Those who place sports bets live experience without question the ultimate thrill. Nowadays, there are numerous ways to follow a game or even several matches in parallel, to view statistics and, accordingly, to react live and directly in an increasingly lucrative way. There are countless betting enthusiasts who restrict themselves only to live betting. After all, this is where the greatest excitement prevails on the betting market – admittedly also with good profit opportunities for the players.
How do you rate yourself? Could you become a good live bettor? What do you have to consider explicitly in the world of live betting? What do you need to know before you start? We’ll provide you with the most important information about live betting at sportsbook providers, so you’ll be in the know before your next live betting tips.
The best betting providers for live betting
Nowadays, a good betting provider must also put a good live betting program in the shop window without any ifs and buts in order to attract potential customers and also keep the regulars. However, there are of course differences among the portals. Below you will find the best betting providers for live betting – carefully tested by us.
Simply explained: What are live bets?
With increasing digitalization and the spread of sports broadcasts via streaming offers, the desire to be able to bet more live and in real time also arose increasingly. Bookmakers quickly jumped on the bandwagon and tailored their program accordingly to the live area.
With live betting, you can therefore place your bets and tips even after the start of a match or after the whistle. According to the course of the game, the live betting odds also change. Mostly, these changes are marked with corresponding arrows.
The live bets are often garnished with live streams and/or current statistics and match facts. Skilled bettors can read and analyze the data accordingly and use it for their own betting behavior.
Of course, a stable and fast internet connection is especially important for live betting, because after all, you should be able to react quickly if something changes in the game.
The betting markets in live betting
Some of the experienced betting fans will still remember the early days of live betting, when there were very few markets that could be used in real time. In the meantime, there is a wide range of markets that you can take advantage of in a wide variety of sports, leagues and competitions.
In the soccer sector, betting markets such as 1X2, half-time 1X2, handicap or over/under are usually also offered in live betting and always enjoy great popularity. In addition, there are sometimes over 150 other options per match to indulge in real-time gaming fun. In lesser-known competitions, the number of betting markets is always correspondingly smaller.
There are also some betting markets that are blocked for live betting and can only be used for the pre-match area. Mostly, we can find peaks of around 155 for soccer, 90 for basketball and 75 for tennis in the real-time betting markets.
In recent years, the so-called remaining time bet has become increasingly popular. Here you bet on the outcome of the game from a certain point in time. If the score in a soccer match is already 4:0 after 70 minutes, then the bet is only on the goals in the last 20 minutes. Equally popular are handicap bets or tips on which team will take the next corner kick, for example.
As in the pre-match section, you will also find betting options on the long-term forecast in the live betting section. For example, who will be the winner in the UEFA Champions League can be tipped during a real-time match in the group stage. After all, the odds change if one of the favorites just loses the second group match without a sound.
An exciting feature that we have already discovered at numerous bookmakers is the betting configurator. With its help, you can combine several betting markets. However, those who use this option should be a bit more practiced and have gained the corresponding experience. A possible combination in soccer would be, for example, a win bet + over 2.5 goals + both teams score + over 7.5 corner kicks. Always keep an eye on the total odds, which change accordingly depending on the combined component.
The top sports for live betting
Success in live betting is not automatically transferable to other sports. For each discipline, you need your own strategy and corresponding know-how to be able to make a profit. There are bettors who focus exclusively on soccer betting, others like to try something new.
However, not every sport is suitable for live betting. In lesser-known disciplines, there are sometimes only very few betting markets and very rarely live streams. Here then usually only absolute top experts bet.
In the comparison of bookmakers and in the test of the live betting offer, the following have emerged as the top sports in the real-time area.
Soccer
As in the pre-match area, soccer bets are also the non plus ultra for live friends. No wonder, because here there are by far the most betting markets and countless statistics. Here, the more prominent the teams are that meet in a match, the more betting markets are available. However, soccer is sometimes also a long way down the table. You can bet on matches in the UEFA Champions League just as you can on matches in the German Oberliga – only with far fewer betting options.
