Finding the Best Online Sportsbook

Updated May 23, 2024By Chris Boline

Working on betting strategies is great, but you can only carry it out if you find the best online sportsbook for you. There are a lot of aspects to take into account within these multifaceted online sports betting sites.

Finding the Best Online Sportsbook

Here we will break down what to look for in each section to help you choose the best sportsbook. 

  1. An explanation of different parts of sportsbooks
  2. An analysis of what makes each of these sections amazing
  3. Universal recommendations on how to choose the best sportsbook

How To Choose the Best Sportsbook

Choosing the best online sportsbook is an important task and we recommend taking it seriously. 

While the whole idea is to have a good time, it is a good idea to put in some time to find the best sportsbooks for you, so that you can continue to enjoy them for a long time to come. 

For bettors who have multiple interests, you may also want more than one sportsbook account. For instance, the best sportsbook for eSports, may not be the best sportsbook for parlay betting. 

We will go through each aspect, such as deposit options and markets, and explain what sportsbooks do to make them the best possible.

But at the end of the day, it is more important that you find a sportsbook that fits well with your needs. This will be the best online sportsbook. 

The best online sportsbooks have:

Convenience and Security in Account Creation

When making an account, you are mainly looking for a balance between two characteristics:  convenience and security. 

Many security steps in the account creation process will take away from convenience. For example, some sites will require you to verify your phone number. 

This is great for verifying that you are who you say you are, but it can be a bit inconvenient if your phone is not near you or you are on the go. 

Sportsbook Signup process explained

Speedy Customer Service Options

When you are choosing the best online sportsbook, you want to be familiar with their customer service options. 

When you are checking this, you want to take note of customer service options, and responsiveness. This means that you should look at the different ways you can contact the sportsbook, and how quickly and effectively they respond. 

You should make sure your favorite customer service options are available. Some common ones are:

Everygame is an exemplar when it comes to customer service. They have phone numbers with representatives who speak multiple languages. They also have live chat, Skype chat, and email. 

In my experience, they respond very quickly, and take care to answer my queries thoroughly.

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Costumer Service Screenshots

Deposits

Deposits are an important part of making sure you’re signing up at the best sportsbook for you. This is because we all have different preferences here. 

Of course, we all want to pay less, get more, and be able to wager our funds faster. But because we all have different payment methods, which sportsbook is the best one for depositing will inevitably be personal. 

While almost all sportsbooks accept Visa credit cards, for example, but there are lots of other deposit methods that are less-widely accepted. 

Some of these deposit methods that will be accepted by some but not all sportsbooks include:

If you have a preferred payment method, make sure that your prospective sportsbook accepts it. 

A good place to start is with Tiger Gaming. They accept all the biggest payment methods, and even many of the more obscure types. 

Bonuses

You will know right away if you have found the sportsbook with the best welcome bonuses. This is because you claim it upon your very first deposit. 

All sportsbooks will have welcome bonuses, and the ones we recommend will be great. Some things to keep in mind is the difference between welcome bonuses at the sportsbook and the online casino. 

Be sure to pick the right one. Some sportsbooks let you choose between lower rollover requirements and higher matching percentage.

Everygame offers an excellent Welcome Bonus of 50$ up to $200 on first-time deposits. Just enter the bonus code of WELCOME200 when you’re making your first deposit to active the bonus! 

Promotions

In addition to finding the best sportsbook based on welcome bonuses, you can look for bonuses that come a little farther down the line. Promotions are a key part of finding a site that will work well for you in the long run. 

Look for variety in promotions. This way you will always have something to look forward to. Some sites have daily specials that change through the week. This makes signing in fun every time.

GTBets does a great job offering fun promotions. They have a classic reload bonus, which gives you a certain percentage match on your deposits, depending on the sport. 

They also have a unique Favorite Team Promotion. You can choose one favorite team from each of the following leagues: NFL, NCAAF, NBA, and NCAAB. 

GTBets will then give you an extra .5 on their odds. If they are at 2.2, then you can bet on them as if their odds were 2.7. Thiswill give you an extra fifty cents for every winning dollar you place on your favorite team. 

