Sports betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the world and for a long time you would have been limited to either placing a bet with a bookie on the high street or with one at a race course. With the wonder of the internet, there are many more options for the sports bettor and this guide looks into exactly why the offline version has been made pretty much redundant.
Odds
There are more bookmakers available on the internet that you will ever find in any town. Each of them is competing for a share in a very competitive market place and therefore the odds they offer have to be as competitive as possible. High Street bookies in many cases can monopolise a small town or village and can therefore offer shorter odds by improving their margins. If you are looking for the best odds then the internet wins every time and all you have to do to find the best odds is visit an odd comparison site that will do all the hard work for you.
Ease and Convenience
The internet is huge and the majority of people have access to it. Why drive into town to visit a bookie when you can load up your computer and have instant access to over a hundred of them? Placing a bet is so simple too – there is no need to fill out a betting slip and all you have to do it click the button on your mouse a few times to get your bet placed.
Free Bets
Again, thanks to all the competition on the internet, online bookies have to offer punters deals to entice them into their website. As much as £200 of free sports bets can be found with some bookies although £20-£50 is the norm. Good luck finding anything free on the high street other than the odd bookie offering minimal cash back on your losses. If you sign up to all the top bookies on the internet then you will benefit from thousands of pounds in free bets.
24/7 Betting
Gone are the days when you could only bet during office hours, or maybe a little later if there were evening meetings going on. These days you have a whole host of exchanges, bookies and spread betting companies available twenty four hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year. If you wake up in the middle of the night with a betting brain wave then you can just hop out of bed, switch on your computer and place your bet!
Betting Arbitrage
There is a way you can go about betting online where you can guarantee that no matter what the outcome of a sporting event, you will win. By backing all the outcomes of an event using the best odds from different bookies/exchanges you can find yourself in a position where you are sure to win no matter what happens. Due to the complete lack of options on the high street, arbitrage isn’t something that can be easily achieved.
In conclusion, high street bookies are good for only two things: for escaping the wife, and for somewhere to go when you are very bored/ on your lunch break when it’s raining. The odds on offer are generally inferior, they can be a pain in the bum to get to, and they are only available during the day/early evening.
Click here for a complete list of online bookies.
