When just starting out and you are looking for a new online sportsbook to sign up with, you will quickly find that you have a plethora to choose from. With hundreds of online sportsbooks out there, it is a daunting task to filter through all of them and decide which one is best suited for you as a sports bettor. Remember, you should never feel you need to be loyal to a certain sportsbook brand or site. It is common for bettors to have multiple accounts so that they can take part in something called line shopping, which is comparing several different sportsbooks to find the best odds for the match that you wish to place a bet on. With their portfolio spread across multiple sites, bettors can also maximize their bankroll by taking part in all of the welcome bonuses across multiple sites.

So where should you begin? All of the tools and information you need are available to you online. Read up on user reviews and customer satisfaction for sportsbooks. If you find a lot of negative reviews and complaints from customers about things like slow payouts or bad lines/odds for games, then it probably is not a company you should trust your money with. If you use the analogy that many sports bettors use: that sports betting, when done right, is more like investing than gambling, then you should look at sportsbooks like you would banks. If a bank had a reputation for customer dissatisfaction and shady practices, you probably would not feel great leaving your money with them either. The same should apply to the sportsbook you decide to bet with and trust your money to.

The welcome bonus is one of the crucial factors when signing up with a particular sportsbook and many casual sports bettors overlook these as an incredible opportunity to start out with a larger bankroll. These welcome or sign up bonuses only happen once when you open an account, so we definitely recommend maxing these offers out when available. There is various sign up bonuses that are offered and we will go into detail about how each one works.

Sign Up Bonus: The most straightforward and basic offer: the sportsbook will give the player a bonus when signing up for a new account. These are generally paid out as a percentage of your initial deposit and subsequently paid out to the player using a rollover system. Rollovers are just a method that sportsbooks use to ensure that customers cannot just sign up for an account to receive a lump sum of cash. To receive the rollover bonus funds, a certain amount of money needs to be played before the player can cash out their profits. Here is an example:

Sportsbook offers a 100% Sign Up Bonus up to $200 with a 3x rollover. 

Player deposits $200 and receives the $200 in Bonus from the sportsbook as a rollover. 

The Player must wager $1200 or ($200 + $200) x 3, before being able to cash out any profits. 

Deposit Match: Many sportsbooks will offer a Deposit Match Bonus where they will match what the customer deposits into their account, up to a certain amount. For example, a sportsbook may offer a 50% Deposit Match up to $500, with a 3x rollover once again.

Sportsbook offers a 50% Deposit Match up to $500.

Player deposits $500 and receives the $250 in Bonus from the sportsbook.

The Player must wager $2,250 or ($500 + $250) x 3, before being able to cash out any profits.

These are the two basic Welcome Bonuses that any good sportsbook will offer, so players should definitely try and maximize these offers when signing up for a new account. There are some other bonuses that are offered by sportsbooks to reward a customer’s loyalty or betting volume over time as well including things like Free Bets, Enhanced Odds, and Reload Bonuses. While these are great bonuses to receive, they pale in comparison to how lucrative the initial Welcome Bonuses are in getting your bankroll off to a great start.

When you have finally selected the sportsbook or sportsbooks you want to play with, it is time to think of a strategy that should match the type of sports bettor you envision yourself to be. As with any new hobby, especially one that involves money, you should set out some limits to ensure that you are able to remain in control of how much you bet and how often you play. We can’t tell you how to manage your bankroll, but we are definitely going to provide you with some tips on how to optimize sports betting to be as fun and profitable as possible!

Tip#1: Bankroll Management: This is the rule number one in sports betting. Bettors, especially new bettors, need to monitor the amount of money played and learn to be able to walk away from the sportsbook when either winning or losing. Setting a daily limit as to how much you can afford to spend works wonders for your bankroll. Most online sportsbooks have the ability to set a limit on how much a player bets in a day so always keep that in mind if you find it difficult to stop. Always remember that this should not be your ‘get rich quick’ plan. Sports betting should be a controlled form of entertainment and played with money that you can afford to set aside and in the worst-case scenario, lose.

Tip #2 Bet on What You Know: If you want to be successful, stick to what you know and understand. If you understand the rules of the NFL, bet the NFL. If you understand the rules of NBA basketball, be the NBA! After a while bettors will realize what they are good at reading and stick with this as well: if you can learn to read spreads well, then bet spreads. If you aren’t as sharp at point totals, then steer clear of point totals. Here are a few examples of bet types to get you started:

• Money Line: As simple as it gets for any sport, pick the winning team of the game and bet on them. You will notice the odds for money line favorites can be quite low depending on how lopsided the matchup is perceived to be. 

• Point Spread: Easily the most popular way to wager on a game for any sport, the point spread is a bet made on the difference in points between the two teams in the final score. For the NHL or MLB, the spread is referred to as puck lines and run lines, but point spreads are most commonly played in basketball and football. Here is an example:

• • Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles -3
    • The Eagles need to win the game by more than the three-point spread in order for bets to cash.
    • If you bet the Cowboys, they need to finish within three points or win the game outright for bets to cash

• Over/Under: Pick the total points of the game over or under this number. This can be played with the full game, a period, a quarter, or a half.

