If you’re thinking of getting involved in online betting, you may be wanting to find out when the best times to do this is. It may be important to some people to know when the peak times for betting are. For example, some people like to get involved in betting when there is a huge swell of people online with odds prices moving rapidly, whereas others like to make sure they’re able to navigate a site without the odds on their favoured events moving around too much. What are considered to be the peak times for online betting, both sports bets and online gaming wagers?
We’re going to take a look into the busiest times of the online betting scene and find out what is considered to be the best time for placing bets depending on what you want to get out of them. Many people like to wait and find out about the previews on the next day’s events the night before, some like to wait until teams are announced, others like to bet in advance taking advantage of the higher uncertainty that can result in better odds.
Ideal Time To Place A Bet
We’re going to use horse racing as an example when it comes to sports betting peak times. Many horse racing events occur on Saturdays, which is why many punters like to look at previews for all the big races the day before. Preferably the evening beforehand. And while 5pm the day before a race is a good time for an online preview site to publish its various takes on the different races and matches coming up, it can’t be considered as the best time for placing a wager.
It used to be the case that a Saturday morning was the ideal time to go ahead and have a punt. That was the case back in the golden days of what was known as the Pricewise guarantee. He was a tipster who was famed for his amazing record of picking winners. Yet the dawn of the internet and online betting pretty much cancelled that out. Therefore, you don’t get very much from being wide awake and keen to place a bet at 8:30am on a Saturday morning today.
Instead, it seems that the online world likes to do things at a bit of a later hour, with the best time for placing bets being mid-morning on Saturday. By that time, the markets have settled down and best odds guarantees and no runner no bet is in place by default for racing, the tipsters have usually always had their say on the different runners at horse races, players at football matches and so on. At this time, there is generally good betting opportunities with more markets often available closer to the event, especially enhanced odds and other specials.
Many people would consider the best time to place a wager as being as soon as the different prices are provided from sportsbooks. Of course, that is quite an unrealistic thing to go on though, because not everybody is available when this occurs. Those restrictions mean that its not possible for this to be the case. With this being the case, it would be much more ideal to wait around for the last 15 minutes of trading before a race or other event takes place.
If this is the case, then can it be said that that mid-morning slot on Saturday is working out and it is operating as the peak time for sports betting activity?
Events Spark Rushes Of Activity
You don’t need to be a genius to know that with different large sporting events, there would be different surges of interest. Placing a wager on a standard Premier League game isn’t quite as inviting for a mass of people as placing a wager on a World Cup match, for example. That’s why when the big events come around, sportsbooks are without a doubt likely to experience much more activity.
Yet there is nothing that says a platform will be busier at time A when compared to time B. That being said, you can easily judge when a book is likely to be more or less active and then select your preferred times for visiting such as you go. Faster and slower times for these platforms are usually quite logical as well, so it isn’t difficult to remember when to attend and when it’s going to benefit you to stay away from a site.
If a bunch of sports events, like the aforementioned World Cup or Grand National and so on, are taking place, then it is going to be busier at an online sportsbook as a result. Yet the truth of the matter is that regardless of this, it is difficult to tell when exactly the busiest times of a sportsbook are. Sports are, after all, an international business, and not all sports attract as many bettors as others. Popular events such as football, American football and tennis may bring in throngs of people, but others like MMA or cycling may not be quite as attractive to bettors.
That being said, if the NFL season is in effect or if the European Championship of football is playing out, then there is little doubt that business will pick up for bookies. What are the busiest events of the sporting year? Well, you can probably experience heightened levels of activity at sportsbooks when the following events are taking place:
- NFL Championship
- March Madness
- World Cup
- Wimbledon
- European Championship
- Grand National
- Cheltenham Festival
- Rugby World Cup
- ICC Cricket World Cup
- Tour de France
- Summer and Winter Olympics
Times of Day For Peak Activity
It would seem more appropriate where placing bets on sports are concerned to consider the odds on hand. By this we mean would the odds be dramatically different on an event when they’re first listed in comparison to half an hour before the event in question takes place? Well, in some instances, yes. The sports and events that we have listed above will generally experience large numbers of people wanting to place wagers on them. And the more people wagering on them, the more that the bookmakers will want to ensure they are receiving their fair share of profit. This can make the odds differ and leave some bettors out in the cold when compared with others who have placed earlier wagers.
