Sports betting is quickly being legalized across the United States. It seems like every few months another state has introduced legislation to allow its citizens to bet on professional and college sports events. Some states allow online betting, while others require bettors to bet in person at a sportsbook in a casino or other venue. 

For most of us, sports betting is an entirely new activity. As such, it can be a bit overwhelming to try and navigate. This blog post will lay out the first steps you should take before starting to bet and then provide a list of some of the best places to find odds and predictions for America’s favorite sports. 

First steps 

So, you’re ready to start betting on sports but don’t know where to start. Maybe you’ve been filling out March Madness brackets with buddies since you were a kid and want to make it more exciting, or maybe you’ve had a friendly fantasy football league going at work for a few seasons and done well enough that you think you can actually win some money with real bets. No matter the reason, you’re ready to start betting but need to know what steps to take. 

The first thing to consider is what sport to bet on. Choose a sport that you’re familiar with and know a bit about, otherwise you’re basically just guessing when you place a bet. If you don’t know anything about basketball, don’t bet on it just because March Madness is all anyone is talking about at the moment. 

Next, learn about the odds and types of bets. The simplest bets are just betting on the outcome of a single game. This is a great place for new bettors to start. You can also place accumulator bets, which are composed of multiple single outcome bets and only pay out if each bet is successful. If you’re looking for something a bit more fun, you can also bet on specific events within a game — such as which player will score or how many penalties will be given. 

Once you know what kind of bets you want to place and the sports you want to bet on, set yourself a limit. Gambling of any kind is the most fun when a loss doesn’t have any serious impact on your budget and life. Setting a limit makes sure you don’t cross over into problematic gambling. 

Now all you need to do is find the best odds and predictions. Here are some suggestions: 

World Sports Network 

World Sports Network is one of the best sports betting guides available. It provides odds and information on all the most popular sports in the US, including boxing, UFC, NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA and MLS, as well as college sports and NASCAR. They also have some of the more niche sports such as cricket, esports, darts and international soccer. 

One of the other benefits of using WSN as a betting guide is that it also has detailed state guides. These provide up to date information on the current laws regulating sports betting in each state. It is a good idea to consult these before placing a bet in order to avoid any issues. 

Sportsbooks 

The top sportsbooks are also a great place to find odds and predictions. Obviously, a sportsbook will give you the odds on everything that they allow you to bet on. Being able to get predictions, updates and recaps though is an added benefit. 

In the US, DraftKings and FanDuel are the two biggest sportsbooks. Both started out as fantasy sports betting sites and have recently expanded to allow users to bet on real sports. With their long histories and huge user bases, they have good reputations, so the information that they provide has to be of a high quality as well. 

Odds Shark 

Odds Shark is another betting guide that is a great place for researching the best odds and predictions. Alongside all the major sports, they provide odds and information on many international sports, including international rugby, Asian professional basketball, Korean baseball, cricket and Canadian football. 

Odds Shark also has a series of guides for new bettors that make the process completely straightforward and easy to understand. They have guides on everything from how to make a deposit at an online sportsbook to the different odds and bet types for each sport and how to bet with Bitcoin. 

Betting on sports is a great way to make your favorite sports even more exciting. Finding the best odds and predictions can make the betting process as smooth as possible.