While football may be the most popular sport among the online betting community, horse racing is a close second. There are millions of followers worldwide who are all enjoying a flutter on the horses.
But what if you want to join them? The first step in getting involved with the markets is to find a bookmaker. There are literally hundreds of options in this respect and so much choice can often lead to confusion.
For that reason, here is a guide to getting the best connections and finding a great home for your betting journey.
What to look for
Sportsbooks are looking to fulfill two specific demands from their customers. Choice and value are key to finding the right betting site on any sport. For horse racing enthusiasts, choice means a wide list of meetings from all over the world.
All bookmakers will list odds for the big events such as the Cheltenham Festival and the Melbourne Cup but this is a year-round sport. Those who take their betting seriously will want to see meetings covered from across the globe.
Value is the second point to cover and this comes via competitive odds. Comparisons should show that your chosen bookmaker is offering solid prices that are in step with the rest of the industry.
That everyday value can also be boosted by the bookies that like to give you a little extra.
Horse racing betting sites know that they are in a heavily crowded market. In order to stand out from the competition, they have to be innovative in order to capture your attention. That’s why the vast majority of sportsbooks list welcome offers and promotions to get you on board.
Those offers can come in the shape of free bets or they may match any deposits that you put into your account. Terms and conditions should be checked but these deals can provide a way of adding extra value to your betting journey.
Get a second opinion
If you don’t want to find a horse racing bookmaker yourself, there are third party websites that will do it for you. Sbo.net is a good example of a review platform that assesses the qualities of established and new horse racing betting sites across the net.
A wide selection of sites are linked into here and a full review is available. News updates are also in place and, if readers are happy with the details, it’s possible to sign up with one or more of those sites.
After a brief registration and verification process, new account holders can access a range of welcome offers and promotions. Ongoing deals for existing customers will follow and those sites will also feature a host of deposit and withdrawal options.
Once on board, customers will also be able to stake via a mobile betting app while some sportsbooks provide the option to live stream horse racing for those that have active funds in their account.
It’s an easy answer to those who don’t have the time to carry out their own investigations. If you do want to search on your own, it’s important to remember some key points.
Do your research
There are some additional points to consider when looking for your own horse racing websites. It’s absolutely essential that the site in question is fully licensed and regulated to provide gambling services in your country of origin.
If you are not using a third party review website that can assess these things for you, scroll down to the bottom of the bookmaker’s homepage. Full details of licensing and regulation should be underlined here.
A separate About Us section should go on to underline the security measures that are taken to protect your essential information. If any of these details are missing, it could be a warning sign.
Other questions to consider relate to customer service and funding methods. Can you get in touch easily via a number of contact options? Does the website have deposit and withdrawal choices beyond the regular debit cards?
If you’re not trusting your search to a third party, consider all of these questions and you should be able to find the perfect horse racing betting site to meet your needs.
