Best Online Betting Sites

11 Key Factors That Make A Gambling Site Trustworthy

What makes a gambling site trustworthy?

Because, every online sports gambler needs a trusted betting site, where he can safely place bets. But choosing the right gambling site is sometimes not easy. There are a few different things to look for when choosing a sportsbook.

By following these guidelines and important factors, you can be sure that you are choosing a safe and reputable sportsbook.

1. Licensing and regulation

When it comes to sports betting, it is important to choose a sportsbook that is licensed and regulated by some reputable authority. This will ensure that the sportsbook is operating fairly and that your money is safe.

What about offshore?

While sports betting is often associated with illegal activity, there are many legal and regulated sportsbooks that operate offshore. These sportsbooks are subject to the same laws and regulations as any other business, ensuring that your money is safe and secure.

Offshore bookies are usually licensed by Curacao or another offshore jurisdiction. This allows them to operate in the USA, even though they are not subject to US laws and regulations. While offshore betting is technically illegal in the USA, there is no federal law that prohibits it. As a result, many Americans choose to place their bets with offshore bookies and they have very good reasons to bet offshore.

2. Hassle-Free Payouts

Before we start betting or gambling on sports we must be sure that online gambling sites will pay out our winnings if we win. If they do not pay, all other factors are not important.

The majority of online gambling sites will pay their customers, but the best will do it without a hassle. Withdrawals should be as easy and fast as deposits.

Online gambling sites make money from the loss of their customers and when it comes to big betting sites, they usually have more resources to pay out big wins.

3. Check maximum bet limit

When you bet against a bookmaker you are betting a certain amount of money. They do not have an unlimited amount of resources and because of that, they must set maximum bet limits to protect their business.

For a sports gambler who wants to bet a bigger amount of money, it is important to check maximum bet limits, because this is the money that he can gamble on a single event.

At the same time, it is important to check how fast they will limit you if you start winning. Some gambling sites have bigger tolerance and some have smaller tolerance when it comes to limiting players. You want to bet with an online gambling site, that has a bigger bet limit and will not limit you if you start winning.

4. The Odds and Margins

After you find a gambling site, which will pay you and will allow you to wager your desired amounts, you should start checking the odds and the margins.

Bookmakers’ margins are their fees and this is what we pay. The bigger their margins (vig, juice), the bigger their advantage.

How to understand gambling margins?

The easiest way to understand margins is on two teams example or flip coin experiment: We have two teams and let’s say, that there are only 2 possible outcomes (win-loss).

Both teams have a 50% of chance and the fair odds would be 2.00 vs 2.00. In American odds are +100 vs +100.

But gambling sites will not offer fair odds, because they exist because of the margins. Instead of 2.00 vs 2.00 (+100 vs +100), they will offer something like 1.95 vs 1.95 (-105 vs -105).

And this difference (5 cents) are margins, vig or juice. This is what you must pay extra and this is where online gambling sites take a commission. We simply must check their available odds and calculate margins to see what is our disadvantage. Lower the margins, better for us.

5. Costumer Service

Good customer service can be a difference between an average gambling site and a good one. It is especially important when we face payouts, transactions, or even grading bets.

They must be quick and always look to find a good solution for their players. A the end of the day, you will trust your money to someone and many gamblers rather play with online gambling sites, that take care of their customers, even if they don’t have the best odds.

6. Website and user experience

Poor user experience will massively take away gamblers and the reputation of gambling sites will be at stake. The gambling sites must load quickly and mobile betting is on the rise.

Another thing is the time. Betting one minute too late can make a difference and because of that professional gamblers are looking for gambling sites that have a good user experience and very good functionality.

These factors will make an online gambling site safe. Check our recommended online gambling sites.

7. The security of the site and your personal information

When choosing a sportsbook, be sure to read the fine print before creating an account or making any bets. This will help you understand the site’s security measures and what you can do to protect your personal information. By taking these precautions, you can help ensure that your experience betting on sports is safe and secure.

Some bookmakers offer 100% anonymous betting with ultra secure payment options, if you want to bet completely incognito.

8. The variety of games offered

You want to make sure that the sportsbook offers a variety of games, so you can find the one that best suits your needs. Successful betting is not about betting on every single game in the same league, but being selective and finding the best bets among all options. And the more games and bet types sportsbook offers, the more opportunities we have.

9. The bonuses and promotions available

Sportsbook bonuses are a great way to build to make extra money. Some sports bettors are constantly taking the advantage of bonuses and promotions and this is their main strategy.

Different free, bets, welcome bonuses, odds boosts can give you a chance to make +EV bets or even make sure bets in some cases if you have multiple accounts. Not all bonuses are the same and not all are easy to win, but an online gambling site with good bonuses can be very attractive for a smart sports bettor, who knows how to turn them into the cash. You should definitely check what kind of bonuses your online betting site offers.

10. Variety of banking options

There are many reasons why it is beneficial to have a variety of banking options when sports betting. For one, it gives bettors more flexibility in how they manage their money. They can choose to use multiple methods to deposit and withdraw funds, which can make it easier to stay within their budget.

Additionally, having multiple banking options can help to diversify risk. If one sportsbook or payment method experiences problems, bettors can still access their funds through another avenue. Finally, having multiple banking options simply provides more choices for customers, which can lead to a better overall experience.

11. Positive reviews from other bettors

Other bettors can give you an idea of what to expect from a sportsbook, and can help you choose one that is right for you. They can also offer insights into which sportsbooks offer the best odds, the best bonuses, and the most user-friendly platforms.

If you’re looking for a sportsbook that will give you the best chance of winning, then positive reviews from other bettors should be one of the factors you consider.

Popular types of online betting sites

When we make a bet, we must find someone on the other side who is willing to accept our bet. In other words, this means, that they are willing to bet against us.

