Beginner’s Guide to Betting Online: How to Place a Bet

Believe it or not, betting on sports is extremely easy. Even though there is a lot to learn, especially if you have never bet before, it won’t take long before you can join millions of regular punters.

To help you get started, we will show you a step-by-step guide on how to place a bet. Moreover, we will explain several different markets so that you can place a variety of bets. Finally, we will show you how to bet on football and horse races, and by the end of our guide, you will be ready to place your first bet.

10 Quick Facts About Betting Online

• If you are new to betting, stick to simple betting markets like draw no bet or the win bet in horse racing.
• Learning how betting odds work is a prerequisite for anyone looking to bet.
• Always bet at licensed bookmakers.
• Claim welcome bonuses with low wagering requirements.
• Match result is the most common bet in football.
• Ensure all the information you enter when registering on a betting site is correct; bookies will verify your account before processing payments.
• Avoid complex bets like handicaps or accumulators if you are new to betting.
• Don’t bet big until you gain some experience.
• Many online bookmakers have a dedicated mobile app for their betting site.
• Check a team’s or horse’s form before placing a bet.

How to Place a Bet Online

Finding a reputable bookmaker is essential. There are hundreds of bookmakers in the UK, so picking one is not always easy. Moreover, you should consider many different aspects when choosing a bookmaker, making the process a bit more complicated.

Not to worry, though; we will show you what to look out for when choosing a bookmaker, so you can rest assured you are always betting at a reputable place.

• Licence — Before you even come close to learning how to place a bet online, the first thing you should check when choosing a bookmaker is whether a gaming authority licenses it. Bookmakers need to have a licence to operate in the UK legally. Having one means the bookie conforms to the regulations issued by a gaming authority.

In other words, it is a reputable and safe place to bet at. If the bookmaker has no licence, we strongly advise you to stay away from it, no matter how good the rest of its offer sounds.

• Payment methods — Placing a bet online begins with having money in your account to bet with, so payment methods play a significant role in picking a bookmaker. After all, the goal of betting is to deposit and withdraw money. Simply put, the more options a bookmaker has, the better. Additionally, check its withdrawal times to ensure your money isn’t being processed for weeks.
• Welcome bonuses — The best way to learn how to place a bet at a sportsbook is to practice, and welcome bonuses are an excellent way to begin your betting journey and get a head start. Almost every bookmaker offers a welcome bonus, but you should look for the best bonuses on the market with low wagering requirements. This means you won’t have to bet the bonus several times before being able to withdraw your winnings.
• Betting markets — Reading about betting markets is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to learn how to place a bet online, and having numerous betting markets is essential for any bookmaker. After all, no punter wants to place a single bet type over and over again.

Stick around to find out more about various betting markets, as we will show you some of the most popular bet types you can place.

• Odds — Odds play a massive role when betting and will directly affect your winnings. If you wish to learn how to place a bet, you must first find out everything about odds, how they are calculated, and how to easily recognise those with great value.

Odds vary from one bookmaker to another, and no bookmaker will always have the best odds. For that reason, we recommend having an account at several different bookmakers and looking for the best value before placing a bet.

• Website design — While a website design might not directly influence your bets, it will undoubtedly make your life a lot easier, especially if you are new to betting. An intuitive design will allow you to master how to place a bet at a sportsbook, navigate the website, and explore new betting markets.

Now that you know what aspects to consider, it should be as easy as pie to find a suitable bookmaker. However, if you don’t wish to invest hours of your time looking for a bookmaker, you will be glad to know we have already done all the work for you.

We mentioned everything a reputable bookmaker should have and compiled a list of the newest and best betting sites. Instead of checking hundreds of sites, simply pick one from our list and register.

How to Place a Bet at a Sportsbook

Now that you most likely picked a bookmaker, it is time to register and make a deposit before you can place a bet.

The registration process is quite straightforward, regardless of the betting site you choose. To begin the registration process, you will have to navigate to a button labelled as Register, Sign Up, or Join Now. After that, simply enter all the necessary information, and you will finish the registration process.

Before you learn how to place a bet, you need to know several different things about registering on a betting site. First things first — make sure to tick a box and sign up for a bonus or enter a coupon code if you plan on claiming a welcome bonus. Secondly, make sure that all the information you enter when registering is correct.

Every reputable bookmaker will verify your identity before processing any payments or even allowing you to place a bet online. Bookies do that to ensure you are old enough to gamble, haven’t self-excluded yourself from gambling, prevent money laundering, protect your funds, and much more.

If you bet at a reputable bookmaker, you will have to verify your account before you can withdraw any money, which you won’t be able to do if the information you entered while registering is incorrect.

How to Do Sports Betting

Now that you know how to pick a bookmaker and register, you have the basics covered. All that’s left to do is place a bet on a match or a race you want.

To teach you how to do that, we will show you two different examples. Since football and horse racing are some of the most popular sports to bet on in the UK, we will show you how betting on them works.

