Updated on: November 25th, 2024
The best NFL betting sites provide a variety of lines throughout the regular season. So, you can trust that NFL online betting is not limited to the old point spread.
If you would like to find out more about wagering on NFL football games at online sports betting sites, you have come to the right place. Below we go through all you need to know about the topic.
We also list all our favorite NFL sports betting websites so you get the most out of your betting slip should you win. To explore unique NFL betting options, visit our pages dedicated to NFL Prop Bets and NFL Parlay Betting.
Top NFL Football Online Betting Sportsbooks
How We Rank the Best NFL Betting Apps & Sites
We conduct thorough reviews and exclusively endorse premier sportsbooks within the legal realm. These platforms must also adhere to responsible gambling practices and enforce user-defined betting limits.
We examine the functionality of both web and app versions across various platforms and the overall user experience. We meticulously scrutinize crucial features, including the comparative analysis of bets, odds, and promotions and the accessibility and efficacy of customer support.
How to choose the best NFL betting sites
The Legality of NFL Betting in the US
Betting on NFL games is legal in states where sports betting is regulated. In these states, you can bet on all games with various wagering options.
How to Bet NFL Games
1. Choose an NFL Betting Platform
Explore the provided list of legal online sportsbooks, accompanied by details about new customer promotions. If you find an option that suits you, click the “Play Now” button to commence. For betting, you must be in a state where sports betting is lawful. Requirements pertaining to age and eligibility apply, and these conditions might differ based on the market.
2. Register at an Online Sportsbook
Navigate through the registration process. To make bets, having an account with the sportsbook is essential. You can easily follow the instructions to create one. Furnish fundamental information to validate your identity, including your name, address, birth date, and Social Security number. If there’s a promotional or bonus code, ensure its accurate entry before finalizing the process.
3. Redeem the Bonus and Make a Deposit
Fund your account by making a deposit. The cashier functionality will guide you through this procedure. In many instances, the welcome bonus will trigger upon a successful deposit.
4. Download the Sportsbook App
The app can be a valuable tool if you complete the registration via your computer and intend to place bets using a mobile device. Moreover, if you’re betting via mobile, activate geolocation to enable the sportsbook’s confirmation of your presence within legal betting areas.
5. Understanding NFL Odds
Determine your desired bet. Discover the NFL odds on the sportsbook’s website or app and peruse the available choices. If a specific bet captures your interest, select the odds to include the wager on your betting slip.
6. Placing Your Wager
Put forth your bet. After adding the chosen bet to your slip, indicate the amount you wish to wager, verify the accuracy of all details, and click to finalize the wager. Following placement, you can track its progress in your account’s “open bets” section.
Popular Types of NFL Betting Options
You can get in on the NFL betting action in many ways. Some of the most popular lines at the best sports betting sites include the following:
Moneyline Bets
Also known as win betting, this wager focuses on predicting who will win a match. Sometimes, finding good profit margins in these bets can be hard if a match features a big favorite and an underdog.
However, many beginner sports bettors often want to start with these bets because betting options are the easiest to understand.
NFL Betting Spreads
This bet will level the playing field between the favorite and the underdog. A number that is predetermined by the sportsbook is added to the underdog’s final score, and that same number is subtracted from the favorite’s final score.
Bets on the underdog payout in both win-or-lose situations as long as it is below the predicted score difference. The favorite needs to win by a certain number of points for bets to payout. Often, you win more cash on spreads than on moneylines.
Totals
A total bet is also known as an Over/Under bet. With this bet, you wager on whether the final total score of the game between two teams will come in below or above the sportsbook’s line. Many believe that totals are by far the easiest bets to get correct.
Some of the most popular over-under bets placed during the NFL season is the Win Totals variant. At the beginning of the season, you can bet on whether a team will go over or come under a certain number of wins.
NFL Prop Bets
Props are event-based bets. Those zany bets involving betting whether Bill Belichick will wear a suit at the Super Bowl are prop bets. The game’s outcome has no bearing on the success of a prop bet.
There are two types of prop bets: skilled and fun bets. Skill bets focus on a measurable attribute that you can research. For example, you can bet whether Odell Beckham Jr. will score a touchdown. Fun bets are those wagers that involve betting on elements you cannot predict.
Parlays
Parlays are the wagers that betting websites make the most money on. To place a parlay, you must fill a betting slip with the number of bets. It can be a combination of spreads, moneylines, totals, etc.
All predictions on the slip need to be correct to win the best. Including so many variables on a single slip increases the odds against you, meaning bigger payouts. However, these bets are extremely hard to win, so we only recommend strictly using the betting option for entertainment.
Teasers
A teaser is similar to a parlay, except you are given points to adjust the spread. This reduces the risk of a parlay bet. This means you can perhaps get one or two of your selections wrong and still win a payout.
Teasers feature higher odds than normal bets but lower than that of parlays. However, we don’t recommend focusing your bankroll on these types of bets.
NFL Betting Futures
As far as NFL betting goes, we think futures are the most fun to place. They’re like putting your money in a long-term deposit bank account. You place a bet on an event that is due to take place in the future, for example, the winner of the Super Bowl or season MVP at the start of the season. Then you wait to see if you are right.
These bets are difficult to get right, so they offer high odds. Even a small bet could yield great returns. We don’t recommend placing too many futures, but one or two on different league outcomes is always great.
How to Read NFL Betting Odds
If you are going to make NFL bet predictions, you need to know how to read the odds. Luckily, it’s all very easy to do, so you’ll soon be wagering.
The first thing you have got to know is that there are three different types of odds formats. American, decimal, and fractional. Most of our betting sites use American odds, which we explain below. (However, to learn more about the others, visit our Odds guide.)
