What Are Betting Markets?
Betting markets are, ostensibly, the platforms that facilitate betting and wagering around the world. Sounds pretty self-explanatory, right? While that’s true, it would be a bit of a disservice to just leave this article at that.
In their totality, betting markets comprise a gargantuan, epic machine around the globe. One of the largest betting markets on the planet, sports betting, accounts for all of the following per
Statista analytics:
Over $203 billion USD in total net worth globally
Over 197,453 employees around the world
Over 30,861 companies worldwide
Even the sports betting market alone has its own multitude of subcategories and markets within markets (more on all that below). Beyond sports though, these markets can also be used to wager on a number of different things, things like:
- Betting on financials
- Betting on reality shows
- Betting on political elections
- Betting on other notable world events
Before you dip your toes in these waters, it’s important to get a feel for the temperature, which is why we’ve created this in-depth guide to help you through doing precisely that. Read on to gain a better understanding of how different types of betting markets work, how to read such betting markets, and how we can help you find the best in the business.
How Betting Markets Work
Provided they live in regions where legal betting markets are supported, bettors have the option to wager on a wide range of betting markets to their heart’s content. Here’s how each type of popular betting market breaks down:
Asian Handicap Betting Markets: A variation of spread betting that originated in Indonesia. Tries to set the winning outcome between either side to be as neutral as possible, but this neutrality will vary depending on what is known about either side.
Fixed Odds Betting Markets: Any betting market that offers fixed returns or losses.
Over/Under Betting Markets: Betting markets where you wager on outcomes occurring over or under a certain number, not necessarily who will win or lose an outcome.
Live Betting Markets: Betting markets that allow you to wager on games and events playing out in real-time.
Scorecast Betting Markets: Require two correction score point predictions for the event to win.
Win To Nil Betting Markets: These two bets are rolled into one single unit stake.
Double Chance Betting Markets: These markets require you to select two different outcomes and consolidate them into one unit stake.
Correct Score Betting Markets: Require you to discern and wager on the correct final point total of an event to win.
In summary, these are the different types of areas that most betting markets serve around the world. The largest share of these markets can be attributed to sports, but as we’ve stated previously, bettors have the freedom to wager on a number of different things, should they choose to do so.
Now, you may understand the most common betting markets, but do you understand the most common odds systems utilized by these betting markets? We’ll dive into that in the next section.
How To Read Betting Markets
Generally, you’ll see four different types of odds systems across different betting markets around the world:
American Odds Systems: These types of odds systems are represented by numbers with plus (+) and minus (-) signs. These numbers account for the stake you’ll want to put down for every $100 you’ll want to win, as well as the potential earnings you could win for putting down such a stake.
Decimal Odds Systems: A common betting odds system used by bookmakers based in Australia and mainland Europe. Represents the potential winning odds in decimal figures, as well as the potential winnings, which can be calculated by multiplying the decimal with the stake figure.
Fractional Odds Systems: Common betting system in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Greater UK. Can discern potential winnings as fractional multipliers. For example, a $110 stake on a 2/1 multiplier can potentially pay out $220.
Betting Exchange Systems: Different from standard sportsbooks, most
US betting exchanges list basic percentage odds of the likelihood that an outcome will happen.
Generally, these are the four basic odds systems utilized by most betting markets. But how efficacious are these betting markets?
Are Betting Markets Efficient?
There isn’t really a binary, yes-no answer to this question. Thanks to the internet age, betting market results, line movements, and updates are more efficient than they’ve ever been.
Even so, things can still evolve really fast, and really frenetically. For the most accurate betting results, it would be wise to source from a multitude of different betting market platforms related to the sorts of things you want to wager on. Things can evolve so quickly, that many of the most prominent iGaming platforms offer to follow real-time spread movements as they evolve during the game.
So, more often than not, yes, these markets are fairly efficient, but for the most accurate betting line results, you should follow a multitude of trusted, reputable resources that are known for yielding fast, responsive line results. Some trusted names in the industry include:
Caesars Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook
PointsBet Sportsbook
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetRivers
WynnBet
Unibet Sportsbook
Fubo Sportsbook
Golden Nugget Online
Borgata Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
888 Sport
Sugarhouse Casino
Fox Bet Sportsbook
BetAmerica Sportsbook
Tipico Sportsbook
The Score Sportsbook
SI Sportsbook
Betway
Betfred Sports
Bet365
Currently, Washington D.C. and over 14 states offer legalized
online sports betting markets in the United States. As of writing this, those states include:
Since sports betting is effectively legal nationwide thanks to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, this list is only bound to keep growing, expanding, and widening in time. When it does, we’ll be here to let you know, and let you know about the best betting markets, deals, and no-deposit bonus codes as they arise.
Sports Betting Strategies
Want to bet like the best of them? Read these detailed strategies written by expert sports bettors to help
you understand the sharpest ways to bet!
Sports Betting Calculators
The best bettors only strike wagers when they know their exact risk & exact reward - use these calculators
to help yourself make the best bets.