This page is designed to be what the title says – the only 2022 real-money betting website guide sports bettors need to prepare them to place bets. From this page, we’ll cover all the little things a bettor needs to make confident decisions about placing real money bets with offshore betting sites.
Why Choose Online Betting Sites?
Something like 50% of Americans live within 100 miles of some form of legal gambling. Sports betting may not always be part of that slate of gaming entertainment choices – but increasingly, sports bets of some form are available in a brick & mortar retail environment.
Why would people choose real money betting sites over traditional sportsbook retailers?
People who choose online gambling usually give us one of the following five reasons for doing so:
- Convenience – the laptop is always closer than a real casino or sportsbook, even if the book is down the street. The convenience factor of real money betting on the Internet is easy to understand. You can gamble in your underwear or without taking a shower and nobody will even know.
- Promotions & Bonuses – loyalty clubs at casinos and sportsbooks exist, but they aren’t always as lucrative as the offers people read about for real money betting websites. The sportsbook may offer you a free meal or something, but online betting websites are offering free money to place bets with and other real-money rewards.
- Variety of Games Available – the sports bets and other gambling choices some Americans have are more limited than what they can find at betting websites. If a bettor in Delaware wants to place props on college sports, they don’t have that choice at the glorified parlay ticket retail spots run by the state’s gaming board. Offshore sportsbooks don’t have that problem.
- Safe Environment – some people see casinos, sportsbooks, racinos, and places like that as unsavory places where crime is likely to happen. They’re not necessarily wrong about that – and, compared to a person’s private home, it’s easy to see why a person might not want to go into a brick & mortar betting shop.
- Live Betting Options – now that online books and casinos offer live betting, live streaming, and other audio/visual options that make the experience seem more life-like, the appeal of a traditional brick & mortar place to bet is diminishing.
How to Compare Real Money Sportsbook Sites
We’ve come up with five categories we think bettors should use to compare the services available to them from online sports betting sites. Look at each online book you’re considering through these five lenses, and you’ll be able to feel confident that you’re making the correct choice.
- Available Markets for Betting – Lots of sports bettors stick to the “big four” of NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL bets. Still others want to wager on obscure college contests, Olympics medal count proposition bets, and less popular but still competitive contests like cycling. When you’re comparing books, be sure to look for the markets you may bet on and take note also of how many markets are available in general.
- Financial Details – What good is the perfect sportsbook if you can’t send them money or they can’t send you winnings? Obviously, American law doesn’t help the financial situation for real money sports bettors. Make sure, when comparing books to do business with, that you have financial access to any book you’re reviewing. The spread of cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals has helped Americans send and receive funds, but you have to be in the know about crypto to take advantage – and you have to find a book willing to use it.
- Bonuses & Promotions – If welcome bonuses, reload offers, and other promotions are really important to you as a bettor, you need to start your hunt for a US-facing real money book by comparing their bonus offers. However, you should also be sure that a site doesn’t have rollover requirements that are too high for your style of play. Basically, read the fine print on any promotional offer, and don’t be shy about contacting customer service if you have questions. It’s your money – spend it wisely, and let it earn the best bonuses it can.
- Legality / Access – Be sure a book allows bettors from where you live to open real-money accounts and place real cash wagers. In the United States, this is particularly important, as different real money betting sites have different sets of geographic restrictions.
- General Consensus – This one may take the longest amount of time. Before you send your cash to a new real money book, you’ll save yourself some headache by getting a sense of the general consensus about a site. The Internet is a gossip and rumor mill, as well as a good resource for legit review content. Being able to distinguish between these is an important skill. Trust reviews like those you find at our site. We aren’t selling you anything, just sharing solid information designed to help sports betting fans find real money betting websites that will satisfy them.
Examples of Real Money Betting Sites in 2022
The five books covered briefly below will give you an idea of what’s available in terms of real money betting sites in 2022. Each book is covered lightly, with more details and coverage available elsewhere on the site.
BetUS
Offering a welcome bonus of 100% up to $2,500, BetUS has been a part of the offshore real money sports betting industry for longer than most other operators. The site’s biggest weakness as far as our editors are concerned is its limited lineup of deposit and withdrawal options, though the same can be said for most US-facing real money sportsbook sites. Withdrawals are particularly limited, unless you have a cryptocurrency account you can use. If you’re looking for variety in betting markets, BetUS is among the best available to America sports bettors, covering niche markets as well as a huge number of futures for the big four US sports. Added bonus – BetUS doesn’t restrict play from any Americans, regardless of their state of origin.
MyBookie.ag
Known for being among the first real money books to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, MyBookie.ag is currently offering newcomers a 50% welcome bonus worth up to $1,000. If you live in New Jersey, Nevada, New York, or Pennsylvania, you’re restricted from accessing MyBookie. Our editors are unimpressed with the site’s high rollover requirements on basically all bonus offers, but not all bettors are concerned with promotions. You may instead be attracted to the site’s high limits and variety in terms of deposit and withdrawal options. Markets are a bit limited relative to other US offshore sports betting sites, with nothing in the way of futures or niche markets.
Bovada
Another real money sports betting site known for having a big variety of deposit and withdrawal options, Bovada’s welcome bonus is a 50% offer on first deposits, up to a max $250. While bettors have a variety of ways to add and subtract money from their account, the limits are a little lower than industry average – keep that in mind if you plan on moving large sums of money through Bovada. Players from Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, and New Jersey aren’t allowed to open real-money accounts at Bovada. An average list of betting markets means the majority of bettors won’t run out of options in sports and wager styles that they like. Bovada has a large and well-reviewed online casino attached, as well as a racebook for fans of horse and greyhound betting action.
BetOnline
BetOnline is a veteran of the real money betting business, having accepted wagers for more than twenty years. Their current welcome bonus is a 100% offer capped at $2,500. Our editors were quick to say that BetOnline’s promotional lineup is the weakest of all the sites on this short list, so be aware of that if you’re a promotions-driven player. A dozen methods of deposit and nine withdrawal methods make BetOnline adaptable to lots of different player preferences. Don’t expect anything too crazy in terms of betting markets – all the big sports are covered, and have futures and prop bet options, but not many Euro sports or niche markets are available.
SportsBetting.ag
The best variety of major sports betting options and niche markets for US sports bettors is available at Sportsbetting.ag. The site’s been in business for more than a decade. The current welcome bonus promotion is a 50% match bonus capped at $1,000 per player. Our editors knock Sportsbetting.ag for their low limits on financial transactions, pointing out that a cap of $3,500 on Bitcoin is particularly oppressive for crypto players. Still, we like the market coverage so much that we want everyone to check out Sportsbetting.ag, especially if you like extensive wagering options and styles or look for deeper markets than usual.
Conclusion
Placing real money bets online is more convenient than betting at a brick & mortar sportsbook. Online betting sites are offering more variety and more in the way of promotions and bonuses than traditional books. As Americans gain interest in more sports markets and betting propositions, online offshore sportsbooks that accept real money bets start to look more appealing than the limited bet chances you can find at most traditional US books.
This page contains enough information to start a real money bettor on the road to enjoying offshore betting sites. For tips on sports betting strategy and advice on things like maintaining a bankroll and finding value bets, continue to read the articles and resources posted by our writers.