The all-time largest bet at a mobile sportsbook is $4.5 million. Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is famous for placing million-dollar bets at the Kentucky Derby and other signature sporting events.

He’s the record-holder who’s lost more than he’s won, but the publicity is great for his business.

You might not have a million dollars to gamble, or don’t care about publicity. You just have an interest in sports betting and you want to know how to place a bet.

It seems simple on the surface. You pick a betting site, make a deposit, place a bet, and collect your winnings.

The truth is that there’s a lot more to it than that. If you want to make sports bets safely and win money gambling, you’ll want to keep reading.

You’re about to learn how to bet on sports online and discover the top betting tips.

Find a Sports Betting Site

The first job is to find a good sports betting site. Look for a site that’s legal in your location.

You might see national ad campaigns for sports betting sites. They might not be in your state because each state has its own process to approve and oversee online sports betting sites.

Find online sportsbook reviews from sources that only review legal sportsbooks.

Check the security standards of online sports betting sites. This is a big one since your payment information gets stored in your account.

Sports betting sites offer bonuses for signing up. You can get a deposit match up to a certain amount. That essentially lets you gamble with the sportsbook’s money for a while.

Sportsbooks offer different odds, so compare the odds for your favorite sports before you create an account.

Another consideration is the site’s deposit methods. You might want to protect your debit card information and want to use PayPal or Google Pay for deposits.

If you do use a credit card, note that some sports betting sites charge a fee with each deposit.

Know Sports Betting Terms

Beginner sports bettors get lost in the sports betting lingo. There are a few terms to learn, and we’re going to take the mystery out of them right now.

Favorite: This is the team that should win. This is usually shown as the team with a minus sign.

Underdog: The team that’s expected to lose. This team has a plus sign next to it.

Moneyline: A type of sports bet where you pick the winner.

Point Spread: The predicted score difference between two teams.

Over/Under: A sports bet where you predict if the total final score is above or below a certain number.

Parlay: A type of sports bet made up of several sports bets. For example, you can bet on five football games to create one parlay bet.

If you want to apply what you just learned, take a look at the sports section of your favorite newspaper. You’ll see upcoming games with sports odds.

How to Place a Bet Online

Once you get the terminology, it’s incredibly easy to place a sports bet online. Log into your account and find the sport that you want to bet on.

You’ll have a list of games and odds in front of you.

A moneyline bet will look like this:

Favorite Team (-125)

Underdog Team (+210)

The -125 means that you have to bet $100 to get $125 back, while +210 is the amount you can win if you bet $100.

A point spread bet is similar, but you’re adding the spread to the total score. This is to make the bet more challenging. It’ll look something like this:

Favorite Team (-14)

Underdog Team (+14)

The underdog team gets 14 points added to the total score. In order for you to win a bet on the favorite, they have to beat the underdog by 15 or more points.

It’s a good idea to do a little research before making online bets. You can easily blow through your funds because you can place bets mindlessly with a few taps on your phone.

Look at past trends and performances. Are there players that stand out? Are there teams on hot streaks?

Maybe there’s a historical matchup that makes all trends useless. These are just some of the things to consider before placing your bet.

You might spot an opportunity to bet on the underdog and win big time.

Exotic Sports Bets

You can expand your sports betting repertoire into exotic bets. These are bets that fall outside of the normal bets listed above.

These are called prop bets or futures bets. You can bet on the Premier League Champion before the season begins.

You can also bet on the team that wins the coin toss, who scores the first touchdown, and who gets more sacks in a game.

Keep in mind that these types of sports bets are for entertainment. They’re smaller bets and sports betting sites limit the amount you can wager on exotic bets.

Collect Your Winnings

The best step happens when you win. You get to decide what to do with your winnings. You could cash out or leave it in your account to continue gambling.

Did your bet earn more than $600? Your winnings will get reported to the IRS.

Yep, that’s taxable income. You have to report all of your gambling winnings on your tax returns.

Speak to a financial professional and make sure you set aside a percentage of your winnings for taxes.

The Ultimate Online Sports Betting Guide for Beginners

Sports betting is an underrated form of entertainment. You don’t have to leave the house. You just need to find the best sportsbook online, create an account, and sign up.

This sports betting guide showed you the ins and outs of how to place a bet online. You know the different types of bets and online sports betting strategies to be in a position to win.

Now that you know how to bet on sports, check out the Sports section of this site to research before placing your bets.