In-play betting, also known as live betting, is one of the most popular forms of betting in the UK and is growing yearly. This of betting that takes place after a game or match has started and before it has finished. Here, players choose from hundreds of bet types on various sports while the events develop. In-play betting sites allows punters to complete control of your bets when you want to make them — and gives you the best opportunities to back the right odds.
In this betting guide, you will learn about the differences between betting and betting live, the benefits of developing your understanding of betting in play, and how live streaming can further aid your decision-making.
What is In-Play Betting: In Play Betting Explained
In-play is betting that occurs after an event has started and is up to its conclusion. Some examples are a football match, a cricket match, or a horse race. Other bookmakers sometimes call it live betting, as it has also been known as in-running betting.
Live betting during the event removes the requirement to study forms and stats before a match and lets you decide what you think is worth punting. Online betting sites have a wide range of live betting markets, so here’s everything you need to know to make that winning bet.
Betting and In-Play Betting: What’s the Difference?
In-play betting is an advancement of traditional betting during live events. Many markets, such as goal scorers, match results, and points totals, remain active during this type of betting.
Regarding gambling, there are two ways to get involved – betting before the chosen event has started and placing a bet as it’s actively happening. More often than not, you’ll find that betting prior to something getting underway will be seen as the more popular option, but there’s just as many reasons to opt against it in favour of betting on something as it unfolds. However, the main difference between traditional and live gambling is that the live betting odds can change rapidly during the action. This means you can change your bets during the sporting event, shifting to support different teams, players, or outcomes.
For instance, you could place a pre-match bet on Manchester United to beat Reading in the FA Cup. The odds for this bet are likely to be very low, and when placing your bet, you are locked in with those odds. If Reading scores early, Manchester United’s in-play odds will increase, but you would have missed that opportunity.
Live sports betting allows you to select when to place a bet. Of course, you must decide when to place bets, knowing that the odds will likely go up or down depending on how events unfold during the match.
How Does In Play Betting Work?
Smarkets and other gambling exchanges have introduced in play betting, allowing bettors to use trading techniques to secure a profit or minimize risk, similar to how stock traders operate on the stock exchange.
When you’re betting in-play, you can respond to live events and situational factors related to each sport or event, such as goals, tactical adjustments, injuries, and weather.
Live trading expands the possibility of identifying in play betting market value by adapting to the unpredictability once the event has commenced, bringing a new element to your betting strategy.
How to Place an In Play Bet?
Mobile sports betting apps are used for placing live stakes. Bettors must be extremely attentive to the game and odds screen when making in-play wagers, as there may only be a brief window of time to place a bet. The odds change frequently, sometimes after every play, depending on the sport. If a favorable number is available, the opportunity to bet may only last for 10 to 20 seconds.
Live betting isn’t suitable for everyone. Apart from understanding each wager, sports fans need to act quickly. This requires having a mobile device turned on and being logged into an account (or accounts) funded to place a wager as soon as favorable numbers appear.
Advantages of In-Play Betting
In-play offers a new dimension when betting on sports and has several advantages compared to pre-game. Instead of being restricted by betting pre-game odds, you can now trade on the many live situational factors that impact odds movement. The volatility that creates these odds movements in the market naturally creates several betting strategies for you to exploit.
✔️ Odds
- Fluctuations in odds occur as the start of an event gets closer. The primary factors that cause odds to change are:
- 1. New information
- 2. Confidence in the market
- 3. Money being placed
- 4. Situational factors that arise once the event has begun
Traders on a betting exchange initially set prices based on their confidence in the market, while at a bookmaker, it is the oddsmakers who do so.
As the event draws near, more information becomes available, and confidence in the market grows, leading to more money being wagered and causing the odds to shift.
Thanks to the crowd’s collective wisdom, the market continuously takes in new information, resulting in the odds reflecting the true price of the market.
✔️ Live trading strategy
Betting in-play on a gaming exchange allows you to trade your position. The principle of trading in-play sports markets is identical to trading on the stock exchange.
Instead of buying and selling shares, you back and lay the outcomes of an event, allowing you to:
- Guarantee profit whatever the outcome of an event
- Reduce your risk and potential losses
Live Betting Features
In Play betting has opened the world of sports gaming to a new level. Not only can you bet In Play, you can also watch matches, follow the live stats and even cash out midway through the action. It means you never miss a thing, and bookies offer plenty of features to aid your gaming experience.
