How to Bet on NFL Games
The Super Bowl is easily the most-watched single sporting event in the US, with around 96.4 million football fans tuning in to view the 2021 edition. Those viewership numbers were higher than the average for a US sporting event but ranked lowest for any Super Bowl since 2007. The 2020 NFL regular season had an average viewership of about 14.9 million per game. The football league is also the top league in terms of attendances, boasting a per-game average higher than every other major league.
This popularity also translates into dominance in the sports betting scene, with NFL betting standing out as the most popular option for customers of legal sportsbook apps in the US. For NFL fans looking to spice up their viewing experience with some exciting football wagers, this expert guide contains all you need to know about betting on the NFL.
How Do I Read NFL Lines, bets, and odds?
Moneyline
Moneyline bets are pretty uncomplicated; the goal is to figure out which of the two NFL teams will come out as the winner going into a game. With moneyline bets, the margin of victory does not matter, so bettors need not be concerned about the outcome of the points spread. In an NFL moneyline bet, the team more likely to win the match has a (-) symbol, while the underdog has a (+) sign. The number beside both signs shows the amount a player will win if their bet is correct and how much they’ll lose if it isn’t.
Spreads
With spreads, the sportsbook sets a spread (or line) that indicates the number of points they expect a team to win by and the odds of that happening. Bettors can then wager on whether the favorite team will win by more than the set number of points or whether the underdogs will lose by less than the predicted number of points. Spreads could also often include bets on the underdogs winning the game outright.
Parlays
NFL parlays merge two or more wagers into the same bet. The bet forms could vary from moneylines, point spreads and totals to prop bets and futures, as long as each bet is on a different game. A big part of the attraction of parlay bets is that they come with more significant payouts than single bets. The downside is that they also come with more risk, as every part of the parlay must win before a player can cash out. A four-legged parlay where three legs win, and only one doesn’t is a losing parlay.
Props
Prop bets are viewed mainly as a fun side bet, allowing players to wager on pretty much anything that could happen in the course of an NFL game. Prop bets could range from regular bets such as what team will score first to random bets such as how long the national anthem will take during the Super Bowl. These are fun wagers but rely on a lot of luck. Don’t expect to make big money often.
How Can I Bet on the NFL Super Bowl?
With annual wagers worth billions of dollars, the NFL Super Bowl stands out as the most widely bet single sporting event in the US sports calendar. The continuous advancement of legal NFL mobile betting and the rise in the number of sportsbook apps with NFL games are the most significant contributors to the game’s popularity with bettors. As far as the Super Bowl is concerned, moneylines, props, and spreads are the most widely opted-for bet forms.
Essential Tips to Become a Smarter NFL Bettor
Watch Out For Weekly Edges
Betting on every game of the NFL season week in week out is quite simply a plan for failure. Getting the hang of successful NFL betting requires a level of specificity that most bettors have not attained. You must avoid forcing bets, instead zeroing in on specific matchups. The sooner you accept that some weeks will involve five or six wagers, while others will only have one or two, the better your chances of success. Take some time, pay attention to the edges some teams boast over others, then bet based on those edges.
Line Shopping
The nature of the NFL’s popularity makes it such that there are tonnes of legal US sportsbooks that provide options to bet on the league. These sportsbooks offer varying odds and bet features, so the smart thing to do is to check out a few of them and compare their lines on the plays you’re interested in. When you find one that’s satisfactory, then you can go ahead to place all your wagers there.
Remember Not to Tilt
One thing that’s inherent to NFL betting – to any betting, for that matter – is losing. It’s impossible to win every week. It would help if you remembered this whenever the pressure of losing starts to convince you to change your game plan. Most times, bettors abandon their entire strategy after an extended losing spell hits them. What follows more often than not is a string of bad decisions that plunge them into even more considerable losses. Always make sure that irrespective of the result of your previous wagers, you place new bets with a clear mind, free of any pressure.
Is Betting on the NFL in the US Legal?
As of 2018, betting on sporting events has been legalized in numerous states across the US, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and more. You don’t have to be a state resident, just within state lines where sports betting is legal and of legal gambling age. Make sure you download a sportsbook with a legal license and have fun betting!
The Super Bowl is easily the most-watched single sporting event in the US, with around 96.4 million football fans tuning in to view the 2021 edition. Those viewership numbers were higher than the average for a US sporting event but ranked lowest for any Super Bowl since 2007. The 2020 NFL regular season had an…