Fuelled by closed casinos, race tracks and betting parlors around the world – a consequence of Covid-19 – more and more people took to the Internet to place their bets.
Adding fuel to the fire, the gambling hotbed that is the United States of America continues to open its 50 doors to online sports betting. 50 represents the number of states that make up that vast country. Until 2018 only one of them, Nevada, could legally allow its citizens to gamble online.
However, when the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection was deemed unconstitutional and repealed in May 2018, the floodgates opened for the remaining 49 states to cash in on online sports betting.
LegalSportsBetting.com recently reported that $165 billion is gambled legally in the United States, a figure that is considered conservative. According to Forbes, this will translate into a record-breaking $44 billion in gaming revenue in 2021.
Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, said "The gaming sector is on its way back."
Finding the Best Online Sportsbooks
Sportsbook review sites are an excellent source of information. They advise people of the safest and most trustworthy online betting sites you can gamble in addition to where the best odds, offers and bonuses can be found. They really do separate the good, the bad and the ugly.
Looking at some of the best online sportsbooks reviews in 2022 shows that there is now a raft of reputable online gambling sites, both US-based and offshore that will allow American customers to bet their fancies on NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.
It’s not totally free for all. There are some restrictions in place. For example, many states will not allow online gambling sites to accept bets on college sports. Presumably, they believe younger amateur sportsmen could allow themselves to fall victim to match-fixing approaches.
The Race Is On
Nevertheless, online gambling in America is a modern-day gold rush. Online sportsbooks are popping up as quickly as new McDonald's franchises.
Gamblers, who had traditionally used covert methods to place bets, are now wallowing in the luxury of freely placing their bets online and, in many cases, over the counter.
This gold rush has happened before in other territories. Ireland legalized betting in shops way back in 1926. The UK became legal in 1961. Within a few years, there were 10,000 betting shops scattered across England, Scotland and Wales. Before these dates, anyone wishing to legally place a bet in these countries had to go to a racetrack to do so.
Now the UK is a flagbearer for gambling on sporting events. The UK Gambling Commission was established under the Gambling Act 2005 and ensures gambling businesses are compliant in order to make gambling safer and fairer.
The host of betting options found with UK betting sites is now unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Options include multiple bets, tote odds, fixed odds, cross-sports bets, exchange bets – where people bet against one another – and spread bets. Spread bets are a wager on the margin of performance as opposed to simple results.
History To Repeat Itself?
In the American market, the best online sportsbooks reviews in 2021 have focused on matters such as sign-up bonuses, the speed of withdrawals and usability of betting apps and desktop online software. This will quickly change.
Online gambling is a marketplace. Shopping around for the best deal is no different from seeking the best mobile phone and service operator. The ultimate objective is to get what you want for the best possible price.
As a gambler ‘the price’ is everything. Consistently betting on your selections at the best possible prices – or odds as they are better known in the industry – will massively help your chances of winning.
The Best for Your Buck
Ultimately the gambling sites with dazzling headlines of ‘free bets’, ‘money back’, or ‘no lose offer’ will lose their appeal if they offer no other incentives for their customers to stay and exclusively play with them.
The biggest incentive of all is competitive odds. And, as the online betting landscape gets more and more competitive, the odds on offer will get better and better.
It is a common business principle. Offer the best price and customers will shop with you. This cutting of profit margins will see only the best betting sites survive. Who cares? The bad ones do not deserve to.
Seeking The Edge
All good gamblers will also confirm finding an edge is vital. The ability to identify the factors that make the odds on offer bigger than the probability of a result is the key to successful gambling.
In terms of the top betting sites in the USA, you are unlikely to find any kind of mistake in the popular and ever-faithful American sports: NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.
Nascar, Tennis, Golf and Major League Soccer would be other sports that would be tough to beat the best US sportsbooks’ odds-compilers.
However, with fewer bets placed on European football, Formula 1, Rugby, Futsal, winter sports and a few other ‘non-American’ betting sports, fewer resources are dedicated to compiling odds on these sports.
In short, while we would know little about the relative merits of the Seattle Sounders versus Real Salt Lake, odds compilers at many of the new US-facing online sportsbooks know equally little about Newcastle versus Southampton in the UK’s Premier League.
So, our betting principles are these: Always shop around online betting sites for the best odds and always look for an edge. You are most likely to find this in niche sports and lower leagues of all sports.