Sport Betting and Odds

Sports betting is the general activity of predicting sports results by making a wager on the outcome of a sporting event. Perhaps more so than other forms of gambling, the legality and general acceptance of sports betting varies from nation to nation. In the United States, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 makes it illegal to operate a "betting, gambling or wagering scheme", except for in the states of Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon. Nevada and Delaware, however, are the only states currently allowing sports gambling.

In many European nations bookmaking (the profession of accepting sports wagers) is highly regulated but not criminalized. The NCAA has threatened to ban all playoff games in Delaware if the state allows betting on college sports.

New Jersey, which is also interested, has been similarly threatened. Proponents of legalized sports betting generally regard it as a hobby for sports fans that increases their interest in particular sporting events, thus benefiting the leagues, teams and players they bet on through higher attendances and television audiences. Opponents fear that, over and above the general ramifications of gambling, it threatens the integrity of amateur and professional sport, the history of which includes numerous attempts by sports gamblers to fix matches, although proponents counter that legitimate bookmakers will invariably fight corruption just as fiercely as governing bodies and law enforcement do. Most sports bettors are overall losers as the bookmakers odds are fairly efficient. However, there are professional sports bettors that make a good income betting sports, many of which utilize sports information services.

Odds

Odds for different outcomes in a single bet are presented either in European format (decimal odds), UK format (fractional odds), or American format (moneyline odds). European format (decimal odds) are favoured in continental Europe, Canada, and Australia. They are the ratio of the full payout to the stake, in a decimal format. Decimal odds of 2.00 are an even bet. UK format (fractional odds) are favoured by British bookmakers. They are the ratio of the amount won to the stake. Fractional odds of 1/1 are an even bet. US format odds are favoured in the United States. They are the amount won on a 100 stake when positive and the stake needed to win 100 when negative. US odds of 100 are an even bet.

Decimal Fractional US
1.50 1/2 -200
2.00 1/1 +100
2.50 3/2 +150
3.00 2/1 +200

Conversion formulasx To Do this
Decimal Fractional x-1 , then convert to fraction
Decimal US = 100*(x-1) if x>=2; -100/(x-1) if x<2 Fractional Decimal divide fraction, then x+1 Fractional US divide fraction, then 100*x if x>=1; -100/x if x<1 US Decimal (x/100)+1 if x>0; (-100/x)+1 if x<0 US Fractional x/100, then convert to fraction if x>0; -100/ x,then convert to fraction if x<0


In Asia betting markets, other frequently used formats for expressing odds include Hong Kong, Malay, and Indonesian-style odds formats. Odds are also quite often expressed in terms of implied probability, which corresponds to the probability with which the event in question would need to occur for the bet to be a breakeven proposition (on the average).

Many online tools also exist for automated conversion between these odds formats.

learns more to http://sports.wheretobet.com/sports-betting-guide.htm