The betting industry has come a long way to what it is today, the industry was not as organised as it is today but advancements in technology has enabled the industry to develop immensely. For a long time, wagering was only limited to pre-match bets and if you fail to bet in time, you would have to look for another match to bet on, this was also at a time before online betting was introduced so a lot of punters were hugely disappointed because they could not bet on their favourite matches because they could not make it to the betting outlet in time to make the bet. However the introduction of online betting made a lot of things possible and bookmakers found a perfect solution to this problem by developing a system which allows punters to make additional wagers when the game is already underway. What live betting does is it adds excitement to betting by giving you more opportunities of betting. This article takes a look at some of the most popular live betting markets, showing what the markets are and how they work.
What is In-Play Betting
Sports betting is evolving constantly. The changes that are taking place when it comes to sports betting are largely positive and they are helping in making sports betting as an activity more exciting and at the same time more lucrative. One of the changes ushered in, in recent times when it comes to sports betting is in-play betting also known as live betting.
As punters can probably deduce from the title of this new sports betting form, it is betting which does happen when a game/match has already commenced hence the title, in-play. In days gone by, punters had to rush to place their bets before the betting window closes but thanks to the emergence of in-play sports betting, punters nowadays rest assured knowing that at any time even after the commencement of a match, they can still place bets! Even with just 5 minutes left before a match comes to an end, punters can still place their bets.
In-Play Betting Markets
When it comes to in-play sports betting, punters ought to know that there aren’t any special types of betting markets catering only to in-play betting. The same betting markets that are used when it comes to ‘traditional’ sports betting are also available for in-play betting. To put this into perspective, if there is a soccer match taking place, punters during live betting can still choose amongst the 1×2 markets, double chance as well as half time full time market amongst other betting markets. However, what punters ought to know is that when it comes to in-play sports betting, there is a considerably high number of prop bets supported. Punters who are more interested in backing individual players or predicting occurrences of certain events during a match will find in-play sports betting to be more appealing.
What to consider when live betting
When punters take the decision to engage in live betting, there are a few things that they need to keep in mind. In-play betting can be very addictive and as such can lead to problem gambling. Punters therefore need to ensure that they don’t fall into the problem gambling pit by limiting the number of bets they place during the match more so when it comes to prop bets.
What makes in-play sports betting more exciting?
Well, there are many reasons why live betting is so much fun. One simply has to firstly look at the thrill that comes with placing a bet when you are seeing how the action is unfolding on the field of play. As the match is being played, punters can see the flow of the match and as such, can better make their predictions.
Live betting makes the punter to concentrate more on the match that’s being played. As punters know that they stand to earn some profits from watching how a match is panning out on the field of play, they get to follow the action on the field more attentively.
In-play betting does allow punters to flex their sports knowledge. The purpose of acquiring knowledge is that in future, you can apply the knowledge to your benefit. As such, in-play betting fulfills this purpose as it allows punters to use their sporting knowledge for their benefit (when their bets win).
In-play sports betting is accommodating even to the beginners without much betting knowledge and skills. This necessitated by the fact that punters can simply follow the action on the field and depending on their analysis of how the match may likely end can proceed to place their bets. This is different to traditional sports betting which generally requires one to have some detailed info on how the competing teams fare against each other when they play before a bet is placed.
Why Live In-Play Betting is So Popular
Live betting is a new form of sports betting which allows punters to place their bets after a match has commenced. This type of sports betting is different from the traditional sports betting that many punters had become accustomed to which ‘forced’ them to place bets in advance before the commencement of a match. Since the emergence of live betting, live betting has proved to be a huge hit with punters as more and more punters are embracing live betting. In this article, we are going to highlight some of the reasons which make live betting much appealing to all punters hence its popularity.
Reasons why Live Betting is Gaining Traction
- It’s more fun and convenient
The very first thing with live betting is that it is more fun and convenient. Just imagine you are watching the flow of the game and you can clearly see the team with the upper hand, wouldn’t it be great to just back that team to end up winning the match and you get that winning feeling! This is exactly what punters get when they engage in live betting. Not only is live betting fun but it is also convenient. Back in the days, punters had to go through the hassle of rushing to beat missing the betting window as all bets were placed in advance before the commencement of the match. This is no longer the case however with live betting as punters can place bets anytime they want even when the match is left with just a few minutes!
