An Introduction to Sports Betting
Sports betting is a popular activity where individuals can place wagers on the outcome of sporting events. The objective of sports betting is to predict the outcome of a game and make money if the prediction is correct. This form of gambling has been around for centuries and has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide.
There are several ways to bet on sports, and the most common form is the moneyline bet, where bettors pick a team to win the game outright. Another popular way to bet is the point spread, which involves handicapping the favorite team by a certain number of points to make the game more even. Over/under bets are also common in which bettors predict whether the total score of the game will be over or under a certain number.
Below is an example that shows these three basic bets. Starting from the left it shows the Spread, then the Moneyline and ends with the Over/Under. You will see this layout on almost all major sports betting websites.
| Spread | Moneyline | Over/Under (Total) |
|---|---|---|
| -1.5 (-110) | -150 | O 138.5 (-110) |
| +1.5 (-110) | +120 | U 138.5 (-110) |
We will get into these three basic categories of sports betting in the next few articles, or you can jump to them from here:
Some popular sports to bet on include football, basketball, baseball, hockey and horse racing. Football is the most popular sport to bet on, with the Super Bowl being the most-watched event in the United States. Basketball is another popular sport to bet on, especially during the NBA playoffs. Baseball is also a popular sport to bet on, with the World Series being the biggest event in the sport. Finally, horse racing is a popular sport to bet on because of the potential for large payouts through exotic bets like the trifecta or superfecta.
The four major sports in America (football, basketball, baseball and hockey) all have the moneyline, spread and over/under bets. The concepts remain the same for all but the numbers will vary due to how points are scored.
Now that you have some basic brackground knowledge on Sports Betting, you can move on to the next article: How To Bet The Moneyline