So, when you visit a sportsbook, you’ll see a load of NFL betting lines that look like this:
New England Patriots -145
Seattle Seahawks +130
In this line, the Patriots are the favorites, whereas the Seahawks are the underdogs. You can calculate how much you could win on a bet on either team by looking at the number and sign (plus or minus) next to the name.
For example, a bet on the Patriots will yield $100 from a $145 bet. However, a $100 bet on the Seahawks will yield a $130. We can calculate this by using the following formulas:
- Positive – Odds x (Stake/100)
- Negative – (100/Odds) x Stake
You need to shop around for odds before placing a bet. You never know which online NFL betting sites may surprise you with a good line.
NFL Picks: NFL Betting Tips & Strategies
Every avid football bettor is looking to build a successful NFL betting model to ensure that they win the most wins possible. While we still haven’t been able to emulate the success of Bill Benter and his horse racing algorithm, we still have some tips that help you get more wins.
- Look for line movements at NFL football betting sites. This way, you perhaps can make more money on a wager if the line moves in your favor. For example, sportsbooks first pegged the Los Angeles Rams as favorites in Super Bowl LIII. Public betting trends saw the New England Patriots rebranded as favorites a few hours later. The reason is simple; you don’t bet against the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
- You should look at overall patterns and stats regarding bets on the NFL. You will find helpful titbits that make predictions easier. For example, did you know that 30% of all matches are decided with a margin between three and seven points? You could find all sorts of statistics like this.
- Read prediction blogs and NFL betting Reddit threads. You will better understand how others think a game will go and why they think that. This helps get you to think about your selection critically. Did you consider the points that influenced the decision of the blogger or Reddit user?
- Try to take advantage of specials placed on NFL playoff betting lines. Sportsbooks run specials during that time because more people place bets on those games. So you can make more money or extend your bankroll.
Fading the Public: NFL Betting Trends Explained
Betting against the public (also known as fading the public) is one of the most popular NFL betting strategies. How it works is that you have a look at public betting trends for an upcoming game. Then, bet against the outcome the public has favored.
This strategy is usually reserved for big games like the playoffs or Super Bowl. As mentioned above, more people tend to bet on these games, which usually means more inexperienced bettors screwing around with the line.
People who aren’t avid sports bettors tend to bet based on a gut feeling rather than on factual information. So they are more likely to make bad bets.
This strategy used to be very good, but it is debatable whether it still works with more normalized sports betting. However, if you want to learn more about betting against the public in the NFL, read our dedicated guide.
NFL Live Betting
Live bets are wagers placed on games that are taking place in real-time. Odds are adjusted according to the events taking place in the match. So, for example, let’s say the Baltimore Ravens have a 14-point over the Cleveland Browns in the first quarter of the match. The odds will heavily favor the Ravens to win the game during this time.
But let’s say the Browns’ head coach (a position akin to being Spinal Tap’s drummer) gives the team a great speech at halftime, and the team brings it back in the third quarter. Odds will be readjusted to reflect the situation. This means that bets placed on the Browns at this point will payout less.
All-in-all, live betting just provides you with another chance to make money. You can place various live bets, including moneylines, props, totals, etc.
With regard to live betting, we urge you to engage in responsible gaming, especially if you are using an NFL gambling app. It is very easy to lose a lot of money in a very short time with live bets. So, while there are some great opportunities, don’t let this be the beginning of your gambling problem either.
Super Bowl Betting
Outside the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League finals, the Super Bowl is the most bet on sporting event in the world. Every year, an estimated 4 billion dollars in bets are placed on this single game. After all, there is no other way to make a big match like this more exciting than placing a bet.
Every respectable sportsbook provides a wide range of betting options on the Super Bowl. This includes all the bets you could place on a regular match and some truly unique prop bets that are unavailable at any other time of the year. Some examples include how long the national anthem will be or whether the declared MVP will announce that he is going to Disney World after the big game.
You can make a lot of money with Super Bowl betting, but we advise you not to get too carried away with exotic props.
NFL Betting Win Totals
One of the most popular NFL futures involves predicting a team’s win totals. You don’t have to bet an exact number, as the sportsbook often sets a line that you can bet over or under.
These can be difficult predictions, especially early on in the season. However, they provide or could provide you with some amazing payouts. There is a lot of strategy involved with making season total picks, so we recommend you look at our dedicated Season Win Totals guide.
Biggest NFL Betting Events
Throughout the NFL season, there are significant opportunities for betting on various high-profile events. Discover more about these events below.
History of the NFL
The National Football League was formed in 1920, but was only nationally recognized as the country’s top football league in 1922. Although the game went through many different developments in these early years, the league initially differentiated itself from the college divisions by its passing-heavy gameplay.
The NFL’s popularity really exploded in 1958 with the NFL Championship match, commonly known as the greatest game ever played. The match saw the Baltimore Colts take on the New York Giants in a thriller that ended with a Colts overtime victory.
In 1966, the NFL merged with its biggest competitor – the American Football League. It was then that the league was divided into two conferences and the Super Bowl was created. The league’s decision to increase television coverage of live matches resulted in another popularity explosion.
Over time, there has also been a huge boom in betting on the NFL. In 2014, over $100 million was wagered on the Super Bowl at Las Vegas alone, despite declining TV ratings. This figure is rumored to have reached billions at online sportsbooks. It seems that NFL betting is here to stay for a good time.
NFL Betting Explained – FAQs
Can you bet on NFL games online?
If you live in a state that has not legalized online gambling but doesn’t have laws against it, you can use any offshore sportsbook. If you are looking to get started, we recommend the following sportsbooks:
1. Bovada
2. BetOnline.ag
3. Intertops
1. Find a sportsbook.
2. Sign up.
3. Deposit funds into your account.
4. Select an NFL line.
5. Place your bet.
