Top Ten Online Bookmaker Features

Bookmakers, betting markets, etc.

With the plethora of online bookmakers available, finding the best service to suit your own needs is something which can help with your overall betting experience. Just as with making bets themselves, there is no need just to settle for one option. Utilising more than one online bookmaker may just be the thing which gives you the options to expand and experience everything that you both need and want from your bookmaker. Remember, these are websites with which you will be expecting the utmost security and trust from, as the making of payments and the storing of your account details will happen. Finding names you trust will be a great starting place, but if you are new to the world of online bookmaking, then here is a list of 10 features which you should look out for in an online bookmaker. This should help with everything from opening a new account, planning betting strategies and also watching live sport online.

Live In-Play Betting
This is one of the great advantages of online betting. Live In-Play betting allows you to get right to the heart of the action, and place wagers while you are actually watching the game. Most online bookies will give coverage of most sports from snooker, tennis, cricket and of course football. As the football markets are some of the biggest incomes for bookmakers, they naturally promote Live In-Play betting heavily. Coverage will not just come from top events such as games from the Premier League and Champions League matches, you should be able to find Live In-Play betting markets on matches from all across the world. Bwin for example, provides a wonderful Live-In Play betting service, and this form of betting does not just focus on the outright result (which prices will change during the course of the action), as there should be plenty of sub markets to explore as the live action progresses.

Live Streaming
This is one of the most powerful and prominent features to look for. Live sporting action gets streamed by some online bookmakers, allowing you to watch and enjoy Live In-Play betting all in one place. While you are not going to get to watch live Premier League matches on a Saturday afternoon, certain football cup matches from the UK, as well as European domestic action can be found via live streams. Sometimes you can also get exclusive access to international matches. Tennis is another popular sport which crops up a lot on live streaming services, and with the WTA and ATP going strong all season, this is a good way to catch the action. These streaming services, such as with Bet365 are usually free for people with funds in their accounts, and it a great thing to have on your side.

Welcome Bonus

Everybody likes to get a little something for nothing, and online bookmakers provide just that. Most, if not all, will welcome some kind of welcome sing up bonus. These usually manifest themselves in the form of either a matched first bet, or a matched first deposit. Naturally there are limits to these kind of things, but some of the highest ones out there are £200 from Bet365, and Victor Chandler’s £100. There are there to take advantage of, some get awarded immediately, some get awarded in a tier system after you place X-amount of bets of a certain value. Judge for yourself the level of your own betting to see what bonus would suit you best, as there may not be much point aiming for a big one if you don’t bet heavily enough to make the tiers. Most sign up processes should be instant, so you can start betting immediately.

Free Bets and Promotions
Aside from the main welcome bonuses, online bookmakers very often have promotions running across their website. Some you may need to explore to, and some will be immediately obvious. Some may be time sensitive for a certain event or tournament, and some will be on-going promotions to take advantage of. SportingBet for example, offer promotions on football which run all season. There are refunds on accumulator bets, refunded stakes on 0-0 draws, and when there is a big match coming up, that is when you can make the most of online bookmaker’s promotions. Let’s take a Tennis Grand Slam event for example, a bookmaker such as Paddy Power may decide to refund stakes on losing outright bets if Andy Murray wins that Grand Slam. These kind of promotions don’t always give away in a direct manner, they are there as great coverage on bets which you may not regularly make, like a first Goalscorer, for example. Studying form and guide will help you decide the risk, as with any betting.

The Sports Book

Well, the online bookmaker isn’t going to be very successful if it has not got a Sports Book, while all of them will have one, the qualities and operation of them may vary. The sports book at Blue Square may vary from that of BetFred for example. The deeper the sports book, the more you will get out of it. Some bookmakers have a fantastic array of minor sports to bet on, from everything from trotting to chess. Looking at the popular market of horse racing for example, some bookmakers may only cover UK racing, while others will offer betting on far flung furlongs from the likes of Australia, Canada and the US. If you are a big fan of a smaller sports, then you may need to shop around a little, and this is where having more than one online bookmaker will help out for your betting strategies. Naturally, a deeper, more extensive sports book will lead to more online betting opportunities.

Sub Markets
Punters nowadays want more options than just being able to bet on fixed odds outright betting events. This is where submarkets on sporting events come into play. The more options that there are available, the more exciting your betting will probably be. Online bookmakers like Coral offer deep submarkets on football markets for example, and this extends to things like goalscorer bets, time of events happening in an event, score casting and Asian Handicap betting. The list of submarkets really is extensive on individual events, and they are well worth investigating. The amount of submarkets, as well as specific submarkets, will vary from one bookmaker to another, as well as prices. Again having more than one online bookmaker will help with this. Do not discard the value of exploring submarkets on events because they can turn up little gems of profit.

Stats Service
One thing that may get overlooked a little bit on an online bookmaker service, is the level of statistics provided. When you have an online bookmaker such as Ladbrokes and Totesport, which deliver incredibly detailed stats on their horse racing, it makes betting so much easier. If you see a horse at a decent price, then with the simple click of a button, you want to be able to bring up form and information about the jockey, horse and course itself. Having everything in one place is fantastic when sports betting online, and stats can help you with your planning of betting strategies. Often lost amongst the glitz and glamour of flashy promotions, this is often the backbone of a good online bookmaking service, covering not just horse racing, but football, rugby, cricket and more.

Betting Slip
Again, something every online bookmaker will have, but they do vary from bookie to bookie. Victor Chandler, for example, may vary slightly from William Hill, although they will essentially do the same thing. It is small things like the ease of use and clarity of the betting slip, which makes for a better online betting experience. Some betting slips are tabbed so that you can explore different options when you have made your selections, and some will have everything in one place. Some may be hidden out of sight while browsing, while most will occupy the right hand menu so that you can keep track of your bets. Once you add selections, a helping hand can be garnered by multiple bet options appearing for your selections. This way you can quickly build up bets like Doubles, Trixies and Accumulators, which is extremely convenient.

Home Page Betting Convenience

Speed and ease of use is everything with an online bookmaker. You want to be able to jump quickly to betting options, or to quickly add selections from the home page to your betting slip. The home pages of online bookmakers can have a big impact on the usage of the entire site, as everything from the sports book navigation menu to promotional blocks with quick link betting on the home page, can make a huge difference. Headline links to current sporting events like at Stan James, are a great way to keep up to date, and having a list of current and forthcoming bets on the home page is a great advantage. Top coupons and promotions can all add to improved convenience. The lowest amount of clicks can get your bet on to the betting slip is what to aim for.

Casino and Games

Along with the sports book, online bookmakers also draw a lot of custom to other areas of their website. You can pretty much enjoy Las Vegas from the comfort of your own home, with casino games and poker galore. Some of these require separate accounts to the sports book account, some will all roll into one, and the likes of SkyBet will offer plenty of alternatives to sports betting, with promotions for these individual sections are there to be taken advantage of as well. This will be up to the punter’s taste whether things like Bingo, Roulette, Black Jack, Lotteries and Poker are as important to them as the sports book. These sort of things offer big rewards, and will be down to the level of betting you are comfortable with.