Official betting consists of placing a wager on an event or team with odds established by the bookmaker. If the odds are positive, the team/player is considered the favorite. If the odds are negative, the team/player is the underdog. The odds for a particular event are usually posted in decimal form with the number of units required to win a bet placed on that event displayed as well.

A bet can be placed on a team/player to win a game or an individual player to score a goal. Bets can also be placed on a specific period of a game, such as the first half or second half. Depending on the sport and tournament, different types of bets can be placed. For example, in soccer, a bet on the winning team of the match will typically be made at even money or higher, while a bet on a particular goal scored in the game might be offered at odds of over-under.

ROTT: David Purdum has been covering the sports betting industry long before the Supreme Court ruling in 2018, and it’s clear that things have changed. So, we wanted to ask him what’s different now that the leagues have essentially done a 180-degree pivot and fully embraced sports betting.

New York was among the first states to legalize sports betting after the Supreme Court decision, with retail and online betting sites going live in 2019 and 2021. In 2023, legal sportsbooks launched in the state including PlaySugarhouse, Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel, as well as BetRivers, PointsBet, and MGM.