Hockey Monkey is a pretty popular name in the world of sports betting. The brainchild of John Carroll, this name has been around since the 1980s and is mostly associated with online betting. But is it all just a scam? Is Hockey Monkey for real?
To find out the truth, we decided to dive in and find out everything there is to know about this mysterious firm. Turns out, there is a lot more to this company than meets the eye.
Table of Contents
Does It Exist Apart From The Internet?
To follow the traditional route, you would have to go through a legitimate hockey team or an online bookmaker to place a bet on ice hockey. If you are looking to place a bet on the sport using a credit card, you would have to search long and hard to find a bookmaker that accepts Mastercard or Visa.
In other words, to place a bet on hockey using traditional methods, you have to go through a third party, which cuts out the thrill of the bet and also implies that there are some bugs in the system. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. Thanks to the ever-evolving world of the internet and the surge in popularity of online sportsbooks, it’s now possible to place bets on your favorite hockey team using the web.
Where Do They Get The Money To Operate Thru?
The first step to finding out whether or not a service is legitimate is to search for its funding. You don’t want to sign up for a service that doesn’t have a sufficient revenue stream to afford all of the necessary overhead, such as rent and payroll. Believe it or not, Hockey Monkey is not owned by some wealthy person or foundation. They actually have a quite the opposite profile.
Based in Delaware, Hockey Monkey was originally funded by individuals who wanted to place bets on the ice hockey world. The company first appeared on the web in the mid-1990s and started taking bets from hockey fans in 1995. Back then, internet access was a lot slower and more expensive than it is now. That meant only a small group of people were able to access the internet and have it perform at near-PC speeds. As a result, the firm exclusively took bets from these ultra-high-speed users.
Over the years, Hockey Monkey has expanded its funding to include advertisements and affiliate marketing, which earns them a fair bit of money every month. According to Statista, affiliate marketing earned $16.83 billion in 2018. That’s up from $12.35 billion in 2017 and $9.12 billion in 2016 – a firmly established market segment.
What Makes This Service Different From The Rest?
Apart from being available for purchase using a credit card, Hockey Monkey offers something that the rest do not: live betting. That is, you can place a bet as it happens, right as the match ends. If you are a live betting enthusiast, you can enjoy betting on the World Cup, Finals, and other major sporting events.
In some cases, you can get odds that are extremely compelling, such as the Super Bowl, which is currently 12/1 with Hockey Monkey.
The main advantage of live betting is that it feels like you are betting on the sport itself, as opposed to just a match or tournament between two teams. Live betting also provides some of the thrill of actually participating in the sport, which many fans greatly enjoy. In the words of Carroll, “We are getting more people signing up for the Hockey Monkey Live Betting service than we have ever had before.”
Can I Make A Larger Profit If I Bet On Hockey?
In general, the short answer is yes. You can make a great deal of money if you are a skilled enough sports bettor. However, you have to follow a specific set of steps to maximize your profit. One of the major downsides of betting on sports is the fact that the winnings never seem to add up. If you follow the right approach, you could walk away with a small fortune, but you have to keep in mind that you are taking a huge risk.
To begin with, you have to be prepared to lose a lot of money. As we mentioned above, there is a wide variety of sports betting ventures, all of which offer compelling odds. So, if you are looking to make a quick buck, you are going to be in for a surprise. Furthermore, you have to take the time to learn how to bet the right way. There are, in fact, numerous books that you can read to get you started. For a more comprehensive guide, take a look at the Master of Sport Management (MSM) degree program at the University of New Hampshire, which is currently ranked 7th in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Another major pitfall of betting on sports is that your winnings are never going to be as good as your losses, no matter how skilled you are. While this may be the case with most types of gambling, it is particularly important to keep in mind when betting on sports. The reason is that you are usually going against the odds, which means your losses usually outnumber your wins. So, even if you walk away with a small fortune, you are still going to come off as a loser in the grand scheme of things.
To avoid these pitfalls, you have to bet responsibly. This means placing smaller bets, being careful with your money, and only betting on games you are certain of winning. The last thing you want to do is bet against the house, which always wins in the end. This is why most sports books have you sign up for an account with them, as they take care of the house odds for you. But, as we mentioned above, this comes with its own set of risks. If you are looking for a legitimate way to bet on sports, then you should consider seeking out an online bookmaker that is accredited by the Joint Association of Tennis-Walking Statisticians (JATW).
What Are The Most Popular Sports To Bet On?
Taking a look at the top 10 sports betting websites according to Statista, we can see that baseball is leading the way in popularity, as it should. After years of television contracts that paid millions to the World Series champion, fans are now able to wager on their favorite team with greater ease than ever before. And, given its popularity, it’s not difficult to find a sports book that offers great odds on World Series games.
While baseball is definitely the preferred sport when it comes to online betting, it is not the only one available. You can also wager on NHL hockey, college football, and nearly every other sport that is played in the United States. It just so happens that the lines for these sports are not always available, so you would have to search long and hard to find them. But, if you are looking to get into sports betting, then you should have no trouble finding sites that offer the lines for the sport you are interested in.
Now, we are not recommending you head over to Hockey Monkey or any other sports betting website just yet. We want to caution you that doing so now might be reckless, considering the advice of Dr. Seuss, who once said, “Betting is much like asking a rabbit to give you advice on how to cook a hamburger.” We don’t want to imply that you should not ever bet on sports; we are just cautioning you that you should probably wait until you grow a beard before doing so.