Sportsbook Guide

We’re not calling you a dummy – it can be really difficult to understand how odds work, what game to bet on, when to go for the really big bet and when to change your bet the last second. In this section of Viabonus, we will go over everything you need to know before you place your first bet and we also try to make it really simple so even if you come here with zero knowledge, you can still follow along.

How Does Sportsbook Or Betting Odds Work?

There are 3 types of displayed odds; American, Decimal and Fraction. Let’s go over how each one works and how these odds are calculated.

American

This is quite simple. Everything is based on $100. A plus sign before the odds means that you receive the amount displayed when you bet $100. If there’s a minus before the bet on the other hand, then the number displayed is the amount you will have to bet in order to win the $100. I.e. +125 means you win $125 if you bet $100. -125 means that you have to bet $125 to win $100. You can of course bet less than $100 and the ratio stays the same.

Decimal (European)

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Just multiply the number with your bet and you see what you win if you’re right. A bet of €20 with 3.50 odds means that you win €70.

Fraction (UK & Ireland)

This allows you to immediately see how much you will profit from your bet. The left of the slash is how much you will win when you bet the amount on the right side of the slash. With the decimal system, you don’t see the profit you make, only the total return. So, a 5/2 bet, therefore, means that if you bet €20, you profit €50 from the bet if you’re right (the total win is €70 – same as the decimal odds above).

How Are Sportsbook Odds Calculated?

Here at Viabonus, we can let you in on a secret. Simply put, the casino isn’t just pulling a number out of thin air for online sportsbook odds. Some casinos take their odds from a centralized booker, i.e. someone who does the work for them. Others have their own sort of bookers that calculate what the likelihood is that one side of a bet will win. This might also change over time because the casino wants to lower the risk of them losing a lot of money. So if a lot of bets come in for a particular outcome, the odds for the opposing side might just get a bit better to lure more bets in.

How Do Betting Lines Work?

We can’t explain betting lines without going over handicap. A handicap when it comes to betting is similar as with golf, you basically get a little extra help winning. 

Let’s say you have a bet where you think Real Madrid will win over Juventus and you have a handicap of +2 on that bet. That means that even if Juventus wins with 2-1, you will still win your bet. This is because when the match starts, Real Madrid has a head start in your bet, they have a 2 goal “handicap” and Juventus will have to make at least 3 goals to win. Crystal clear?

A betting line isn’t much different. The booker basically draws a line in-between the two teams, giving a positive handicap to the underdog and a negative handicap to the favorite. That means that if the booker thinks Juventus will win with 2-1, he might set the betting line (or sometimes called point spread) of -1 for Juventus and +1 for Real Madrid. These are usually set to half points in real betting to avoid a tie, but let’s not make it any more confusing for now. In other words, the booker makes the bet even at 50/50, so you can bet which team will win after the betting line (point spread or handicap) has been removed or added.

Money Line Betting

You might have heard of Moneyline when you’ve been in contact with sports betting, this is the easiest of them all, despite the cryptic name. A money line bet is when you bet on which team will win when two teams are playing against each other. There’s nothing more to it, no betting lines, handicaps or point spreads. Easy!

What Does Over/Under Mean in Betting?

We at Viabonus don’t want to add a ton of extra filler and complicated lingo to make you confused, so let’s get right to it. An over/under bet is where the booker (casino) has estimated that a game between two teams will have a certain score. 

Let’s say you want to bet on a game of basketball. The booker estimates that one team will score 100 points and the other team 110. Then they would add the estimated scores together, making it a total of 210 points. Your challenge with an over/under bet is to guess if the total points for both teams will be over/under the points the booker has set. Hence the name – over/under bet.

Can Betting Be Profitable?

From just reading all of these different ways to bet above you might be able to see not only how you can bet and how betting works, but also that betting might be able to make you rich. If you’re into sports and you’re good at predicting which team will be the winning one – or even if they will score a lot or few points – you can win a lot of money if the odds are good. And it’s a very legit way of winning, it mostly includes skill, knowing a lot about the sport, and also a small bit of luck and hunches can win you a lot of money.

