Betting exchanges such as Betfair allow you to lay a bet. So the matched betting principle is the following: you place a back bet with the bookie, and then bet against yourself by laying a bet on Betfair.

Online sports betting has increased dramatically over the past few years. It seems that everywhere you look there is some sort of advertisement for various online sportsbooks, each with their own special offers.

However, with approximately 9,000 betting shops still operating in the United Kingdom, it’s obvious that some people still prefer the somewhat old fashioned way of going into a betting shop and filling out an actual slip.

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What is a Betting Shop?

Even if you’re new to gambling, you more than likely know what a betting shop is. If you do not, here is a brief description.

Basically, a betting shop is somewhere you can legally place a bet in person with a licensed bookmaker. They are often called bookies.

If you are new to gambling, please check out our beginners guide to football betting.

What does a Betting Shop Look Like?

If you’ve never stepped foot inside a betting shop, it may be a daunting prospect. However, it’s not as bad as you may think.

Inside a betting shop, there will usually be horse racing listings pinned to the wall or on noticeboards. There will also be large screen TV’s with up-to-date betting information and live sports, machines (either to play games such as roulette or to find out betting information), tables and chairs to make yourself comfortable, and several different types of betting slip placed in holders all around the shop.

You’ll also see staff members behind a glass or plastic fronted desk, who will be there to take your bets and pay out any winnings you accumulate.

How Do I Place a Football Bet?

Firstly, you need to locate the area of the betting shop dedicated to football. You can either ask a member of staff to point you in the right direction, or look for anything promoting football.

There will usually be posters advertising the latest special offers on the big match, with the football betting slips located somewhere near those.

Once you’ve found where the slips are kept, you just need to select the one(s) that show the bet you want to place. There will be several dedicated slips to choose from, for a wide range of different bets including accumulators, both teams to score, half-time result, and over/under 2.5 goals.

Different betting shops will have different names for their pre-designed slips which may promote the same type of bet. For example, a both teams to score slip may be called “Goals Galore” at one and “Goals Frenzy” at another.

You’ll also find blank slips so you can write out a bet the shop doesn’t have on one of their main slips.

Will the Betting Shop Have Statistics to Help Me Choose Who to Bet On?

Unfortunately, most betting shops don’t provide newspapers or internet access for you to check the latest statistics.

You may be expected to know who you want to back beforehand, or take a newspaper or device with you to check for yourself. Or, you could always pick up the slips in advance and take them with you to fill in at your leisure.

Luckily, because The Footy Tipster is a progressive web app it will work even if the shop has terrible signal.

How Do I Fill Out a Betting Slip?

To place a bet in a betting shop, you will need to fill out a slip but don’t worry because it’s not a complicated procedure.

The set slips will have instructions on them. These will tell you where to put a cross or line to select your betting option, where to mark to select type of bet, and they usually even have boxes to tick to show how much you want to bet.

If you’re filling out a blank slip, you just need to clearly state the bet you want to place, For example:

“Diego Costa to score first and Chelsea to beat Arsenal 2-1 after 90 minutes.”

Staff in the betting shop will give you the odds for your chosen selection, which you can ask them to write on the slip for you, and then all you need to do is write your stake, or amount you want to bet.

Once your slips are filled in, you take them to the cashier and they will place the bet for you, take your money and then hand you a receipt.

Make sure you check the receipt after placing your bet, to ensure it is exactly what you wanted, and be careful not to lose it because you will need it to collect any winnings.

What Do I Do if I Win?

If your bet comes in, you simply need to take your winning slip to the betting shop and the cashier will give you the amount of money you’ve won.

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Surely filling in a betting slip isn’t so difficult that I need a how-to? Think again. It’s not as obvious as it might sound, especially if you’re a newcomer to the gambling game or have only wagered online before.

It’s worth getting your head around betting slips, because if you make a simple mistake, you could end up losing yourself a hell of a lot of money.

What are betting slips?

Betting slips are the paper record of your wager at your local bookie. When you want to make a bet, you need to write all of the relevant information about that bet down as a record for you and the bookie, in case you get lucky.

Each operator will have a different betting slip in their shops. Luckily, most require the same kind of information so they’re not so different that you’ll be lost from shop to shop, but it’s worth being familiar with the differences to save time.

