Joining numerous sportsbooks has many benefits and is a key part of maximizing your bankroll’s potential. It is a crucial part of any value betting strategy, as you scour the betting lines and odds for the best returns, adding that extra little cream on top for all the bets you win. But then, your multiple sportsbook accounts can also serve to bring you more sports betting bonuses.
There are no risks to holding betting accounts at multiple sportsbooks, and no legal obstacles that limit the number of sportsbooks you can sign up to. On this page, our team of betting experts has compiled all the benefits and some top tips to help multiple sportsbook account holders to bet more efficiently and become familiar with the dynamics of utilising numerous betting platforms.
The Reasoning Behind Holding Multiple Sportsbook Accounts
The advantages of joining more than one US sportsbook are instantly palpable, and the more you bet, the more you will feel the difference. Though there are a few considerations that we would address, just so that you don’t miss out on any opportunity. Just as it can put the ball in your court and give you an advantage, having lots of betting accounts can also have a few disadvantages. We will briefly highlight these in the table below, before going into more detail.
| Pros and Cons of Holding Multiple Sportsbook Accounts | |
|---|---|
| Sports Betting Bonuses | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Get more bonuses, and more often | Signing up is not "free" Money required to max newcomer bonus |
| Greater variety of bonuses to be had | Fewer loyalty bonuses You are spending less at each book |
| More matched betting opportunities | Fewer "second chance" bonuses when you lose |
| Sports Bets | |
| Pros | Cons |
| More betting markets and parlay betting options | None |
| Line shopping and increasing returns from winning bets | |
| Betting Strategy | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Hedging and dutching strategies | Needs more money to break into VIP status |
| Middles betting | Bankroll must be spread out |
| Arbitrage betting | More research for you to do |
| Extra Considerations | |
| Pros | Cons |
| More live betting, futures, and player props | You must keep your account active Otherwise there may be inactive account fees |
| Get exclusive perks from different books | More work to make your tax returns Compile all your winnings into 1 form |
They aren’t exactly drawbacks, but they are points you must note about holding more than one sportsbook account. The pros heavily outweigh the cons from a value betting point of view, and open the doors to bonuses in abundance and all kinds of top betting strategies. Let’s look at the pros in more detail, and then analyze the other considerations.
Enhancing +EV and Betting Returns
Value betting is becoming a huge thing in the US, and with so many sportsbooks offering different lines and odds, you don’t need to have 10+ sportsbooks to get better value on your returns. With just a handful of betting accounts at the top reduced juice betting sites, you can hunt around for better value on your wagers, gaining those extra cents on each line.
It may not seem much at first, but if you are parlay betting, the difference is immediately noticeable. Let’s say you pick 3 point spreads at different sportsbooks. At one, the odds are -115, and the other provides odds of -110. The first has parlay betting odds of +553 and the second prices the same bet at +595. That is, an extra $4.20 for every $10 wagered.
Now it won’t always be that straightforward and clear, as some books will price one bet better than the other. But you can build bet slips at your various sportsbooks and see which one gives you the best returns. When you take into account how the odds change and the markets converge towards the Closing Line Value, if you catch the early bird odds on your wagers, the discrepancies between what is offered at the different sportsbooks will be much larger than right before the game, at the CLV.
Optimizing Sports Betting Bonuses
Instead of getting one bonus bet offer on the Super Bowl game, or a single Profit Boost, imagine having a good handful of bonuses and boosts to max out your Super Bowl predictions. To celebrate the Super Bowl, March Madness finals, and other major US sports events, sportsbooks tend to throw out all kinds of initiatives. And if you are signed up at multiple books, you only have more bonuses to use up.
Of course, the bonuses are not exclusively reserved for big games or NFL Gameweeks. There are also plenty of generic offers that the top sportsbooks will roll out every now and again. At the top books, you can expect to see such offers practically every week.
And those bonuses can come in many forms, each with their own conditions and requirements.
- Profit Boost Tokens
- Bonus Bet Offers
- Reload Deposit Bonuses
- No Sweat Bets
- Parlay Insurance
- SGP Boosts
- Friend Referral Bonuses
Instead of getting 1 bonus bet worth $10 or a profit boost token that is capped at $25, you can opt-in for all the different bonuses. Of course, this only works on the condition that you have funds in each betting account and opt in for any qualifying wagers. But ultimately, it can multiply the number of bonus betting offers you get twofold, threefold, fourfold, and so on.
