Picking the Best Online Sportsbook for You

Not all online sportsbooks are created equal which is why picking the right one that fits your specific needs as a customer can get a little tricky. Luckily we're here to help with some tips on what you need to look for when picking the best online sportsbook for you.

Lots of Deposit and Withdrawal Options

While this might seem obvious to some, choosing a sportsbook that has deposit and withdrawal options that meet your needs should be one of the first things you consider. No point in going to a site and navigating it without knowing if you can fund your account. An example of what we mean are sportsbooks that only deal in cryptocurrency. While those companies are not the norm, they do exist because they cater to a certain type of customer.

The most common way to make a deposit with an online sportsbook is still a credit card. Although sportsbooks would prefer not to have to deal with credit card companies, they understand that it is by far the most convenient way for most of their customers to make deposits. We mentioned cryptocurrency earlier and although it is a great option for online sports bettors, unless you are already familiar with how it works, it isn't exactly convenient having to learn about an entirely new currency.

As far as withdrawal options, this might be even more important than how to make a deposit. Think of it this way; why would you make a deposit to a site without knowing how you would get it back if you were to win? We mentioned deposits first on purpose because winning comes second. You need to deposit in order to win, however in terms of your mentality, you need to be aware of withdrawal options and treat them with the same importance that you do deposits. If the withdrawal options at the sportsbook you're thinking about seem limited or even worse, they are methods that you don't know anything about, you should probably stay away.

Figure Out If Bonuses Are Important to You

One thing you'll notice while navigating different online websites is the different sign-up bonuses being offered. While most are similar to some extent, you really need to read the terms and conditions of each to make sure you understand exactly what you're getting into. Before you do that though, you need to make the decision as to whether or not deposit bonuses are for you.

There's a very simple way to make this decision in all honesty. In order to know if a deposit bonus is right for you, you need to answer the following question; when am I cashing out? If you plan on cashing out often (every time you win or even as little as once a week for example) then deposit bonuses aren't for you. The reason we say that is, all sportsbook bonuses come with a required amount of action. Without going into too much unnecessary detail, required action means you have to bet a certain amount before you can cash out.

For example, if you deposit $100, the required action would usually be that $100 + (bonus amount) x (playthrough or rollover). For a clearer picture, let's say you were being offered a bonus of 50% with a 10 time playthrough. If you use the formula we gave for calculating the required action, you would come up with $1150, which is how much you would need to bet before cashing out. If you're wondering "how do I make $1150 worth of bets before I can cash out if I only deposited $100" then you're already realizing that bonuses aren't all that they seem to be. With that in mind, we suggest staying away from bonuses unless you plan on playing for a long period of time in which case, the action will take care of itself.

Size of Betting Market Offered

When we said that not all sportsbooks are created equal, the size of the betting market is one of the first things that comes to mind. When we say "betting market" we mean the wagers being offered to you on the site. The number of sports, the number of leagues, and of course the different types of bets you can make determine the size of a site’s betting market.

When searching for a prospective sportsbook, you'll notice that some sites are very regional. What we mean is, if they are a U.K facing sportsbook for example, their markets on NBA, MLB or NFL might be limited compared to U.S facing sportsbooks because those sports aren't nearly as popular in that part of the world. The same is true on the flip side when looking for the best soccer lines or Formula 1 for example, you will not find the same market available on a U.S facing sportsbook as you would with one from the U.K.

With that in mind, figure out what sports you will be focusing on and choose your sportsbook accordingly. If you want to dabble in multiple sports and need one that caters to all sports equally, just know that will limit your options. The best thing, in that case, might be to open more than one account which is always a good idea in terms of line shopping. This is why it is referred to as a betting market because the price at one sportsbook might be different at another for the exact same event. For example Manchester united vs Liverpool odds on 1xbet are slightly higher than the odds of betway or bet9ja. Getting the best available price for your bet is one of the most satisfying aspects of online sports betting. It's also why picking the right sportsbook for you is something that should not be rushed with so many options out there to choose from.