One of the most exciting forms of sports betting is the so-called proposition bet or prop bet. As we already know, there is no money to be earned from betting – it’s just a fun-time activity, like when you play casino games in Play Kasino, go to a bar with friends, or spend some quality time with your family. However, these bets, if placed right, can prove to be more thrilling than the average ones. So, what are prop bets?
A Special Kind of Bet
Generally, when you bet on sports, you try to figure out who is going to win the match or a race. Prop bets are also known as novelty bets or special bets. They rely on sub-outcomes of a sports event, rather than the usual big questions. For example, in football, instead of betting on who the winner is going to be, you can bet on who scores first, how long the word ‘brave’ is going to linger during the singing of the US national anthem, the result of the coin toss, or even the color of Gatorade that gets dumped on the winning team’s coach. The aforementioned prop bets don’t involve any skill and are basically just gambling for the sake of gambling. What makes it fun is precisely the fact that there is little to no skill involved, so any outcome is plausible. They are great for people who know next to nothing about the sporting event they are following.
Where’s the Skill?
As a matter of fact, there is a subset of prop bets, called skilled prop bets. The only difference from the majority of novelty bets comes in the form of having some knowledge on the subject that allows you to make an educated guess about the outcome. To simplify things, let’s say you are betting on the number of points scored by a player in a game. It may seem random, but if you have seen this player in action and know what kind of season they are having, you can make a bet and it involves the skills of both the player and yourself.
When Did It Start?
Prop betting became popular in the US thanks to the Super Bowl. It is a relatively new form of betting, having some thirty years under its belt. It began as a joke in 1986 to add more betting options for the fans of the game. Pretty soon, prop betting expanded into other sporting events and when online betting became a thing, it hopped on board. Tons of bookmakers online offer prop betting in one form or another, so if you are looking for that extra kick that usually does not revolve around the skills and the knowledge you have of the game, novelty bets may be right for you.