Online betting guide: How to open an account online and bet responsibly

'How do I open an account?' is one of the most often queries we receive.

Our goal is to support people who are exploring a new world. While many students find the convenience of placing a bet to be a beneficial advantage, others may find it to be a scary, unwanted complexity. Students using the online form book will find it easy to navigate between resources.

We'll walk you through each step below, pointing out some of the resources available to you, outlining how to navigate, and even sharing some tips from our team of professionals that are especially tailored to online betting.

Creating an account

Numerous online bookies are accessible to customers in the United Kingdom. Among other places, including our free bets page, where many provide user reviews, you can find the best listed. What sports you enjoy betting on or how you find the experience may determine which is best for you. Keep in mind that you can open accounts with any of them; you may discover that having choices helps you get the most out of your investments.

These include well-known high street brands like Coral, Ladbrokes, and William Hill, as well as Paddy Power, which provides both high street and internet experiences. Although Betfair also runs a sportsbook, the most well-known betting exchanges are Betfair, Betdaq, and Matchbook, where you may essentially wager against another client. Meanwhile, two of the largest and most well-known online bookies are situated in the UK and are called Sky Bet and bet365.

Sporting Life and Sky Bet have teamed up to create "Insiders," which gives users access to all of our feature products as well as a Sky Bet account. You can watch racing replays, get access to exclusive deals and bonuses, and make the most of our website by becoming an Insider. Being an Insider will guarantee you'll be first in line to get any new features we roll out in the upcoming months.

Click the 'Join/Log in' button located in the upper-right corner of our homepage to register. After registering, you will be directed to the login page, where you can access Sporting Life. For the time being, click 'Create an account' and input your first and last names to start the registration process. After entering your date of birth (keep in mind that you must be at least 18 years old), you will need to provide your address and email address.

Choose a username next. The guidelines that govern what you can use as your username are explained below the box. After that, you'll need to choose a pin number, which you should keep confidential. Since your username and pin number will be specific to your account, it's critical that you protect them. This should entail updating your pin number on a regular basis. If you have any future worries about the activity on your account, get in touch with Sky Bet right once.

Entering your payment information is the last step. Although making a deposit is not required, you will need funds in your account in order to place a wager. Please take note that as of April 2020, credit cards are no longer permitted as payment methods due to a restriction imposed by the Gambling Commission.

Tools for responsible gaming

Before continuing, it's critical to take into account the responsible gambling resources that all operators are now required to provide to their patrons. The following is Sky Bet's range:

Profit & Loss - You can quickly find out the entire score using this easy-to-use application. Determine the amount of money you have won or lost over a selected time period. How much you're up can surprise you in a good way. However, it's also intended to highlight how depressed you are.

Deposit Limits - You can set a spending limit before placing a wager with this easy-to-use tool. Your deposit limit can be set for a day, a week, or a month. We'll make sure you can't deposit any more money after you've completed that. You are aware of your boundaries. Tell us about them as well.

Cool Off Periods - You may take a break from the action with this easy-to-use gadget. The duration of your break can range from one day to several months. Enough time to immediately cool down. And the greatest way to be is cool, collected, and tranquil.

You can protect people who need it by setting these before you play. Although it's quicker and simpler to wager online than at a physical store, it might also be simpler to lose more money than you can afford. Never doing that is the golden rule of gambling, if there is one.

Contact the National gaming Helpline at 0808 8020 133 or go to begambleaware.org if you ever start to worry about your gaming. GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org offer further assistance and information, and you can self-exclude for a specified amount of time by going to the 'My Account' section and following the easy instructions.

Placing a Bet

Getting to know your preferred bookmaker is crucial, so make sure you become accustomed to their distinctive layouts and signage. With Sky Bet, main sports will be displayed at the top of your screen, while numerous more sports will be located on the left.

With very few exclusions, known as related contingencies, you can wager on any sport, just like in a high street bookmaker. For instance, you can't bet on Lewis Hamilton winning both the F1 Drivers' World Championship and Sports Personality of the Year because they are inextricably intertwined.

But generally speaking, you will see that you may easily put a wide variety of bets by mixing different events. Click on the odds next to the option each time you wish to add it to your virtual betting split. The selection will then show up on the 'My Betting Slip' screen to the right.

