After long being the most popular spectator sport in the United States, American football — or simply football, if you happen to be either from the USA or Canada — has finally started to become popular in other parts of the world as well.
Consequently, many non-Americans have recently developed an interest not only in watching but also in betting — mainly online — on the games of the United States’ biggest sports organization: the National Football League (NFL).
It is our hope, then, that these newcomers will find this guide on how to bet on the NFL a much useful resource on their journey to becoming sharp American football bettors.
If you came to this article unsure about where to bet online, we thought it’d be a good idea to start by mentioning what we consider to be the ten best online sportsbooks out there. In no particular order, here’s our list:
It wouldn’t be fair to create a list of the top ten online sportsbooks without mentioning this British company founded a little more than twenty years ago. After all, bet365 was the first of those websites to offer live betting (also called in-play betting), which can be considered one of the main reasons for the sports betting industry being in the state where it is today. Besides, in case you’re interested in placing bets on something other than the major American sports, you should at least be aware of the fact that bet365 is one of the sites that offer the biggest number of events.
another example of a cross-sport parlay: bet365's US sports bonus
Pros & Cons
Extensive betting market
Early Cash-out feature
Live In-play betting
No additional deposit or withdrawal fees
Welcome bonus for new players
24/7 Customer service support team
Highly responsive and navigable website
No dedicated VIP or Loyalty program for existing users
Known for its casinos, Caesars gave a good indication of how serious it is about sports betting when it acquired William Hill (one of the most prestigious sportsbooks in the world, as we’ll see) in the first semester of 2021. It’s also quite impressive to see Caesars’ odds on different events feature prominently on CBS Sports’ website, as CBS has a lasting tradition of airing NFL games. Regarding Caesars’ sportsbook itself, it’s said to offer competitive odds, and it has the advantage of allowing bettors to choose among a variety of deposit and withdrawal options.
Odds by Caesars on CBS Sports
Pros & Cons
Offers good odds on most American markets;
Generous welcome bonus offer;
Stable gaming site which is backed by long years of casino operation;
Founded in 2000, Betfair is an online gambling company that has headquarters in England and Ireland. They offer a very good range of events on which to bet — including lots of non-sports events —, but, when one thinks about them, it’s usually because of their betting exchange. This is a remarkably different type of sports betting: here, the odds are determined not by the bookmaker, but by the bettors, who sell and buy them just like traders would do with stocks in the stock market. And, more often than not (and even with the commission that Betfair takes from the winners), the odds in the exchange are better than in the sportsbook.
This sports betting website is owned by 888 Holdings, which also owns three other popular online gambling platforms: 888casino, 888poker, and 888bingo. Because of that, 888sport tends to be a very convenient option for those sports bettors who also might have at least a passing interest in other types of iGaming. Apart from these considerations, one of the best things about this sportsbook is that it offers a good range of deposit and withdrawal options (all with no fees) and a nice range of events on which to bet, from the big (and sometimes not-so-big) sports competitions to politics (particularly American and British elections).
888sport’s daily $5 free bet
Pros & Cons
Exceptional mobile interface
Wide range of sports markets
User-friendly site
Plenty of promotion offers
No live chat option
The website logs you off after periods of inactivity
As a bookmaker founded in 1988 in Dublin, Paddy Power has (or at least it had until recently) hundreds of outlets in both Ireland and the UK. But, as with most other traditional sportsbooks, their focus has been on online sports betting, and their merge with Betfair in 2015 was the most evident display of that. That merge, by the way, helps to explain why you’ll probably find in Paddy Power’s website all the (many) special bets that are available on Betfair’s, and why these two sportsbooks’ odds are often identical. So, ultimately, choosing one instead of the other tends to come down to more subjective factors.
Betfair NFL PAGE
Pros & Cons
Low minimum deposit options
Great streaming platform
Dedicated customer support
Many promotional offers all year long
Platform heavily concentrated on UK and Irish markets
We mentioned William Hill some paragraphs earlier when we said it was acquired by Caesars. But there’s more to be written about this British company, starting with its origins: it was founded in 1934 in London. This could lead you to assume that William Hill is a reliable sportsbook, and such an assumption would be correct. Besides, we should mention that they’ve been operating online since 1998, so they’ve been at least attentive to the possibilities of growth brought by iGaming from the beginning. Last but not least, it’s safe to assume that their many payment options allow them to be in a decent competitive position nowadays.
William Hill's offer for new online customers
Pros & Cons
Extensive betting options
Over 80 years of global expertise in the betting market
Ladbrokes was founded in 1886 as a horse racing agent, and it operates physically in the UK, Ireland, and Belgium. Such credentials make this one of the most traditional sportsbooks (and one of the most reliable too), but this British company is also quite well known for its accumulator bets — called parlays in the United States —, which is when a bettor combines at least two bets (usually more than that) in one. Finally, as one would guess, Ladbrokes is not particularly focused on the US market; but, as the big sportsbook that it is, you’ll certainly find all the regular-season NFL matches there.
