Election betting is not new. In fact, Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder gained fame and credibility (which later led to a spot on CBS’ NFL preview show) when, after noting that women did not trust men who wore mustaches, boldly predicted that underdog incumbent President Harry S. Truman would defeat New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey in the race for the Oval Office in 1948. Or so the story goes.

The irony is that Nevada sportsbooks do not accept wagers on elections. The often cited reason is not that, like entertainment award voting such as the Oscars, that someone knows the results of the balloting in advance, but that there is something queasy about mixing gambling and politics.

Yeah, right.

Certainly, most online sportsbooks outside the jurisdiction of the Silver State have little difficulty in posting futures on who will win the next four-year lease at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The process, which should come to a conclusion when delegate-rich states such as California, New York and Florida vote next February, already is underway with 10 Republicans and eight Democrats vying for the prize. Each party field could grow and there also is the possibility for a fusion ticket or an independent candidacy.

Generally, online sportsbooks attack the 2008 election in one of three ways. The simplest way is to post a generic proposition on which party will win the White House. Led by a President with record low approval ratings and saddled with an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, the Republicans are clear underdogs to maintain control in 2008, usually listed as +140 underdogs (bet $100 to win $140). On the other hand, Democrats, with their base more energetic and independent voters tracking in their direction, are quoted as -160 favorites (bet $160 to win $100) to regain control of the Oval Office.

Could someone unaligned with either of the major parties, such as an independent or a third party candidate, win? You can get +5250 on that remote possibility.

Many online sportsbooks also boast separate future books for Democrats and Republicans. Although she voted to authorize the Iraq war, a very unpopular position among party activists, New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton heads the list of Democrats, usually at odds around 4/5. Representing a younger generation, Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the clear second choice at 5/2 with former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, 5/1, and as yet unannounced candidate, former Vice President Al Gore, offered from a low of 4/1 to a high of 10/1. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who widely is viewed as an ideal vice presidential choice, Senators Chris Dodd (CT) and Joe Biden (DE), former Senator Mike Gravel (Alaska) and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, are longshots.

Despite holding liberal to moderate views on many social issues, such as abortion, gay rights and gun control, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is a 7/5 favorite to get the nod of the largely conservative GOP to run for President. Arizona Senator John McCain, who holds an unpopular position on immigration, is the 5/2 second choice with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, whose positions have evolved (his detractors would say “flip-flopped”) is quoted at 4/1 with former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson likely to enter the race in July at about the same odds as Romney.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, would enter the race at about 15/1 should he diced to run, ahead of previously announced candidates such as former Governors Mike Huckabee (AK) and Tommy Thompson WI), Senator Sam Brownback (KS), and Representatives Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo.

Senator Chuck Hagel (NE), 30/1, could enter the race as either a Republican or as an independent.

The third way online sportsbooks offer Presidential election futures is to lump all the candidates together in one massive book. The difference between this type of book and the separate party books is the same as the difference between World Series and pennant futures; more risk but more reward in going for the whole enchilada.

Clinton is the favorite in the big book, usually at about 2/1. Giuliani checks in next at odds of 7/2 with Obama at 4/1, McCain at 6/1, Romney and Gore at 8/1.

As the 2008 election draws nearer, many online sportsbooks will add key Senate, House and Governor races to their wagering menu, providing even more options to election betting.

This article was written by Karol Luca for [http://www.thegreek.com-The] Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com

Sports betting has become a popular way to enjoy your favorite games and make money out of it as well. With the convenience of the internet, it has also become a good means to make money online. Aside from being fun, you can also make money out of it.

If you are a risk taker and you want to take risks to double or triple your money and win big in betting on your favorite sporting events, you can enjoy participating in online sports betting where you can bet online, watch the game and win. However, it is important to consider that you can lose everything in this type of venture and make sure you only bet an amount that you can afford to lose.

In sports betting, you can choose from the many sports that allow betting. Among them are boxing, soccer, football, tennis and horse racing. You can also choose from among your favorite leagues or college teams. These days, with the convenience of the internet, you can also bet online and at the comforts of your own home.

If you want to take this risks but enjoy the fun and the chance to win big, you can learn how to bet on sports whether online or offline but try to check if sports betting is allowed in your area. Remember that there are still a lot of states that consider sports betting illegal, so make sure you are aware of the rules in your area.

If you want to make extra money by betting on sports, here are some tips to help you get started.

Know the rules of sports betting. Although you don’t need to be an expert on the specific type of sports you are betting, it is however important to be familiar with how betting on sports is done. You have to understand the different types of bets and learn your chances in winning big from it.

You may want to bet on the winner, or you may want to bet on the scores of the game, or you may want to bet on the score margin. Indeed, there are different types of bets you can put your money at and win.

