There is plenty of football action to look forward to in the coming months, including the end of domestic club seasons across Europe, the Champions League qualifiers and, of course, the World Cup in the summer.
Many opportunities for football betting, then, especially in the extended World Cup in the summer. Of course, beyond picking a winning bet, bettors will look for value. For example, if you like England to win the World Cup, you can find a fair amount of disparity in the odds from one bookmaker to another.
For example, England can be found at prices ranging from 5/1 to 6/1 to win the World Cup. The difference in these odds might not seem like much, but it would represent 20% higher returns if you back them, and they win, at 6/1.
Sports betting prediction markets have been launched
But can we also look beyond traditional betting? There has been an explosion in the popularity of prediction platforms. Mainly, they have focused on current affairs, but now they are moving into sports. DraftKings, for example, has launched a new online prediction platform covering sports games and tournaments, which you can see here: https://predictions.draftkings.com/. It also covers traditional prediction market areas such as politics, stocks and finance, and popular culture.
So what is the difference between betting on sports using a prediction market and betting on sports using a sportsbook? The simple answer is this: with a sportsbook, you are betting against the bookmaker. They set the odds based on several factors. Betting volumes play into it, but there are other factors like weighted odds etc. With a prediction market, your bet is compared to other people participating in the market. It is based on a yes or no principle. A percentage of the market will say that X will happen, while the rest say that X will not happen. The odds are decided on this
So, for example, say you’re watching England win again: or not wintherefore, the odds are decided based on the weight of the money passing “yes” or “no”. There are some parallels with betting exchanges in this regard, although there are small differences. The platform makes money by charging a small commission for each transaction or a commission on earnings. May vary by platform.
Buy the best value for your bet
Now, here’s the thing to keep in mind: It won’t always be the case that a prediction platform offers better odds than a sportsbook, but the key thing to understand is that it does. Indeed, this is the art here. You can look at both markets and compare them. As we said, with sports betting, you are taking the odds provided by the bookmaker. With prediction markets, you are looking to see if the “market” is wrong.
Prediction markets with sports betting they are relatively new, so we don’t yet know how they will evolve. Perhaps the pros will use them frequently, increasing the odds to their truest form, but there are certainly opportunities to find better value than you would with a traditional bookmaker. The best rule of thumb is to select your bet before looking at either, then head over to the sportsbook and prediction market platform and compare the odds. You just have to choose the platform that offers the best value for your bet.
