Sportsbook Betting - A Brief Overview Of Betting On Sports

Sportsbook betting is an activity in which someone makes a wager on the outcome of different sports

, including golf, baseball, basketball, football, soccer, hockey, boxing, horse racing, or mixed martial arts at a sportsbook, the place where the betting takes place. There are 150 licensed sportsbooks in the United States, all located in casinos in Nevada. In the past, gamblers could shop around at various sportsbooks for better odds and choices on which to wager money. Now, since most casinos are owned by the same parent company, the odds and wagering choices are the same. That has become a disadvantage for gamblers who don't like the odds and choices presented to them.

The practice of sportsbook betting has been outlawed in most states in the US, due to the passage of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, with only a handful of exceptions. Oregon and Delaware conducted sports lotteries and those were exempt from the law, as were the licensed sports pools that took place in Nevada. The practice in Europe is called bookmaking and although it is strictly regulated there, it is not criminalized. No matter what location sports betting takes place, there is always the concern that those who gamble on a sport will try to fix the match or try to influence the outcome.

When participating in sportsbook betting, the main thing to look at before putting any money down on a bet is the odds. Odds show the likelihood of how various sporting events will end. Depending on where the betting is taking place, the odds are presented in different formats. In Europe, the format shows them as decimals. In the UK, they are fractional odds. And the American format shows them as a moneyline. The moneyline format, used primarily in the United States shows the amount won on a bet of 100 when positive, and how much of a bet needs to be placed to win 100 when negative.

With the invention and adoption of the internet, sportsbook betting has found its way online. The legality of online gambling in the United States is left relatively vague, as most sportsbooks operate outside of the US, though lawmakers are looking strongly at the issue and laws may appear in the future to criminalize it. Making wagers on sports online has actually become more popular than the traditional methods of placing bets at an actual sportsbook.

by: Troy Truman

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