It has been over a year now since sports betting was legalised at a national level and we can already see some trends emerging. Americans, prefer to bet via their mobile and betting on the NFL appears to be the nations favorite gambling pastime – no surprises there!
There is one unexpected gambling habit that sportsbooks have been quick to notice and that is in-play betting. This form of betting means that you can bet on an event as it is happening. The amount of in-play bets placed per American customers is higher than in other places in the world.
So, why would the Americans be more prone to an in-play bet than other nationalities? The answer lies in how this form of betting has developed over the years. In-play betting or live betting as it is known in Europe has existed for a number of years, but no-where near as long as other forms of betting. This meant that online gambling habits were formed long before the advent of live betting. In America on the other hand, the only way to legally bet on sports has been as a physical sportsbook, which would mean betting on a game whilst watching it live. This has meant that Americans have developed their sports betting habits which are more in line with in-play betting.
This has not gone unnoticed. If you look a list of all the best US sportsbooks you will find that every single one of them offers in-play bets in some capacity. Bettingscanner.com recently looked at the sportsbooks offering the most in-play bets and found that there is a significant discrepancy between the number of in-plays offered but also the value in the in-play odds offered by sportsbooks in the US.
The sportsbook comparison site found that Draftkings were the best sportsbook choice for the in-play punter. The sportsbook may have been given a helping hand by the fact that it is also a fantasy sports operator. To be able to provide in-play bets, sportsbook needs a massive amount of live-data, which you also need in fantasy sports. This data is used to provide the customer with the correct information but also to be able to set the odds. This means that Fanduel also performed well in their ranking, as it also began its life as a fantasy sports operator.
As it stands, your choice of sportsbooks is still limited to where you are based geographically. It is New Jersey that is the real trailblazer in the US when it comes to sports betting. It is also the state that prefers betting on basketball over football. If you are based in New Jersey, then we suggest you check what sportsbooks in NJ are currently active and offering in-play betting.
In a year or two, we expect that all sportsbooks in the US will offer a large selection of in-play bets for all sports. However, until then, sportsbooks rushing to launch in the US will not be able to ace everything – that means certain sportsbooks will place more emphasis on in-play compared to others.