Enter your stake in the box if you want to put a single wager, or a simple wager to win. The amount that would be returned if that wager were to win is displayed next to it (subject to any deductions such as Rule 4). Click the green button to put your wager after you've entered your stake. You will be prompted to deposit money before you can place the wager if your account does not have enough money.

Navigate the website and add each pick to the betting slip if your preferred wager requires more than one. Be careful to pick the event or market you want to choose as well as the choices. For example, make sure you're not looking at odds for The Masters if you want to support Rory McIlroy for The Open.

The different kinds of bets that are accessible to you will show up as you proceed. Many of you who are accustomed to selecting a certain betting slip or writing your own instructions in betting shops will recognize these: Heinz and Trixies; Yankees, Super Yankees; Lucky 15, 31, and 63s.

If you're unsure about any of these wagers, Sky Bet offers a helpful guide. Before placing a wager, make sure to verify the total cost. These bets contain several lines or individual bets in addition to accumulators. For instance, the Heinz is a multiple on six picks, resulting in 57 separate bets, hence the name. As you enter your unit stake (i.e. stake per each bet inside multiple), it becomes evident that a £1 Heinz costs £57 in total. The overall cost of the wager will alter if you adjust your unit stake.

Tracking Your Bets

Every bookmaker maintains a thorough log of all of your wagers, including those that have been paid, as well as other account activity like deposits and withdrawals. You can view the status of all bets and, if you'd like, obtain more information by selecting 'My Bets'.

You may also examine the outcomes and returns for bets that have been settled and keep track of active bets, or those that are still open, thanks to this tool.

Cash out

'Cash Out' is one of the more revolutionary developments in online gambling over the past ten years. It enables you to effectively settle a bet early and take whatever is provided for it.

For example, you may decide to accept the offer generated and shown in My Bets if you have a five-fold on the football and all sides are ahead with ten minutes remaining. It will be less than what you would win if your scores stay the same, but you are unaffected by the outcome if you have opted to cash out. In other words, you might have been able to profit from what is effectively a losing wager if you accepted a Cash Out offer even though only four of those sides ended up winning.

It is not necessary for bets to be in a strong position to produce offers for cash out. If something goes wrong or your option changes, you might choose to recoup some of your initial investment. You may be able to reduce your loss by doing this, but keep in mind that you will have effectively sold your ticket if the wager continues to win.

Cash Out is only available in specific markets during specific periods and is not a guaranteed service. 

Taking money out

You can take out all or a portion of your account amount at any moment. Click Manage Payment Methods in My Account to accomplish this. This is where you can add or remove bank cards as needed, as well as choose whether to deposit or withdraw.

With Sky Bet's 'Fast Withdrawals', you might receive the money in a matter of hours, when withdrawals normally take up to five days to reach your bank account. 

Benefits of the internet

We are aware that the betting shop serves as more than just a location to place bets for a large number of our users. For many years, they have served as a gathering spot and a hub, transforming betting from a solitary pastime to a communal one. Since our website can enhance your experience anyway, we're eager to see them open as soon as it's safe to do so.

However, for the time being, the only option available to individuals who do want to wager is to do it online. Therefore, it's critical to understand the benefits it can offer, how to get the most out of your investment, and how to locate a new community that would ideally fill the gap.

Guaranteed Best Odds - Today, the majority of bookmakers guarantee the best odds on horse racing in the UK and Ireland. This implies that you will receive payment at the higher price if you set a wager and your pick ends up winning (or placing) at a higher price. It eliminates any difficulties in choosing between the current price and SP, making it one of the biggest advances in online betting during the past five to ten years.

Choice - In the past, there may have been two, three, or even four local options available to bettors. For example, they may choose to place their racing Lucky 15 at Ladbrokes and then head over to William Hill for a marginally higher price on a golfer. Gambling's version of a postcode lottery determined who could access what pricing, so while there was choice, it was limited.

There isn't any discrimination like that online. Without getting up from your seat, compare pricing and promotions, then place your bet accordingly.

Offers - In terms of the range of options they can provide to a regular customer, betting shops are still lagging behind, despite their efforts to keep up with the growth of online gaming.

