Coming from being one of man’s oldest pastimes, traditional betting on sports is embedded within many Western cultures. Every weekend, Canucks flock to watch football amongst many other sports being played at all levels. Therefore, according to LeafletCasino experts the best football betting sites involve both college and professional sports like NFL, CFL, and NCAA games. But it’s also possible to enjoy betting on a newer sporting niche with the same leagues such as Daily Fantasy Sports. As interest grows in this emerging form of sports betting, it becomes important to distinguish it from traditional betting in order to predict potential outcomes. So, let’s have a closer look at the differences and similarities between them.
Traditional Sports Betting
Over the last 100 years, the premise of betting on sports hasn’t changed much. In general, bets are placed on websites with sportsbooks at the game or betting shops. Professional experts set the odds after analyzing the sport in question while structuring these institutions. For example, setting football odds includes a lot of factors: weather conditions, injuries, home/away games, player performances, and team strength. Depending on the sport, many bets run from simple win/lose to complex multipliers.
An Ancient Form of Entertainment
Sports betting has been going on since some Neanderthals threw down some knucklebones to see who could outrun a Sabre-Toothed Tiger. Since then, it has developed into a multifaceted industry, representing a huge selection of sporting options, with an even greater acceleration rate thanks to the advent of online betting websites like FanDual and DraftKings. One of the outcomes of this evolution is the development of Daily Fantasy Sports.
Spread Within Different Kinds of Sports and Best Betting Sites
Sports lovers find all sorts of bets that cater to their particular preferences. Today’s top sports betting websites cover a wide range of sports and even allow you to place bets on things like TV show endings and political election results. This gives sports bettors more choices than those playing Daily Fantasy Sports games. One of the elements that makes sports betting so enjoyable is the fact that there are so many ways to bet on each sport. Let’s check some popular wagers:
- Point Spread: A bet on the margin of victory as opposed to the final result.
- Moneyline: The simplest and most common bet on which team will win.
- Over/Under (Totals): The bookie sets match score totals and the bettor bets above or below this.
- Parlay: A single bet on multiple outcomes.
- Props: Proposition bets have nothing to do with the final score or the game’s results. They drew on the performance of a single player.
- Futures: A long-term bet. It’s normally placed on a league championship or end-of-season finale outcome.
- Live Bets: A bet that can be placed after the match has begun.
Bettor’s Adversary
Sports bettors tend to think they are betting “on” a sport. But in reality, they are betting against the bookmaker who sets the odds. These are based on the probability of a certain outcome. Essentially, you’re betting on one side to win, whilst the sportsbook takes the opposite view. Considering that it’s the same bookmaker setting the odds and taking the sports bettors’ money, it may be difficult to find any positive-value bets out there.
Particular Outcomes
There’s always been an ongoing debate about the use of luck or skill when it comes to both traditional and Daily Fantasy Sports betting. However, DFS requires more skill. After all, a player is constructing a team rather than relying on the odds decided by a bookmaker. Or relying on chance, for that matter. Even though the traditional sports bettor might have many more types of wagers at his fingertips, he’s just betting on a single outcome hoping that the team will perform well enough to beat other players.
Legality
Because Daily Fantasy Sports utilizes both skill and gambling with real money, there are jurisdictions around the world where these games remain banned due to the young age of their players. Still, most European countries like the UK, Germany, France, and Spain are happy with it. Though it’s legal in Canada, the province of Ontario has imposed draconian measures.
Commissions & Limits
Bookmakers are, first and foremost, businesses. So whenever they set the odds or take a bet, they have already built a commission. It’s called vigorish or vig, a tiny percentage on all bets placed. Generally, a traditional sportsbook will charge about 10% commission from the losing part of the bet.
Daily Fantasy Sports
As the word “daily” in the name suggests, contests take place in a shorter time than most traditional sports. The vast majority of contests are over in a day or even hours. This contrasts with sports like the NFL and CFL, where the results require a whole season. The idea behind daily fantasy sports is to build a team with individual players earning points from their field performance. Online platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel offer players the chance to compete with the opportunity to wager and reap financial rewards.
A Modern Amusement
DFS is a niche of fantasy sports, which goes back to the 1960s with early incarnations of both baseball and football. Fast forward to today, daily fantasy sports is a billion-dollar business with millions of players worldwide. For example, in 2022, DraftKings brought in over C$757 million. Of course, all this has coincided with the increased speed and accessibility of the internet.
Sports & Betting Sites That Accept DFS
In the latter part of the 2000s, when Daily Fantasy Sports was still in its infancy, venture capitalists started to take an interest in this new industry. Ten years later, they were still pumping huge sums to grab market share. The two largest beneficiaries of this investment, FanDuel and DraftKings, received a whopping $110 million between them. With official partnerships with UFC, CFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, both websites have become among the biggest players in the DFS internet gambling marketplace.
Bettor’s Opponents
Many DFS players are tempted to participate in contests, especially when the buy-in is tiny, yet the main prize is huge. However, as the reward comes from the total sum of buy-ins, it means players are facing off against literally tens of thousands of opponents. Furthermore, top players are very, very difficult to beat. For a start, they have accumulated a big enough bankroll to keep playing in many contests. Also, a good player can enter any number of contests with the same team line-up, lowering the chances of success for a novice player.
Lineups Created by Bettors
In Daily Fantasy Sports, you pick a team of players for your chosen sport, and they earn points based on scoring or other quantifiable actions. As such, the better the team players perform, the more points are accumulated. Remember, there are no fixed odds like those in traditional sports betting markets. In addition, even though a player might have invested heavily in making the best team, more skill is needed to predict the outcome once a game begins.
Legitimacy
Daily Fantasy Sports is legal in Canada. However, it’s caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Ontario. Because a player has to curate a team, it’s a game of skill, thus not considered gambling. But because bets are placed on outcomes, it instantly becomes gambling. Sportsbooks that want these games must pay a registration fee of C$100K and a 25% tax on the DFS income. Because of this, DraftKings and FanDual have been discouraged and no longer have a presence in the province. Also, players can only play against others in Ontario, limiting gaming opportunities.
Rake & Limits
The majority of Daily Fantasy Sports games are free to enter. But those offering rewards (and remember, these sometimes go upwards of C$2 million) need the funds to come from somewhere. As a result, all money league events have an entry fee from as little as C$1 up to more than C$800. The DFS sportsbook takes a commission from this, called the “rake.” This fuels prizes after the platform gets its cut. Typically, there aren’t betting limits in place, as players enter as many contests as they can afford.
Final Notes
On a technical level, traditional sports betting and DFS are forms of betting on sports. But there are enough differences to make each one more appealing to a certain type of sports bettor. For example, traditional sports like NFL or football betting are the way to go for those who love high-risk and long-term gaming; this is usually linked to a deep knowledge and understanding of the sports industry. Conversely, Daily Fantasy Sports offers a much more interesting way of betting. It’s not just about predictions but constantly upping your skills whilst having a great time.
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