You will usually need to write these key bits of information:

• Describe the variable, e.g. Wayne Rooney to score first;
• The odds offered on the bet;
• Your stake: the amount of money you’re wagering.

Sometimes you will also need to write the name of the event that your bet refers to, such as Nadal vs Murray or Manchester Utd. vs Chelsea.

Betting slips differ from place to place: occasionally they will be pre-printed slips designed for a special event with simple tick boxes, but more often than not they will be generic forms with blank space to fill in yourself.

Check out some examples of different types below:

How to fill one out

If you get given one of those special slips with tick boxes, it’ll be pretty straight forward to place your bet: simply tick the boxes that apply to your wager.

However, things are a bit more complicated if you find yourself faced with a blank one, but don’t worry – we’re here to help.

Different kinds of bets

The first thing to know before writing your slip is what kind of bet it is you’re going to place.

Are you betting on a single event, an each-way result or a combination? Knowing what kind of bet you’re placing is essential for knowing what to write on your slip.

Here are some of the most common types of bets in football:

• Correct score: a single bet on the exact score in a single event;
• Win: a single bet on a win in a single event;
• Place: a single bet that a selection will come in first, second, third, etc.;
• Each-way: a combined bet on two selections, including a win and a tournament place bet;
• Goal or no goal: bet on one, both (GG) or neither teams (NG) to score;
• Handicap bets: when the bookie starts the stronger of two teams at a disadvantage to even the playing field or vice versa, so a team most overcome the handicap to win in this case;
• Multiple bets or accumulators: a series of bets placed on two or more wins, requiring all to win for a return.

Other sports besides football also have specific kinds of bets.

In tennis, for example, there is correct set score to bet on the exact result of sets in the right order, or more specific bets like most breaks and aces over/under. If you bet on horse racing, across the board is a bet on a horse winning, placing and showing, or dead heat, for example, is a bet on a tie between two or more horses.

Writing a horse racing bet

Similarly to a sports bet, you’ll need the following bits of information:

• The name of the horse;
• The racecourse name;
• The time the race is taking place;
• The current odds.

Information like the odds can be found either on the operator’s website or from a screen at the venue, but it’s best to check as close to the moment you submit your bet as possible as they change frequently.

Tip: seasoned bettors draw a large “C” around the odds on the betting slip to show that these are the current odds available at the time of placing the bet. This will be checked by the bookie.

Your stake should also appear on the slip, in the blank space with the rest of the bet information, and at the bottom in the area marked Total stake. A good betting slip will look something like these:

Writing a sports bet

Sports bets are even easier to write, because you don’t need to include information like the location and time of the match or event.

How To Make A Bet In A Bookies

All you have to do is write your wager, so if you think Chelsea will see off West Brom, write Chelsea to beat West Brom accompanied by the odds in a “C” and your stake.

Once the slip is all filled in, all you have to do is hand it in at the counter, give in your stake money, keep your receipt and cross your fingers.

Online or Offline Gambling?

So now you’re wise on how to make a bet at the local bookies, you’ll be wondering why you should go to the effort at all when the process of placing bets online might be more simple. Well, there are pros and cons to both online and offline betting.

Offline betting, however, can bring an added sense of excitement with the atmosphere of the racetrack or the immediacy of placing a bet at the bookies.

Something else to bear in mind is that the bookies are often very helpful and willing to help out newcomers. They can even tell you what to write on your slip if you’re still not sure, but they’re not allowed to write it for you.

Finding a local bookie

If you’ve decided to go for offline betting, you won’t get far unless you know how to find an actual bookmakers shop.

Going online can help with this too because most operators have a built-in Find tool somewhere on the site to help you locate your nearest shop.

Tips

How Do You Place A Bet In A Betting Shop

Once you’ve got your head around the betting slip and which operator to go with, there are a few simple tips worth bearing in mind when it comes to placing your bets:

• Always bet on value bets, where the likelihood of success is greater than the profitability of the bet itself;
• Shop around by checking out your operator’s odds on an odds comparison site;
• Avoid getting into the mentality of chasing losses;
• If you’re in it for the long run, set up a betting fund in a separate account for better budgeting.