The Global Popularity of Online Sports
The global popularity of online sports betting continues to grow, and betting sites are doing everything in their power to attract new audiences to their platforms. Linesmakers, or “bookies” as they are often called, have gone as far as offering betting odds on the weather in hopes of gaining attention for the wide variety of options available on their page.
Despite dome recent financial struggles and sponsorship issues, the sport of professional surfing has also seen a popularity boom, and thanks to the advancements in video streaming, fans can now watch their favorite pro surfers go head to head in some of the gnarliest conditions, all in real time.
In attempt to harness some of this growing interest in professional surfing, multiple sportsbooks are now offering users the option to bet on each individual heat, event, as well as the World Title winner for both the Men’s and Women’s division.
Online sportsbooks, like Bet DSI, are leading the way in offering both surfing and other action sports betting odds. A review of BetDSI shows that events on time thought to be obscure to sports bettors, such as surfing and E-Sports, have now found their way onto the sites main live lines menu.
HOW IT WORKS
While many sports offer options to bet on spreads and totals, online sportsbooks are simply offering Moneyline wagers for surfing at the moment, meaning all you have to do is predict the winner, not the margin of victory.
While the pluses and minuses might seem somewhat confusing at first, reading a Moneyline odd is quite simple.
Any odd with a minus sign means that the number that follows is how much you would have to wager to win $100. If you were looking to bet on a surfer with the odds of -150 to win a heat, you would have to risk $150 to win $100. Your initial wager is also returned meaning that your $150 has now become $250.
Calculating the payout for a surfer at plus odds works a little differently. The number +150 means that you must wager $100 to win $150, yielding a $250 total as well once your initial wager is also returned.
The ‘minus’ sign represents a more favorable selection, as you must risk more to win less, as your pick has a greater chance of cashing in. A ‘plus’ sign represents an option that is not as likely, and while your wager might be smaller, the payout can be much larger to reflect the risk that the bettor is taking.
Depending on the sportsbook you are using, you might come across fractional odds. Simply put, the last number in the fraction is what must be wagered to win the first number. Let’s say reigning World Champion John John Florence is at 16/5 to retain his title. This lets us know that a $5 wager would payout a total of $16 in profit. Someone further down the odds board, like WSL rookie Joan Duru sitting at odds of 175/1 would pay out $175 off of a $1 bet. Clearly the odds makers are not keen on the young surfer’s chances at bringing home the title, but that is where you can put your knowledge and luck to the test.
PUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST
For any followers of the sport, surfing events are packed full of upsets, and your ability to predict when and where they will occur could lead to big profits. Even the first event of the year saw Australian Owen Wright clinch the win in his first WSL event after being sidelined with an injury for an entire season. Even though his name sat far down the odds boards, his local knowledge helped him best the competition, all while improving his World Title odds in the process.
For those of you who have followed the surfing world tours regularly, know the surfers’ strengths and weaknesses as well as know who tends to shine in specific conditions, you are likely to find a few holes in the odds makers’ numbers. With the season just getting underway, search for trustworthy and reputable sportsbooks with lines on offer and see if you are able to outsmart the bookie.