Official betting is a form of sports gambling that relies on standardized data from professional leagues. This includes information about game outcomes and other events. This is the most commonly used type of wager, as it’s largely unregulated and offers a high payout for a relatively small bet.
Getting Started with Sports Betting
To begin making sports bets, it’s important to understand how odds work and what constitutes action. There are a number of different bet types, including straight bets, parlays, and propositions.
Bets on games are typically placed before the game begins, although there are some exceptions, such as totalizators (also known as flexible-rate bets), which change odds in real-time according to the share of total exchange each possible outcome has received taking into account the bookmakers return rate.
A player can also place an if bet, which consists of two straight bets joined together by an if clause that determines the wager process. The first selection will have action if the condition is met, while the second and subsequent choices will have no action.
In-Play Bets
For live props, a player must either throw at least one pitch (if pitcher) or record at least one plate appearance (if position player) in the designated game for the bet to have action. Similarly, for pre-live props, the player must start and play at least one inning in the designated game for the bet to be valid.
In-Play betting is an integral part of sports wagering, but it’s not without its problems. This includes the issue of unauthorized access to sports data and the ability for operators to circumvent the requirement for official data by offering “commercially reasonable terms.”