If you have any friends who want to test new betting sites and hold more betting accounts, you can refer them, and both of you will earn more bonuses.
Matched Betting and Bonus Conversion
That segues nicely into matched betting, a means by which you can unlock some of your bonus funds. This is a hedge betting strategy in which you stake a bonus bet on one line, and then bet money on the opposing line at another sportsbook. You only stake half the money, and cover both results, so it doesn’t matter who wins in the game. Matched betting strategies can unlock around 40% or more of the bonus provided, but if you do some line shopping you can unlock a higher portion of your bonus.
Or, if you can matched bet with 2 bonuses at 2 different sportsbooks, then you can unlock the bonus funds without having to spend a dime. The theory behind matched betting is to convert any bonus bets into withdrawable cash. By signing up to multiple sportsbooks, you will get more bonuses to convert, and on a more frequent basis.
Hedging Bets and Arbing
One of the biggest perks of holding accounts at 2+ sportsbooks is that you can use the discrepancies in the odds to make arbitrage bets, middles bets, or other kinds of hedging wagers. The strategy involves you taking opposing lines of the same bet, so that you cover both possible outcomes. If the odds are right and your stake is proportionate to the betting odds, you should make a profit regardless of how the game ends.
It is not technically illegal, but sportsbooks don’t like arbitrage betting. Therefore, you will need to cover your tracks, or arbitrage bet smartly to avoid detection. However, there are other hedging betting strategies and systems that are more difficult to detect, such as dutching and middles betting.
Disadvantages of Holding Numerous Betting Accounts
There aren’t many disadvantages to having multiple betting accounts, and a lot of the conditions we listed above can be solved with a little bankroll planning.
Account Inactivity
Managing the betting accounts isn’t as hard as we make it out to be. But you have to remember to keep each betting account active. If you don’t touch one of your sportsbook accounts for 3 months (or 6 months by the T&Cs of some betting platforms), they may charge you for holding the account. They may subtract a few dollars from your bankroll each month for not using the account, which will stop when you place a bet or use the account again.
Bonuses and Loyalty
Another thing to consider is that because you are stretching your bankroll out across more platforms, you won’t be spending as much money at each one. A $100 monthly budget spread across 4 sportsbooks is just $25 each month. It doesn’t really matter until you get a bonus bet offer that requires a $10 qualifying bet, which may suddenly eat up nearly half your monthly budget. You may have to make withdrawals and top ups more often, to have enough in each betting account, or it may prompt some bettors to spend more. This is something you should avoid at all costs, only bet within your means, and don’t use having multiple sportsbooks as a reason to spend more.
Spreading out your bankroll can also mean you won’t get as many loyalty bonuses, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Most top US sportsbooks prioritise recurring bonuses and existing customer promos over having a multi-tiered loyalty club. BetMGM and Caesars have loyalty programs, but they also provide regular odds boosts, profit boosts, and parlay insurance offers.
Sure, it will make your job of climbing the tiers more difficult, as your money will be spread out across more accounts. But the existing customer bonuses are generally a lot more substantial than any loyalty tier initiatives – most of which are only good if you are a high roller or VIP member.
Tax Returns for Multiple Betting Account Holders
We only mention this as a precaution. You have to pay tax on your gambling winnings, whether you are signed up at one sportsbook, or multiple. The winnings are taken as a whole, and not assessed on a sportsbook-by-sportsbook status. So you will need to collect the documentation from each sportsbook, and then combine your winnings and losses, and then submit them in your W-2G tax returns form.
Your gambling returns will NOT be assessed individually. You have to monitor your winnings at each one and then combine the grand total of winnings and losses. It is neither advantageous nor disadvantageous to bet at multiple betting sites in regard to taxation. It only gives you more work when filing your forms.
Possibilities for Bettors Outside Legal Betting States
You don’t have to be living in a state with DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, bet365, BetMGM, and so on, to get the benefits of holding 2+ betting accounts. Sure, if your state has legalized sports betting and has a big market with several top players, you have a much bigger choice of books to pick from.
Some states have legal sports betting, but the action is limited to 1 officially recognised book, or just 2. For example, Rhode Island, Oregon and New Hampshire are DraftKings-only states. Then, there are states such as Wyoming where DraftKings doesn’t operate, and bettors can only pick between FanDuel or BetMGM.