However, even though this is the case, the likelihood is that betting activity at sportsbooks becomes heightened in the evenings during the week. This is because a large portion of those partaking in betting will work from, on average, 9 while 5 during the week. Therefore, they must then get home from work, settle down and then perhaps they’ll engage in some sports betting at around 6:30pm to 7pm or later.
And with the online world, live betting has become much more popular with punters, as it allows wagers to be placed right the way through the event in question. Therefore, it is also likely that when a game is playing out, more bettors will be visiting their favoured online sportsbook to track how things are going and potentially place a wager based on the results so far. This is especially true when it comes to the big events, such as the aforementioned World Cup or Tour de France. Not only can bettors watch the events unfold but can react bet-wise to the outcome occurring on-screen as well.
Therefore, if you want to get involved when many others are doing so, you only need to visit a bookmaker when a big sporting event is taking place. See how many people are watching when the Grand National takes place, for example. Without a doubt, there will be plenty of people who have already backed their favourite riders, and others who will scramble to their chosen bookie on Saturday to do so. It all generally depends upon when bettors believe they will be able to benefit from the best odds. And it is common for UK bookmakers to offer gamblers the chance to live stream the races if they’re betting on them. That’s an extra attraction to take advantage of on race day, increasing the busy factor of a platform.
Live betting is so popular due to its convenience. You aren’t required to travel to a land-based bookmaker to engage in it, which cancels out any issue of waiting in queues to place your favoured wager. Furthermore, it serves as an easier way for newcomers to get the hang of sports betting, due to the fact that the information they need is right there in front of them to learn from. Plus, there is the option of using the cash out function if you feel that the event is not going the way you had hoped. All of these factors have drawn punters to live betting on their favourite events and, as a result, have increased the busyness of those sites at specific times.
Weekends will also be different in comparison to weekdays, because it is usually the case that not as many people have to deal with work on Saturdays and Sundays. This means that there is more freedom to access sports betting during the day. Of course, many sporting events actually take place at the weekend, meaning that both pre-match wagering and in-play betting will increase activity at the sites.
What About Casino Gaming?
Sports betting and casino gameplay are two different entities, with each bringing its own appeal. There really isn’t a right or wrong time to engage in casino gaming, because this is different from individual to individual. Yet the peak times for online slots for example are between 20:00 and 02:00. Regardless of which, you won’t have to specifically place your casino game bets at any given time because, unlike sporting events, they are available to wager on on a 24/7 basis. Sporting events take place at specific times and wagering on these games must be done before or during gameplay (if live betting is provided on such). This means that the casino games are much more readily accessible.
Many people say that the best times to play online slots is later on in the evening because there are more people accessing them and therefore there is more chance for a massive jackpot to be won by someone, which could be you. That’s not technically how it works, though. Random number generators (RNGs) are included in slot machines and other casino games to ensure they provide 100% fair results to gamers. Therefore, while it may seem more likely that the number of people betting on them would produce better results, it isn’t likely to actually have that sort of effect.
Yet most people will still engage in casino game betting in the evening after finishing work. Obviously, once again, most people tend to work throughout the daytime and then when they want to relax in the evening, they may turn to sports betting or casino gaming. The difference is that the slot game they have played frequently enough for the past two years will always be there. That sporting event is due to take place at 7:30pm and then once it’s done with, it’s done with. Again, this basically happens because casino games are much more present and accessible, whereas sports occur at set times, and therefore have set time limits for bets to be placed on them.
One thing to point out regarding casino gaming is in relation to live casino games. These options have set spaces at the tables for players to fill. If you’re intending to play live roulette or blackjack for example, then you may want to visit at a less-busy time. This way, you present yourself with a higher chance of managing to sit at a table and play the game in question. More traffic means that there is less chance of being able to sit down.
