The sports betting industry is on a meteoric rise in this country and we’re approaching one of the first NFL seasons where it will be possible to legally wager on most games outside of Nevada. Even in a largely illegal market, the American Gaming Association estimated that bettors wagered over $4.3 billion on Super Bowl LV alone.

1. How To Bet Football Odds
2. How To Learn About Football
3. How To Bet On Football Games

With ample time between games and a wealth of strategy to consider, football is an understandably popular sport for mainstream bettors. Using analytics to gain an edge in predicting how games will unfold can help the savvy bettor go against the grain to earn big paydays. Conversely, the popularity of NFL betting can help bettors isolate a potential winner by piggybacking on research conducted by the masses.

This page can serve as a reference for residents of states that have legalized online betting. It will break down the basics of NFL betting, from various types of bets, to strategy, to tips on how to predict trends and think independently. If you heed this advice and weigh your options and bankroll carefully, you could turn a consistent profit throughout the 2020 NFL season.

NFL team betting guides

• Learn how to back, lay and trade on the Exchange with our new Simulator Bet in-play Simulate the in-play betting experience with multiple racing and football markets.
• To immerse yourself and learn more about the terms, expressions and betting forms when it comes to sports betting, you can check our betting and sporting glossary. Betting on football tournament Betting on the winner of football tournaments is also a popular choice among players.

If you are new to betting and want to learn more before the upcoming NCAAF season, read below for a comprehensive guide on how to bet on college football. There are several ways to bet on NFL action. We’ll begin with the most simple type of bet: The moneyline. Taking the Moneyline means you’re betting on the winning team regardless of the margin of victory. Underdogs will get plus-odds on the moneyline and the favorites will have negative odds. Beginners Guide to Football Betting. This is a beginners guide to football betting, written by a beginner! You might not know this about me, but whilst Ian is a football betting expert with a long history of placing football bets, I am not! I know the web and how to make things on it, but I don’t know a lot about football.

Where is NFL betting legal?

When the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in May of 2018, it opened the door for individual states to legalize sports gambling. Beginning with New Jersey (the original plaintiff in the PASPA case), several states quickly moved to legalize and regulate the industry within state lines. Betting on the NFL and other professional sports is still not federally legal, but residents of the following states can place bets at live sportsbooks:

Nevada
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Delaware
Mississippi
West Virginia
Rhode Island
New Mexico
Arkansas
Iowa
New York
Oregon
Indiana
Illinois
Montana

Most other states in the US have introduced some sort of bill that would legalize sports gambling. Of course, some states are far closer than others to legalizing the industry. Visit our state betting pages at TheLines.com to get a look at the status in each state.

Best NFL betting sites and apps

There are a number of apps available for sports betting in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia and Nevada. Some of the best:

The top players in the industry are DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars, PointsBet, and SugarHouse.

How does NFL betting work?

There are several ways to bet on NFL action. We’ll begin with the most simple type of bet: The moneyline. Taking the Moneyline means you’re betting on the winning team regardless of the margin of victory. Underdogs will get plus-odds on the moneyline and the favorites will have negative odds. For example, if a team is heavily favored they will be listed as Patriots (-230), meaning that a successful $230 bet on the Patriots pays out $100.

This differs from betting on the point spread, which accounts for the expected margin of victory. If the Patriots are heavily favored at home, they might be listed as -13.5, meaning a bet (likely at something close to -110 odds) on the Pats would only pay out if they win by 14 points or more.

Gamblers can also target the overall betting total of a game, which is usually listed as a number around 48.5 with the proposition of taking the Over or Under on a point total. Some sites offer the opportunity to bet on the expected point total of one team (23.5 points for example).

Then, there is often an extensive number of betting props (or propositions) where gamblers can wager on the individual performance of a player, the type of score to open a game, and the specific margin of victory. These options are often more expansive in prime time and playoff games.

Gamblers can choose to combine multiple propositions on a game, or multiple bets on different games, into a parlay. This wager is an all-or-nothing proposition which only pays out if all (anywhere between two and a dozen) bets are successful. The more bets added to a parlay, the greater the potential payout.

A teaser is a form of parlay that involves a combination of two to ten wagers in which you can adjust the point spread or total to your specifications. These bets are therefore more likely to succeed, but the payouts are smaller than in a parlay.

