Once upon a time, sports bettors could only place bets on sporting events before they actually started. So if you wanted to bet on, say, an NFL game that was scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. EST, you had to make sure your bet for it was in by 12:59.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to get any action on that game. It was frustrating for those who spent a bunch of time researching a game only to discover that they wouldn’t be allowed to wager on it when they went to put in last-minute bets.
Live sports betting has changed all this! Nowadays, you can place bets on sporting events that have already started. In fact, you can pretty much place bets on sporting events all throughout them right up until the final horn or whistle.
Learn everything that you need to know about live sports betting and placing live bets below.
What Is Live Betting?
Live betting or live sports betting is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a type of betting that involves placing a bet during sports games as they’re going on.
You can participate in live sports betting one minute after a game starts if you would like. You can also wait until the end of a game to do some in-play betting on it.
The choice will be yours when it comes to live sports betting. It has opened up a whole new opportunity for those who already love sports betting and everything it has to offer.
How Does Live Betting Work?
Now that you know what live sports betting is, you might be wondering how it works. It shouldn’t be as difficult to wrap your head around it as you might think.
Live betting isn’t offered on every single sporting event out there. But most reputable sportsbooks will offer it on many of the bigger sporting events that are taking place.
During these sporting events, oddsmakers will sit and change the odds on games for the duration of it. They’ll provide sportsbooks with betting lines that will be posted and changed every few seconds in most cases.
You will need to pay close attention to the odds that are attached to live bets. But this can, in and of itself, add some intrigue and excitement to many sporting events while you’re watching them.
How Can You Take Part in Live Betting?
If you would like to take part in live betting, you’ll need to take the following steps:
- Find a sportsbook that offers live sports betting options
- Look for the live sports betting section of this sportsbook
- Check out the betting lines being offered on sporting events
- Find some live betting lines on sporting events that you like
- Choose the live betting lines that you like and use them to place wagers
- ACT FAST!
We can’t stress that last part enough. While a game is going on, sports oddsmakers are going to be changing their betting lines at all times. Something as simple as a change of possession during an NFL game can move a betting line several points in the blink of an eye.
It’s why you’ll need to be quick and decisive when you’re placing live bets. If you stutter for even a few seconds, you might miss out on the chance to get live bets in with particular betting lines.
How Should You Approach Live Betting?
Live sports betting is something that you should only do once you’re relatively familiar with regular sports betting. Since things do move at a much quicker pace, those who haven’t mastered regular sports betting yet might get overwhelmed.
You should also spend some time watching the betting lines for in-play betting options before you start doing any live sports betting. It’ll give you a much better sense as to how the lines for games will change while they’re going on.
You should continue to do your research on individual sporting events while doing live sports betting as well. If you don’t, you might end up placing bets that aren’t very smart just because you got caught up in all the anticipation surrounding live betting.
Is Live Betting a Good Idea?
Live betting might not be the best idea for all sports bettors. If you’re someone who really likes to do your homework before betting on games, you might find live sports betting to be too action-packed for you.
But if you’re someone who likes to live on the edge of your seat, you’re going to become fascinated by live sports betting in no time at all. You’ll appreciate how much fun that it is to bet on games as they’re going on.
Those sports bettors who like to get a feel for sporting events prior to betting on them will also love what live sports betting has to offer. It’ll give you a chance to see how two teams come out to play before you put any hard-earned money down on them.
When done right, live sports betting could be very lucrative for you. You might even find that you enjoy betting live more than you do betting on sporting events pre-game.
Give Live Sports Betting a Try to See How You Like It
Many sportsbooks have only been offering live sports betting for a year or two now. It’s still a pretty new concept within the sports betting industry.
But to say that live sports betting has caught on like wildfire would be a huge understatement. It has completely changed the way that many sports bettors participate in sports betting.
Because of this, don’t be surprised if you see more sportsbooks offering live sports betting soon. Don’t be surprised if you see them offering live sports betting on more sports soon, too. It’s clear that the live betting craze is here to stay.
Would you like to check out more great sports betting-related content? Look for it by reading through some of our other blog articles about online gambling.
