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Online Betting Vs. Offline Betting

If you're a steadfast land-based bettor yet to try out gambling online, you don't know what you're missing. Today's online bookies and casinos don't just replicate the offline experience of betting for real money. They enhance it and bring you even more ways to make your bankroll and your £ go further.

Discover the main benefits of online betting versus land-based bookies
Learn why you could be missing out on free cash by betting offline
Find out how betting on your smartphone or mobile tablet differs

Online Betting: The Rise & Rise Of Internet Gambling

For some UK bettors, visiting a bookmaker in person is the only way they've ever placed a real money sports wager. But bookies have been taking bets online for over two decades and the biggest land-based ones also have a thriving online following too.

But while the practice of betting online for real money is over 20 years old, the industry has undergone a ton of changes in that time. In fact, where the internet is concerned, nothing stays the same for long. Particularly when it comes to online betting.

Alongside the established bookmakers, whose names Brits will recognise from the streets, comes a new breed of online-only sportsbooks. All offering UK bettors their own odds on today's top sports events, both in the UK and worldwide, exclusively online.

Betting Online Is More Convenient

If you want to visit a land based bookmaker in 2024, you have to put on your shoes, grab your keys and wallet, and take the short stroll down the street to where your local bookmaker is located. That's if you're lucky enough to have one within walking distance at all. All in all the process could take you half an hour or more.

With an online bookmaker, you don't have to jump through the same hoops. Once you have a registered betting account you can log in from your home laptop or computer anytime you like. Even if the urge to bet strikes at 3am when you're unable to sleep, there's no need to get dressed or even leave the house!

It's Safer Than Ever

Historically bettors preferred the personal approach of visiting a bookies face to face because they worried about their security online. With threats of account hacks and identity theft, old school Brits just felt safer doing things the old fashioned way.

Nowadays however, Internet security is no longer a concern. The online gambling industry has been regulated by the UK Gambling commission in Britain since 2005. And it's now illegal for a betting site to operate on UK cyber turf without a licence . So, you can rest assured you are safer than ever before in Britain.

Plus, it's easy to identify a site that has its users safety front of mind. Just look out for these tell tale security features:

A HTTPS URL - The 'S' is an indicator that a site uses secure socket layer (SSL) encryption.
The Padlock Symbol - A padlocked web address is a sign the site is secure to handle data and real money transactions.
A Gambling Commission Logo - If a bookmaker is endorsed by this governing body it means it's approved to operate in the UK.

Online Bookies Offer Free Bonuses

You may have seen bookmakers advertising the fact you can collect a free bet at their site. These TV ads are commonplace in the UK in 2024, and so are the deals you can find at today's sportsbooks online.

Offers such as free bets are a common feature at Internet gambling sites. They're a marketing tool that bookies use to attract new members to open up an account. Sometimes they offer up the free bet just for joining, while other times it's necessary to place a real money wager of the same value first. Either way, it's an extra way to boost your bankroll with real cash. Something that, to this day, remains notably absent at land-based bookmakers in Britain.

You Can Find Better Odds

Where land based bookies tend to have the monopoly over a certain turf, with the Internet the options for sports betting online are far-reaching. That's because, like for like, online bookies are facing a ton more competition for business than their land-based cousins. So much so, that the race to sign-up more British bettors online is driving bookies to advertise more competitive odds than the high street can afford to offer.

So where offline bettors are restricted to taking whatever odds their bookmaker is offering without question, those of you who bet online can open more than one betting account simultaneously. And enjoy finding the odds that offer them the best return on their wager.

The Perks Of Online Betting

Curious about online betting, but don't want to read all of the above? No worries. We've summarised the main reasons why betting online offers British sports gamblers the upper hand over land-based bookies.

You can do it from anywhere
You can access better odds
You can bet at more than one bookie
You can gamble anytime, day or night
You don't have to get dressed
You don't have to leave the house
You can collect a free bet bonus
Your winnings pay out quickly
It's easy to make a bet
It's 100% safe and secure

Gambling From Your Mobile

Another thing you can't do at a land-based bookies is make a bet using your mobile phone. But all over the UK that's what hundreds of Brits are doing each and every day.

Using your mobile tablet or smartphone to conduct your online sports bets isn't only convenient, it's clever too! No more waiting around until you get home, with a mobile betting account you can place wagers from wherever you have 4G or Wi-Fi. Even placing in-play or live bets while a game's already in action.

Much easier than nipping back and forth to the bookmaker every time you want to predict the next goal scorer.