Live Sports Betting in New York
With the growing legalization of sports betting in states around the country, live betting is seeing increased interest. It offers a different type of gambling, with bets available and shifting as the game unfolds.
Live betting works much like pregame betting, but the chance to get a look at how the game is playing out can be valuable. The quickly changing odds can give gamblers the chance to get better prices than they could have before the game started.
This guide will go through everything from the basics to advanced techniques so that you can best understand all there is to live betting. No matter if you’re a novice gambler, or one looking for an edge on the house, read on for more info.
What is live sports betting?
At its core, live betting — also known as in game betting — is simply the act of gambling on a contest as it occurs. This means making wagers on a game in real time as it happens. Oddsmakers offer odds that change as the game plays out, reflecting the events that have happened. For example, if one team gets off to a large lead, its odds will shorten, offering a smaller return.
Major events, such as the Super Bowl, will have more live betting options than your everyday games. This is the same as pregame betting but it’s still something to keep in mind when planning to bet on a game live.
What are the best sports for live betting?
While live betting is possible on any sport, these are the five that are best for those looking to experience live betting:
Live betting on football
The NFL is one of the most popular sports to live bet on and for good reason. Because the NFL is such a large betting market, the pregame lines are often razor-sharp. Live betting offers a way to find more beatable lines.
A team that was a seven-point favorite before the game can fall behind by a touchdown early and see odds shift to make it a three-point favorite, even if there is most of the game left to play. The ability to get solid lines in the NFL, a sport that is notorious for its tough lines, is what makes live betting on football so popular.
Live betting on soccer
The live aspect gives soccer bettors additional chances to bet on the action. By watching the first bit of a game and getting a feel for how it’s going, you make sure that you’re informed before making wagers.
This can allow a gambler to get an idea of the form a team is in — perhaps it is playing very poorly that day. If you wait to bet live, you ensure that you can factor this information into your betting. Live betting on soccer is popular across the globe.
Live betting on hockey
The NHL is perhaps the professional league with the most parity, and thus there are plenty of upsets. This can make it advantageous to bet once a game has started. Hockey can also offer larger odds, and empty-net situations can mean plenty of late-game excitement. Thus live betting odds can shift quickly near the ends of games and result in profit or losses. Placing live bets is a great way to add more excitement to the Stanley Cup as well!
Live betting on golf
Golf is a great sport to bet on live and may be the sport most suited to this type of wagering. There are many types of bets available every round, and gamblers can bet on everything from the winner of the round to a golfer’s score on the next hole.
Live betting on the final round of a large golf tournament is a common activity, and for good reason. It offers plenty of excitement and a chance for profit. Bookmakers will often group golfers together so that you can gamble on different matchups.
Live betting on tennis
Last but not least on this list is tennis. Tennis is great for in game betting as the game moves fast, allowing gamblers to move from one bet to the next one at lightning speed. You have many betting options, on everything from single points to the full matches.
What are the pros and cons of live betting?
Let’s now take a look at some of the pros and cons of live betting on sports.
Pros of live betting
There are many things to like about live betting. Here are some of the best points as to why in play betting is a solid option:
- The speed: You can place bets and know the outcome in just seconds. This speed makes gambling much more exciting and offers more chances to wager, if that’s what you’re looking for. This means you can place multiple bets while live betting, and if you get hot, then your profits can climb very quickly. On the other hand, run cold and the number of bets can do some damage to your bankroll.
- Chance at redemption: Live betting can also offer a chance to make up for previous bets as there is always a new opportunity to place another one. This means that if your pregame bet isn’t looking too good, live betting offers another shot at redemption, rather than having to wait until the next game.
- More informed decisions: You can get a feel for the game with live betting, such as whether a particular team or key player appears to be hot or cold. As a sports gambler, this is information that you normally do not have, and it can be the difference between winning and losing your bet.
- Live hedging: Sometimes your pregame bet looks great and then you want the chance to hedge your bet and guarantee yourself a profit. Live betting allows you to protect yourself by gambling at strong odds for the other side. This is one of the better mathematical edges that live betting makes possible.
Cons of live betting
While there are plenty of advantages to live betting, there are also some things to watch out for. Here are some of the largest ones:
- Emotional control: If you are a person who struggles with controlling your emotions, in game betting may not be the best option for you. Crazy things happen in sports, and this can cause some unbelievable bad beats. If you’re one who cannot control your emotions, bad beats can cause you to go on tilt and start betting out of control.
- Quick decisions: Live betting requires quick choices, and you often have to make decisions without much information. To add to these tough decisions, you have only a few seconds to make your choice before the odds change. Some people are great at making pregame bets, but the unique circumstances that accompany live betting are tough for them. It’s up to you to find out which type of gambler you are and determine if the quick decisions required by live betting are something that you are strong at.
- Attention required: Live betting needs more attention than pregame wagers, as you need to be watching, or at least following, the game to make the best decisions. For those who don’t have the time to watch the games, or perhaps there are multiple games at once, live betting can be difficult. Of course, it is still possible to make live bets without following the action of the game. Doing this is much riskier and will often result in losses. It’s best to be watching the game as it happens to have the best understanding of its flow.
Best live bets to make on sports
As mentioned above, many live betting options are similar to what might be available pregame. However, there are a few bets that are great live options:
Moneylines
Moneyline bets are an attractive bet to make live due to how much they fluctuate and the good price a savvy gambler can grab them at. For example, let’s say that in an NHL game the Chicago Blackhawks are the favored team and they face off against the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks have moneyline odds of -180 before the game, and you don’t feel as though that is a good price.
However, early in the game, the Predators score a goal, and now the live odds swing to +125 for the Blackhawks. You can now bet on their moneyline for a much better price, and there is still plenty of game left to be played.
Point spreads
The spread is an equalizer that oddsmakers apply to even out the two options available to gamblers. For major betting markets, such as the top professional leagues in North America, the pregame spreads are usually very accurate. This means that it can be very hard to make money on those lines.
Once the game starts, the spread can move the same as the moneyline as described above. This means that gamblers can get a chance to bet on the same outcomes for better prices.
Player totals
Player totals are another type of bet that is well suited to live betting. Before the game begins, various players will have lines set for major stat categories. These are different for every sport, but every major oddsmaker will offer them.
For example, let’s say that LeBron James has his player point over/under set at 27 before a big game. James scores just two points in the first quarter, and thus the line drops to 23. As a gambler, you feel as though James does most of his scoring toward the ends of games anyways. So taking the bet at 23 instead of 27 is a much more attractive line, and you were able to do this through the power of live betting.
Is live betting available only on mobile devices?
Live betting is currently available to New Yorkers at the physical locations where gambling is regulated. At the moment, traveling to these locations to place wagers is the only legal way to bet live in the state of New York.
However, when compared to mobile betting, in-person live betting is a clunky experience. The strength of mobile betting is that the speed and convenience are much greater than what they are when placing wagers at a physical sportsbook. While lining up at a physical sportsbook, you may miss the odds that you needed to make your wager.
If and when online gambling is legalized in the state of New York, it will change live betting for the better. Gamblers will be able to use the much easier interface to place bets at lightning speed.