- Much easier to land some wins
There are different reasons why different punters engage in sports betting. Some are just drawn by the exciting and thrilling factor that sports’ betting has to offer. Others however are more into profit-making when they engage in sports betting that is, their major concern is to land those huge profits. For those who are looking for profits from their sports betting adventures, live betting presents a much easier route to land some wins hence profits. This necessitated by the fact that the punter will be placing bets knowing full well how the action is panning out on the field of play. If one team has got the momentum, the punter can easily deduce which team is likely going to become victorious at the end of the match hence he can place bets from a much informed position. The performances and antics of certain players during a match can also sway the mind of the punter to predict that certain events will likely occur. For instance, if a forward is finding good space almost all the time when the ball is in the opposition half, the likely event to occur next is for him to score a goal hence the punter may simply place a player prop bet proposing that this particular player will score the next goal.
- Spread out your bankroll
With traditional sports betting, punters could only place bets in advance before the commencement of a match. What this meant is that the punter would use all of his bankroll in backing the teams that he thinks will win the match in one go. That however is not the case with live betting. When it comes to live betting, punters can actually spread out their bankroll such that they don’t lose the bankroll in one go. Suppose a punter has a bankroll of $100. With traditional sports, the punter would simply risk the $100 bankroll in one go. However, with live betting, the punter may spread the bankroll such that he places bets for four different quarters. If one quarter loses, the punter will have extra chances to scoop other wins from the other quarters.
In-play Betting Predictions
Home/Draw/Away or 1X2
This is by far the most popular soccer betting market, this market which is also known as three-way betting is when you back either a home win, draw or away win. The 1 refers to a Home Win, the X the Draw and the 2 the Away Win.
Over/Under (0.5, 1.5, 2.5 ,3.5)
The over/under betting market is also another popular betting market which does not focus on the final result, rather it focuses on variables. When betting on this market, you can back your team on whether or not the total goals in a game will be either Over or Under a specific number. There are many totals which are part of this market namely;
Over 0.5, Over 1.5, Over 2.5, Over 3.5
Under 0.5, Under 1.5 Under 2.5, Under 3.5
Let’s take a look at one example using Under/Over 2.5
Under 2.5
Under 2.5 Goals means that you are betting on the match to provide less than 2.5 goals, that is two goals or less. If a match produces 3 goals or more, the bet will lose, this bet can be settled at any time in the game, for example, if three goals are scored in the first half, you will lose the bet right there and whatever happens later in the match is insignificant.
Over 2.5
Over 2.5 Goals means that you are betting on the match to provide more than 2.5 goals, that is three goals or more. If a match produces 2 goals or less, the bet will lose, this bet can be settled at any time in the game, for example, if three goals or more are scored in the first half, you will win the bet right there and whatever happens later in the match is insignificant.
Goal/No Goal
This is a betting market where you have to predict whether at least one of the teams will not score on a full football match. A Goal/No Goal bet will win if a match finishes goalless or one team wins with a clean sheet (1-0. 2-0, 3-0, 4-0). If both teams score, then the bet will lose.
Next Goal
The ‘Next Goal’ is in-play market is when you bet on the team to score the next goal. The ‘Next Goal’ only applies to the first goal scored after your bet is placed.
Halftime Over/Under (0.5, 1.5, 2.5)
Over/Under 1.5 Goals is similar to the Full Time Over/Under we have looked at already with the only difference being that this one is half time based.
HT Over 2.5 Goals means that you are betting on the match to provide more than 2.5 goals at Half Time, that is three goals or more.
HT Under 2.5 Goals means that you are betting on the match to provide less than 2.5 goals at Half Time, that is two goals or less
Half time – 3 way
This is a popular market also known as 1X2 where you have to back either a home win, draw or away win in the first half, this type of market is not based on the Full Time result, so your backed team can go on to lose the match and you will still win your bet.
Double Chance
A double chance bet is a very popular bet which covers two possible outcomes in a football match with one bet. For example, A Home Win and Draw bet is a bet where you will be backing the home win to either win or draw, If the home team manages to either win or draw, your bet will win.
Who wins the rest of the match?
This is an in-play bet where you bet on the team to win the rest of the match from the time of placing your bet. What happens is that once you place a bet, the scores technically become 0-0 even if one team is winning at the time so if your backed team outscores its opponent from there on, you will win the bet.
HT Who wins the rest of the match?
The (Who wins the rest of the match?) market is based on Home/Draw/Away whereby you must predict the team to win the remainder of the first half from the time you place the bet. Please note that any goals scored prior to the bet being placed will not count and the bet only applies to the first 45 minutes of regulation time.
Correct Score
The correct score market is one where you must predict the final score of a match.