Comprehensive Guide to Sports Betting Sites

Sports Betting Sites launched in July 2011 with plans to become the definitive guide to online betting. Although it’s just me (prop) and not an organization as the .org domain suggests, in many ways the domain extension is appropriate. What you’ll find here is rare in the gambling industry; an honest gambling site operated by a professional sports bettor. The truth is most gambling websites, whether they started out this way or not, eventually are dishonest and for the right price will sell recommendations to scam sites. On the other hand, there are a handful of honest webmasters attempting to do their best; but, unfortunately, most lack sports betting knowledge. This is why my website is different, I understand sports betting from all angles and my only objective is to provide valuable sports betting content.

Sportsbook News and Warnings

The most important pages of this website are my Sportsbook Rating Guide and the Betting Sites Newswire. The first will help you find the best online betting sites, while the second will keep you informed of what is happening with various betting websites. Be sure to check the newswire regularly to be assured the betting site you’re wagering with is still safe. Below are the seven latest posts from that feed.

Where to Bet Online

This depends on what part of the world you live and which sports you like to bet. If you live in the US refer to my page on US betting sites or read the mini-section below.

Best US Betting Sites

Anyone who knows me can attest the online sportsbook I recommend most often is BetCRIS. Considering CRIS doesn’t accept players from many countries and their other brand Bookmaker does, I find myself recommending Bookmaker to most. The reason I like this brand is because they’re truly the company who started it all. Back in 1985 their founder Ron Sacco, better known as Cigar, moved from the US to the Dominican Republic and began running a toll free phone in betting shop. As the first to do this his business grew massive in a hurry, and in time CRIS was so large they were able to start setting lines well before Las Vegas opened them. When their website launched in 2000, it branded with the words “Where the Line Originates” and this slogan has proved to be far more than marketing hype. Pretty much every other online bookmaker and Las Vegas sportsbook watches for the lines at CRIS’s brands to open, and then merely copies them, and goes from there; seriously, that’s how it works.

Bookmaker BonusBookmaker is where the large bettors wager, but they’re also friendly to small timers as well, with a $1.00 min bet and a $40,000 max bet for major sports. Speaking of high limits while many sportsbooks limit teaser bettors to a measly $500 max, at Bookmaker up to $20,000 can be bet on even a Wong teaser. The best part about Bookmaker is they have a policy – NO LIMIT COLLARS! No matter how much you manage to win your action is still welcomed. Seriously, serving the US market from offshore headquarters for 26 years now, CRIS has never missed a payout. When other sites were having trouble with UIGEA, or Black Friday / Blue Monday, CRIS didn’t miss a beat. Bookmaker also offers unlimited 20% reload bonuses every Tuesday and Wednesday and you can use your credit card to deposit and still get the bonus. To learn more visit www.bookmaker.eu or read my bookmaker.eu review.

Enjoy Poker and Casino or Getting the Best Odds?

If the answers is yes to any of those questions you for sure want to check out www.5dimes.com. These guys are well known for offering by far the best odds on American sports. This includes great teaser odds, futures with the highest payouts, a plethora of low margin props, and of course reduced juice (-103 to -105) base on sides. In business since 1998 they’ve never missed a payout and currently pay withdrawals faster than any other US gambling site. No matter if you enjoy sports, casino or poker this is likely the site for you. Their casino uses DGS software with modified payouts that cut the house edge down from the usual 2.5% to 5.5% advantage to under 1% on almost every bet they offer. In short this means you’re paid more for every winning bet no matter what the game, and this statement is true for both sports and casino. They also rank #1 on our list of Best US Poker Sites for 2012. Their poker room operates on the Winning Poker Network (former Yatahay) sharing players with True Poker, Americas Cardroom and others.

History Buff?

On January 17, 1996 Jukka Honkavaara of Finland placed a $50 wager on Tottenham Hotspur at Intertops.com. This was the first ever sports bet placed on the internet. Read our detailed Intertops.eu review to see why the oldest sports betting site is still a great choice in 2012 for both American and European punters.