If you want to make big money in betting on your favorite sports, you have to understand that it is not just all about luck. There are a few things that you need to consider to increase your chances of making big money. In fact, there are professionals who analyzes the performance of the team and help determine their possible win on the next game. With a good analysis, you can bet wisely on the team that would most likely win. Of course, in sports, there are always teams and individuals who are popular and are favorites to win, but of course, in sports betting, this is also considered so as to have a fair game.

These days, with almost everything done over the internet, you can also bet online and enjoy your game and your winnings even at the comforts of your own home.

The convenience of the internet is not only limited now to sharing information and online shopping, it has also opened a lot of opportunities online such as making good money in betting. Indeed, there are a lot of ways to make money online but if you are an enthusiast of sports betting or the likes, you can learn some online betting tips and make money in betting online.

If you are interested in making money on betting online, here are a few tips to help you minimize risks and become successful in it. The key to be successful in betting and gambling, whether you are doing it online or in offline is to minimize your losses. Indeed, you have to accept that in betting you can lose some and win some, and making your losses at a minimum would be a good way in making money out of it.

Learn everything you can about the rules and how the game is played before putting your money on it. The more you know about the game, the more you can make a successful strategy to be successful in making money in online betting. Whether you are betting on a horse racing, boxing or an online roulette, it is very basic that if you are familiar with the game or the sports, you will get a much better choice of where you will bet.

Only wager an amount that you are willing to lose. One of the important points that you have to keep in mind in betting and in other very risky business like stock trading or forex trading is to wager only the amount that you ware willing to lose. With this, you will be safe from losing everything that you have.

Also one of the most important online betting tips that you have to keep in mind is to always be disciplined. Most people who are successful in these types of moneymaking ventures are those who can discipline themselves especially with regard to betting and especially when they experience a series of losses. Losing is a big part on online betting and gambling in general and you have to learn to control yourself when you lose. Stick to your betting strategy that works and know when to stop especially if you rally need to stop to avoid losing more.

With this, you have to pace yourself as well not to play too fast. Learn to play at a pace that is comfortable with you. This will also allow you to enjoy your money more if you can make bets for quite a time than playing too fast and stopping right then as your cash depletes. A properly paced betting will also help you make good decisions in your betting and allows you to study your bets more for higher likelihood of winning.

Last but not the least of the online betting tips to keep in mind is to enjoy the game, although most of the times online bettors do bet on sports or games that they enjoy watching, so this whole moneymaking venture can be fun as well.

If you like to bet on sporting events the best location to place your bets is with a good online sports betting sportsbook. There are many advantages that you can get from a top rated sports betting sportsbook that are not available anywhere else. For one thing you’ll be able to place your bets whenever you want from the comfort of your own home or any other location where you have an Internet connection. You’ll have an account that is fully secure and you can easily make deposits to your account through a wide variety of methods.

In addition, a sports betting sportsbook will often offer better betting odds and line than you can get form other betting locations. These odds and lines are constantly being up dated and are based on the latest information available. The sports betting sportsbook will have experts available who can give you tips on how to place winning bets and make recommendations to help you decide who to bet on and how much to bet. You’ll have access to all of the latest information about teams and individual players. You can get data like the latest NFL power rankings, or anything you need to know about teams in other sports. This makes it easy for you to place intelligent bets that will dramatically increase your chances of winning.

In other words, with a sports betting sportsbook you get convenience, security, and the best odds and lines available. What more can you ask for? Sign up today and enjoy your betting.

Online boxing betting is easier than ever thanks to a number of online sportsbooks readily accepting wagers on the outcome of fights. With hundreds of reputable sportsbooks taking bets online it has never been easier to make boxing more exciting by wagering on the outcome.

Boxing Betting Markets

Most online sportsbooks, mainly US sportsbooks only allow players to wager on the win market. Although some, such as BetUs, which is a leading US sportsbook will occasionally open up a book in the “over/under” market. This means aside from the predicting a winner you can also bet on whether a fight will make it past a certain distance, usually the 11 1/2 round mark. This particular market can be very profitable, and it is definitely worth searching around for this betting market just for this feature. Although you should take in to account that this market is only available for specific fights, usually only the high profile fights.

If you aren’t from America you will have access to a whole host of other boxing sportsbooks who will offer many more betting markets for opportunistic boxing bettors, including the incredibly popular in-play markets which are available at most European sportsbooks. In addition to the in-play boxing betting market you can also wager on a selection of markets such as;

Round Betting – Betting on when the fight will finish and who will win, such as Arthur Abraham to win in the 7th round.

Grouped Round Betting – Betting on the winning fighter between a selection of rounds. For example Arthur Abraham to win between the 7th and 9th round.

Total Rounds – You can bet on the over/under of a number of rounds taking place. Such as the over/under of a fight going 9.5 rounds.

Fight Outcome – In this mark fight you can bet on the outcome such as a fighter winning by Knockout, Technical Knockout or Disqualification or a fighter winning by Decision, different odds will be offered for each outcome and both will be offered for each fighter. You also have the option of backing the unlikely but certainly possible outcome of a draw in this area.