Finally, there is an option to bet on NFL futures. Rather than betting on an individual game, Futures offer gamblers the opportunity to bet on the eventual Super Bowl champion, divisional champion, or the number of wins that a team will accrue during the regular season. There are also futures bets available on postseason awards and other ongoing storylines.

Super Bowl odds 2022

NFL live betting

Another method of wagering on the NFL is live betting, also known as in-play betting. No longer are gamblers required to place their bets before opening kickoff and ride out the storm. Now users can watch a game unfold for one, two, or three quarters and place their bets based on updated odds.

The odds on online sportsbooks will shift throughout games and sometimes it won’t be possible to place a live bet until a team finishes their current drive and the odds can solidify. This can be a very effective method for the experienced sports fan. Those who can read how a game is unfolding in the opening minutes can target a line aggressively.

For example, the most recent Super Bowl between the Patriots and Rams turned into an offensive quagmire where neither team appeared poised to rack up many points. Those viewers that read into game flow and placed a bet on the Under (even as it shifted lower) were rewarded by a comfortable payout in a game that ended 13-3.

NFL betting trends

There are several free sites that will disclose information on where the public is betting in terms of the moneyline, point spread, and point total. These trends can lead to a shift in the lines as sportsbooks try to adjust when too much money is coming in on one side or the other.

These trends can also indicate which side of the line is a better bet based on the sheer number of bets coming in. However, the percentage of bets coming in on one side or the other is often not as telling as the percentage of money coming in on one side of the line.

A ton of bets indicates that the reactive public expects a favorite to roll, but a ton of money on one side indicates that experienced gamblers or “sharps” have found something in their research to inspire confidence.

How To Bet Football Odds

Following the money usually profits, but there is a high level of risk and reward in “contrarian handicapping” by going against the public and backing an underdog at plus odds.

NFL line shopping

With so many sportsbooks and platforms competing for your wagers, there’s no reason not to shop around for the best deal. Some sites might have a team with a line of -4 (-110) on a particular game, but another site could have the same team at -3.5 (+120). There is generally an industry standard, but even a sleight differentiation can lead to huge changes in dividends in the long run. It’s vital for bettors to shop lines on multiple sites even if they don’t have a huge bankroll. If that’s the case, simply decrease the amount you’re betting on each game.

You can also shop lines by timing when you place your bets. Oddsmakers will set an Opening Line early in the week, but that could change based on how the public bets the game. Sometimes it makes sense to hammer an Opening Line right away so that you get the best odds possible. For example, the Packers could open at -7 at home against a poor opponent, but after 90% of bets come in on Green Bay, that number could rise. Conversely, the underdog might become appealing late in the week if the spread rises to 13 or even 14 points. Waiting for the right line can create the perfect opportunity to bet against the public at even better odds.

NFL Betting Tips

Finding a betting formula

Consistent success in NFL betting is hard to come by, since sportsbooks are often eerily accurate in how they set Spreads and Point Totals. In order to turn a profit, bettors have to find their own formula for determining value and potential winners.

It’s possible to “follow the masses” by betting on favorites that are seeing a huge percentage of wagers, but it is far more reliable to analyze trends and look for value based on those raw numbers.

As the season progresses, it can become apparent which teams have a tendency to “play down” to their opponent. Certain teams tend to play better when going up against heavy favorites, and many teams tend to play better or worse in prime time games. Analyzing a teams’ recent travel schedule, results on the road vs. at home, and tendency to rebound after a loss (see Bill Belichick’s Patriots) can help bettors find a winning formula.

