Sports bettors today have their
choice of hundreds of different online sportsbooks to select from. Naturally,
some are very good, while others should be avoided at all costs.
With so many sportsbooks out there,
a bettor should take some time learn which one the one suits them the best, based on
their preference of play.
When looking for an online
sportsbook these are the primary details a prospective customer should look
for: financial status, wagering ease, ease of making deposits and withdraws,
betting options, and bonus programs.
Of these five, obviously financial
status is by far the most important, as it doesn't matter how many bonuses a
sportsbook will give you or how many betting options are available if they
don't pay you when you win.
Financial
Status
A sportsbooks' ability, and
willingness, to pay off winners is by far the most important thing a
prospective customer should look for. While it can difficult to find out the
bottom line of a sportsbooks' financial standing, there are certain things to
look for.
The number of years in business is a
good starting place. A sportsbook that doesn't pay off its losses will soon
become known in the sports betting world and will have trouble adding
customers.
Prospective customers can also look at
various independent sportsbook rating sites, such as Sportsbook Review, to get
additional input on a particular sportsbook, and don't hesitate to check out of
some of the posting by sports gamblers on the forums. Many sports bettors have
common tales of good sportsbooks and poor sportsbooks. Also, don't be afraid to
ask other sports bettors where they play and if they are happy with their
sportsbook.
Wagering
Ease
Wagering ease doesn't have quite the
importance it did several years ago, when there were some extremely difficult
to use web sites out there. The majority of sportsbooks have simple, easy to
use software for you to make your wagers.
Most sportsbooks will let you take a
"test drive" of their site before you sign up for an account, so
spend a few minutes and make sure you're comfortable with the betting process.
Ease
of Making Financial Transactions
This one is primarily for residents
of the United States, who are more likely to run into deposit problems than
residents of other countries.
Many sportsbooks use their own
financial processors and can generally take credit card deposits, while others
will often see credit card deposit attempts rejected by your bank. Intertops,
for one, is known to have a high rate of credit card deposits go through, and
many times bettors, who will have problems trying to make a straight credit
card deposit, will have better luck using their debit card.
Many sportsbooks will mention their
success rate somewhere on the web site, so take a few moments to look.
Remember, it's in the sportsbooks' best interest for your deposit to go
through, especially since a bettor is likely to just use another sportsbook
instead of going through the trouble of using some type of money transfer or
money wire.
Betting
Options
Betting options is probably the
second most important aspect of choosing a sportsbook, trailing just financial
status. Having an account with a sportsbook that doesn't offer lines on what
you would like to bet is simply a waste of time and money.
College totals are a big part of my
handicapping, so it would be pointless for me to use somebody like
sportsbook.com, which just offers totals on televised college basketball games.
Again, most sportsbooks will let you
see odds on the games they are accepting wagers on, so explore the web site
before making a deposit. If you want to wager on European hockey games and the
sportsbook you are looking at joining doesn't accept wagers on European hockey,
it is easy to find another that will.
Depending on how much you wager on a
game, betting limits would also fall under the betting options category, as a
$2,200 a game college basketball player wouldn't be wise to open an account at
Bodog, which has a $500 limit on NCAA basketball games, while Olympic will take
the entire $2,200, which is their limit.
Likewise, the same would hold true
for smaller bettors, who could possibly run into the reverse problem of not
wagering enough to meet the sportsbook's minimum wager.
Bonus
Programs
This is one of the most important
factors for a number of bettors, who like the concept of free money, which is
never a bad thing.
Nearly every sportsbook will offer
some sort of incentive for new customers, which in many cases is 20-percent of
your initial deposit, and the majority of places will add 10-percent to any
additional deposits. Some restrictions may apply, such as bonuses are only
given on non-credit card deposits, so be sure to read the fine print with any
sportsbook.
The process of selecting an online
sportsbook isn't always an easy one, but by spending a few minutes before
signing up, a sports bettor can save a great deal of aggravation down the road.
Don't be afraid to ask others who
they bet with and if they would recommend them to somebody else, and more
importantly, spend some time looking into a sportsbook's willingness to pay. If
a sportsbook has a history of non-payment, it is unlikely to change in the
change in the future.
