Choosing the right site is important if you are interested in betting. The website you decide to bet at dictates everything about your experience: your betting options, your bonuses, and even your ability to protect your account from unauthorized access by hackers and hijackers.
However, with so many different sites to choose from, actually comparing different betting sites can be more complex than it sounds. Thankfully, a large part of the process is just common sense – knowing how to find and compare different pieces of information easily.
Check Their Legitimacy
While it might sound like an obvious statement, you always want to be betting on a legitimate and trustworthy site. This means avoiding any sites that are highly likely to be scams or otherwise not legitimate, even if they offer a fantastic bonus or look authentic at first glance.
Identifying scam sites or other risky options can be tricky, but it is important to do your research. Always make sure that sites are licensed and registered if you have doubts about them, and check reviews for any sites that you have not heard of before.
There will always be times when reviews are not available, or there simply is not any easy way to find out more about a site – especially if it is brand new and only just opened. In these cases, it all comes down to your own personal judgment, so never do anything you are not comfortable taking a risk on.
Look At The Betting Opportunities
Betting is a huge niche that can cover a massive amount of different games and events, but that also means that not every site is going to support all of them. Some will only focus on sports betting, or even one or two specific sports, while others might aim to create an all-round betting experience
A more limited site is not necessarily worse – what matters most is whether or not a site meets your wants and needs. If you are mostly (or exclusively) interested in football betting, then you want to choose a site that offers a range of football betting options, for example.
This can also apply to bet types, the overall bet value, and even the complexity of the bets you can make. Some sites and platforms simply will not offer the kind of experience and opportunities you are looking for, no matter how appealing they seem at first.
Keep in mind that newer sites may not initially have all of their betting options set up, especially if they are fully independent platforms. This can mean that some sites may take a while to open up to more betting types if they plan to at all.
Explore Bonus Options
Bonuses are often a huge draw to any betting site, especially since they give new and well-experienced players an initial boost or benefit to let them explore their newly chosen site. However, not all bonuses are created equally, or even easily compared in a vacuum.
For every site that offers a set amount of bonus funds, there is one that bases the bonus amount on percentages or offers something entirely separate from funds (like cashback on lost bets). This means that bonuses can vary too much to compare them one-to-one.
Instead, consider how much the bonuses might matter to you specifically and look at their greater context. If a bonus applies to a betting style or sport you are not interested in or requires a high first deposit/bet to earn it, it might become much less useful for you.
Bonuses are not the only thing to focus on, but they can still be the deciding factor when looking at two very similar sites. Make sure you consider them properly if you are genuinely stuck between two options, but do not hyper-focus on bonuses to the point that you ignore everything else.
Sites and sources like https://www.compare.bet/betting/bonuses/free-bets can be a fantastic way to quickly and easily compare a range of welcome bonuses, all without even needing to visit the sites yourself individually. If you are struggling to make these comparisons quickly turn to third-party resources like this.
Investigate User-Friendliness
You want a user-friendly site, regardless of how often you plan to start betting on it. A site that can properly handle things like account issues or the deposit and withdrawal process is a site that you can rely on more consistently, especially if you are relatively new to betting as a whole.
Choosing a platform that makes it difficult to handle a stolen account or withdraw bets properly can only lead to more stress. In some cases, poor user-friendliness can even result in you getting into trouble for things that are not your fault, such as the withdrawal system glitching while you are using it.
A betting site that is friendly to its users and easy to work with is a must-have. Whether you are brand new to betting or somebody with a lot of experience making all kinds of highly specific bets, you never want to be put in a situation where the site itself is getting in your way.
Check The Odds
Different sites will offer different odds, and that alone can be a major part of how you end up choosing your preferred site. Better odds for specific events or overall betting types can be a huge part of how you end up choosing a platform to bet on, so do not ignore them.
Better odds do not always mean a better site, but if you are looking to maximize your returns for the risks you are taking, then it is a very relevant thing to check. Beyond that, it can also tell you a little about the site’s intended audience, which might matter for some bettors.
If you are very new to betting, you generally want to avoid extreme risks – so sites that focus on risky odds for huge returns are not necessarily going to be a good fit. However, an experienced betting fan might want to avoid sites that cater to safer, smaller-scale bets meant for complete beginners.
Overall, the betting platform that you choose is dependent on a lot of factors, and there simply is not just one clear “one size fits all” way to handle this decision. You need to think about what kind of experience you personally want and the risks that you are willing to take to get it.
