When it comes to defining sports betting and online gambling, there are actually as many differences as there are similarities. Gambling can be defined as placing real money on a game of chance, usually hosted at an online casino or land based casino.
You will receive odds for or against you attaining that win based on preset variables and your winning is down to chance with the occasional application of skill.
Betting on the other hand can refer to sports betting. Here a player will make wagers on the outcome of a sports match or a player’s performance on fixed or fluctuating odds.
Bettors can play a larger role in improving their winning odds through research and betting strategy with sports betting.
Finding Reputable Sites
Firstly, one area that both gambling and betting needs to be similar is when it comes to their practices. Both online casinos and sports betting sites need to be hosted at reputable online sites.
You don’t want to risk playing your hard earned cash at a site that will cheat you. Always check that your chosen sports bookmaker or casino clearly display their gaming licences.
Home Page Navigation
Whereas an online casino will have areas on their home page to click on dedicated to specific table games, slots or liver dealer pages, betting sites will usually have the home page divided into different sports sections and live betting areas.
The Featured Odds
How odds are displayed to customers vary greatly between gambling and betting.
In betting the odds are variable and can change on the fly as the balance of wagering tilts on various outcomes and bettor behaviour.
The sports betting odds can be displayed in various ways, depending if your bookmaker uses fractional, decimal or American odds.
Gambling odds on the other hand have a pretty fixed display method and the odds are predetermined either by the manufacturer or the site itself.
Influencing the Odds
Odds in both gambling and sports betting can be influenced in various ways. In punting, you can bend the options in your favour by studying the game, collecting data, finding favourable odds and finding tips.
When it comes to gambling however you need to influence the odds by either wagering more and more money or by looking for similar games where the preconfigured odds are at a more favourable level.
Bonuses and Promotions
To be eligible for a sports betting bonus or a gambling bonus, you generally just need a registered account, a legal bank account and possibly some spare cash to deposit.
The deposit bonuses often are quite similar, with the main differences coming in with regards to the free offers.
Gambling sites usually offer you free spins on a variety of games, whereas betting sites tend to offer free bets that can take a variety of forms and usually feature a few conditions.
You can see from these examples that gambling and betting can at times be synonymous terms but in practice they can differ quite significantly from one another.