Tennis
After soccer, tennis is likely to follow directly in position 2 when it comes to the most popular sports for live betting. There are a few reasons why the white sport is so popular among live bettors.
Betting on tennis matches has a great tradition for a long time. In addition, experienced tennis fans definitely know how to read a match and can sometimes well anticipate in which direction a duel could develop. In addition, you are not dealing with 22 players on the field, but – at least in singles – with two players who can ultimately be better estimated than a whole team, which is also subject to natural fluctuations and imponderables.
Ice hockey
The fast sport on skates is very popular for numerous betting fans – also in Germany – when it comes to betting in real time. There are some typical game events that skilled bettors are already literally waiting for. For example, when a team that is behind takes the goalkeeper off the field in the final minutes to create a dangerous situation with one more attacker.
In addition, it is the ice hockey sport in live bettors particularly interesting, because there are no draws and a game – eventually in overtime or penalty shootout – must be decided. There is no big tactics in ice hockey. Speed and responsiveness are what is needed here. On the ice and also at the bookmaker.
Basketball
With the attractive games in the NBA, basketball is also enormously popular with betting fans. Particularly popular, in addition to the typical victory bets, are the point spreads with which a team could win. In addition, a game is not immediately lost if a team is already high behind early on. It is not uncommon for teams to make up for large deficits – garnished with corresponding top odds in live betting.
eSport
As in the pre-match area, there are also more and more opportunities to play eSports in live betting. However, there are still considerable differences from bookie to bookie, because some providers have already aligned their focus on eSports, while others still have a lot of catching up to do or may even have missed the development.
One advantage is certainly that live streams are usually available and you can follow the games in virtual sports accordingly. In the meantime, eSports has become a mega spectacle with many competitions and tournaments, which has also become more and more exciting and lucrative for betting fans. This is also shown by the live betting odds at the bookies.
Other live betting sports
Soccer, tennis, ice hockey, basketball and eSports are the top disciplines for live betting at most sportsbook providers. Likewise, many betting markets and good games can be regularly expected in handball, volleyball, American football or darts.
Accordingly, you will find fewer options on cricket, badminton, horse racing, table tennis, futsal or snooker. Usually, only the absolute cracks, who know the sport very well and can read and analyze the games accordingly, cavort here.
The live betting odds
When we take a closer look at the bookmakers and their program, it is also always important for us to check the odds level – both in the pre-match and live betting area. Generally, we can state that the level is slightly lower for in-play betting. This is basically logical, because the match predictions before the start are usually also more difficult. If a game is running – even for only a few moments – you can often already guess who might have a good or a bad day.
Nevertheless, the best providers come to betting odds above the 90 percent mark. When it comes to live betting odds, the more popular a competition or match is, the better the odds level usually is, and then values around 95 percent are also possible. In soccer, these are the top matches in the UEFA Champions, the English Premier League, the Spanish LaLiga or the German Bundesliga, in tennis the finals of the Grand Slam tournaments or in basketball or ice hockey the highly exciting playoff matches in the NBA or NHL. In niche sports, however, the ratings can also fall below 90 percent. Then the experts in the respective disciplines are in demand.
Another advantage of live betting is that the bookies have to change their odds quickly. So it can finally also happen that the user comes across an extremely lucrative odds, which was set a little too high. If you keep a good eye on the odds and decide quickly and wisely, you can earn high profits on real-time betting.
Bonus offers at live betting
It is no secret that many new customers are especially keen on the exciting live bets. Portals usually try to attract new clientele via lucrative bonus offers. No wonder that live betting and the bonus are often linked to generate a corresponding effect.
Moreover, you can also use the new customer bonus for live betting – sometimes completely, sometimes at least in parts. It is always worth taking a closer look at the bonus conditions, because it is explicitly stated there when certain areas or betting markets are excluded from the bonus.
The VIP or loyalty program at a bookie is also interesting for some bettors. Winnings on live bets are always credited when collecting loyalty points. So, if you spend a lot of time in the real-time area, you can comfortably profit in other ways as well.
