Up until this point, the betting market was largely dominated by traditional sportsbooks, both online and on-premises.
After entering a digital domain, betting has reached a new height. With crypto betting and everything, newcomer sports bettors often find themselves in a confusing state. They feel like crypto is not easy to understand.
For a better understanding, let’s juxtapose traditional online sportsbooks with crypto bookies.
What Is Sports Betting?
Sports betting is done by predicting the outcome of a game. There are a number of ways to bet on sports. They include—
- Moneyline: This is a straight bet. It is placed to predict an outright winner and is only dependent on the game’s results.
- Spread: Spread bets are placed on the margin of victory. The sportsbooks lay out the expected victory margins for the bettors. You either give away or take a certain number of points, goals, or runs.
Taking the spread means that you’re deciding to bet on the underdog, and giving means betting on the favorite.
- Over/Under: Over/under bets are also known as “totals.” Totals focus on the combined final score of the teams involved. When betting on a total, bettors have to predict whether the combined score will be over or under the total amount posted by the oddsmakers.
- Parlays: Parlays are popular because they function somewhat like a lottery ticket. They ensure bigger payouts while risking less money. A parlay is a combination of two or more straight bets.
- Props: Even though other bets focus on the game itself, prop bets are placed on the performance of individual players. It could even be an example of a prop bet. Like betting on an athlete’s total touchdowns.
- Futures: Instead of betting on a game taking place this week or next week, future bets are placed on, as the name suggests, future games. These bets usually offer greater odds and, consequently, larger payouts than straight bets.
How Do Regular Sportsbooks Compare to Crypto Bookies?
Historically, casinos or gambling shops have been the go-to for bettors because of their tangible nature. But times have changed, and so have gambling styles.
In the United States, betting has always been regulated by federal law. Each state approaches the legalization process of gambling uniquely. Which has massively contributed to the rise of online betting sites and, consequently, crypto betting sites. More than half of the states have already legalized, or at least regulated, online betting so far. Hence, it is expected to expand and become more accessible.
After the arrival of online sportsbooks, people were initially happy because they could bet from home. But their happiness slowly turned into frustration as those betting sites meddled with their financial information. They also took forever to process transactions and charged heavily for each one.
And then came crypto sportsbooks. By promising faster transactions and lower security risks, these sites were enticing more punters than ever. Moreover, the transaction fees were lower. All of this was possible because crypto ran on blockchain technology. With a little research, you can start your crypto betting journey anytime you want.
Inconveniences Associated With Regular Betting
Traditional betting aligns with the laws and regulations of a certain region. Also, since you are using hard cash, it can offer more stability and clarity. But flexibility? Not so much.
In terms of flexibility, you would need a system that has unlimited global reach. However, regular sportsbooks, despite being online sites, often face restrictions. More so, authorities don’t even hesitate to shadow-ban a site when illegal activities are spotted. This can potentially ruin businesses.
Another thing about these bookmakers is that the deposits are very time-consuming. It can take hours to transfer the money to your bank account. Because banks generally cross-examine all the financial records to identify the user. Plus, they charge way too much processing fees.
Furthermore, these websites don’t use robust encryption techniques. The absence of a blockchain raises a few security concerns. And if the bookies turn out to be frauds, your bank and credit info may end up in the wrong hands.
Concerns Associated With Crypto Betting
The main concern with crypto betting is that very few licensed US sites accept them. Although the United States Treasury has approved Bitcoin as a convertible currency, someone will have to register and file reports on transactions over $10,000. This is a big reason why some punters hesitate to bet with crypto. Of course, there are loopholes and shortcuts. However, adhering to those methods might require involving third parties.
Another concern is price volatility. The value of cryptocurrencies fluctuates from time to time, which can be, at times, unpredictable. These dramatic shifts in prices can make crypto betting seem like a double-edged sword.
There are a growing number of crypto betting sites. However, since they are relatively new in the market, they are not as widespread as traditional websites. So you might face the additional issue of finding the webpage of your choice. This can also put a limit on games and sporting events.
But Do the Benefits Outweigh the Risks? Let’s Discuss the Advantages of Crypto Wagering
Cryptocurrencies have become incredibly popular in recent years. Yet, the misconceptions about them are abundant.
More and more online platforms are accepting payments through crypto nowadays and for good reasons. It turns out that they can come in handy in multiple ways.
First of all, betting with crypto is generally less risky. Cryptocurrency gets away with regulations because it is still taking baby steps. For this reason, it becomes a decentralized system. This is commonly known as decentralized finance (DeFi). DeFi allows multiple computers to integrate into a specific network. These computers work as “nodes.” Whenever a transaction is issued, these “nodes” confirm it.
Once the deposits are validated by these nodes, the transactions are immediately recorded on a blockchain. This way, the decentralised model leads to faster payment processes. The transactions can be completed within a few minutes or even seconds!
Secondly, crypto platforms offer you increased anonymity. But you shouldn’t expect complete privacy, because that’s kind of impossible. You see, sites still need to implement KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures. And that involves collecting personal information from you. Other than that, you won’t have to worry about privacy breaches.
Thirdly, there’s a fix for price volatility. You will need to look for online sportsbooks that convert your cryptocurrency to USD. For example, USDT (Tether) works as a stablecoin that is pegged to the U.S. dollar at a 1:1 ratio. Just do your homework, and you can get away with fluctuating prices.
Finally, crypto generally offers larger bonuses and higher withdrawal limits. If you know where to look, you might earn some extra cash.
Conclusion
You can surely turn a profit by betting. But don’t jump into it by assuming that you are going to win every bet. Nobody actually makes life-changing money.
However, a standard practice would be to keep a spreadsheet of the bets. Bet on sports you are familiar with, and monitor your progress. That should set you up for an exciting crypto betting journey.
