Bookmakers
Conventional bookmakers (or Sportsbooks) allow customers to place bets on a variety of markets covering just about every sport. Recently these companies have been expanding to include bets on Financial markets, TV shows, politics and more. Also they often now include a Casino, instant win games and Poker as part of a larger ‘all your
gambling needs under one roof’ approach.
Most bookmakers accept multiple currencies and languages eg.
Bet365
has expanded it’s operations to now cover 9 languages, and good sportsbooks will always have someone on the end of a telephone to help with any problems you may have.
The UK has been at the forefront of the Gambling industry for a few years, and many of the biggest and best players are based in England. The US and Europe have their own styles of betting and Asia, India and Australia are also important gambling populations – but often the laws prevent companies setting up and trading in those regions.
Betting in the UK is fully regulated and approved and within a couple of years there could be a gambling ‘Gold Rush’ as the laws liberalise further. Many companies have floated on the London stock exchange, and many more sportsbooks have plans to do so.
On our
Best Offers
page we’ve selected certain bookmakers for their range of bets and their paying record. They offer free bets or regular bonuses and promotions to incentivise customers and very often these bets are simple Bet X get Y deals.
The most essential thing to understand in betting is ‘Odds’ - Odds show the potential payout on a bet.
A horse/team/player with ‘long’ odds is seen as
less
likely to win. A favourite has ‘ short ’ odds. You could win more from the outsider at big odds but there’s less chance of it happening – just as the ‘sure thing’ at lower odds will reap lower returns.
Odds reflect probability and are expressed as numbers in the following formats:
DECIMAL
This format is growing in popularity because of its simplicity. Odds start at 1.0 and increase as the event becomes more unlikely. eg: 1.05, 1.6, 2.8, 9.0, 40.0 . To know how much you could win, just multiply your STAKE by the ODDS. eg: a £5 bet at odds of 2.5 can give you a £12.50 return
FRACTIONS
More traditional odds showing your stake against potential returns as a fraction. eg: a £3 bet at odds of 10/3 can give you a £10 return
BlueSquare
the UK bookmaker has helpful commentary on odds & other getting-started items.
There are other regional variations on odds, notably AMERICAN.
TYPES OF BET
SINGLES
Betting on one outcome only to occur. eg: Bet on Spain to win the World Cup 2006
EACH WAY
The Bet is split into 2 parts (for double the stake). One part is a win bet. and the other covers the first 3 or 4 places (depending on the number of runners, and the bookie). This second part pays out at a quarter of the win odds.
DOUBLES
Betting on two events, both of which must win. Returns are greater because the odds are multiplied.
TREBLES
Can give even greater returns, but of course for more risk.
ACCUMULATOR
A four match (a term given to multiple bets, each dependent on the other winning) = Odds of 1.5, 2.2, 1.8, 4.0. A £10 bet would return £237.60 if all the matches came in.
COMPLEX BETS
Various bets can be placed which cover many combinations (see
Bet365
– info)
FIRST SCORER
and CORRECT SCORE are self-explanatory
SCORECAST
Combines First Scorer AND Correct Score into one bet. Big returns if it comes in.
OVER/UNDER
For example, whether a match will produce over or under a certain amount of goals – usually will it be less than 2.5 goals or more. If two defensive or two attacking teams are playing this bet is worth a look.
IN-RUNNING
Refers to live events where the odds are constantly being updated.
Bet365
offer a free £10 in-running bet for new accounts.
SPECIALS
Specials vary widely and incorporate something other than the usual bets. Some bookies like to be known for their array of specials (see
Bethawk
home page for the best current offers.)
PROMOTIONS
FREE BET
Is always a popular promo. Sometimes there are conditions on the bet, eg. It must be on the FA Cup (
Canbet
) – these are generally too good to turn down
CASHBACK
Offers you back a % of the money you spend on your first bet, eg.
Bet365
BONUS
Rewards are added to your returns if a certain event happens, eg. £15 for every England goal was a recent promo at
BetHilo
Make sure you know exactly what you want to bet on before you open any relevant website. Flashing lights and big odds sometimes tempt the unwary punter into a riskier bet, eg. Scholes to score first and England to win 4-2. Saying that, some people do win that type of bet and the rewards can be massive – it just doesn’t happen very
often.
Learn about new methods of betting, eg .
Spreads
or
Exchanges
. This can improve your chances because you’ll have a wider range of companies to choose from.
Open several accounts, not just for the offers but also to place a last-minute bet rapidly, avoiding 10 minutes of registering and entering card details etc.
Bet early on major events for the best prices. Often the winning team/player is at large odds before the event starts, so don't miss out.
Use a debit card. Credit cards sometimes get charged extra and make it difficult to withdraw winnings. Debit cards
or Neteller are much simpler and cheaper.
Keep informed – check around for news and offers. Start by joining our
mailing list.
New Account Offers
Free Bet
This is usually a free bet of a fixed amount, perhaps £10 or £20 but sometimes as high as £50, or it could be to the same value as your first bet with the company. This is the easiest way of making money from a bookie.
See Best Offers for a full list.
CashBack
This is usually money in your account as a % of your first bet. Sometimes you can withdraw this, or it might have to be used to bet. Either way, it’s an extra bonus.
Competitions
Special Bets
Loyalty Schemes
Extra incentives such as Sports Event tickets or large free bets are increasingly being used to get new sign-ups or extra betting activity. The bookies seem to be offering better rewards to try and keep customers over the long term, instead of just for 1 or 2 bets. This loyalty works both ways; if they’re a good company with decent odds
and offers - then you’ll stay with them.