Through programs like Sky Bet's Free Bet Club or Paddy Power's Rewards Club, online gamblers can now frequently access free bets. In addition, they have a nearly direct route to trading desks in case they're looking for a price they can't find.

Simply said, the specific odds you can obtain in a betting shop are limited. You have a far higher chance of finding the wager you're looking for online.

Clear Returns - Every time you place a wager online, a figure indicating the potential return on your wager should it win will show up. Although it can occasionally be an estimate, in general it is the exact amount you will win provided everything goes according to plan, less any unanticipated deductions.

Some gamblers prefer to wager on a specific sum being returned. Compared to a betting shop, it's far simpler to do it online, and you're much less likely to have to return to the counter to confirm that the information you were provided is accurate.

Community - The internet provides provide opportunities to interact with people who have similar interests, even though it is very different and will never be able to replace the betting shop for some. We have a racing community group on Facebook, and trainers and jockeys often interact with the fans on Twitter.

Sporting Life: Available to assist

The information above should enable you to wager as you see fit. Keep in mind that this information is intended for people who want to learn more about online betting in general or who are searching for an alternative to the traditional high street bookmaker.

It is crucial that you take into account all of the resources offered for responsible gambling and get additional assistance if your gambling starts to worry you. Websites, phone numbers, and support organizations are mentioned at the bottom of most Sporting Life pieces as well as above.

Naturally, you probably have two main objectives when you bet online: having fun and making money. Although achieving the latter is difficult, there are numerous websites, including ours, that can assist you.

We would suggest that you carefully consider all betting advice, especially if you are required to pay for it.

In addition to being free and unbiased, ours allows you to view a transparent, current tipping history of all the bets that have been suggested since the introduction of our new website in 2016. Links to earlier editions are included at the bottom of each month, and you can find it in our racing and football advice centers.

Practical advice

In order to assist you make the most of your online betting experience, we have finally consulted with a few of the columnists listed above to provide the following guidance.

Be picky - Although it's an ancient guideline, it's a good one. Specialization is crucial since the more events you wager on, the lower your chances of winning in the long run. You can choose, but keep in mind that the bookies must set the prices for each race and event. Choose your favorite events, do your homework, and place your bets appropriately.

Make a decision - This mostly pertains to ante-post wagering. However, the clear benefit of betting online over visiting a store is that it's always available and, in most cases, you can acquire the pricing you want immediately. Consider a horse winning a crucial trial before a major race. Find out what the online bookmakers have selected that horse for the major race if you're impressed. You could get a pleasant surprise.

Look around - Due to the intense competition in the online industry, there are usually a number of deals accessible. Although they are usually boosted around major weekend games and terrestrial TV action, you can find additional spots on a number of handicaps every day. These are usually at odds of 1/5 rather than 1/4, but they can significantly impact your betting.

A simple scan at the Oddschecker grid will provide you a rapid overview of everyone's placing terms, and of course, the chance to check the price itself is still competitive. However, certain companies are more aggressive with this offer and will quickly stand out.

Online SP betting is no longer even available. The Best Odds Guarantee is offered by almost all companies, particularly starting at 9 a.m. on race day. This means that you will be compensated at the SP if the returning price is higher than the one you took.

It's just one more minor element that can assist you tilt the odds in your favor.

Don't ever try to chase your losses - There are risks associated with the speed and accessibility of online betting, most notably the possibility of losing more money than you can afford over an extended period of time.

Using the responsible gambling methods mentioned above is the greatest way to prevent this, but you need also practice self-control. If you have two horses you like and they both lose, then so be it. Other days will come. Instead of hurrying to discover another, don't waste the time you invested in uncovering those choices. Always bet properly and responsibly.

Maintain thorough records of your wagers - It all comes down to the larger picture. However, you can only think in that direction if you stand back and consider how you've been doing over time. See what suits you, but keeping yearly data, sport by sport, is an excellent way to do it. Since most online bookies do it for you, there's really no reason not to.

Safer Gambling

We are steadfast in our advocacy for responsible gaming. We strongly warn readers to only risk what they can afford to lose, and we only recommend bets to those who are at least eighteen years old.

Please visit begambleaware.org or contact the National Gambling Helpline at 0808 8020 133 if you have any concerns about your gambling.

Additional information and help are available at gamblingtherapy.org and GamCare.