first sign up for an online sportsbook, it’s easy to get carried away. You might find yourself attracted to the biggest markets and the most prominent sporting events when your time would be better served researching the best value markets that provide a better chance of success. It’s important to begin your online betting career with some considered research, so you can identify the best odds and ensure you don’t waste your money by following your heart instead of your head.
2. Extract free bets
Before you sign up for an online sportsbook, be sure to find out what they’re offering to new customers. Often, to encourage you to join their site over a competitor’s, betting sites will offer a range of free bet options and sign up offers that punters can utilize for a profit. Most signup offers exist as free bets like ‘Bet £10, get £30 for free as seen with bookmakers like on findbettingsites. But it’s not always simple as it first appears. Make sure you research the terms and conditions before placing your qualifying bet to ensure you successfully extract the free money. One of the common requirements with free bets is that you place a bet that meets certain odds requirements and that your initial deposit is of a certain amount, along with this there are often time requirements, such as “bets must be placed within 7 days of account creation”.
Alongside free bets you also have what are known as “deposit bonuses”, these as the name suggest give you a bonus on any money you deposit. The most common deposit bonuses are 50% or 100% deposit bonuses, meaning if you deposit £100, you will get either an extra £50 or £100 to bet with through the bookmaker. Larger deposit bonuses such as 200% or even 500% can be found with some online casinos, but generally do not exist for betting websites as margins are lower.
3. Set your limits
Due to the fact that many online betting sites also have mobile apps, you can access the sportsbook at almost any time that you like. While this is convenient, it’s also dangerous if you don’t set your limits. It’s a good idea to say to yourself how much money you can afford to spend on sports betting every month. For instance, you might want to spend £10 each weekend on football bets while watching the games with your friends. You should arrange for £40 to be deposited into your sportsbook every month and set that as your limit. What you do with the winnings after that, is of course, up to you.
4. Consider payment options
In the UK, you can no longer deposit money into your online betting account using a credit card. This is a progressive step as it reduces the risk of problem gambling and ensures people can’t work up huge gambling debts as easily. While the most common payment method on betting sites is via debit card, most sites offer a range of payment options, including e-wallets like PayPal. Some betting sites even allow punters to pay for their bets in cryptocurrency, so be sure to find a site that adequately meets your payment needs.
Cryptocurrency is becoming more and more popular every day. And if we talk about cryptocurrency and sports betting, then bitcoin betting NBA sites have been accepting their bettors for a long time and makes it possible to place a bet in cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency is a great option as you will often find that such sites offer lower fees for depositing via these methods and for withdrawal times will be almost instant (usually seconds). PayPal is great if you have your doubts about a company, as they offer some great buyer protection should things go wrong.
5. Don’t limit yourself to one account
While you will need to get started with one betting account with a particular bookmaker, it’s a good idea to open several accounts with competitors. The reason for this is to provide you with the widest possible variety of sports and other features, like online casinos and slots. You can then also compare odds between your accounts and get the best value. Another bonus is that every betting site has its own sign-up offers and promotions, so the more accounts you have, the more special offers you can access.
Nowadays with GDPR you no longer have to worry about being spammed by a number of bookmakers, you can just ask them to delete your data or simply click “unsubscribe” within any email newsletters that you’d no longer like to receive. Companies are required by law to obey your requests making it no hassle at all to sign up with more than one account and claim promotions when they are launched.
6. Check licenses and regulations
As you’re conducting your research into which site to sign up to, you need to make sure they’re registered and regulated by a gambling authority. In the United Kingdom, gambling sites are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, so you should check a site’s credentials before depositing any money. This is particularly important if you’re signing up for a new or recently established betting site as generally these licensing authority will protect you in the event of a bookmaker going bankrupt and it is an easy way to weed out unreputable sites.
When you’re just starting out with online betting, the most important thing is to be safe and in control. But you should also research markets well and extract offers from various sites to provide you with the best possible chance of turning a profit.