So, instead of picking a real money sportsbook, bettors who have limited choices (or live in a state where betting hasn’t been legalized), can turn their attention to alternative sportsbooks and DFS apps. The following types of sports betting apps and platforms don’t fall into the same legal bracket as real money sports betting sites. Though some of them have similar “conventional betting” opportunities, while others gamify sports betting through contests, tournaments, and other DFS sports betting alternative games.
Social Sportsbooks
Social sportsbooks are essentially sportsbooks but without real money wagering. Instead of placing bets for real money, you can use the internal currency of the social sportsbook, using it to stake your bets. Users don’t need to make any purchases at social sportsbooks, unless they want to top up their balance with more “coins” to fund their predictions. You can also get top ups through daily login bonuses, mail in bonuses, or social media giveaways, among many other token funding initiatives that these books provide.
As for the betting itself, there are social sportsbooks like Fliff, Rebet and Thrillzz that give you your moneylines, spreads, totals, and so on. You can place straight bets, combine your picks into parlays, and even do some live betting at some of the better platforms. Other social sportsbooks, like SportsMillions, have DFS-style competitions. The good news is that you can sign up to as many social sportsbooks as you like, and that the bigger ones operate in over 40 states across America.
DFS Sites and Apps
Daily Fantasy Sports fall into a separate legal bracket, and therefore, you can find them in states where sports betting has not been legalized. There are many types of DFS games, from the classic DFS lineups contests, to Pick’Em games and other parlay-oriented DFS games. As they don’t have conventional wagering options, the main reason any bettor would have multiple DFS apps is to participate in more games and contests.
You aren’t going to hedge bets at multiple DFS apps. Instead, the idea is to have as much coverage as possible, entering all kinds of contests to win prizes. A lot of DFS apps don’t require real money to play, but some, like PrizePicks or DraftKings Pick6 have entry fees for their contests. These cost around $5 to $10. You can’t enter multiple entries into one contest, but if you enter multiple contests across different DFS platforms, you can expand your net and try to hit those wins.
P2P Betting Apps
Peer to peer betting apps are betting exchanges where you can bet directly against other bettors. You set the price, and your peer can buy the opposing line. Whoever wins takes the money. There is no sportsbook juice on the odds, but peer to peer betting apps generally charge a minimal commission on wins. Still, it is far less than the sportsbooks take in juice.
P2P betting is gaining huge traction in the US, and apps like Novig, and even Rebet (which has a P2P functionality), are really taking off. Though there are some downsides, as you need someone to take the opposing side for your bet to become active, and if no one does, then your bet will be made void and your stake will be refunded.
But what doesn’t work at one book may work at another. The top P2P betting apps have large betting communities and plenty of peers who can take you up on your bet. If you don’t find a buyer at one P2P app, you can try out your pick at another, and hopefully you will get a bite.
Can AI Betting Tools and Predictive Software Help?
AI betting software is extremely popular, and can serve many different purposes. It can be used to crunch the stats and bring you all the data that would normally take you hours to compile yourself. Betting tools can also generate AI-powered predictions and projections based on the stats, so you can precisely gauge the likelihood of your bets winning.
But for multiple sportsbook account holders, sports betting software has another very important use. You can analyze the odds at your different sportsbooks in the blink of an eye, singling out the best odds on your chosen wager. It can also be used to create arbitrage betting strategies, or middles betting, and other hedge bets.
You don’t need this software to find value or arbitrage bets, as you can do it manually as well. But it saves you loads of time, and can also bring you data such as the historical movement of the odds, predicting the CLV on your wagers. Generally, the odds tracking and comparison software alone won’t set you back too much. Apps like HoF Bets, Outlier.Bet (Pro package) and OddsNotifier are designed to crunch the odds and show you where your money is best spent.
But if you have extra cash to splash on these tools, it is worth checking the likes of OddsJam, Rithmm, Sharp.app, and Outlier.Bet Pro, which also do +EV evaluation and arbing strategies.
Top Sportsbooks to Add to Your Repertoire
You will no doubt recognize some of the best American sportsbooks, as they are available in most legal betting states and have arguably the best lines and biggest bonuses. DraftKings and FanDuel are the two most popular books in the US, and make over two-thirds of the industry. But there are plenty of other books that can provide good value wagers and throw in different kinds of bonuses and promotional initiatives to liven up the action.
You can check out what the following sportsbooks have to offer, which states they are available in, and their main sports betting features in our reviews. Or, head on to the site and take a peek at what they do. Just remember – use our promo codes to gain an exclusive bonus, and only sign up when you have surplus bankroll to max out those welcome bonuses.
