Official betting is a term used to describe wagers placed on sports events that have been approved by a sports league. These wagers are typically available through sportsbooks or online. They can be placed on a variety of sports, including soccer (European football), horse racing, Formula 1 and tennis. Some bets are limited to individual teams, while others cover the entire league.
The number of wagers placed on events varies throughout the year. Peak periods occur during major sporting events and holidays, as well as when certain sports are in season. In general, sportsbooks pay out winning bets when the event is over, or if the game hasn’t finished, when it has been played long enough to be considered an official result.
As betting on sports has grown in popularity, governing bodies have worked to ensure that fans can place responsible wagers. This has involved beefing up in-house technology, deploying security personnel and partnering with integrity firms to monitor activity.
For example, when an NFL player or a regular fan logs into their sportsbook app, their location is immediately transmitted to an integrity dashboard. This allows analysts to quickly identify any potential violations up to and including point-shaving and game-fixing.
Earlier this year, DraftKings and FanDuel became co-official NBA partners. This gave them expansive rights to integrate NBA content on their sports betting and daily fantasy sports platforms. This also applies to their Canadian operations, which will be launched later this year.