Live betting is an exciting and dynamic form of sports betting. It involves staking money in real time as a sports game takes place, which adds to the excitement due to the shifting odds. It is a multi-layered betting tactic, creating various betting opportunities and offering different ways of strategizing.
What is a Live Bet?
A live bet is a type of bet you place in-game as the match is underway. You can bet a few minutes after the event starts or a few minutes before it ends. In contrast to pregame bets, where you bet before the game starts, live bets open up opportunities to bet after the game begins and take advantage of the dynamic odds movement.
Betting Live at Online Sportsbooks
You need no prior experience in live betting, or betting in general, to successfully make a live bet. It starts with choosing a sportsbook that provides daily live odds. Poke around our website and find our curated lists of top sportsbooks. Look for a brand with a button designated ‘Live,’ ‘Live Now,’ or ‘Live Odds.’ We also have a dedicated guide to the best live betting sites where you can read more about each of the sportsbooks and see which is the best to place bets live with.
Next, pick your betting market such as the the type of bet. We’ll explore the variety of live bets you can place later, but the choice is extensive, going beyond moneyline, totals, or betting the spread. Some sportsbooks have a function that allows you to accept automatic odds movements rather than do this manually.
Once you select your bet type, enter your bet amount and tap on the button to confirm your selection(s). Even if the odds shift during the course of the game, the sportsbook will pay out based on the odds at the time of locking the bet.
Sports With Live Odds
Online betting sites offer live odds for virtually every major sport, but there can be exceptions for some niche sports. Otherwise, you can explore thousands of live odds at betting sites like Caesars, BetMGM, Fanduel, DraftKings, and bet365. These operators even provide live odds for niche sports like table tennis, darts, and badminton.
Live odds are mostly available for:
- Basketball
- Football
- Soccer
- Golf
- Hockey
- Tennis
- Rugby
- Handball
- Boxing
- Motorsports
Types of Live Bets
In-play betting can be limited to straight bets (moneyline, totals, spread), or extended to alternative bet types. The variety of bets depends on the sport and the sportsbook.
For instance, basketball, soccer, and American football are likely to offer live odds for markets like the next touchdown, a player to score a goal or a three-pointer, or a specific team to make the next foul. You should be able to see a button that shows all available live markets, as such:
Additionally, you can choose from dozens of in-play game props, team props, and player prop bets.
Benefits of Live Betting
Live betting creates many favorable betting opportunities. For instance, if you fail to place your bet pregame, live odds can save the day, although the odds are likely to have moved.
If you consider yourself a casual player, live odds offer plenty of potential for strategizing and reducing risk. Live betting can be a useful hedging tactic for casual bettors who want to increase their chances of winning by betting on the opposite outcome. But you don’t have to bet pregame to bet in-game.
You can wait until the game starts and see if the opposing teams justify their statuses as favorites/underdogs. After all, upsets are possible, and you might net a profit by betting a moneyline on the underdog if the underdogs get the upper hand or gain a strong lead.
Are Live Bets Worth It?
Only you can decide if in-game betting is the right strategy for you. If you failed to bet pregame and have a good feeling about the outcome, betting live is your only other option. However, you will have to make do with the changed odds. But there are times when the odds may unexpectedly shift in your favor.
I already mentioned hedging as a benefit of live betting. When you see your pregame bet is not going the way you intended, you can place a live bet on an opposite outcome to try to break even or at least cut your losses.
Useful Tips for Live Betting
To place a live bet, sometimes all you need is a strong gut feeling. This way, you’re toying with chance, but as long as your bet is small, we can’t argue against it. Otherwise, placing bets without any forethought is ill-advised.
Before you bet on a live game, do your research. Check a team’s overall performance and form, and review players’ individual form. A team’s top scorer may not be the safest bet for the next scorer if they are not in the starting line-up due to an injury.
You can hedge your pregame bets, but you have to be careful to bet the right amount of money relevant to the live odds to avoid bleeding money.
For our final tip, always bet on a sport you know. Reading important team/player statistics before the match starts does not guarantee a win. But it does put you in an advantageous position to make more educated bets rather than leaving it all to chance.
