For an outsider, sports betting looks like a very straightforward matter: you bet on an outcome, and you either win or lose. Once you dive into the world of wagers, though, things get a bit complicated. One of the first things you come across when visiting a betting website is pre-match and live betting.
Let’s see what the difference is between the two, and how betting exchanges are different.
Pre-match betting
As its name suggests, “pre-match betting” refers to bets you place before a sporting event. Betting shops list all the events in all the sports they cover, listing every “market” (things you can bet on) long before the actual games start. Pre-match betting for an event is available until the moment the event starts.
Betting shops adjust the odds constantly as the game approaches, taking into account every variable that changes the chances of one outcome or another.
Live betting
Once the event starts, live betting for it becomes available. As its name suggests, live betting (also called in-play or in-game betting) happens during the event. It’s an exciting way to bet: you watch the events unfold, and with them, the likelihood (and the odds) adapt to them in real-time.
In general, the selection of events you can bet on in-play is smaller, but it covers everything from mainstream events to niche sports. The available markets can change during the game, and the odds are constantly updated depending on how the teams or athletes perform.
For example, each time a team scores, the chances of them winning increase, and the payouts for bets on this outcome decrease. Of course, this also works the other way around. And you can place bets with the updated odds at any time.
Many betting outlets also offer live streaming of sporting events in their in-play betting section, which makes the experience even more exciting.
Betting exchange
While their basic concept is the same, betting exchanges offer a different form of betting. Here, players bet against each other, and they can either on a certain outcome or against it.
Bettor A can bet on Manchester City winning a match at specific odds, with a specific amount, and Bettor B can bet against it at the same odds, with the same stake. The exchange is the middleman between them. Betting exchanges offer their users both pre-match and live betting.
Understanding the difference between pre-match and live betting is an important step for beginners. It’s more than just when you place a bet – it’s how you place it, too. Each option offers a unique and exciting experience for sports enthusiasts, with varying odds and markets to explore.
