There’s a reason that the sports betting industry continues to grow and expand, and it’s because it’s constantly evolving and modernising. Something that has rapidly become popular where sports betting is concerned is a concept known as live sports betting, also referred to as in-play betting or live betting. And it’s something you will find available at all leading sports betting platforms. 

In short, live sports betting allows bettors to place wagers on a sport when it’s live and the event has already started. Be it a soccer match, an NFL game or something else. The action is unfolding, but you can still place bets, instead of only being able to do so before a sporting event begins. A lot of its popularity comes from punters watching the action live and wanting to be able to place bets based on what they’re seeing, something that was never possible before the rise of in-play betting. 

Of course, it’s not just punters who are involved with live betting; sports betting operators themselves are, too, and they will adjust the odds based on what’s happening. Keep reading to find out how this works and how it impacts the available prices and the bets that can be placed. 

You can’t engage in live betting if there aren’t live betting markets available, and for live betting markets to be available, you also need live odds. The concept of live odds is simple, as a sporting event plays out, the likelihood of something happening, such as a team winning, is going to get either stronger or weaker. And it doesn’t necessarily mean it always has to move in one direction. Therefore, based on what’s happening, as the likelihood changes, the odds will be adjusted to reflect that, and all this happens live. 

Using soccer as an example, if a team goes 1-0 up and leads, their chances of winning the game are going to increase. And the odds will be adjusted accordingly. This isn’t the end of the story, however, because then other factors are taken into account when odds are being adjusted live, such as when the goal has been scored. There’s more chance of victory if it’s a goal late in a game to put a team in the lead, so the odds for the team to win will reduce dramatically compared to if the goal was scored early in the game with a lot of time left to play. 

What you need for live betting is a sports betting operator that makes live betting available and for this to apply to the sports or sporting events you want to place in-play bets on. When this is the case, when the action begins, live betting markets will be displayed, with the odds being adjusted regularly in real time based on what’s unfolding. 

Live betting works in the same way as standard betting, if truth be told. Only the odds will be adjusted quickly and based on what’s happening, rather than others placing bets and the odds reducing as a result. You log on, access the in-play betting markets, place a bet and voila. But the odds offered one minute may not be the odds offered the next, so you have to be quick at times. 

There are many sports you can now bet on live with leading sports betting operators such as BetVictor. 

Golf 

Live golf odds are offered for an array of golfing events, including the Majors. This applies to markets such as the outright winner. 

Basketball 

With the NBA so popular, basketball odds are offered as part of live betting, and again, the outright winner is the main market. 

Soccer 

Soccer is really where live betting was born, and soccer odds in the in-play betting realm cover everything, from the match winner to who will score the next goal. 

Tennis 

Tennis is similar to gold in the live betting world in many respects. In-play betting is available, and you will find live tennis odds for most events, but especially the Grand Slams. 

Baseball 

Major League Baseball, or MLB, leads the way as an organisation, and baseball odds are presented live for all MLB matches, including the iconic All-Star game. 

Hockey 

There are plenty of live betting markets for the NHL and other hockey events, with hockey odds covering the match winner and much more. 

eSports  

eSports has been around for a while now, and it’s essentially competitive gaming. So, in an eSports event, it could be eSports odds on the match winner or a handicap market on map 1.

Predicting any type of bet can be difficult, but live betting is completely different to standard sports betting. Fortunately, there are ways and means to predict live bets, such as basing selections on what you’re seeing with your own eyes, whether you’re watching along in a stadium, on television or on a live stream. Real-time statistics are also now readily available, and they can be helpful when making a live bet, too. 

The answer to the question of whether live bets are better probably comes down to personal preference over anything. However, there are reasons why live betting or in-play betting is seen as better by a lot of people. It can be argued that placing bets live gives the bettor more control over the likelihood of a bet winning if they’re placing said bet based on them watching the sporting event live or reading statistics that support what they’re wagering on. Live betting is also made accessible thanks to smartphones, so a bet can be placed live within seconds.