• Futures Bets: Think you have an edge or some inside knowledge on what will happen in the future? Picking division winners, conference winners, and even championship winners is a popular play for many sports bettors as you can get some high returns on your bet. There are also futures bets available on individual player accomplishments, statistical totals, and even end of season awards. The only downside with these bets is you usually have to wait until the end of the season so your money is tied up for several months, so it’s best not to wager too much of your bankroll on futures.
• Learn the Odds System: Research and do your due diligence to learn the vocabulary of the sportsbook and the sports betting industry. Jumping in blind to bet parlays is a sure way to burn through your bankroll before long. Figure out which type of odds you like to read: decimal odds, American betting odds, or fractions. The more things you understand about the betting process, the more chance that you can be profitable in the long run. Playing low odds for big payouts, is definitely not a winning proposition. Learn how odds are calculated across the different systems: American Betting odds of +200 is not the same as decimal odds of 2.00.

Watch the Games: Once again this sounds straightforward and may even be redundant, but you will be surprised at how quickly you can learn things by just watching a team play. The more games you can watch, the more you will understand how games are handicapped, and hopefully you will soon be able to begin to formulate some transparencies and values in the lines and odds. For example, you may come to realize that a certain team plays better in night games or gets off to slow starts when playing at home. Anything that you can educate yourself with will help you when it is time to place bets. All of the information and resources are available to you, it is a matter of making the effort and taking the time to learn.

Pick the Sport you want to bet on, learn the dynamics of the games, and tap into the best betting strategies developed over the years. Can you build that elusive hot streak? There’s only one way to find out. Always remember, Bet Responsibly, Bet Greatly:

Nevada is unique in that if you head to Las Vegas, you know they have their brick and mortar casinos. Pennsylvania is a little different because not all of their casinos or racetracks are in the same place like the Vegas strip. When you are using an online sportsbook, it is always easy to just deposit directly from your computer or mobile device. Let us go over the most commonly accepted ways in which you can deposit to your bankroll at an online sportsbook.

Credit Cards: Easy, straightforward and the most common way that players can deposit funds right into their accounts. Most major credit cards are accepted including but not limited to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Keep in mind that some credit cards do not allow the cardholder to make purchases on gambling sites, so be aware of any such limitations before reaching for that card.

Debit Cards/Bank Transfer: Really the same idea as the credit card, except you are inputting your bank information, rather than a credit card number. A bank transfer is a direct debit from your personal bank account and is just as fast as paying by credit card. You may need the information from your account, such as a transit number or your actual account number so have that ready before you sign up for direct bank transfers.

PayPal: PayPal is a popular money transfer company, but you do need to sign up for an account and link it to a bank account before you try and use it with an online sportsbook. It is safe and easy to use though and has become much more common at online sportsbooks and most e-commerce websites as a method of payment.

Other eWallets: PayPal is probably the most well known of these companies, but there are other smaller eWallets that are starting to become popular as well like Skrill, WorldPay, and Sage. All of them work in the same way, and it is definitely easier for a player to set limits on their spending if they use a secondary account like these rather than their primary credit card or bank account.

Bitcoin/Cryptocurrencies: Cryptocurrencies are also becoming more commonly used, especially at online only sportsbooks or online casinos. Similar to an eWallet, a player would link upt their Bitcoin or Crypto wallet and use the funds from there to place bets on the site. Using cryptocurrencies is not for the faint at heart as daily fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin can have a positive or very negative effect on the value of your bankroll.

If you ever have any questions or concerns about something that happens at an online sportsbook, most of them have customer service representatives available around the clock. Because online sportsbooks and online casinos are open 24 hours a day, there is always some form of customer service available via e-mail or even a direct chat function. These customer service representatives can assist you with anything from deposit or withdrawal issues to questions about certain types of games or bet styles.

Pennsylvania was one of the first states to legalize sports betting and has since established itself as a gambling destination on the East Coast of America. There is a sense that Pennsylvania is just getting started with their expansion into sports betting, already with well-established casinos and racetracks popping up all over the state. Although geographically it isn’t the largest state, Pennsylvania does boast a population that is bigger than Nevada and New Jersey combined, a sign that sports betting and online sports gambling should get even more popular as time goes on. With DraftKings and FanDuel having such a big presence on the East Coast, there is nothing to say that Pennsylvania, among other states, should have exponential growth over the next decade or so.

The future of any sports betting hinges on the online presence of the sportsbook, especially with mobile phones. It was not too long ago that sports bettors needed to line up and place bets at a counter in person with paper tickets. While people still do this at brick and mortar sportsbooks, a vast majority of the action is played online now. In a post-Covid19 world where in-person activities and limitations on how many people can be in the same building may be the norm, it is easy to see the appeal in playing at an online sportsbook.

Compared to states like Nevada or New Jersey, Pennsylvania’s gambling revenue is still miniscule. As mentioned above, Pennsylvania has taken in over $2 billion in total bets but just as a comparison, Nevada took in $5.3 billion in 2019 alone. The popularity of online sports betting and mobile sports betting is quickly growing this booming industry across the country.

The Pennsylvania sports scene is rife with options as well. Every major sport is represented in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh has several franchises of their own. The College scene is also important as big athletic schools like Penn State, Temple, and Villanova all reside within the state. The legalization probably could not have come at a better time, as the 2018 Super Bowl victory by the Eagles cemented the City and State as a rabid sports base in America.

The NFL remains king of sports betting though, as an estimated $6 billion was wagered in America on the Super Bowl game alone this year. Other popular sports to be on include the NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, MLS and European Soccer, UFC events especially when held in Vegas at places like the MGM, and PGA Golf. Stand alone events also bring in tons of betting action, including of course, the Super Bowl, March Madness, the Haskell Invitational or any other big horse race like the Kentucky Derby or Belmont Stakes, and Golf majors like the Masters or U.S. Open. You are not limited to professional sports leagues though as even things like Triple-A league Baseball games, eSports, and politics can be gambled on online at a majority of these sportsbooks.