Choosing the Right Sportsbook

There are many different sportsbooks out there, and picking the right one can be daunting. Everyone wants a dependable site that will not do anything shady. Unforunately, I have heard negative things about all books at one point or another, but a lot of them also have a lot of positive reviews. It is my advice that you do your own research before picking a sportsbook. Here are some of the biggest factors to consider when picking a book:

Location
This is where YOU live. Depending on where you live, you will have access to some books, and not have access to others. Where I am from (a relatively stricter state in America), I do not have access to that many options. If you are lucky enough to have access to more, then you should exercise that freedom and look up all of the books available to you and see the best out of those.

Types of Bets
Different sites will have better options for different kinds of bets. For example, some sites will have more player props than others. Other sites will have better live betting. This is all dependent on what kind of bets you are most interested in, which should affect the book you choose to sign up for.

Sign-up Deals
This is actually not as big of a reason as you might expect, and I'll tell you why. Many books will match your initial deposit, or provide you with free bets when you first sign up. However, any kind of deals like this will have a "rollover" with it. This means that you will have to wager up to a certain amount in order to unlock the money for withdrawal. This makes sense, as it prevents you from depositing to get free money, then wagering that free money to possibly make more money then withdrawing it right after. However, be warned that most rollovers are priced very high, depending on the kind of deal they are giving you. You should check on the book's website or even call to ask, if you are considering using a sign-up bonus.

If you want to take sports betting seriously, it is actually best to open up accounts on many sportsbooks so you can line shop (i.e. find the best line for your bet).

I'm going to go over the books that I PERSONALLY have used and not had any issues with (yet). If I do have issues, I will be sure to make posts warning people about my personal experiences . I'm not out here looking out for the sportsbooks; I'm looking out for the average person reading this blog, hoping to help them beat the books with me.

BetOnline

Link

This book is actually the reason for my first exposure to bitcoin. My card kept getting blocked when I tried to deposit into this site, so I bought bitcoin to send it over to this book. However, none of my friends had this issue, so it was probably just my card giving me problems. This book is one of many that accepts bitcoin. However, it will convert that bitcoin into fiat. Therefore, you will lose out on any gains bitcoin makes between the time you deposit and when you withdraw. This can be a good thing if you think bitcoin will go down, but if you are bullish on bitcoin and want to keep your bitcoin, then this might not be the best bet for you.

Hitting on the three major points from before: this book works anywhere in the United States, has a pretty wide selection of bets including live bets (basically had everything I wanted to play with), and is reputable as one of the biggest brands out there. I remember depositing for the first time and getting matched 100% of my deposit, but I saw the rollover was 14x the deposit if I remember correctly. It was 14x the initial deposit and match COMBINED. So if you deposit $100 then they will match your $100 (so your account will have $200) but you have to wager up to $2800 to even withdraw. However, I called them and they removed the match play right away. The customer service experience was nothing but good.

Nitrogen Sports

Link - Referral
Link - Non Referral

Before I start, for full disclosure, I'd like to say that I have attached my affiliate link and a non-affiliate link. Feel free to sign up with my affiliate link if you want to support, I simply get a fraction of a percent of every bet you place, taken from the sportsbook and not from you. You can also sign up from the non-referral link.

I made the switch to nitrogen because this book will accept bitcoin and keep your money as bitcoin. Your balance is in terms of bitcoin, and when you withdraw it will be bitcoin. This feels like a double investment to me, as I make money on this site in btc and that btc also appreciates. If you are uneasy risking your bitcoin investment, then I would suggest using a site like BetOnline and depositing through a card or wire transfer or any of their other options. Don't play with anything you can't afford to lose.

Another great selling point for this book is that it is completely anonymous. You make an account when you go to the site, and then once you get inside you need to go to settings to set up a username and password. You do not need to sign up with an email (although you might want to put one for password retrieval) and you do not need to give them any information about yourself. The anonymity is why many people like this site. The odds on this site are pretty good, but one downside to this site is that it has a poor selection of live bets. I do not really live bet, so this is not an issue to me.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, make sure to spend some time researching the book you want to use, as this can have a big impact on the odds you get and choices you can make. As I said earlier, I do not have many options where I am from, but these two books have been good for me so far, and I have not had any issues with them yet.