Official betting is a legal form of sports gambling that involves placing wagers on real-time events at licensed, state-regulated gaming establishments. These bets are typically made on American football, basketball and baseball games as well as horse racing and ice hockey. Official betting is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, with more states passing laws to allow the activity.
One of the most important features of a good sportsbook is customer support. A reputable site will offer various forms of help for customers, including FAQ articles, live chat and phone support. Depending on the site, some will also provide email support.
Those who wish to bet on baseball games can find a wide variety of betting options online. These include point spreads, money lines and totals bets. In addition, a good sportsbook will offer a number of innovative promotions and marketing strategies to keep its customers coming back for more.
In baseball, it is against the rules for a player, umpire, club or league official or employee to place a bet on any game that they have a duty to officiate in. People who violate this rule can be banned from the sport for life, as was the case with Joseph Sullivan, who paid eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox to fix a World Series match.
MLB recently partnered with DraftKings to become a co-exclusive Official Sports Betting Partner in a multi-year deal. This adds to DraftKings’ US sports sponsorship roster, which includes an authorised gaming operator status with the NFL, NBA and NHL and a daily fantasy sports partnership with the MLB and the PGA TOUR.