Official betting is where a wager is placed on the official result of an event. This includes decisions that are not a technical knockout or disqualification. It also includes events such as a boxer retiring or losing the fight.
In football markets, bets are settled based on the official results from the governing body for the competition the teams are playing in. This can include any points dedications that may be made at the start of a season. Any match that is postponed will see all bets void unless it is rescheduled within 24 hours. If a game is abandoned, bets will stand if they have been placed before the abandonment (except for goalscorer and outright/tournament winner markets).
When placing a wager on a team or individual player, you can choose either to back them to win, or to lay them. The team or player that is considered to be the favorite will have a minus symbol (-) in front of their odds, while the underdog has a plus symbol (+) in front of them.
The most famous example of an official bribery in sports history was the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, in which Joseph Sullivan paid eight members of the Chicago White Sox to fix the World Series. Players who engage in official bribery are permanently banned from professional baseball. Individuals who work in a capacity for a national baseball or softball team cannot bet on Major League Baseball games, but they can bet on WBSC-sanctioned Olympic baseball and softball events.
