Online Sportsbook FAQs

Questions taken from a sample of online sportsbooks’ FAQs (but the answers are all mine!):

  • Are there any costs to join? Never, at any half-decent online sportsbook (or online poker or online casino USA) that I’ve seen. There may be a few “clubs” that offer special VIP memberships, but even then they rarely ask you for a fee; at the very worst, the VIP clubs will require that you play a bit more than the average casual visitor, but probably no more than you did to qualify in the first place!
  • What sports can I bet on? Well, it varies from site to site, but you can absolutely count on at least a dozen or so, and many have much more than that. I have yet to see a site that doesn’t offer major league football (“American” as well as soccer), baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, golf, motor sports (NASCAR, Formula 1), horse racing, and fights (from boxing to ‘mixed martial arts’). You’ll also frequently find plenty of pro and college sports subcategories, plus more specific and international favorites like rugby, cricket, cycling, hurling, Gaelic and Australian football, volleyball, snooker, darts…the list goes on and on.
  • What do I need to sign up? Not much. Most sites will require some basic personal information (just so they know that you are who you say you are!)  and a deposit method (more about that on our second page), and they’ll protect all of this information with security encryption and strict privacy policies.
  • What types of wagers do they offer? Anything that you’ve ever heard of, and more besides. To name just a few: straight bets, Teasers, If Bets, Parlays, Reverses, Round Robins, proposition bets, exotics, half-time lines, in-play betting, and the whole gamut of parimutuel bets for you horse fans! Many online sportsbooks also offer online slots and other extras.
  • What the heck is juice? Many things. But for sportsbooks (online or off) it’s the percentage of the bet that goes to the bookmaker. It’s also referred to as “vig”, but I prefer to avoid anything that makes me think of crappy music from the 90s.