Official betting is a type of wager that combines moneyline and point spread bets on the winning team of a particular game. These types of bets are most popular when placing bets on league championship outcomes, such as the World Series or Super Bowl. Often, these bets are made before the season starts, but they can also be placed throughout the course of the season.

During the 1919 World Series, professional gambler Joseph Sullivan paid eight members of the Chicago White Sox (Oscar Felsch, Arnold Gandil, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles Risberg, George Weaver, and Claude Williams) a total of around 10,000 dollars to fix the game. The result was one of the biggest sports scandals in history and the players involved were banned from playing professional baseball for life.

Colorado legalized sports betting in 2019, allowing residents to place bets online and at a variety of physical sportsbooks. However, bets on in-state collegiate games, including player prop bets, are prohibited.

In the United States, there are several different types of horse racing bets. For example, a “winner’s circle” bet calls for picking the first two finishers in exact order; a “quinella” picks the first three finishers in any order; and a “trifecta box” requires picking the first four horses to finish in order. Similarly, there are multiple bets on the winners of dog races and golf tournaments.

Nevada is known as the gambling capital of the United States, and that has extended to sports betting for decades. It was among the first states to legalize sports wagering, launching in 2021 and offering both online and in-person betting sites.