Official betting is a wager that uses information from a sport’s governing body. It can result in large payouts if placed correctly, and it is legal in some states. In the US, there are a number of different types of official betting. Some of the most popular are money lines, over/unders and run lines. In baseball, bettors can also place a totalizator bet, which is based on the number of innings the game will last.
Bets that take into account a specific game’s outcome must be made before the score is announced to protect the integrity of the game. The NFL prohibits players and team employees from gambling on games that they are involved in. The NHL also bans gambling on its own events, and it prohibits players and those who work for the league from placing wagers on non-NHL events.
The NFL’s policy on gambling also includes a three-year suspension for any player who violates the code by trying to fix a game or event. In addition, the code imposes a life-time ban on anyone who attempts to bribe an official to fix a game.
The battle over official data has become one of the primary fronts in the effort to shape sports betting laws across the country. The fight revolves around the desire by sports leagues to monetize their data, which they want to do via a direct cut of top-of-the-line sports betting handle. That quest has supplanted an earlier proposal referred to as the integrity fee, which sought to charge bookmakers for the use of official data.