How to place your first bet
Updated: June 5, 2024
Published: May 22, 2024
If you’re new to sports betting, placing your first bet can be a bit confusing. This is where our expert guide on how to place your first online bet comes in. We have outlined and simplified for you the important steps required when you place an online bet for the first time.
This article will equip you with the basic tools and knowledge as you begin your betting journey on any bookmaker of your choice.
Before you place your first bet
You will need to take the following steps before you place your first bet:
1) Be of legal betting age
Bookmakers have very strict rules about underage gambling. In fact, they are obligated by law and the terms of their licence to not allow anyone under the age of 18 access to gambling services.
2) Find a bookmaker
This part can be a bit tricky because there are many bookmakers in Nigeria. Lucky for you, our experts have gone through the hassle of selecting the best betting sites in Nigeria using different metrics to rate and compare them.
You can choose any of the betting sites on our page to begin your journey as a new bettor. Our ratings on the bookmaker comparison page are based on proper research and unbiased assessment of each betting site.
Our experts look at important factors like welcome bonuses, safety and security, availability of mobile apps, ease of use and payment methods. All these factors determine which choice you should make when deciding whether to open a new betting account.
3) Register a betting account
If you have successfully picked your preferred bookmaker, the next step is to open a betting account. You can follow the guide on how to register a new betting account page and sign up within minutes. It’s quite easy and simple really.
Although the registration form may vary in terms of the format and structure, most bookies ask for practically the same details when you are opening a new betting account. The details are your full name, your phone number, email address, date of birth, username and password.
Once you have all these set, just click the join, sign up or register button on the betting site’s home page, fill in the required details and your registration will be completed.
4) Verify your account
Bookmakers are mandated by law to authenticate the identity of each customer. This is why your account must be verified before you can place a bet, unlock bonuses or make withdrawals on your betting account.
Also known as KYC, betting account verification requires more information about you including your government issued ID cards. This will prove that you are above 18 years and that you are not using your betting account to launder money. Please check our article on how to verify your betting account for more information.
5) Fund your account
Before you place your first bet, you need to make a deposit into your betting account. There are different methods through which you can find your account in Nigeria as highlighted in our How to deposit into your betting account article.
The methods, minimum deposit and processing time vary depending on the betting sites. The popular betting deposit methods in Nigeria are bank cards, e-wallets, internet banking, bank transfer and direct bank deposits. Fund your account with any of these options and you will be one step closer to placing your first bet.
Also, please make sure your first deposit is substantial enough to help you unlock a welcome bonus as this will help you access free cash with which you can place your first bet.
6) Place your first bet
After registering and making your first deposit, you can place your first bet. The next step is to find the match or game to bet on. Bookies structure their sites in different ways. You can find the event you want to bet on by clicking the sports section of the page.
When you click it, you will find the sportsbook which houses all the sports, games and competitions featured on the platform. You can select any sports you want from the sportsbook section. For example, if you choose football, you will find a list of the leagues and competitions available.
From there, you just need to do the following:
- Choose the match you want to bet on
- Select the betting market
- Click on the matching odds
- repeat the same process if you are placing an accumulator bet
- Every game you select will be displayed in what is known as bet slip
- Go over your selection again
- Set the amount you would like to wager
- Place your bet
It is important that you check the bet slip before placing your bets in case you want to change the betting market or option that you initially chose. Some bookmakers also have an edit bets feature that allows you to make some changes to your bet slip even after placing the bet.
However, bet slip editing might make your bets ineligible for cash out.
7) Track your bets
You can make use of live betting or live streaming to track your bets and follow the action as it unfolds. You can track your bets by simply going to bet history on your profile. Once bet history opens, click on open bets and you can see if your bets are still on track.
If the games have been concluded, you can also check bet history to see if the outcome is as you predicted. If you won the bet, you will see your winnings on your account balance. You can withdraw from your betting account or use it to place more bets on future
Conclusion
Sports betting is fun and can be highly rewarding. Once you learn the ropes and follow our guide on how to place your first bet, it becomes very easy from there. Make sure to familiarise yourself with how to find the best betting odds as this will help in boosting your potential winning.
Also, remember to bet within your bankroll to avoid any financial problems. Good luck as you begin this thrilling and heart pounding adventure!