Every country handles or regulates gambling in its own way. There are geographies where all forms of this hobby are completely legal, countries where some forms are legal, and those where it’s completely illegal. Sports are almost universally popular, and there are a lot of those who enjoy placing bets on matches. However, the available options and rules are different for sports betting, and that has an impact on the overall user experience. Here we will highlight some of the major differences in sports betting depending on the country.
Licensing for Sports Betting
In order to host sports betting options, an operator will need a corresponding local license. It’s often the case that 2 licenses are required if you wish to offer to bet on sports like football, basketball, or tennis, and another one for horse and greyhound racing. It may look weird but it actually makes sense. Horse and greyhound racing allows punters to spend money more frequently, and many view it as a more addicting form of entertainment. So don’t be surprised if you play on a foreign site and don’t see options for horse racing while other sports are included and vice-versa.
All of the legal operators follow responsible gaming guidelines, and they want to make sure users are careful with their spending. They also do this by enabling different payment options. There are many Paysafecard casino Nederland websites that can clear payments made through Paysafecard. In other words, users can only make a deposit that is indicated on that coupon, they cannot simply refill their account. So, it’s quite effective for managing your expenses and more importantly, a safe way to do business with online operators.
Different Types of Bets
The major difference in sports betting in different countries is the types of bets that are available. This can also depend on the license, but certain state laws prohibit sportsbooks from offering specific bets. If you look at HappySpins casino review you’ll see that they don’t have betting on live events but do offer virtual sports. People aren’t as emotionally invested in these games, and they are all basically simulations. At the same time, they can gamble on virtual sports even when there aren’t any live matches, so that’s definitely an upside to the arrangement.
Recently Canada offered only parlay bets, which meant punters could not wager on a single match but had to make a bundle of wagers on different matches. This significantly reduces the odds of victory, and many punters don’t find these bets attractive. The best case scenario is that you find an operator that offers a wide range of different bets like in the UK. Here you can place live bets, wager on the number of total goals, or even speculate which player or team will score first and when. It’s still far-fetched but many love to gamble on these outcomes as the rewards are very high.
How Odds Are Displayed on Gambling Websites
One of the most noticeable differences is how the odds are displayed in different countries. In European sportsbooks, you will see decimal odds like 1.8, 2.5, 4.8, etc. This is pretty straightforward: you simply multiply the stake with the shown decimal and the potential payout is equal to the result.
In the UK you’ll see fractional odds like 11/4, 12/5, 3/1, etc. Once again these are easy to understand as your wager is multiplied by the result of the numerator and denominator. If your stake is $50 and the odds are 12/5 then it’s basically 50 x 12/5 (2.4) which is equal to $120.
In the US you’ll see Moneyline odds that are displayed with + or - symbols. You’ll see odds like +120 or -250 and they indicate your gain for betting $100. In the case of +120, you will get $100 which is your stake + $120 for guessing correctly which is $220 in total for a $100 wager. In the other example, -250 you would need to bet $250 in order to get $100 extra as a reward for guessing, or $350 in total.
Bear in mind that the odds do change over time, depending on how punters bet. The initial ones are generated by the algorithm, but if the big majority of punters support one option the value of those odds will go down, while the value of the opposite odds will go up.
Conclusion
As you can see there are some pretty significant differences in sports betting depending on where you play. The odds might look confusing when you are in another region, but it’s nothing too difficult to figure out. If you are gambling online on sites that are regulated locally, you might find that your options are somewhat limited. You can always play on foreign platforms, but you should avoid using a VPN and other means of access if the operator isn’t trustworthy. The ones that are available locally can be held accountable by the regulators, while there is nothing you can do about a foreign operator that refuses to payout.
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