A sportsbook accepts wagers on sporting events and pays winners an amount that varies based on the odds. It also carries out a variety of administrative duties and develops incentive programs to attract new customers. Growing an online sportsbook can be a daunting task, but using the right tools and systems will make it much less so.

One such system is the OddsMatrix fraud prevention tool, which analyzes a customer’s betting behavior to determine if they are at risk of fraudulent activity. This tool combines several different types of data and uses multiple algorithms to assess a customer’s risk factor and identify potentially fraudulent bets. It has been found to reduce suspicious betting patterns by as much as 30%.

Another tool is the “Have a Game Plan” public service campaign, which has been adopted by several major sports leagues and endorsed by numerous bookmakers. It aims to educate fans and encourage responsible gambling by encouraging players to set limits for themselves. While the campaigns have gained traction, setting limits, at least hard ones, is still a challenge for many people.

A popular type of sports wager is a straight bet, which involves placing a wager on a specific outcome. For example, if you believe the Toronto Raptors will win a basketball game against the Boston Celtics, you can place a straight bet on the team winning. In addition, sportsbooks offer a wide variety of prop bets, which are wagers on non-team-related occurrences such as player performance or specific statistical benchmarks.