What are the basics of online bookmakers for new users?

sports betting basics

📝Opening an Account
💳Making a Deposit
💰Placing a Bet
📈Checking bet results
❓How to withdraw winnings ?
💡Other key factors

How to open an account with an online bookmaker

It is very simple to open an account with an online bookmaker. Just follow the step-by-step guide below to join the betting site of your choice.

Visit the website or mobile site of the betting site you wish to join.
Click on the Join or Register button or similar.
Complete all the details in the registration process.
Submit your information and your account should be opened almost immediately.

Wish some bookmakers you may need to add a deposit option to your account when you sign up. With others you may not need those details to join, but you will need to add a payment method to your account before you make your first deposit on the site.

Top Tip! – Always check what welcome bonus your betting site is offering to customers when they sign up. Ascertain what you need to do to get the bonus when you join. Do this before you join – you may require a bonus code, or to make a deposit of a minimum amount at the sign-up process to claim the offer. You won’t want to miss a sign-up offer as it is usually a great way to get a little extra when you

Opening an account with Bet365

How do I make my first deposit at my chosen betting site?

If you need to deposit when you sign up at a bookmaking site, when you will make your deposit as part of the registration process, and you should have money in your account already.

However, if you haven’t yet added money to your account then you will need to do that, not just to bet with, but to access any welcome bonus that may be available.

The first choice you need to consider is what payment method to use and outlined below are some of the more common payment methods you can use to run your betting account.

Standard Deposit Options

Some of the more common deposit options available to customers include:

Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard)
eWallet Services (PayPal, Skrill, Neteller)
Prepayment Cards (Paysafecard etc)
Bank Transfer
Fast Bank Transfer
ApplePay
GooglePay

Non-Standard Deposit Options

Alongside the standard methods to deposit on sites, some bookmakers are now starting to offer a variety of non-standard deposit options based on cryptocurrency.

For non-standard deposit options like crypto, you will need a crypto wallet and for it to be loaded with your choice of cryptocurrency. Plus, you’ll need your betting site to accept payments via crypto (not all do, but some of the more modern sites and crypto-based casinos and sports books will accept crypto as a payment method).

More common cryptocurrencies accepted on these sites include:

Bitcoin
Ethereum
Litecoin
Dogecoin
Bitcoin Cash
Tether
Ripple

Top Tip! – It is always a good idea to check what the withdrawal procedures are for your bookmaking site based on what form of payment method you use to deposit. Some deposit methods cannot be used for withdrawals, so if you want a method that offers both deposits and withdrawals, then checking this out beforehand makes sense.

Opening an account with Bet365

How do I place a bet?

Almost all betting sites tend to use a very similar system when it comes to allowing customers to place a bet.

Firstly, you need to navigate around the site using the different options to locate a bet that you want to make. The first filter is for the sport in question, then you can filter down further through tournaments and fixtures to find the markets available for the fixture you want to bet on.

When you find a bet that you wish to back, then you simply click on the odds to add that bet selection to your bet slip.

Just follow that process to add one or more selections to your bet slip and then when you are ready to make the bet, simply click on the bet slip to open it up.

Now is a good time to review your bet and if you are happy with it, select the bet type (if the bet you want to make isn’t the default single bet) and enter the stake.

If there is a selection that you have changed your mind about since adding it to your slip, there will be an option to remove that selection from your bet slip.

Once you have finalised your bet then check the stake is correct and click the button to place the bet and your bet will then be active.

How will I know the result of my bet?

You can check the result of your bet with any online results website, or with your bookmaker who will also carry the results of events that have taken place.

The quickest and easiest way to find out the result of a bet you made, and any winnings you landed from it, is to check the part of your account that details your current and previous bets.

Here you will find details of the bets you have made, and whether they were winners or not and if they were winners, how much money they won you.

How do I withdraw my winnings?

With most bookmakers, you will need to complete a verification process (see the section below) before a withdrawal can be actioned from your account with the betting site.

If you have completed the verification process then you can withdraw funds from your account in the following way.

Log in to the site and head to the Account section/Cashier.
Click on your cash balance. This may also show you how much of the cash balance can be withdrawn.
Choose the option to withdraw funds from the account.
Choose how much you want to withdraw.
Select from one of the available methods by which to receive your funds.
Click the button to start the withdrawal process.
Wait for your funds to appear in your account.

Depending on the amount being withdrawn and the payment method used, it can take from anywhere between near instantaneous to around a week to receive your funds. This may be longer if you need to complete the verification process after step 6 on the guide above.

Remember too that many betting sites will only allow withdrawals back to payment services used to make a deposit with them. So, if you deposited via a debit card, then you will only be able to withdraw back to your debit card.

If you use a deposit method that does not allow for withdrawals, then your bookmaker will usually attempt to transfer your funds into your bank account via a bank transfer.

What is the Verification Process and why do I need to complete it?

Verification with a bookmaker is a process that all customers need to complete so that bookmakers can meet their legal requirements to prevent money laundering, and to ensure that their customers are who they say they are.

Until you have completed verification you may not be able to deposit or withdraw into and from your account, although verification is usually completed before your first deposit is actioned.

The requirements for the verification process are similar for most popular bookmakers. You will need to provide two pieces of official information to prove you are who you say you are.

Proof of Identification – This is usually in the form of a Drivers Licence or a Passport
Proof of Address – This is usually in the form of a utility bill, phone bill, bank statement or council tax bill that has been issued within the past three months.

