When a sportsbook offers official betting, it is referring to wagers placed on the outcome of an event using stats and other data provided by the official sports league. This type of wagering is a legal alternative to placing bets without official data and can result in a higher payout for winning bettors.

The odds on futures bets are set prior to an event and can vary depending on the popularity of a specific bet or team. These bets are more popular than traditional straight bets, as they offer much larger potential payouts. Examples of a futures bet include betting on a team to win the World Series, a player to win the championship at a particular tournament or an over/under total (i.e., will the Brooklyn Nets win 57.5 games this season or Cooper Kupp will catch over 90.5 passes).

Live betting is a popular option at most sportsbooks and can be especially helpful for baseball fans, as there are so many half-inning breaks and pitching-change pauses in each game. However, it is important to remember that this type of wagering can sometimes lead to bad habits, such as making bets based on a single play or a few plays in a game rather than looking at a team’s entire body of work.

The Ohio legislature, which meets only every other year, passed a sports betting bill in May, but the state Senate did not take up the issue before the deadline to pass legislation that would have allowed sportsbooks to begin operations. The law will not be considered again until 2023.