Sports betting is a popular market now, and 50% of American adults have bet on sports at least once in their life. However, many biases and false beliefs affect people during betting and gambling. One of the very dangerous cognitive biases in sports betting is confirmation bias.
As a human, it’s natural to look for information that will help us meet the outcome we desire. But this is how people fall victim to this bias. If someone is aware of the confirmation bias, they can make wise and logical decisions as a sports bettor.
Let’s look at how it affects sports betting and why sports bettors should be aware of it for a better winning chance.
Confirmation Bias and its Origin
Many experiments were conducted in the 1960s, and Peter Watson concluded and confirmed the existence of the confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency of humans to look for information and then interpret or remember it in a way that will reaffirm their pre-existing notions or beliefs. Basically, people cherry-pick what they want to believe in.
How Confirmation Bias Affects Sports Betting
Many bettors fall victim to this bias, and it plays a huge role in their betting decisions. People get stuck in their ways and habits of only using certain strategies and naturally tend to gravitate toward the ways or resources they have known to be successful. Even when certain techniques or strategies stop giving successful results, people continue to search for information that will alleviate their doubts.
How to Avoid Confirmation Bias
To outsmart this bias, a sports bettor should ask themselves if the information they’re actively seeking is accurate and if they want to agree with it. They should consider all facts and examine everything with an open mind. Don’t become set on one strategy, and look for online discussions that can guide you.
Using a website like Betting Sites Ranking can help you out. We have compared and ranked the best betting sites for tennis, basketball, hockey, football, and cricket on our website. You can even find the top 10 betting sites in the world. We are able to rank these sites because of our years of experience. You can also find out the best country for betting on our website.