✅ TV Live Streaming
Sports live streaming has revolutionized online gambling in recent years. It has also made live betting the forefront of the industry.
You can livestream and wager on thousands of annual sporting events, like football, basketball, boxing, tennis, and other sports.
Watch live sports and bet In-Play through your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Some sportsbook platforms stream live games from the biggest football leagues in Europe, Australia, Brazil, and the United States. You can, among other things, watch live matches from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A.
In American sports such as the NHL and NBA, you can watch every season’s match in full live gaming alongside in-play betting markets. Sometimes, players can enjoy some of the world’s biggest international sporting tournaments, such as the Copa America, Africa Cup of Nations, and the Cricket World Cup!
✅ Cash Out
The ‘cash out’ feature allows you to cash out on a current bet before the outcome is decided, allowing you to secure part of your winnings or cut your losses.
For example, Let’s say you want to bet £10 on Manchester United to win against Arsenal with the odds of 1/1, where the payback will be £20 if you win the bet. United leads 1-0, but Arsenal is dominating the game and pushing for a goal with 20 minutes left in the match. The equalizing goal seems inevitable, and your bet looks uncertain. Here, the Cash Out feature allows you to secure your stake with a payback of, for example, £16 by cashing out your bet instead of waiting for the match to finish and potentially losing your bet.
The Cash Out feature allows you to secure a part of your winnings by pressing the ‘Cash Out’ button. The money will be credited to your account immediately.
Likewise, you can reduce your losses through the Cash Out feature. Let’s say your bet is the same as above, with the difference that Arsenal is leading 1-0. Due to Arsenal dominating the match, Manchester United will not be able to turn it around and win the game. Rather than losing your entire bet, you can reduce your losses and accept our offer by pressing the ‘Cash Out’ button and getting part of your stake back.
✅ Action Betting
Action Betting is a unique feature, giving you an exciting betting experience where you can place bets fast as lightning, usually on the next event in a specific sport. Action Betting results are confirmed much faster than standard bets, allowing you to win in less than 60 seconds.
✅ The Visualisation
You can visualize the game through this feature. For example, in football, you can see where the ball is on the pitch, how it’s moving, which team has the ball, whether there’s an attack or even a dangerous attack, and stats on the match.
Visualization lets you see everything you need to make an informed stake. It gives you information on the number of shots on target and off target, cards given in the match, the number of corners, which match minute the game is in, and, of course, the score itself. Visualization also offers a heat map of the pitch, where you can easily see where the most action has occurred.
In Play Betting Tips
Many of the in-play gambling tips are also relevant to the standard type of betting. If you follow a plan and certain strategies, then these can certainly support your betting efforts.
Here are some examples of those tips are below:
Support a top choice who is falling behind – Supporting a top choice who is currently not in the lead presents an opportunity for them to stage a comeback, so capitalizing on the high odds while they are trailing could result in a profitable outcome if they manage to reverse the situation during the competition.
Going against the momentum is crucial in live betting. For instance, if the Red team scores a goal early on, their morale will likely increase, improving their chances of winning. Conversely, if the Blue team concedes a goal or loses a key player to injury, their in-play betting odds will decrease. Betting on losing favorites or the next goalscorer could result in higher live betting odds. Understanding momentum is important in live gambling.
Minimize your risks: This involves placing bets on a different result than your initial bet to guarantee a profit or reduce potential losses. For example, if you had bet on the Red team to win 1-0 before the match, but after 75 minutes, the Blue team is dominating, you may want to place an in-play stake on the Blues winning 0-1 or a bet on over 0.5 goals in the match. This can minimize potential losses from your original bet and make in-play gaming more profitable.
Live Betting Guide: Final Words
Betting in-play offers a new dimension when betting on sports and has many advantages compared to pre-game. Live gaming offers betting options — including various things, such as goals scored in a period — at points throughout the game. The main difference with traditional gambling is that live betting takes place throughout the game. Odds will change after almost every play or possession throughout the game.
Live wagering is currently available for game-specific wagering opportunities. For starters, you almost always get better odds in play, and the same goes for pre-match odds. What interval of betting is available or what can be bet on will vary depending on who is offering the bets.
