If you’re new to betting online, you may be wondering how to go about placing a bet. Luckily, we’ve produced this guide to get you started.
Placing a bet
To place a single bet on a sporting event, navigate to your chosen online betting site and sign up, or log in if you already have an account.
Next, find your chosen sport and event; most online betting sites have a handy A-Z list of sports on the left-hand side to help you find what you want.
Once you’ve found the event and the market, click on the odds offered for the outcome you would like to bet on – doing this will add your selection to the bet slip. You can change how the odds get displayed in the settings with two options available to you, fractional odds and decimal odds.
The bet slip will then pop up on your screen and will typically contain information such as the event you’re betting on, your selection, the odds of your preference and, depending on the sport, you may have the option for an each-way bet.
There will also be an empty box for you to enter your stake; this is the amount you would like to place on your chosen bet. Note, if you select an each-way bet, your stake will be double.
If you want to add further selections to your bet slip, repeat the steps above. When finished, you will have the various options available to make an accumulator or permutation bet.
Before placing your bet, ensure everything on the bet slip is correct, such as the event, your selection and the stake you’d like to put on the bet. If you’re happy everything is right, click the button to place your bet – you may have to confirm the details are correct before the bet gets placed.
If the funds you’ve entered into the stake box are less than what you have in your account, you will have to deposit funds before you can place the bet. Most online betting sites will now allow you to do this directly from the bet slip if you have previously saved payment details in your account.
Waiting for your bet to be settled
Once you place your bet, you need to wait until the event has finished for settlement of your bet. If it wins, for your winnings will be added to your account.
The length of time you have to wait for your bet to settle depends entirely on the event and selection you have chosen. For instance, if you have bet on a horse race on the same day, you will only have to wait several minutes after the race for your bet to be settled. If you bet on a team to win a championship, expect to wait months before the settlement of the bet.
Remember, once you have placed a bet it cannot be reversed, so always check the information is correct before placing a bet.