Best Asian Bookies

Best Asian BookieThe Asian bookie we most recommend is www.188bet.com. These guys are industry leaders for live in-play betting as well as Asian Handicap (hang cheng betting). No matter if you’re interested in betting English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, UEFA Champions League, Liga Super Indonesia, India I League, Liga Super Malaysia or any other football league they have you well covered. They of course offer wagering on all other sports and have awesome live dealer casinos with multiple versions of baccarat. Great news for those living in Indonesia and Malaysia 188Bet offers IDR Indonesia Rupiah and MYR Malaysian Ringgit they also have special banking methods that allow you to deposit easily and get paid winnings for free to your local bank account without it showing it came from them. Other currencies offered at 188bet include RMB, SGD, VND, EUR and GBP. This is our #1 one pick for anyone living in Asia.

Honourable mention for Asian bookies goes to SBOBet, 12Bet and Dafa. To learn more visit our section on Asian bookies.

European and UK Bookmakers

188Bet Free BetLet me be brutally honest here, the odds, as well as policies for most UK bookmakers make betting with them so much less ideal. For example the two largest UK bookmakers Ladbrokes and William Hill offer odds or even bets for decimals odds 1.91/1.91 (10/11 fractional). Popular Asian bookie 188bet offers the same for 1.94/1.94. This mean you get paid more for each winning bet. They also have a large presence in the UK due to being the principal sponsor of Bolton Wanderers and official betting partner of Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, and London Wasps. This is a safe and secure online bookmaker and all the usual banking methods such as Moneybookers (Skrill), Neteller, Ukash, credit card and direct bank transfer are offered. To learn more read my 188Bet Review or to get started click the banner to the left for a £25 risk free bet.

Two additional alternatives to UK bookmakers you’ll certainly want to know about are Pinnacle Sports and Betfair. Pinnacle is by far the largest and most trusted betting website in terms of volume. They offer the highest betting limits, best odds and fastest payouts. You can learn all about them in my Pinnacle Sports review. Betfair is a gambling website that offers the world’s largest peer to peer betting exchange. I’ve written a detailed and comprehensive article on How Betfair Works that is near certainly a must read.

Now finally if you do want to stick to UK bookmakers at least choose the one offering the best bonuses and promotions. That bookmaker in my strong opinion is Bet365 who can learn about in my Bet365 review. Other good options include Irish bookmakers PaddyPower and Boyle Sports.

Sports Gambling Sites by Region

Australian Bookmakers – These days it’s getting harder and harder to find an Aussie bookmaker offering value. With so many international sites having left the Australian market, and the odds offered by Tab, Centrebet, Sportsbet and the like not all that appealing, I strongly suggest turning to exchange betting with betfair.com.au.

Canadian Sportsbooks – You guys in Canada have it made. You can select any of the US, Euro or Asian sportsbook listed on this home page and find yourself in great hands.

India Betting – If you live in India refer to our guide on Indian Rupee Bookmakers to learn where you can bet cricket, football and other sports online.

Future Plans

As mentioned this website is still rather new. I’ve been a professional sports bettor since I was 20-years old and am now age 32. Over the past 12-years I’ve accumulated vast knowledge on all sorts of sports including football, basketball, soccer, Formula 1, cricket, golf, tennis and more. In time I’ll be sharing many helpful handicapping tips. It will take a while for this site to grow, because it’s just me (prop), but if you check back here often, you’ll continue to find more and more valuable sports betting content. As a final reminder, I strongly suggest not betting online without reading my rating guide.

A final heads up – Don’t Trust Sports Betting Portals

Even the most honest review portals are tempted. I was once a broke teenager when a site I wasn’t too confident about offered me $30,000 for a one year featured advertisement on my home page. I’ve seen other MAJOR betting websites corrupted as well, honest guys who had $200,000 offers to let a less than reputable betting site take over their forum. This is big money business and the temptation to sell out is great. If you want sincere honest advise about sports betting websites don’t look to websites which are filled with paid advertisements or affiliate links. You’re far better off inquiring with your peers, one place to do this is 2+2 via their Sports Betting Forum.

Full Disclosure: I have an affiliate relationship with some, not all, of the betting sites recommended here. I however also have a policy of not linking to gambling sites I wouldn’t store a portion of my own bankroll with. If you do your own research and ask others about the sports gambling sites recommended here at SBS, I believe you’ll soon discover this website is an honest guide to sports betting sites. Although, I won’t get it right 100% of the time, I do have ton of knowledge about sportsbooks and bookmakers and will do my best to only recommend reputable sites.