The in-game live betting has become a big deal. Technology development allows sportsbooks to cover a lot of sports events during a day, offering the sports bettors plenty of interesting odds and markets to choose from.
On the other side, the bettors are only a few clicks away from placing a bet. With so many in-game markets available, live betting naturally becomes the favorite option for many sports bettors.
Back in 2015, one of the world’s biggest online betting companies, Bet365, announced that 80 percent of their sports betting revenue comes from in-game live bets only. Simply, the possibility of betting on the event once it has started makes live action irresistible.
Each sport has pros and cons when it comes to live wagering, but some stand out as a favorite choice by the vast majority of the professional sports bettors. We bring you the top three sports that are the most popular choice for live betting around the world along with some betting strategies that sports bettors use.
Basketball
A few things make basketball a unique game. At the same time, those things make basketball a very popular choice when it comes to live betting.
First, the points very often get scored in sequences. A 10-point lead can be annulled in no time, while your bet on the over or under can depend entirely on players’ hot or cold streaks. Also, teams easily become complacent after building a big lead.
Second, the first half of the game often means nothing. Good teams don’t bother with a slight deficit at halftime, knowing there’s plenty of basketball to be played, but the bookies have to correct odds according to the result. And that’s a chance for the in-game bettors to find a great value.
For example, each NBA team plays 82 games in the regular season. They take the floor three or four times per week. Therefore, being consistent is a big problem for most of the clubs which causes plenty of surprising outcomes.
Now, the basketball markets are specific due to a spread. If a 10-point underdog has a 5-point lead at halftime, the bookies will still favor the losing side, but only for a few points. That’s a great opportunity to invest, and basketball is a rare sport that offers this opportunity.
How many times we saw both teams making almost every shot during the first half, but in the second, they start playing much better defense or just get into the cold-shooting streak. The vice-versa situation is a possibility, too. These things make basketball a great sport to wager on when it comes to live betting.
Tennis
Tennis is well-known as a sport that offers pretty tempting odds on underdogs, while better players in a matchup are favored heavily. However, tennis is also full of upheavals and unexpected moments, and that allows sports bettors to chase some very intriguing odds and markets during the game.
The tennis players can count only on themselves which is the main reason why almost every player has ups and downs during the match. Their inconsistency is always a great chance for their opponents, and that’s exactly what sports bettors chase when it comes to live betting in tennis.
It’s tough to win all service games at the tennis match. The vast majority of matches will see at least two or three breaks, and the odds on the receiver are always around +250. Furthermore, the type of court affects the play a lot, and matches on the clay court, which is very slow, can bring five or more breaks in just two sets of play.
Of course, sports bettors who watch tennis a lot know everything about each of the top-100 players. They know who’s serving well and who’s good on a return which allows them to make a strategy during the match and lay the odds in the perfect moment.
Women tennis is particularly popular among in-game sports bettors, as the most unpredictable sports in the world, no doubt. Having a serve in women tennis is not a big advantage at all, regardless of the court, so many sports bettors love to wager live and look for big odds on a player who’s on a return.
Soccer
The main reason why soccer is one of the best and most popular sports for live betting is the frequency of games. Soccer is undoubtedly the most played sport in the world. Every single day brings a ton of matchups around the world, and plenty of those contests are available for in-game wagering.
A few more reasons make soccer such a popular sport for live betting, and they come from the nature of the game. Soccer is a rare game where a draw is a possible outcome. The most common one-goal and two-goal lead are not a great assurance, and the losing team will always push forward in numbers, trying to earn a draw.
By the 80th minute of the game, the odds on the over 0.5 goals until the end are already +100. And that’s what the bettors wait for – with a one-goal lead, it logical to expect and see one more goal. The losing side will go all-out attack, while the other team will have plenty of room to launch counter-attacks.
Furthermore, both teams lose strength and energy which affects their concentration and composure. Soccer is the game where you can always expect some goals in the last 10 or 15 minutes, especially when one team has a one-goal lead.
Some bettors like to take their chances and wager on the losing team to score. If the losing side has already been listed as an underdog before the clash, the odds can be quite tempting on them to score late in the game (+300 or more, sometimes it can go up to +1000).
Another interesting thing about soccer is that the situation on the field changes a lot with every goal scored. And I mean a lot. One team can dominate for 60 minutes, but after they score, the other team will almost always take over, no matter how inferior they were until that moment.