There are certain analytics available for free on many sites that can help you predict how a game will unfold. Here are some of the key analytics that we use to predict game flow:

• Pace (the average number of plays a team runs per game) – This can primarily help you identify fast-paced games that are likely to go Over the total, or slow-paced games that will go Under.
• Offensive efficiency – Especially in the red zone, offensive efficiency can serve as a great indicator for which teams are capable of finishing drives with touchdowns and therefore covering the spread. Pass yards per attempt is another indicator of which teams are successful on offense in terms of controlling possession and creating points.
• Turnovers – On the other side of the ball, teams with great defensive efficiency in the red zone may help games stay under the point total. Teams that have shown an ability to create turnovers are far more bankable in terms of hanging close in games and potentially stealing a game when they’re underdogs.
• Win Probability – This is an advanced tool that can help tremendously with live betting. Algorithms can provide the likelihood of a team holding on for the win and that makes for a very safe bet.
• DVOA – There are comprehensive numbers on how defenses perform against specific position groups. There are also numbers on how an offensive line performs in terms of creating space at the second level and whether defensive lines are stronger on the right or left side. Match up the numbers from each team to consider whether star players will have more of an impact and sway the outcome.
• Home Field Advantage – Teams such as the Packers, Chiefs, Saints, and Patriots have a tremendous home-field advantage for several reasons. Lofty point spreads in those venues should be considered with more weight than a lofty point spread for a team like the Bengals, for example.

Each game brings its own criteria in terms of analytics and there is almost always ample time to crunch the numbers and find an edge.

NFL betting mistakes to avoid

Sports gambling can be a destructive force and should not be taken lightly or considered as a main source of income for anyone but the most experienced handicappers. Here’s a list of a few of the pitfalls that can turn a harmless habit into a money-draining problem:

• Chasing your losses: Gamblers can be overcome by a need to be “made whole” after losing their initial bet. This can be problematic during NFL Sundays since there is a new wave of games starting at 4 p.m. EST and two prime time games providing the opportunity to go “double or nothing” after an unsuccessful run in the early games.
• Managing bankroll: Again, the spreads and totals assigned by sportsbooks are often extremely accurate in terms of the final result, which means that few bets are a “sure thing.” Gamblers need to manage their bankroll wisely and avoid betting big on too many games regardless of their confidence level.
• Emotional betting: While gambling on NFL games should be fun, it’s not fun to lose your money because you were afraid to bet against your hometown team. Gamblers should always bet based on data, trends, and their gut feeling, rather than by their allegiances as fans.
• Hoping for longshots: It’s important to get good odds on a wager, but taking a bet that has little chance to come to fruition is not a reliable method. A horse with 50/1 odds would certainly pay out handsomely in the Kentucky Derby, but there’s a reason nobody expects that horse to have a shot at winning the race.
• Banking on favorites: Conversely, it’s unwise to always follow the public and take the more popular team with your wagers. Things change on a weekly basis in the NFL and teams always find a way to surprise. Remember that the other guys get paid too, and they’ll fight to the final whistle to post a more respectable score and potentially get under a lofty point spread.
• Betting while impaired: Again, NFL Sunday is a time to relax and enjoy a few adult beverages, but don’t get carried away while intoxicated. Accept losses when they come and avoid becoming overconfident because you’re feeling loose and unafraid of losing a few hundred dollars.

Online betting vs. retail sportsbooks

Few states have legalized online betting within state borders because it’s so difficult to regulate. But if you’re in a state with legal online betting, there are clear benefits to that platform. While retail sportsbooks will only accept bets before a game kicks off, online betting sites allow users to bet throughout the contest and adjust to live odds. The convenience of betting from your phone or laptop is hard to beat. That’s why live sportsbooks will offer promotions and try to enhance the in-game experience in order to draw in more numbers.

How to watch NFL games

Every Sunday select NFL games are broadcast on local TV. Viewers can watch any game by purchasing the Sunday Ticket through DirectTV, or the scoring highlights and exciting finishes compiled by the Red Zone channel. There are also options to stream NFL games through various online platforms. During the 2019-2020 season there will be Thursday Night Football games from Week 1 to Week 15 that will be broadcast on FOX and NFL Network. Sunday Night Football games are broadcast on NBC and ESPN carries Monday Night Football games.

I know what are you thinking about, not another football betting guide! Even for me, it was challenging to write the best possible, easy to understand guide. I decided to use a lot of examples supported by explanatory images that will make it easy for you to understand how to bet on football.

At the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of the most used football betting terms and, how to use them when you place a bet.

So, how to bet on football?

