Sports betting has been a popular pastime for decades, but with the ever increasing usage of the internet in how people place their sports bets there are more and more things you can place a bet on. 
Football is the most popular sport in the world, and unsurprisingly, is also the most popular sport to place a bet on. There are the obvious things you can bet on a football match, such as a team to win, or a draw. There is a lot more to bet on as well these days, however. You could, for example, place a handicap bet. This would be where if you bet on a team with handicap -1, you would need the team to win by two goals to win the bet. This would be higher odds than if you bet on the team to win straight. You can bet on virtually any sport, but another immensely popular sport to bet on is horse racing. The most obvious bet to place is on a horse to win the race, but an each way bet is also popular. This minimises the risk because it involves two bets – one on the horse to win, and another on the horse to place. A horse places normally if it comes in the top 3 horses in the race, but it depends on how many horses run. So, if a horse finishes second, for example, you will win the each way part of the bet. The each way bet normally pays out at 1/4 or 1/5 of the odds you would get for the horse winning the race. 
Understanding odds is obviously very important when placing a bet. There are two main odds formats to understand. The first is decimal. That means if you bet on a team at odds of 2.00, you will win double your stake. The other odds format is fractional. Odds of 2.00 would be 1/1. The decimal can be converted to a fractional odds by working out the equation and adding 1 (i.e. 1/1=1, +1 =2). There are ways you can bet as well, such as matched and arbitrage betting, which can lock you into a profit.