Just keep in mind that even though sportsbook betting is a lot of skill, you also need a bit of luck. You can’t control what the players’ sleep schedule is like or if they had something bad for breakfast that threw them off before a game. But if you’re good at predicting outcomes, we at Viabonus recommend you try it out a couple of times. If you’re really good, you have a lot of chances. Just keep in mind that you’re still gambling, and it should be about having fun and not just winning.

Sportsbook Bonus

Are there sportsbook bonuses? Of course! There are a ton of different kinds of bonuses that you can get directly related to an online sportsbook. Usually, these include free bets – which are exactly what they sound like. If you want to know more about the bonuses you can get and perhaps even compare the top sportsbook casinos, you can find our comparison list here at Viabonus! You can filter the list and tailor it to exactly what you prefer, so you can have the absolute best options for you, not just any person in general.

Where Can I Find Good Sportsbook Bonuses?

Here at Viabonus, of course! We have compared hundreds of online casinos and what kind of bonus they offer you as a player so that you can find the very best one. We compare betting bonuses and sportsbook bonuses right here so you can compare them against each other and choose the best one. It’s a hard job, but at Viabonus we only want the best for you, so we have done all of that for you. You don’t have to keep looking for the best betting bonuses or the best sportsbook site, we have them all and you can find exactly what you need here, just seconds away.

Are There Free Bets For Sportsbooks?

Although no deposit online sportsbook free bonus bets are hard to come by (say that sentence three times fast), we have found a couple. You can find these – also known as sign-up offers – over in our sportsbook list here at Viabonus where we have highlighted and ranked the very best options for you. And don’t worry, we are extremely picky and test any online casino before we review them, so you don’t have to deal with any surprises. 

But if you’re willing to add a small deposit, we can guarantee that there are hundreds of more options with amazing sportsbook promotions and deposit bonuses that you can use when you’re betting. These bonuses also include loyalty (or VIP) programs where you can earn free bets by just using the site like normal. Others have promo codes where you can get great promos.

Can I use PayPal For Sportsbook?

You can find all online sportsbook casinos and betting sites that accept both PayPal and Apple Pay, we list them and rate them all here at Viabonus, so hurry up and head to the comparison list so you can find the perfect sportsbook casino for you. 

At Viabonus we know that the best casino and sportsbook is a very individual opinion, but we have highlighted and rated all of the benefits of each and every one so you can form a very educated opinion. And of course, easily find the ones that offer PayPal.

What Games Are Available at Online Sportsbook?

There are a ton of games you can bet on at casino sportsbooks. American sports include betting on NBA and NHL games, and if you’re a real rookie – NHL is ice hockey and it’s really fun to bet on. But if you didn’t know that, perhaps you should bet on something that isn’t NHL or ice hockey. Speaking of hockey, you can also bet on KHL, which is the Kontinental Hockey League – another great league to follow.

Besides the action on cold ice or on wood with basketball, you can also bet on football – both American and European (soccer). This includes betting on the Champions League (UEFA). If you’re into cricket, we also help you find the different online casinos and sportsbooks that offer to bet on this great team sport. 

You might think that bets are only available for team sports, but that’s not true. The majority of sportsbooks also offer UFC games – and if you’re not familiar with it, this is the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Perhaps the names Connor McGregor or Floyd Mayweather Jr. might jog your memory? 

Finally, there are also exciting games like horse racing, table tennis, Formula 1, cross country skiing, volleyball, golf, chess, and hundreds of other sports to bet on. One of the newest installments in virtually every sportsbook is e-sports, where you can bet on your favorite team or e-sports player. Usually, these include CS: GO, Dota 2, and League of Legends. If your favorite sports game isn’t playing at the moment, you can also enjoy betting on virtual sports on some of the online sportsbooks. The perfect addition for when you just can’t get enough sports.

Can I Work With Sportsbook?

Did this text perhaps pique your interest in sports betting? Do you want to work with a sportsbook? Then you can check out the careers page of the online casino of your liking, or even reach out to a good recruiter. They might just have an open position that would be perfect for your future career.