1. Choose a bookmaker that operates online or has a street shop.
2. Check the football matches he has available for betting and select one match that you will bet on.
3. Now its time for you to see what markets (match result, goals market, cards market, etc) the bookmaker offers and pick the one that interests you
4. Once you selected the market, you will see different odds for an outcome to occur that he bookie offers you. Place your stake (the amount of money you bet) on what you think is the most probable outcome.
5. Repeat step 2, 3 and 4 if you want to add more picks to the same bet

What is a football bet?

When two teams face each other in a football match, the bookies will calculate the odds and will place them on their betting markets for that specific match. You will analyze the odds and determine how much you will stake for one or more events to happen.

You can see above all the terms of a single football bet. Silkeborg vs Midtjylland was the event, I choose the market – half time result, stake £50 on Midjylland at odds 2.40, got a return of £120 with a profit of £70.

Where to place your bet?

You have 2 choices when you decide to bet: online or offline. With today’s technology betting online is much more simple, convenient, and attractive. Offline betting requires you to travel until the street shop of the betting company to place your bet.

Of course, this makes it inconvenient because not only you lose time but also because the company operates only between specific hours of the day.

Below I have listed some of the most reliable and trustworthy betting companies that also offer you very good betting markets. Some of them operate just online while others offer their service both online and offline.

• Bwin (online betting)
• Bet 365 (online betting)
• Betfair (online betting)
• Bet-at-home (online betting)
• Sportingbet (online betting)
• Paddy Power (online + street shop betting only in UK and Ireland)
• William Hill (online + street shop betting only in UK and Ireland)
• Betfred (online + street shop betting only in the UK)

Betting markets explained

The betting companies offer you a wide range of markets where you can place your bet: from full-time results, goals, goal scorers, to handicap, corners, cards, and specials. Below I will explain to you the most used football betting markets and their meaning.

Full-time result

In this market, you will pick the result of a football match. You can bet on the home team, draw, or away team. The result of the bet is only valid for the 90 minutes time of play, excluding penalties or the extra time that may occur in some situations.

If the match result after 90 minutes is a win for the home team then the winning bet is a home team win.

Double chance

It is usually used to make a more secure bet, giving the bettor the chance to pick 2 out of 3 outcomes from a full-time result. The odds are significantly lower compared to the full-time result market so the potential profit will be smaller.

However, you have a 66% chance to win when you place a double chance bet. The market applies for regular 90 minutes gameplay.

How To Learn About Football

You can see clearly how much the odds dropped for each pick compared to the full-time result where we had 1.70, 4.00, and 4.60. Selecting 1X means Chelsea to win or draw for the bet to turn out a winner.

Tottenham to win or draw is priced by the bookies at 2.10 (if you bet 10£ you get 21£ in return). The 12 choices with the odds 1.22 means that either Chelsea (1) or Tottenham (2) should win for your bet to make a profit.

Goals Over/Under

This is the most famous goal market and it is used for bettors to pick if the base number of goals offered by the bookies will be over or under. This market is only valid for the regular 90 minutes played during a game of football.

The most used number as a base is 2.5, like we have in the example above, which means you will bet for 3 or more goals in the game or less than 3 goals. The reason why the bookies use the 0.5 margins because there can only be 1 of the two outcomes for the bet, as a team cannot score 0.5/half of a goal.

For the Chelsea – Tottenham match we have the base 2.5 with the odds of 1.80 for the under result (meaning 0-2 goals scored in the game), and 2.00 for the over the result (3 or more goals scored in the game).

Both teams to score (BTTS)

This is the second most famous goal market after the Over/Under, but still very popular and used by many bettors. The bookies set up the odds for each outcome and they give the opportunity to choose between Yes or No, therefore you have a 50% chance to win your bet.

Things are very clear here and you only have 2 options. You can see the bookmaker favor the Yes pick, meaning both Chelsea and Tottenham to score, with odds of 1.75.

If you pick No and you bet 10£, you will win the bet only if one of the two teams score in the 90 minutes regular time. Looking above at the Over/Under market, you can notice the bookmaker is favoring a match with at least 3 goals being scored.

Result/Both teams to score

This is a special market where the bookmaker has grouped two events giving you just one odd. The benefit of this type of bet is the high potential return because of the high odds. The downside, which I believe to be greater than the benefit, is that your chances to win are just 25%.

The odds are very high but of course, the chances of winning are small. For this bet, you need to make 2 picks. The first one is to decide what will be the full-time result, and the second one, if both teams will score or no.