Founded in 1946 in the UK, this company (formerly known as Victor Chandler, and, for a few years, as VC Bet) is nowadays based in Gibraltar, with offices in England and Hungary. This background says a lot about BetVictor being a legitimate “European” sportsbook, and a good reflection of this is that they’re very well-known for their great odds and promotions related particularly to soccer events. But, if you’re interested in betting on the NFL, the MLB, or any other American professional sports league, BetVictor will be at least as good an option as any other on this top-ten list.
Created just a few years ago as a result of a joint venture between MGM Resorts and Entain Holdings, BetMGM markets itself as “the king of sportsbooks”. This might seem like an exaggerated claim, but, for Americans, it makes sense: BetMGM partners with almost all the most important sports leagues in the United States (with the exception being, ironically, the NFL). This sportsbook is also keen on offering a very interesting type of special bet: cross-sport parlays. As the name indicates, these are parlays (or accumulators, as we’ve seen in the previous paragraph) made up of bets on events of different sports organizations (invariably, all from the USA).
An example of a cross-sport parlay (American football + basketball) on BetMGM's website
Pros & Cons
Extensive coverage of major Sports;
All rounded site that hosts sports, poker and casino games;
Founded in 2006, Betway is part of a holding company that also includes the online casino Spin. Based in Malta, they hold sports betting licenses in different countries in Europe and have recently entered the American market. So, it won’t be surprising to see this company offering some nice incentives (in the form of promotions, for example) for those bettors who might be considering wagering on any major American sport. (In fact, Betway has recently signed deals with some NBA teams.) Their odds are considered fair, but something that might repel you from this otherwise acclaimed sportsbook is that, unfortunately, it doesn’t offer a great number of deposit options.
It should come as no surprise to verify that the most attractive bonuses and promotions for sports bettors who are into the NFL are usually found on sportsbooks based in the United States. Because of that, these sportsbooks — Caesars and BetMGM in particular — might be rightfully considered some of the best American football betting sites.
American football promotions on BetMGM's website
On BetMGM, for example, it’s quite easy to find different incentives related to betting on professional American sports. One such incentive was their sign-up bonus at the beginning of the current NFL season (which started on September 9): with a US$10 bet, a bettor could win US$200 if his/her chosen team scored a touchdown in a given week.
Caesars, in its turn, has been offering many promo codes to attract new customers for the current season of the big American leagues. One of those promotions, in particular, is among the most interesting risk-free bets online: if a bettor places his first bet in any amount up to US$1,001, he/she will get his money back if that bet is a loser.
Choosing one among the best NFL betting sites is not as hard as it might seem, especially if you follow the three tips below:
#1: Check Out Online Sportsbook Reviews
There are websites dedicated solely to reviewing sportsbooks, and reading those reviews will help you to be present to some variables that might end up being crucial for you to have a satisfying online betting experience.
#2: Make Sure Great NFL Odds Are Available
There are also those websites dedicated to comparing odds from different bookmakers, and they’ll definitely help you find out which sportsbooks offer the nicest odds for the events that most interest you.
#3: Look Into the Betting Site’s Cashier System
When reading about different online sportsbooks, you’ll see that some offer more banking options than others. From there, it’s up to you to choose the ones which suit you the best.
Real Money Benefits You Can Only Get Through NFL Betting Apps
Compared to brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, one of the most significant benefits of betting apps is that they allow you to bet on the go. If you’re thinking of betting this way, you probably won’t need to do much research, though: some of the most reputable sportsbooks are also among the ones with the best apps in the market.
William Hill app
Best Super Bowl Betting Sites
As the championship game of the NFL season, the Super Bowl is the highest-profile sport event in the United States. Consequently, once you look for Super Bowl betting sites, you’re bound to find many types of bets related to this event — particularly on the largest websites, such as Betway and bet365.
American Football Betting for Beginners
Here, we’re going to talk about the three most indicated types of bets for those who are getting started with gambling on American football: moneyline, point spread, and totals.
Moneyline is the most straightforward type of bet: you simply pick the winner of a game. The example below, from this season’s week-10 match between the Miami Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens, was taken from Betway:
Miami Dolphins
Baltimore Ravens
3.80
1.27
The numbers above show us that the Ravens were huge favorites against the Dolphins, which might not make this a very appealing match for many bettors. But, once a point spread is added, the favorite team has not only to win but to do so by a certain margin of points. In this Dolphins vs. Ravens game, you can see below that Betway added a point spread of 7.5:
Miami Dolphins (+7.5)
Baltimore Ravens (-7.5)
1.87
1.95
That made a huge difference, didn’t it? Now the odds are almost 50/50. Consequently, many bettors who otherwise would’ve ignored this game might consider making a bet now.
