So, you want to bet on sports online? Congratulations: You now have a chance to make money by utilizing your sports knowledge.
That said, you’re here because you have doubts about the safety of betting apps. Maybe you’re worried a sportsbook could sell your data. Perhaps you’re afraid of losing your hard-earned money to a scam site.
Here, we’ll break down the steps you need to take to bet on sports safely in 2024. Let’s get started.
Learn About Local Betting Laws
The legality of sports betting varies from one place to another. In the UK, all forms of sports gambling are allowed. What’s more, you can use hundreds of websites to place your bets. In Finland, Norway and the Netherlands, you can bet at one or two legal casinos only.
However, you could also bet through an offshore sportsbook. The law in the Netherlands might only permit one betting website. But it does not prohibit its citizens to wager through offshore bookmakers.
Visit voetbalgokken.nl for a list of the best sportsbooks in the Netherlands. Many of these operators will welcome you with a bonus you could use to boost your bankroll.
Netherlands aside, some countries are pretty strict about sports gambling. Take the Arab world for example. You can’t gamble legally in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and the UAE due to strict sharia laws.
Knowing your country’s betting laws can help you determine how to bet safely. If betting is legal, you can use a local sportsbook. If the law is unclear, you could use a foreign bookmaker. If it’s incredibly strict, you can avoid betting altogether.
Find a Trustworthy Sportsbook
You want to be safe when betting, right? Find a licensed, secure and trustworthy bookmaker. A license lets you know the website is genuine and not a scam. It also gives you a hint of the region the sportsbook is allowed to operate.
For example, a license from the UK Gambling Commission permits a sportsbook to accept British customers. A license from the Division of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey shows the site only accepts players from the Garden State.
On the other hand, security at a betting site ensures your data stays safe from hackers every time you log into your account. It also helps safeguard your account from unauthorized logins from friends and close relatives.
Trustworthiness ensures you can bet and withdraw your winnings hassle-free. It also gives you peace of mind that if you ever need customer service, the sportsbook will offer it in time.
Secure Your Betting Account
Nowadays, almost every sports betting site requires you secure your account with a password. Create a unique password. If the sportsbook also supports Two-Factor Authentication; enable it.
Two-Factor Authentication is a way to protect your account in case someone discovers your password. With 2-FA, you also need to provide a unique security code sent to your email address, phone number of Google Authenticator app before you can access your account.
To be clear, set a password that’s different from any other password you own. That means you need a separate pass code for your email address, social media and payment apps.
If you’re planning to open multiple betting accounts, use a password protector to help secure the accounts. Opening several betting accounts helps you compare odds so that you can maximize your profits. But it can be difficult to manage all your accounts without a password manager.
Install an Antivirus and VPN
In this age of hackers, viruses and malware, it’s in your best interest to secure your devices with an anti-malware program. It doesn’t matter if you trust your betting site.
An antivirus helps you protect from all malware threats online. This might be adware targeting sports bettors. It could be a phishing attempt from a scammer or ransomware.
The best part of having an antivirus program is that it protects you always. It doesn’t matter if you’re betting, browsing your favorite blogs or playing video games.
That said, you might also need a VPN for extra protection. A VPN is a tool that hides your IP address so that it stays hidden from advertisers, hackers and your government. VPNs also encrypt your data to make it more difficult to hack.
Create a Budget
Budgeting is a way to protect yourself from the temptations that comes with winning money in gambling. Think about it. High-flying Real Madrid might have a game against a struggling Chelsea side in the Champions League.
Betting $100 on Madrid could net you $130. But then greed gets to you. So, you decide to spend $1000 on the game. Assuming the match ends in a draw, you will feel pretty frustrated.
Budgeting helps you stay disciplined as a sports bettor. You know how much money is in your account and how much you should stake in every match. How do you decide on a good budget?
For starters, it needs to be money you can afford to lose. That means no debt and no spending money meant for bills and emergencies.
Choose a Reliable Payment Method
Another way to bet safely is to partner with a trustworthy payment company. This will help you deposit money quickly at low fees. And if you ever feel scammed by a sportsbook, you could ask for a chargeback.
A good payment method also allows you to withdraw all your winnings hassle-free. You see, some payment companies have small limits. They may not allow you to withdraw more than $1000 from a sportsbook. Yet, you could win a lot more money through a lucky parlay.
Learn How to Win Sports Bets
The main reason you’re looking for a betting website is to predict matches. And if you want to bet on games, you want to win. Unfortunately, winning sports bets is easier said than done.
You might win one or two matches out of luck. But winning games consistently takes someone who understand how betting works. You must understand how to read odds, and what to look for before placing a bet.
If you can figure out how to win sports predictions regularly, you will have won half the battle. Winning is many sports punters’ biggest challenge.