1. Register with a bookmaker
To be able to place sports bets online, you must of course first register with a bookmaker. A bookmaker – i.e. a sports betting site – is an institution where you can bet money on sporting events. There are several bookmakers in the Netherlands today, all of which are licensed by the Dutch Gaming Authority (the state body that regulates online games). There’s the traditional TOTO, but also Bet365 and BetCity, all of which have their qualities and flaws. Once you have chosen the bookmaker that suits you best (see our list of the best gambling sites), go to the official website and click on the “Register” button. You will then be presented with a registration form to fill in and provide the requested documents. For more information on this subject, go to our files dedicated to each bookmaker.
2. Depositing money into your player account
Once you’ve opened and activated your player account with your chosen bookmaker, the next step is to deposit money into it. After all, you can’t bet without money. To do this, go to the section of the site dedicated to depositing money, often referred to as “Deposit”, and located in the menu right next to your account. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be presented with a page listing various payment methods, such as credit card or iDEAL. Choose your payment method, choose the amount you wish to deposit and then confirm the transaction (similar to placing an order online). Once this step is completed, the money you’re going to bet with the bookmaker is in your account.
3. Choose your sporting event
Now that you have credit in your account, you can place your sports bets. To do this, the first step is obviously to find the event you want to bet on from the selection. It’s easy: first select the sport (e.g. football), the country (e.g. Netherlands) and then the league (e.g. Eredivisie) from the drop-down menu. A new page will open with all the corresponding events (e.g. all the Eredivisie matches of the day). Then click on the match you are interested in (e.g. PSV – FC Groningen).
4. Choose the bet you want to place
Once you get to the match page, you’ll see the different markets you can bet on. At the top of the list, assuming you want to bet on football, you’ll find classic options like “Which team will win?”, “Double chance?” or “How many goals will be scored?” lined up alongside more specific options like “Which player will score?”. Find the bet you are interested in and then click on the corresponding odds to select it. For the record, your potential profit is equal to that odds multiplied by the amount of your stake (odds x stake = profit). Always good to know before you choose your bet.
Quotations
Quotations (odds) are an essential element of sports betting. Quotations are numerical indicators which are linked to a particular bet (e.g. Ajax wins against Heracles) and which – when multiplied by the stake – determine the potential profit of the bet.