Quite simply, live betting has been a game-changer for the industry and it has shifted the whole dynamic of online sports betting. Before, bettors were limited to a far more static form of sports betting which was placing a wager pre-match on an event. Then it would simply be waiting for that match to end.
If you had missed the start of the fixture, then you could no longer place a bet on the outcome of that match. But with live odds, new markets appear once a match has started and odds can be tracked on plenty of different options. Following it all with in-play betting is as simple as picking up your phone.
The growth of live betting means that it now reaches across a wide range of sports, giving punters the chance to look at everything from live football betting to basketball live betting. Regardless of the sport that is being looked at, the basics of live in-play betting are just the same.
Browse through a sportsbook and spot opportunities. With live betting markets and odds, punters have different ways to use live betting. It can be used to put a betting strategy together such as backing a pre-match favorite in live football betting after they have fallen 7-0 behind in the first quarter.
Doing so would give the punter a better price on that team winning than they would have been on the pre-match Moneyline.
Live betting could be used to balance sports bets as well. If a pre-match tennis selection isn’t shaping up too well in the match, live tennis betting could afford you the opportunity to back the opposite outcome to try and offset some losses.
A simple example of how live betting online can be used is by backing a team to overturn an early deficit in a match that they were expected to win. Let’s say that it is NHL live betting on the Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens.
You fancy the Leafs to get the road win and back them at -130 on the Moneyline before the start of the match. But spurred on by home advantage, the Canadiens make a fast start and go 1-0 up halfway through the first period.
The Leafs may now sit at +110 on the live in-play betting Moneyline. You still fancy them to turn things around as they have been in good form recently. So a second bet on the Leafs at a much stronger odds quote could be taken.
An alternative live betting option after having placed a pre-match Moneyline on the Leafs would be to try and wait as patiently as possible while the score is at 0-0, to place an in-play bet on the Canadiens to win at something like +130.
That would mean that if the Leafs did lose and therefore your pre-match bet was no longer any good, some losses would have been offset by having backed Montreal in-play. There are endless strategies available with live betting, which is why it has such a great appeal.
The biggest factor that initiates fluctuations in live odds is when a big moment alters the lay of the land. Naturally, a go-ahead score for a team in online football betting means that markets are going to react. The time left in the event also has a big bearing.
It’s straightforward enough to quickly get into live betting. A legal and regulated online bookmaker will have markets open. Usually, when just landing on the homepage of a sportsbook, the current in-play betting options will be displayed in a place of prominence.
There isn’t a lot of difference in terms of ease and accessibility between sports. As with any betting, always understand the market and sport that you are looking at. Sports with natural pauses in them can be good entry points for live betting online. Basketball live betting for example sees the scoreboard tick over quickly, whereas live football betting gives more pause for betting considerations.
In-game betting is exactly the same as live betting, or live in-play betting. It's just a different name for the same thing, which is placing a bet while a match is currently in progress.