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Sports Betting is a very popular way of earning a little extra cash. If you know what you are doing and are able to understand the odds then you can become very skillful at picking winners. Betting on the results of a sports match can also be very enjoyable. A lot of people will place a bet prior to the start of a game so that the game itself becomes more engaging.

In order to do this yourself, then you need to take some time to understand the basics of sports betting. This article will explain the basics of betting including what the different types of betting options there are.

The placing of bets to predict the outcome of a sports event is an activity that has long been seen as problematic within society and is regulated heavily in most countries. In the United States, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act restricts sports betting and Nevada is currently the only state that allows sports gambling. Of course the impact of the internet in the last 10 to 15 years cannot be ignored and the rise of online bookmakers that are based outside the United States creates huge problems when authorities attempt to regulate gambling.

Aside from these issues, if you are in a place that allows sports betting then you should try it and see how much enjoyment you can get from it. To maximize the fun you should learn what each of the bets actually mean. Betting at its simplest is basically putting money on a team to win. So for example you might bet a friend that the New York Giants will win the Super Bowl this year. You would agree the amount waged and then wait for the outcome. The loser will then pay the wager to the winner.

Generally, sports betting is conducted by licensed bookmakers who will offer you several different ways to bet.

The first kind of bet is called a money line bet. This is the most common bet for such sports as American Football, Soccer or Hockey and is the simplest format. The bookmaker will quote prices in terms of how much you need to bet in order to win $100 on a favorite and the amount paid on an underdog for a bet of $100. If you are successful when betting the bookmaker will pay you the winnings plus the original money that you placed. This is called the stake money.

The second most popular way of betting is known as spread betting. Unlike money line bets when all you need to do is pick a winner, spread betting requires that the bettor predict the victory margin that the winning team will achieve. This kind of betting is particularly popular in sports such as American Football and Basketball. If there is a clear favorite to win then it can be much more fun to bet on the score margin than the winner.

Some bettors like to place wagers on what the overall score will be in a game. This is known as totals or over/under and the requirement is to correctly predict the total number of points or goals that the two competing teams will score. The bettor can predict that there will be a score below or above a certain total. Which ever bet you decide to place, make sure you only gamble on what you can afford to lose. Sports betting can be great fun, but you need to be careful when it comes to risking your money.