For example, if you pick Draw and No means the only result that will make you win the bet is 0-0. Quite difficult for that to happened since even the bookmaker doesn’t favor that at all giving such big odds:13. The lowest odds 3.00, the event that the bookmaker favors, is for Chelsea to win at nil.

Draw no bet (DNB)

This is another market where you can make safer bets and protect your money. The same as with the double chance market you have 2 outcomes from where you can pick.

There are some differences as well. The first thing you can notice that the odds are a bit higher when compare to a double chance bet.

The second one comes from the name itself – draw no bet – meaning that if the final result of the match is a draw, your bet cancels and you get your stake returned.

If you pick 2 that means draw no bet Tottenham. At the odds of 3.50, a 10£ stake will return you 35 £ if Tottenham wins, and a refund of your stake if the 90 minutes full-time result is a draw. If Chelsea emerge winners then you lost your bet.

Half result market

Is similar to the full-time market, but has the name suggests you will pick one from the 3 possible outcomes to occur until the half time whistle is blown by the referee.

You have a 33% chance of winning your bet and you can choose for the home team to lead half time, draw after 45 minutes of play, or away team to lead at half time.

Comparing odds, half result market vs full-time result, we see clearly that half result picks have higher odds for one of the team to lead at half time but, significantly lower for a draw. This happens when the tie is close to even.

You have the same odds for a draw or Chelsea to lead after 45 minutes played, with Tottenham being clear the underdogs.

For this type of market, especially when the teams are at the same level, it is very difficult to predict an outcome. Selecting X (draw) with a stake of 10£ gives you a potential return of 23£.

Handicap result market

Is the margin of goal differences between two teams that give a theoretical advantage or disadvantage to the selected team before the match starts.

The same as for the goals over/under market you will have a base, which you will notice to have the smallest odds and several other margin variations from you to pick from. You can only pick just one team for your selection.

In the first case if you bet on Chelsea (-1) you give the blues a one-goal handicap.

What does this mean? Well to put it simply, you take away one goal from whatever Chelsea will score, so they need to win at least by a 2 goal difference for your bet to be a winner.

A draw or winning by just 1 goal difference will make you lose the money you bet. Tie -(Tottenham +1) basically means that you back Spurs to win by exact 1 goal difference, winning by 2 or more goals will lose your bet.

The smallest odds, 2.10, are in favor of Tottenham which you give them a 1 goal advantage. If Jose Mourinho’s team draws or wins you win the bet.

Total Corners market

How To Bet On Football Games

The bookie will set up a base number and give you 3 different opportunities for you to pick. The biggest odd by far is the selection of the exact number of corners in the match during the 90 minutes time play.

The other 2 picks you can make are under or over with most of the times having a small difference in odds between them.

The odds are attractive but predicting the outcome of corners is not an easy task. The results will be based more on the first eleven, how the teams are set up to play, weather, and sometimes even referee.

Number of cards in the match

You will see in this market a lot of similarities with the goals over/under. The bookies will set a base for the number of corners during the 90 minutes game time and you will have to choose between over or under.

Like you can see you have 50% chances of winning the bet, but the odds are not so great.

The base set by the bookmaker is very good considering we have not just a London derby but also a direct battle for the 4th position in the league. The bookies favor the Over pick with the Under seen as a less probable outcome.

What type of bet should I use?

That is a good question. You can either choose a single bet, a double, a treble, or an accumulator (Acca). A single bet means you bet only on 1 event to happen, double if you choose 2 different events to occur, treble 3 events.

You will have a much higher chance to win a single bet, but the odds sometimes are too small. Accumulator bets can bring you high profits but they are much more difficult to win.

You can start by checking our free betting tips and predictions!

When you make an Acca you select more events on the same bet, and we all know that the more events you have the lower is your chance to win. If you decide to make an accumulator don’t make too many for your bet, keep it to 4-8.

Words of wisdom

Now that you are more familiar with the betting terminology and its markets, all you have to do is to set up your bankroll and a good betting strategy.

Remember you need to be patient, consistent, and very analytical. Don’t consider betting gamble and put your hopes in luck. Get as much information you can about the football match before you place any bet.