5Dimes is definitely an excellent sportsbook. However whether you’re casual or serious about sports, you shouldn’t keep ALL your money at one sportsbook for a variety of reasons. Other sites will sometimes offer better lines - why bet something at -110 that you can get at -105. Sites may offer special lines and promos for events like the Superbowl that you’d rather take advantage of, and so on, or they may even offer props or betting lines for an event that 5Dimes doesn’t have.
I’ve got my money at about 10 sportsbooks, however of those 10, I’d recommend these 5 below if you are looking for a new sportsbook.
Bodog: Without a doubt, right up there as the best option to bet for Americans. They often will have the best lines, but also offer tons of unique prop bets and betting on events that others don’t(like American Idol). Bodog are a very trustworthy sportsbook, and are known for their “free money” bets - bets where you can bet up to a maximum of $50 and one outcome is very much definite, meaning you can get a free $50. Bodog also offer a casino and poker room, the latter of which is full of fish and bad players, making it easy to clean up at the tables.
Superbook: The other solid option for Americans. Superbook are always offering lots of special promos and deals, and their lines are comparable with the rest of the industry. The biggest feature of Superbook however is mobile betting - you can bet on your cellphone from wherever you hvae a wireless signal. The interface for this is great, and you have no idea how awesome it is being at a bar, seeing some random hockey game on then being able to bet money on it with a few clicks of your cellphone. Superbook is without a doubt one of the best up and coming books, and the option for mobile betting sees me using them very often.
Pinnacle: Not open to Americans. If you know sports betting, you should know all about Pinny. Their website can be frustrating to navigate, and they don’t offer many special promos. Instead they without a doubt offer the best lines in the online sportsbook industry for the majority of the time. Pinnacle also have a poker room and casino but I must admit I’ve never played on them. The only reason I go to Pinny, and suffer through their frustrating website, is because time and time again I’ll be getting the best bang for my buck, be it UFC, NFL or MLB.
Betfair: Not open to Americans. Betfair is one of the new kids on the block, having only been around a few years. However it has stepped up in the online markets and is now one of the most popular options for UK sports betters. They aren’t a sportsbook in the traditional sense, as they are a trading exchange. So you are actually betting against other punters. Betfair covers every market know to man, and you can bet on pretty much anything and everything here. Most importantly, with the punters basically setting the odds, it means that often you get a lot more vallue than you would at other sportsbooks. You can bet in-play too, and so just because the Patriots are up by two TDs on the Colts doesn’t mean it’s not worth betting - you’ll have that diehard Colts fan who believes his side can win, offering great but ridiculous odds.
Paddy Power: Not open to Americans. Two of the biggest bookmakers in the UK are William Hill and Ladbrokes. Unfortunately, that means that when it comes to online they don’t offer competitive sportsbooks. Enter Paddy Power, who are without a doubt the best traditional UK sportsbook to bet at. They have great lines, great rewards and great bonuses, but where they really excel is their promotional and marketing department. They always have incredible promos that offer the sports better the chance of getting their money back on bets like first/last goalscorer etc. They’re also infamous for paying out on anyone who bet on Stoke to get relegated in the 2008/2009 English Premier League season. After just 3 games, they said “Stoke are useless and will get relegated - we’ll pay everyone right now who bet on them”. Just a bit of fun, and Stoke and the punters had the last laugh as Stoke not only didn’t get relegated, but didn’t even come close to it. As an apology to Stoke fans, their CEOs went and gave away free ice creams on the last day of the season to all Stoke fans.
