Competitive events have been around as long as time. This eventually turned into organized sports and sporting events. It is safe to say that wagering on the outcome of these competitive events has been around just as long.

The birth of the Internet has been traced back to 1989. Later in the 1990’s, advanced technology coupled with proprietary software solutions gave rise to the first online sportsbooks. Many of these sites were owned and operated in specific offshore countries due to their favorable laws governing the regulation of online gambling.

Costa Rica remains one of today’s hot spots for offshore sportsbooks. Top-rated books such as 1Vice.ag continue to control a sizable portion of the US sports betting industry through the use of an online betting platform with mobile capabilities. This means that anyone with a computer or mobile device can go online to place bets on their favorite sports and sporting events.

These online books have been able to maintain their edge against increased competition for a number of different reasons. At the top of the list is the high level of experience they bring to the table. This goes hand-in-hand with the necessary level of expertise covering every form of online gambling software solutions.

The top-rated online sportsbooks in today’s marketplace have developed a keen understanding of what US players are looking for. They have also taken a global approach to the products and services they offer to operate on a worldwide basis.

This starts with an expanded betting board that covers a wide variety of sports betting options. The NFL for football and the NBA for basketball are still the biggest draw along with MLB and NHL games. However, online books expand their coverage to international leagues for soccer, basketball, baseball and hockey as well.

The betting board at online books is not only expanded with different sports and sporting events, it is also filled with any number of different betting options. Straight bets on a game’s point spread, total line and money line still account for much of a book’s betting handle.

Yet, betting options such as exotics, futures, props and live in-game wagers continue to grow in popularity to expand a book’s betting volume.

Another way that online books separate themselves from the competition is through a very generous lineup of promotional offers. Bonuses matching account deposits is one of the most common incentives for new accounts. However, more and more online books are offering bonuses on every deposit a bettor makes into their online account.

Customer loyalty is also being rewarded through special programs. Players can earn valuable points for all of their online betting activity. These points can be saved and then redeemed for free bet credit and other valuable perks.

Existing players can also earned betting credit through an ongoing referral program for new accounts. This type of incentive is usually tied to their referral’s online betting activity.

Another value-added promotion that is part of the lineup covers special contests for certain major betting events. This includes the NFL’s Super Bowl, college basketball’s March Madness and the NBA Playoffs.

Funding and online sportsbook account and making withdrawals has been simplified through the use of Bitcoin and certain other digital currencies. This is the fastest, safest and most decreet way to move money in and out of an online sportsbook betting account.