Finally, there is the total-points bet — also known as totals, or over/under. Here, as the name suggests, you just bet on whether the total number of points scored by both teams combined will be over or under a certain number given by the sportsbook. In the example below, Betway gave us a total of 46.5:
Over 46.5
Under 46.5
1.90
1.90
To conclude this section, here’s one of the coolest things about the odds we’ve just seen: with the information that they gave us, we could even identify what would’ve been the most likely final score of that game for Betway: a 27-20 victory of the Ravens over the Dolphins.
Top Tips for Betting on the NFL
To bet on NFL and be a winner in the long term, the three types of bets we’ve seen in the previous section will probably be all you’ll ever need. Still, it’d be to your advantage to check some alternative bets (which go a little beyond the scope of this article), such as futures (or outrights) and props (or proposition bets).
Super Bowl LVI's winner odds (from November 2021) on Betway's website
What Makes Great Real Money NFL Betting Sites
In April 2021, the NFL announced that it would have three sports betting partners: Caesars, FanDuel, and DraftKings. Therefore, these are all credible options of legal betting in the United States, and, alongside BetMGM, are some of the best NFL betting sites due to their knowledge of American football.
How Popular Is Betting on the NFL Online?
As we’ve said, betting on the NFL online is getting more and more popular. It’s true that, for more casual fans, NFL betting is still synonymous with Super Bowl betting, but there’s also an increasing number of people that bet on every week of the regular-season games.
How Much Money Can You Make Betting on the NFL?
Ultimately, there’s no definite answer to that question, but we can give you at least two others to think about: “How much time am I willing to spend learning about the teams?” and “Do I have a large enough bankroll to endure the ups and downs that come by betting on sports for years?”.
Top Resources for Online NFL Betting
Thanks to the NFL’s enduring popularity in the USA, there are many high-quality resources on the internet — both about the competition and about each of its 32 teams.
NFL Betting Blog Posts
Blogs are an excellent way of being exposed to high-depth analyses of a team’s form. Consequently, reading some of the best NFL betting blogs regularly will improve your chances of becoming a long-time-winning bettor.
Latest NFL News
Part of the reasons why being a successful sports bettor is so hard is that it requires you to consider any variable that might affect a team’s performance on a given day. Hence, being well-informed is an absolute necessity.
Free NFL Picks and Predictions
Reading picks and predictions about games might help you feel more confident to place bets on the NFL. Ideally, though, before reading any picks you should already have your own estimations about each teams' win probabilities.
NFL Betting Strategies
It’s often been repeated that American football is the sport that most resembles warfare. Because of that, the game is always being analyzed by people who, in time, develop different betting strategies to win.
FAQ
How Long Does It Take to Sign Up for NFL Betting Sites?
To sign up for a sportsbook that offers NFL betting online, usually all you have to do is provide your personal information. So, if we discount the time that it’d take to read a company’s Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, we could say that the sign-up process takes around ten minutes.
How Long Does It Take to Make a Real Money NFL Bet Online?
Once you open an account and make your first deposit, you’ll be able to bet as soon as the money you've deposited appears in your wallet. Some banking methods take three to seven days, while others take about 24 hours (and others even less).
Are NFL Betting Sites Safe to Use?
There are so many NFL betting sites on the internet that it’d be very hard for any single person to review all of them. But, if a sportsbook has been around for longer than most others or if it belongs to a holding company, it’s likely to be a safe betting option.
Can I Get a Bonus When I Sign Up to Bet on NFL Games Online?
Yes, you can. A quick search for NFL sign-up bonuses will give you lots of different results. In addition to that, be on the lookout for those welcome bonuses that are valid for any type of sports bet (which include, naturally, the NFL matches).
What Are the Best NFL Betting Sites This Year?
Our list of the best betting sites in this article is a good starting place for anyone who’s getting into online sports betting. That being said, if we were to shorten that list to only three betting sites, those could be bet365, Betway, and William Hill.
Can I Join More Than One NFL Betting Website?
You can and you probably should; this would be a great way for you to get used to comparing odds. As you might’ve guessed by now, it’s not common for a single sportsbook to offer the best odds for all the possible outcomes of an event.
Can I Access My NFL Betting Site Account from My Computer?
Betting sites were designed to be accessed both from your computer and your smartphone. Indeed, any type of (safe) digital device is appropriate for you to access your betting account.
Can I Bet on the 2021 NFL Season Live?
Yes. One of the best things about online betting is precisely in-play betting. However, notice that you won't find this feature in all sportsbooks. Also, you should select those websites that offer good live odds (and possibly also high-quality streaming).
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