Perhaps nearly everyone who is interested in sports has at least one bet per year or has had at least one experience of doing this, especially for big events that attract substantial interest such as the Grand National horse race, which has almost become a British institution.
The gambling industry, especially the sports betting niche is one of the biggest in the UK with 100s of millions of bets placed every year, which, as a result, generates billions in taxable income for the government from the UK sportsbook operators that have a licence in the UK market.
However, for many, who are perhaps interested in becoming regular bettors, there is still some confusion about what is involved when it comes to placing a bet, either in person or online, so we have broken this down into simple steps below.
Placing A Bet In Person
You have many different options when it comes to placing a bet in person – especially in the UK, with so a wide range of physical locations available such as Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfred (the latter mainly being in the north of England).
It can be daunting at first when you walk into a bookmaker’s – especially if it is your fist visit and you are not sure exactly what you want to bet on, however, help is always at hand at the desk.
You will find a couple of different betting slip formats. One of them being blank, which is ideal if you only want to make one bet, while there is also one for accumulator bets – similar to the pools.
If, for example, you want to bet on a horse race and you know what the horse is called, simply write down the time of the race, the racecourse venue and the name of the horse. Then write down how much that you want to bet. Here you have the option to bet each way or to win. If you bet each way, it means that you can still get a return if the horse finishes in a ‘place’. A lot of races differ in terms of how many places they offer, depending on how many horses are running, though this is usually between three and five – some bookmakers offer six places.
Whether you want to bet on a horse to win or for each way, specify this on the betslip and write down how much that you want to stake. In addition, if you want to take the odds as they are in current time (these can fluctuate), also write down ‘take the odds’. Go to the desk and then hand over the amount of money that you want to stake as well as your betslip. This will then be processed and you will be given a copy which you then hand in to collect your winnings if your horse wins. This also applies for every sport as well.
Accumulator slips are slightly different. It will have a list of teams that are playing and you can tick the ones that you think will either win, draw or lose, while you can also choose the exact result if you want as well. On the bet slip there will be various amounts displayed that you want to bet, ranging typically from 50p up to £100 – every bookmaker differs. When you hand this slip in, you will get the combined odds – which can actually be substantial if you have made a lot of selections.
Placing A Bet Online
Over the internet, this is slightly different, though in many cases a lot more convenient. First, you need to register at the online sportsbook of your choice. A popular way of doing this is signing up to a welcome offer because you will often get your deposit matched, which means you get further credit to bet with.
The sign up process requires you to enter your personal details and proof of identification in line with the operator’s KYC (Know Your Customer) process. When it comes to forms of identification, some betting sites are different to others. Typically as a minimum, you need either your passport or driver’s licence, which you will need to upload a photo of, while a copy of a utility bill may also be needed to verify proof of address.
In addition, you may also be required to submit your mobile number because some sites use SMS verification instead of email.
This process usually takes no more than 10 minutes, though once you have registered, it makes placing a bet a lot more convenient than doing it in person. Online, you also have many more options, compared to in person, when it comes to the types of bets that you can make.
In addition, there are a lot of creative promotions available such as ‘specials’ whereby you are offered a number of teams or individuals to bet on, which have boosted odds and a maximum amount that you can wager – £5 usually being the nominal amount.
Online compared to traditional bookmakers, you may also find that there is a lot more to bet on, especially when it comes to more ambiguous sports or sports that are happening in more obscure countries, like the Azerbaijan football league or Hungarian handball league for example, so if these are of interest, you are likely to be in luck.
Finding The Sportsbook That Is Right For You
A quick search on Google of sportsbooks will bring up many different options of sites that you can sign up to, however, these all differ in terms of what they offer.
You have professional bookies such as bet365, betfred and Ladbrokes and more fun ones like mr play or vbet. Then there are the specialists like the pools and betgoodwin.
It is always worth looking at the welcome offers as well, because if you are wanting to join for the long term, these can be a good way to get value.
Every sportsbook differs in terms of the welcome offers that they offer, though these are not always a priority for people. Some make decisions based on how easy the experience is on a mobile device, because this has become the number one format of making bets online.
Also, the majority of sportsbooks have a dedicated app for both iOS and Android, which makes it a lot easier when it comes to the functionality.