The first-ever online sports bet was placed on January 17th in 1996 by a sports bettor from Finland, Jukka Honkavaara; he staked $50 that Tottenham Hotspur would defeat Hereford United. The outcome was as he predicted, and since the odds were not that great, he pocketed only $2.00.
Since then, Online casinos and sports betting have only grown in popularity and have drastically evolved, and they have so much more to offer now than in the early days. Despite this, so many people are still reluctant to bet online. Some of these people have valid concerns; others just don’t know what is on offer and would otherwise use these online services.
Why should you bet online?
The first and most obvious reason to use online sports betting services is their convenience.
What could be easier than quickly placing a bet on your phone or laptop without the need to phone someone or even drive down to a bookie to place a bet?
Some punters that don’t bet online use safety as the primary concern. But when dealing with fully licensed and regulated reputable operators, these concerns are unfounded. By using trusted sites, you can mitigate almost all of the concerns that go along with using your credit card online and the concerns about whether or not the bookie will pay out.
As every sports bettor knows, the odds are everything, and even slightly better odds can deliver a massive advantage on a given bet. On average, the odds are slightly better online than anywhere else. This advantage is that online bettors have directly put more money in their pocket at the end of the day.
Since there are so many online sportsbooks, literally hundreds to choose from, the competition among them to have you as a customer is fierce. So there are many signup perks that you can use to your benefit. The perks and bonuses won’t just be applied to new customers, as they want to keep their existing ones around as long as possible, and they often offer deposit bonuses to all existing clients.
Other perks might include prize draws and competitions and even cashback on losses. They also offer rewards based on wagering activity, wagering leader boards and even enhanced odds on selected events.
Despite all the advantages listed above, betting online will also give you a wider variety of events, sports and betting types that can be placed with online bookies. Something the normal physical bookies just won’t be able to compete on, on a daily or even hour-to-hour basis.
The flip side of the coin
The obvious question now is, are there any disadvantages of online sports bets? In short, nothing comes to mind other than it’s almost too easy to place bets using your phone, tablet or laptop, and this might be an issue for someone with a gambling problem. Anyone struggling with gambling addiction should altogether avoid sports betting in the first place.
Other than this, there are plenty of good reasons to use online services regarding sports betting, and you will undoubtedly have the edge over anyone who doesn’t.