How to Place a Bet on Football

Before placing a bet, you should learn about different betting markets and determine what types of bets you can place on football.

• Match result — As the name suggests, the match result bet allows you to bet on the result of a match. You can bet on the home team to win, the away team to win, or a draw.
• Double chance — If you are new and want to learn how to place a bet, we recommend starting with the double chance bet. It works like the match result bet, except you can bet on two outcomes rather than just one, making it ideal for beginners.
• Draw no bet — Draw no bet is another bet that works like the match result bet. You can bet on the home team or the away team to win. In case of a draw, the bet is cancelled, and the bookmaker returns the stake to you.
• Correct score — By placing a correct score bet online, you are wagering on the exact score of the match.
• Both teams to score — With the BTTS bet, you wager that both teams will score a goal. The winner is not important, as long as both teams score at least one goal.
• Over/under bets  — If you wish to learn how to place an advanced bet on football that is not too complex, you should try over/under bets. With this type of bet, a bookmaker will propose a line. For example, a bookie will propose there will be seven corner kicks in the match, and you will have to bet whether there will be more or fewer than that.

Apart from the ones we mentioned, other popular betting markets include Asian handicap bets, accumulators, and many others. However, these bets are a tad more complex, so if you are still learning how to place bets, you might want to stick to the easier ones until you gain more experience.

Once you have registered, learned about betting markets, and presumably deposited money into your account, all you have to do is:

• Navigate to the football section on the betting site.
• Find the match you want to bet on.
• Select the market you want to bet on.
• Set how much you are willing to stake.
• Place your bet.

After you are done placing a bet online, it will be added to a betting slip that will generally appear in the right corner. In some cases, you will have to open the slip after you are done betting and confirm the bet.

Of course, the exact details may vary from one bookmaker to another. However, if you follow these few simple steps, we are positive that you will learn how to place a bet on football, regardless of the bookmaker you choose.

If you wish to use your phone for betting, the process is the same. Numerous betting sites have dedicated apps for iOS and Android users that you can download and have easy access to your favourite bookmaker. With that said, you can find a list of the most reputable bookmakers with the best betting apps right here on our website.

While learning how to place a bet is easy, knowing how to make a good bet is a lot more challenging. Before you make a bet, we recommend that you learn about betting odds, how they work and do as much research as you can.

Rather than just betting for the sake of it, try to find out as much as you can about the league and the teams you are betting on. You should also find more about players’ performances and their form.

How to Place a Horse Racing Bet

Betting on horses is quite like betting on football, and you can easily place a bet on horse racing by following the same steps as the ones we mentioned earlier. The only difference between the two is in the information you need to check if you wish to make a successful horse racing bet.

Unlike football, where you have to pick between two teams, you’ll have many more options in horse racing. Moreover, if you have never bet on horses before, the terminology, abbreviations, and seemingly complex racecards may deter you from even trying to bet.

If you are only interested in learning how to place a horse racing bet and prefer horse racing over football, we have written a guide that will help you learn how to bet on horses. Make sure to check it out and use it to your advantage to win a horse racing bet.

When it comes to betting markets in horse racing, here are some of the most common types of bets you will encounter:

• Win — If you wish to learn how to wager on horse racing while keeping things simple, there is no easier bet than the win bet. With this type of bet, all you have to do is correctly predict who will be the first to finish the race.
• Place — To win the place bet, you need to pick a runner that will finish first, second, or third in a race.
• Each way — Another good bet for anyone looking to learn how to place a horse racing bet. It combines the win and place bets, and you can win it if the runner you picked finishes first, second or third. Naturally, the payout is higher if the runner you picked finishes first.
• Quinella — To win the quinella bet, you need to pick two runners that will finish first and second in any order.
• Exacta — Exacta is like the quinella bet, except in this case, you have to pick correctly two runners that will finish first and second in the exact order.
• Duet — If you are placing a duet bet online, you have to predict correctly two runners that will finish first and second, second and third, or first and third, in any order.
• Trifecta — You can win the trifecta bet by picking three runners that will finish first, second, and third in any order.
• First 4 — As the name suggests, you will have to pick four runners in a race that will finish first, second, third, and fourth in the correct order.

As is the case with football, you should avoid some bet types before mastering how to wager on horse racing. For starters, we recommend sticking to the win, place, and each way bets. Alongside the bets we already mentioned, some bookmakers will often include specials in their offer, which is a fun way to add more variety to the horse racing betting market.

Summary

Now that you know how to place a bet, you can join millions of punters worldwide and cash in on your knowledge of sports. In today’s time, virtually every bookmaker has an intuitive website design, so registering or finding a match or a race to bet on is all about following simple steps.

Granted, you won’t become a betting expert overnight, but we all have to start somewhere. Before you gain enough experience, you shouldn’t bet too big. More importantly, make sure to pace yourself and stay away from complex bets like handicaps and accumulators.