You don’t need to send the physical examples of this ID to the bookmaker. You can either scan the relevant pages or take a photograph with your phone or similar and send the bookmaker the information via email.

Once they have received this, the bookmaker will check your identity alongside your registration and if they are happy, your account will be verified and you should then be able to make a deposit, or more likely, receive your cash from your account via a withdrawal.

Other Key FactorsYou Should Consider Regarding Your Online Bookmaker

Using the information outlined above, you should be able to enjoy what any betting site account has to offer you. But there are some other questions and factors you could consider either before or after you have joined an online betting site.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these considerations below.

What is the general reputation of the bookmaker I am joining?

You can use an online review site to compare the reviews on a bookmaker you are considering joining to see what other customers experiences have been with them.

However, one caveat here to remember is that often, these sites are proliferated with people who have tried to abuse bonuses, sign up with multiple accounts, or been found to be abusing a bonus. They then come onto these sites and leave a trash review for the betting site, which is unfair.

However, provided you can keep an eye open for these types of reviews, you can get a good idea of how well a bookmaking site treats its customers with these reviews.

How do the odds offered by this bookmaker compare with other betting sites on the markets I am likely to bet on?

If one bookmaker is offering you the best possible odds on horse racing, then that is great news, but only if you are going to be betting on horse racing. If you are going to be mainly betting on soccer, or esports, or tennis or any other sport, then those great horse racing odds are not going to be of much benefit to you.

A good idea here is to use an odds comparison site to check how well your bookmakers’ odds compare across the industry on the betting markets you are likely to bet on.

This gives you a great idea of the potential long-term value you will find from the odds alone with your choice of bookmaker.

What other facilities and services does my choice of betting site offer?

Many online sports betting services now have sister sites that offer a wide range of other attractions. If you are likely to use them, then knowing about what is on offer is certainly a wise move especially before you sign up.

Some of the sister sites that sports books have under the same company name include:

Casino Gaming Site
Instant Win or Non-Standard Casino Gaming Site
Poker Site
Bingo Site
Fantasy Sports Site
Live Casino Site
In Play Betting Site

So, if you are likely to use these types of sites, knowing they are available from your account with one bookmaking site in particular does make things easier to use in the longer term.

How valuable will the welcome offer be to me based on my likely deposit & bet size?

It is sensible to evaluate a welcome offer before you sign up, to ensure that the offer is going to be a ‘best fit’ for you and how you intend to deposit and wager with the site, at least initially.

For example, if you are a higher roller who deposits a lot of money into a new account, then you would benefit more from a single, matched deposit bonus with a high maximum deposit limit and a sizeable bonus that comes from that.

But that kind of offer would not suit a lower stakes gambler, who may want to make a small deposit and make much smaller value bets. In these cases, welcome bonuses with lower maximum bonus amounts and with benefits like Free Bets, Bet Credits or Free Spins or similar may be far more suitable.

What other promotions/offers are available on the site?

One of the ways you can get good long-term value with a betting site is by the offers and promotions that they have available. Some bookmakers like to have short term, headline promotions. Others prefer to have longer term offers that can last for an entire season, or for a year or more.

Check the promotions and offers available on a site and weigh up which ones are likely to benefit you, or that you will use. You will often find one site offers more promotions and offers that suit you far more so than a rival site.

Does the bookmaker offer a loyalty scheme or similar?

Although not a deal breaker for most people who bet lower stakes, punters who bet mid to higher stakes can enjoy some good benefits from a loyalty scheme, especially if they can progress through the rankings for that scheme to unlock the better value rewards relatively quickly.

What customer service options does the bookmaker offer?

Nobody likes things to go wrong with a betting site, but at times they can do. So, what is important is how the betting site deals with this. Check out what customer service options are available to you. How many alternatives do you have to contact the site when things go wrong? The more of these there are, and the quicker queries are dealt with, then the better the customer service will be.

How does the bookmaker promote responsible gambling?

Bookmakers now must comply with many Responsible Gambling directives and many take this very seriously indeed, offering a wealth of information about responsible gambling, as well as links to Gambling Support Services. As such, a good betting site will have plenty of information and tools in place to help you ensure that you bet responsibly. This can include setting deposit limits or daily spend limits, taking a timeout from betting and setting time limits on how long you can be logged into a site per day, week, or month.

If I intend to gamble via a mobile device, what is the bookmaker’s service for mobile customers?

If you are going to be betting using a mobile device, then you’ll want a bookmaker with a great mobile service for its customers. Nowadays, there’s a choice between apps and mobile-optimised sites and in truth, both are as good as the other in terms of what they can offer customers.

However, it is worth checking you can access all the markets and other parts of the site from your mobile and what is the best way to bet via mobile optimally with your choice of betting site.

Does the bookmaker charge any fees?

It is generally rare for a bookmaker to charge fees for depositing or withdrawing to their site, but it is not unheard of. It is well worth checking out whether your bookmaker will make any charges for deposits or withdrawals.

If I want to bet In-Play what services does the betting site offer?

In Play betting is a very important part of a bookmaker’s service, so if you are intending to bet in play, then you need a site that offers the best possible options for this.

You will want a bookmaker with great coverage of sports events, ideally excellent Live Streaming services across several sports, plus market availability that is both extensive and which has good value odds available compared to other sites.

More about sports betting:

Sport Betting Advice : Our Comprehensive Guide