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Sports betting is a global phenomenon continuously developing in terms of technology, market coverage and engagement. In the U.S., betting on sports is legal in numerous states, although, in some cases, players must place their wagers in person.
Since the expansion of online betting, punters can now enjoy the flexibility of wagering from the comfort of their homes. This is possible through their computer or a mobile app, and each sportsbook provides varying features to help your wagering experience.
Still, selecting the best online sportsbook for your needs is essential whether you wish to bet on sports on a computer or mobile phone. Most online sportsbooks provide players with similar features and market coverage. Still, the main assets lie within the small details that can potentiate your user experience and, ultimately, your possible winnings.
Throughout this article, you’ll learn what characteristics to consider when selecting your ideal online sportsbook. These features can differentiate similarly good betting sites and hopefully help you choose the best online sportsbook for your goals.
Before diving deeper into the best online sportsbooks in the U.S., we want to give you some tips on how to start your selection process.
Sports bettors can have different goals and, therefore, varying interests. Understanding which aspects are essential for your betting experience can give you a starting point for selecting the best online sports betting site.
You should know which type of sports markets you wish to find and the bet types, promotional offers and unique features you value.
Online sports betting is legal in numerous states, but this doesn’t mean that all sportsbook brands operate in that jurisdiction.
For your safety and to ensure you partake in fair and secure sports wagering, it’s crucial that you confirm the sportsbooks received a license from a gambling authority. You can learn which regulatory authority approved the operations and regulates the sportsbooks activity at the footer of the brand’s website.
We highly recommend that you avoid using sportsbooks that didn’t receive an operating license from a U.S. government-approved regulatory authority.
Although international gambling authorities may provide licenses to offshore sportsbooks, their scope of action doesn’t include U.S. jurisdiction and, therefore, can’t protect you in terms of fraud.
You should consult the website of your local regulatory authority to learn about which online sportsbooks are legal in your state of residence.
Online sportsbooks often provide new and existing players with promotional offers and bonuses to keep them engaged and brand loyal. It may seem that sign-up and regular bonuses are similar between all the betting brands, but there might be key differences in the terms and conditions that can make one offer or another more attractive.
For instance, you should read the promo’s terms and conditions to understand the wagering requirements and how long the period during which you’ll have to meet them is. Through this action, you may notice that promos that initially seemed the same are actually very different.
Online sportsbooks nowadays often provide customer support to players via live chat, email and phone. Nevertheless, the communication channels may vary from brand to brand, and the same happens with the working hours of the support agents.
Depending on your preferred communication method, you may want to confirm if the customer service is 24/7, as you never know when you will need assistance. Often, only support via live chat is available 24/7, so if you prefer to communicate via phone, please consider that you may only be able to contact agents during the day.
Mobile sports betting is growing in popularity, and many sportsbooks provide players with a mobile app for their smartphones or tablets.
Although this doesn’t happen often, the sportsbook may not offer a mobile app for the operating system of your mobile device.
If you’re interested in installing the mobile app, we recommend that you always confirm if it is available for iOS or Android devices before registering an account.
You can also access the sportsbook via an internet browser on your mobile device, but the experience may not be as quality.
Since most legal and regulated sportsbooks allow players to use the same payment methods for deposits and withdrawals, there is no real difference in the speed of transactions between betting sites.
Nevertheless, due to the high standards of safety established by regulatory authorities, legal sportsbooks often pay much faster than offshore betting sites.
Although foreign gambling authorities might regulate some offshore betting sites, many of them aren’t licensed and might even not pay you your funds.
For your safety and the protection of your money, we highly recommend you always opt for online sportsbooks that received a license from a U.S. gaming control board.
Since all regulated online sportsbooks must meet the same standards, there usually isn’t any difference between withdrawal processing times. Except for promotions where players have to meet certain wagering requirements before being allowed to withdraw, all licensed books have to pay out the bettor’s account balance upon request.
The first time you request a withdrawal from your player account, the sportsbook may take a couple of business days to analyze the request and verify that you’re the associated bank account owner. From the moment the platform confirms that information, the transaction times depend only on your selected payment method.
If you’re looking for speedy withdrawals, we recommend you opt for debit cards or online banking, as these payment methods usually take only a couple of hours to complete the transaction. To expedite the account verification process, you should also request the withdrawal through the same payment method used for your deposit.
Although there are many legal online sportsbooks across the U.S., as of 2023, FanDuel is the country’s most popular sports betting site in terms of market share. DraftKings is a close second, and both platforms continuously compete to offer more enticing promotional offers, attractive odds and betting market coverage.
The rivalry between these two brands started while both offered daily fantasy sports (DFS), and each has continuously improved to retain its market share.
BetMGM and Caesars’ sportsbooks are also top-rated but are yet to reach the same levels of popularity as the two brands mentioned above.
That said, it’s still early in the U.S. sports betting industry. The hierarchy can change.
As previously stated, DraftKings and FanDuel are both market leaders, and each excels in multiple features, with the quality of some of them being quite similar on both platforms.
Punters looking for excellent user experience, top-performing mobile apps, well-developed in-play betting features and robust sports coverage will find precisely that regardless of which brand they select.
Likewise, both DraftKings and FanDuel support multiple secure payment methods and provide newly registered players with enticing sign-up bonuses.
The main differentiating aspects lie with DraftKings’ loyalty program, which is far more interesting than the one offered by FanDuel. DraftKings also accepts a broader range of payment methods and has more comprehensive coverage of DFS and sports markets. On the other hand, FanDuel offers more attractive odds for specific events, often runs more promotional offers and has higher maximum limits for winnings.
We recommend that you follow our first tip for selecting the best online sportsbook, and know what kind of experience you’re looking for, so you can decide which of these platforms is best for you.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to state which sportsbook offers the best odds, as there are several variables to consider. Odds also are subject to change leading up to an event.
Firstly, most online sportsbooks receive their odds from third-party entities, and many may use the same providers, thus offering the same odds.
Secondly, sportsbooks may also provide odds boosts or promotional offers for specific events, leading to the possibility of players getting the best prices for these events on a sportsbook that may usually have worse odds for other sporting events.
Due to this, we recommend you first pick which event or match you want to bet on and verify the odds that different sportsbooks offer. This exercise will help you find which sports betting site has the most attractive odds for your specific needs.
There are currently five online sportsbooks that offer high-quality mobile apps, providing players with similar user and betting experiences. Below, we’ll give you an overview of the top-rated sports betting apps currently available in the U.S. market:
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Rita Ferreira is a freelance writer with several years of experience in the iGaming industry, particularly focusing on the U.S. and Canadian markets of sports betting and online casinos. She has worked with international market leaders, such as Catena Media and The Game Day. Apart from specializing in the mainstream online gambling and betting sectors, Rita has a strong interest in the emerging blockchain and provably fair gambling platforms.
Brian Pempus is a Penn State journalism graduate who has covered the U.S. gambling industry since 2009, starting with Card Player Magazine in Las Vegas. He was later Deputy Editor of sports betting at Better Collective and Managing Editor at The Game Day, before joining Forbes Betting as Lead Editor in 2022.
