In official betting, the odds of a bet being placed change in real-time as money is invested on each outcome. This is similar to parimutuel wagering in horse racing and dog races. The more money is placed on a specific outcome, the lower the odds become. This is the opposite of an accumulator bet, in which the odds increase as money is placed on different outcomes.
Betting on your team’s games is legal, as long as you can control the emotions and remove bias. It’s important to start small, and bet on a few teams that you know well before moving on to other teams in the league. Betting on a favorite team can be lucrative if you can keep yourself in check and limit your betting to a reasonable amount.
The NBA banned its players from placing bets on the NBA, its summer league, WNBA, G-League and Basketball Africa League, but players can gamble on other sports if it’s legal where they are. The NBA has also beefed up in-house technology, dedicated security personnel and partnered with sportsbooks and integrity firms to ensure the league can monitor betting markets for any violations.
The NCAA is also concerned about the growing prevalence of sports gambling, which it believes threatens the health and well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of the game. It has begun a series of educational initiatives for student-athletes, and is working with sportsbooks and integrity firms to ensure that it’s monitoring betting activity.