What to look out for before choosing a sportsbook

Published: 21/10/2022

Show me a bettor who enjoys betting on a sportsbook that stresses them out and we will show you the cattle from whom the leather for the first footballs were sourced.

Every bettor wants to enjoy a hassle-free experience when navigating a sportsbook. Outside the ease of use, there are other features which different bookmakers provide bettors to keep them returning to their sportsbook website or app.

Overlyzer reviewed the best bookmakers and this article which details what to look out for before choosing a sportsbook is the result of that review.

Ease of use

It can never be overstated that a sportsbook which stresses bettors out is setting themselves up for failure in the betting industry. The easier it is to navigate the betting choices, options, markets, the easier it is to have returning bettors and new bettors who sign up on the recommendation of returning bettors.

Outside the main menu where the key functions of the app or website reside for the bettor, there also has to be an easy way to make deposits. When bettors make their selections and are ready to stake, the ease with which they are able to make deposits will speak greatly for the sportsbook in question. This particular feature is what makes sportsbooks like William Hill and Bet365 stand out from others.

A pet peeve of many bettors is the constant pop up ads that a few sportsbooks choose to employ to alert bettors to offers they have at specific times. If navigation is constantly interrupted with these sorts of ads, it is a recipe for disaster for the sportsbook.

Diverse betting options and markets

The competition in the betting industry is getting tougher and as such, it requires bookmakers to provide options that bettors would constantly return to their sportsbook apps or websites for. This is where diversity of betting options and markets come in.

Quite a few sportsbooks have chosen to focus on slim markets as they intend to cater to a niche audience. However, the more popular ones have come up with loads of markets in various sports in order to capture audiences of all kinds. Take football for instance. A few sportsbooks focus on some leagues, while others make sure to host most leagues from across the world.

This feature has propelled bookmakers like 1XBet to prominence as they allow bettors in almost every corner of the world to bet on niche leagues. From Europe to Asia, to Africa and the Americas, these sportsbooks provide betting options and markets to suit all kinds of tastes.

Competitive odds

The odds on offer by bookmakers is also one of the standout features that tend to attract bettors to their sportsbook apps or websites. Overlyzer reviewed the best bookmakers and found out that this feature is one of the key features involved in the product messaging of various bookmakers.

This is why you tend to see most sportsbooks being advertised as having the "best odds" for various sports. However, bookmakers are in the business of making money, so they will always calculate the odds based on certain company metrics which can guarantee them profits.

Bookmakers like Betway and Paddy Power are some of the standouts in odds offerings, and the number of bettors who use their sportsbooks proves this.

Live betting

Live betting is gradually becoming one of the most popular betting choices for punters across the globe. Also known as In-play betting, it gives the bettor a much bigger avenue to make profit as the bettor can bet on multiple options which are usually influenced by happenings during a game.

A bettor who enjoys betting on boxing matches may choose to bet on an outright winner. However, with the option of live betting, they could bet on each round; which boxer wins which round and by how many points. This, and many more, are some of the reasons why live betting has become popular among many bettors today.

Yet, not many bookmakers offer this betting option. Those who do tend to get a dedicated customer base because their customers can bet on other options as well as bet in-play.

Other perks and promo offers

A result of the competition in the betting industry is the conceptualization of perks by various bookmakers to attract new bettors and keep existing ones. Accumulator bonuses, free bets after a certain number of bets are made, and many more perks are cooked up by bookmakers.

Some bookmakers take their perks offline by offering merchandise to their clients. Bookmaker branded hoodies, sweatshirts, caps and more won by clients tend to standout as marketing materials than the kind of online perks listed above. Some even offer jerseys or signed merchandise from their popular athlete ambassadors.

Bettors tend to watch out for all of these offers and perks as it helps them determine which sportsbook to bet on.