Website Design for Placing a Bet

When analyzing the various online sports betting sites for the best website design, we are looking for a layout that is intuitive, simple, and customizable. 

In other words, it should be clear how to find NFL bets, and how to include cricket bets within so I can look at all my options side by side. 

Moving between straights and parlays, odds and the bet slip, should be simple and commonsensical.  

Sports Interaction is a great example of a great website design. Their big innovation is that bet slip automatically appears after selecting the odds you want. This eliminates a step from the process and really streamlines it all nicely. 

If you want to make parlays, just click back to the odds to continue adding bets to your slip. 

Markets

Markets refer to the collection of bets that an online sportsbook offers. This is important to consider when finding the best online sportsbook for a number of reasons.

One is that you want to be sure you can bet on the events that matter most to you personally, especially if you’re a sports fan. Plus, you neve know when your interests might expand into a sport previously unknown to you. 

Another reason to find the best markets when choosing your online sportsbook is that you will be able to be a smarter bettor. The more options you have, the more you can compare, or watch how the odds trend.

It also opens up options for creating a wider portfolio of bets with different risks and rewards. 

Bovada has great and extensive markets. They cover all the major sports, and lots of fun props within them. Plus they have lots of quirky and creative betting on things like politics. 

If you want to bet on it, Bovada will almost definitely have it in their markets! 

eSports

eSports are an emerging trend in sports and sports betting. Some sportsbooks take it more seriously than others. 

Because it is so vanguard, if it is your thing you will want to make sure you have an account with at least one sportsbook that covers them well. 

WagerWeb covers them really well. Here you will find almost all eSports in existence. They also cover lots of bet types within eSports. 

Check them out if you like to bet on: 

Live Betting

Live betting is a nice perk. It is generally not a staple of what would make the best sportsbook. However, if you think you prefer the excitement of in-game betting over the calculations of futures betting than this could easily be a top priority. 

You will be looking for two live betting features to find the best sportsbook. 

  1. Live betting markets
  2. Live game updates

Some sites have lots of betting markets, but when it comes to live betting, it is highly reduced. So if you are into live betting, double check their markets in this specific section of their website. 

Another part is how fun, exciting, and easy they make live betting. They can provide a number of features to make this the case. 

For example, sites may have arrows indicating in which direction the odds are trending. 

Parlays

Parlays are not generally the first thing bettors look into when they start betting. They are more complex bets. They can come with their own strategies, and involve laser-point precision in making the best bets possible.

In parlays, you have to get all the bets correct in order to cash out. If you miss one, the whole ship sinks. 

With such fragility, there is no need to choose your first sportsbook based primarily on parlay options. However, if you are looking to up your betting game, you might be looking primarily for a parlay sportsbook. 

In that case look for a sportsbook that lets you fold lots of sports into parlays, as some will only allow major sports to be included. 

Also look for options in your parlay types. For example, you can place an If parlay, where it continues placing the bets only if it is successful at each step. 

Having all of these options available to you in an easy-to-use interface is something you should be on the look out when finding the best online sportsbook for you. 

Withdrawals 

Finding a sportsbook that works with your preferred withdrawal method is an important aspect of finding the best online sports betting site. 

Finding a sportsbook that accepts your withdrawal method of choice is key, but it is not the only aspect to consider. You should also take into account processing time and withdrawal fees. 

BetOnline is a great example when it comes to withdrawals. They stand out for allowing Bitcoin withdrawals. This is great because it is a cheapo, fast, and more anonymous option. 

You can get your cash back into your Bitcoin wallet in 24 hours. Just make sure to verify your phone number or email address first.

Conclusion

The secret to how to choose the best online sportsbook is knowing what to look for. This is a question of speaking with betting experts, reading guides, and, of course, knowing yourself.

We can help you by laying out models, or what to look for in each section. What are the possibilities in each section? 

But at the end of the day, only you can decide if you want a sportsbook with more markets or better customer service.

About the Author

Chris Boline
Chris Boline

As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education

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