What To Know About Sports Betting In The U.S.
The sports betting industry has really taken off in the United States over the last four years, and it’s only going to continue growing over time.
Last month, the United States surpassed the $10 billion mark in revenue generated from sports betting.
In 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), ruling that it violated the country’s Tenth Amendment. The groundbreaking ruling paved the way for all U.S. states to legalize sports betting if they so desired.
The PASPA prohibited sports betting from taking place in most parts of the country before the Supreme Court overturned it. The states of Delaware, Mississippi and New Jersey quickly launched sports betting, joining the state of Nevada (it was legal here even during the 26-year period of the PASPA).
Fast forward to August 2022, and more than half of the U.S. states have legalized a form of sports betting. This includes the state of New York (sports betting launched here in January), which has already taken in several billions of dollars worth of sports wagers through the many popular New York betting apps such as Caesars, FanDuel, BetMGM, and BetRivers.
Look For Special Promo Codes & Offers
Whether you’re an experienced or new sports gambler, you should always keep an eye out on the special offers and welcome bonuses that sportsbooks offer in each state.
For example, in New York, Caesars and FanDuel are offering risk-free bets of up to $1,500 and $1,000, respectively if you sign up now. BetRivers is handing out $250 worth of free bets if you deposit $250, and PointsBet is offering five risk-free bets worth $100 per.
If you’re nervous and unsure about what types of wagers to play at first, you can take advantage of these codes/offers and play with nothing to lose.
Knowing The Different Types Of Bets
There are all sorts of different bets that you’ll want to familiarize yourself with. You can simply place a wager on one specific sporting game/event, and there are several options here.
You can either bet on the straight-up winner of a game, the point bread, the over/under the line, or more. For example, if the Dallas Cowboys are a 10-point favorite for a home game against the New York Giants, you can bet on the Giants “covering” the spread. That means you’ll “win” your bet if the Giants either win or keep the game within ten points.
If the over/under for an NFL game is 45 points, you can place a wager on if the total amount of points discord will go “over” or “under” the 45-point line.
There is also the ever-popular parlay betting format. This is where you can place multiple bets together for the opportunity of a greater payout.
Let’s say you’re placing a wager in the Empire State. New York has three NFL teams (the Giants, Jets, and Buffalo Bills), three NHL teams (the Islanders, Rangers, and Buffalo Sabres), and two MLB teams (the Mets and Yankees), and two NBA teams (the Knicks and Brooklyn Nets).
You could place wagers on, say, the Bills, Rangers, and Nets all winning their games. And if they each win their games, your payout will be considerably higher compared to an average single wager on one game.
Finding Good Value Bets
In sports betting, there isn’t as much money to be made if you mostly bet on the favorites.
In many instances, you’ll want to take a chance on the underdogs. And you should always keep an eye on dark horse teams that aren’t given necessarily high odds, be it for a certain game or division/conference/championship game odds.
For example, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a heavy -270 favorite to win the NFC South division in 2022 at FanDuel. The New Orleans Saints, who are 4-1 against Tom Brady as a Buc, are +350 to win the division.
But the Buccaneers lost several key pieces this offseason, including Rob Gronkowski (retirement), Ali Marpet (retirement), Ryan Jensen (injured and likely out for the entire season), and Alex Cappa (signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency).
Meanwhile, the Saints went all-in by picking up Pro Bowlers in receiver Jarvis Landry and safety Tyrann Mathieu. They drafted speedy Chris Olave to add another element to the offense that already features Landry, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara.
The Buccaneers are the overwhelming favorite to win the division at most sportsbooks, but you may feel inclined to take a chance on the Saints here. They’ve had the Bucs’ number, and if the talent comes together, they could stun Tampa Bay by winning the division.
The Arizona Cardinals have the second-lowest odds to win the NFC West at FanDuel (+300). But keep in mind they lost out on the division by just one game to the Los Angeles Rams last year, so that’s another good value bet to look for.