The simplest agreement is a bet against a friend or between two people. But because the betting market is much more than just betting against friends, we have different types of online betting sites, that are willing to accept our bets. They have different strategies on how they make money.

Online Sportsbook and Bookmaker

Online sportsbooks and bookmakers are now basically the same thing. Both are widely recognized as online betting sites, that accept wagers. But in the core there is a difference between a bookmaker and a sportsbook.

Bookmaker

Bookmakers (or short Bookies) accept bets on sporting events. A bookmaker is a person who determines the actual odds before accepting any stakes.

Sportbook

Online sportsbook is a company that takes bets on a larger scale. They offer various betting odds on sporting events. Trusted and legitimate sportsbooks are the most popular places to bet on sports.

Betting Exchange

Betting exchanges are online betting sites that allow bettors to bet directly against each other and set odds by themselves. In other words, these services connect bettors to bet against each other, and then they take small commissions.

Betting broker

Also known as bet broker, bet brokerage, bet agent, or sports broker provides you with a single account that gives you access to multiple bookmakers at the same time. A betting broker is a middleman between you and different bookmakers, where the main idea is to provide you with the best odds available on the market.

Crypto betting sites

Crypto betting sites are the same as traditional bookmakers and sportsbooks, but the difference is that your account balance is held in cryptocurrencies. The most popular are bitcoins.

Blockchain betting sites

The main idea is online betting on a decentralized betting exchange on a blockchain, where payouts are instant and nobody can limit bets. The best odds, full anonymity, and smart contracts are the dream of every sports bettor. The idea is still very young and it will take some time before it becomes popular. Wagerr is one of the first such sites.

How do online sports betting sites make money?

Sportsbooks make money by accepting bets on the marketplace and pricing it in such a way that it doesn’t represent the true probability of the total outcome. This margin between the bets gives bookies an edge over the bettors. They set lines to ensure profit.

What is a betting exchange and how does it work?

A betting exchange is a site or service, where you can bet against other players. You are not betting against a bookmaker or against a sportsbook, but against another player. The betting exchange takes a small commission from this bet.

Lay and Back

Instead of backing a bet (same as a traditional bet on Red Sox on a sportsbook as an example), you are able to lay a bet on Yankees not to win. This single bet is matched with another bettor on the betting exchange.

They are a great alternative to traditional online sportsbooks and they are gaining in popularity. That’s because their market is a free market and their odds are controlled by the punters. This allows us to find better value and is a big reason why betting exchanges are so popular.

The first problem with betting exchanges is that they are still complex for an average bettor.
Another problem sports bettors face is liquidity, especially for smaller markets. Because if there is no one on the other side who is willing to bet against you (plus the amount you want), the bet will not happen. This is not the case with traditional sportsbooks.

What are sportsbook bonuses and promo codes?

Sign-Up Bonuses are also known as Sportsbook’s Welcome Bonuses or Deposit Bonuses. They will award you if you deposit money, start betting, and usually, it comes with a roll-over requirement. The bigger the deposit, the bigger the award for you.

Promo codes are special codes, that you need to use in order to get a specific bonus.

So what is the business model from sportsbooks?

Invite as many as possible players to bet on sports and then offer unfair odds. Most sports bettors don’t have sports betting skills to beat their margins and this is simply their winning position. The question now is how to attract more and more players, because the competition is big among sportsbooks too.

With bonuses, promo codes, or other sportsbook promotions.

Are sportsbook bonuses worth it?

Sports betting bonuses are an excellent way to increase your bankroll. But they always come with roll-over requirements and they are set so, that you must beat their margins too if you want to win the bonus. This is why many novice bettors without any sports betting skills usually don’t win these bonuses. Most of them don’t read the T&C and rules on how to win these bonuses.

What’s a risk-free bet?

Many online betting sites offer risk-free bets as a Welcome Bonus or promotion to attract new players. A risk-free bet means that Sportsbook will refund the money (up to a certain amount) if you lose the first bet you place.

What is an offshore sportsbook?

Offshore sportsbook is an online betting site located outside of US borders. Offshore sites do not hold licenses to operate in the USA and because of that, some are not secure or do not have player protection measures. But there are some of the best sportsbooks with the best bonuses, best odds, happy players, and are trustworthy for many years. Bovada and Betonline are some of them.

Our Categorisation on This Page:

Selecting a good online betting site can be a difficult task, especially for novice bettors. Hope this guide will help you understand the most common types of online betting sites. We made in-depth reviews for many of these sites and you can find them here:

• If you love to bet with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies – check the best crypto betting sites
• If you look for US Friendly online betting sites – check this list
• If you are an esports enthusiast and you want to bet on games like CSGO, Dota, Valorant, and other esports games – check these sites.
• The rest of the useful betting sites are listed here.

For more betting guides and sports betting strategies check our free betting course.

Why should you have multiple sportsbook accounts?

There are plenty of reasons to have multiple sportsbook accounts. For one, it gives you more options when it comes to placing bets. You can shop around for the best lines and odds, and you can also take advantage of different promotions and bonuses that may be offered by different sportsbooks.

Another reason to have multiple sportsbook accounts is for convenience. If you have multiple accounts, you can easily place bets on multiple games or events at the same time. This can save you a lot of time and hassle, especially if you’re betting on a busy day or during a big sporting event.

Having multiple sportsbook accounts can also help you stay under the radar. If you only have one account, it’s easier for sportsbooks to track your betting activity and patterns. But if you have multiple accounts, it’s more difficult for them to do so. This can be helpful if you’re trying to avoid bans or limits.

So if you’re looking to get the most out of your sports betting experience, make sure you have multiple sportsbook accounts. It can really pay off in the long run!