A sports bet is a wager on the outcome of a sporting event. The person making the bet is called a bettor. A company that accepts bets is known as a bookmaker or sportsbook. Sports betting has become a popular activity since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Bettors place billions of dollars in bets each year, mostly on their favorite teams and events.
The best way to make money at sports betting is by following a winning strategy. But this isn’t easy to do. It takes a lot of work, research and time. The key is to know your sports well. Having a thorough understanding of the sport’s current form, injuries and home/away performances will help you predict the game’s results.
There are a number of different types of bets that you can place. The simplest bet is a straight bet, which is placing a wager on a specific result. For example, you might bet on the Toronto Raptors to beat Boston in an NBA game or UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou to win his fight against Ciryl Gane.
Another type of bet is an over/under bet. This involves betting on the over or under a certain amount of points, goals, touchdowns, etc. The oddsmakers set these lines based on the expected margin of victory. The over/under is usually set at a level that is high enough to attract action, but not so high that it will cause the bookmakers to lose money.