How to Bet on the NFL: Expert Guide

Betting on the NFL has been America's favorite tradition for decades, and since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating the federal ban (PASPA) on sports online betting beyond Nevada, millions of Americans are now able to pursue their obsession legally.

Outside of Nevada, an expanding list of states now allow online legal sports betting for NFL games and in brick-and-mortar sportsbooks filled with wall-to-wall TVs and odds boards. Hallelujah! With our NFL Betting Guide, you may find a variety of betting tips and advice to use at top NFL betting platforms.

Advantages of NFL Betting at Authorized Sportsbooks

There's nothing more comforting than having your money secure. And though 13-team parlays are not necessarily the "safest" form of betting on NFL Sundays, should you do it, at least you'll know your money is secure at a licensed, state-regulated sportsbook.

Of course, perhaps your state hasn't gotten around to legalized online sports betting yet. (Send a letter to your elected representative!) Perhaps the state over the line has, in which case sportsbook gambling "the right way" is obviously the ticket. Some reasons why:

Safety: With the amount of horror stories we’ve seen come out of offshore books, betting with state-licensed sportsbooks is clearly a safer way to play. In short: The Better Business Bureau doesn’t give two safeties about the goings-on in the Seychelles. Additionally, as a matter of fraud prevention, the U.S.-based sportsbooks will verify your identity (via address, last four digits of Social Security, security questions) and offer numerous ways to deposit and withdrawal.
Cashiering: As mentioned above, the regulated sportsbooks offer many methods of deposit and withdrawal of funds plainly unavailable offshore. PayPal, for instance, is something an offshore book cannot use, but is usable by most U.S. regulated sportsbooks. In addition, using your checking account to deposit funds is a possibility in the U.S. — not offshore. In fact, weeks or months might pass before you're able to withdraw your black market book wins, which are known to delay cashouts in anticipation of players losing all their money through additional wagers.
Local promos: All but the most behemoth U.S. regulated sportsbooks have unique hometown promos when wagering on NFL. To illustrate, PointsBet once had weekly "touchdown bonus" promotions in New Jersey tied to the Giants, Jets, and Eagles. A $50 spread bet on either of those teams – or teams they were playing – collected a $6 per touchdown bonus on the team wager. Also FanDuel in Indiana offered a +101.5 point spread on an Indiana-Michigan State basketball game. $50 max bet but still that's still a great promotion.
Welcome bonuses: From discounted first bets to deposit matches, American regulated sportsbooks are keen to take your wagering dollar. Some books reward with more than four-figures in possible online sports betting bonus funds.

What is the Juice on NFL Betting Lines?

Nearly all legal sportsbooks handle, at the minimum, the NFL betting fundamentals: points spreads, moneylines, and totals – with most handling much more. For all these bets, -110 is the norm, or "10 cents" on both sides, (although PointsBet will also have -105 as the default odds on point spread bets at times). What that means is, if you wager $110, you'd collect $100. Or wager $11 to collect $10, and $55 to collect $50, etc.

Occasionally a sportsbook will skew things slightly because of its exposure, bringing a game +100 on one side but -120 on the other. Still "20 cents."

NFL Betting Formats

One of the first things you should do when you are new in betting is to understand how NFL betting odds are. It's highly critical because it gives you the ability to calculate your potential winnings and also determine how likely an event will occur. Finally, make the best NFL bets.

Point Spreads

When it comes to NFL point spreads, anytime a spread is sitting in the 2.5 to 3.5 or 6.5 to 7.5 point range at one sportsbook and you’re interested in a side, it is worth it to immediately check the other books to see where the number is sitting. Often enough, it will vary from one book to the next, and the line may give you a key number (e.g., 3 or 7). You may have to risk -115 to get that half a point extra (or "buy" the point), but it's a good option.

Totals

Totals also are comparable. Depending on where you're coming from, it's worth your time to check out the other, rival book. While a half point difference between 5 and 5.5 simply isn't much, it is something, and you always want to make certain you're getting the good number.

Parlays and Teasers

NFL Parlays and teasers – not the best EV+ methods of betting – but they sure are enjoyable. All of the sportsbooks offer such bets. Some licensed sportsbooks now take a lot of alternate spreads and alternate totals so you can create "homemade" teasers and parlays by selecting and mixing-and-matching your lines à la carte. So it's not as much of a traditional 6- or 7-point teaser, but you can choose to take more points or less points than that, and the potential payout will be a function of the price of the combined segments.

Live Betting on Football

Some of the books also offer live or "in-game" wagers, where you can bet spreads, moneyline, and totals throughout the game. Caveat: The web sportsbooks are always ahead of TV, radio, or webcast, so keep in mind there's a possibility you'll be wagering without a full range of information. Typically, the lines close between periods and at half.

Props

Player prop bets remain a softer market for experienced handicappers, although betting limits are generally much lower. There is also great disparity in the number of props each sportsbook offers. FanDuel has generally had the most NFL props, but DraftKings isn't far behind, but it is game to game so as always shop around.

Some sites just offer "over" props (one-way market), but most others stick with the normal "over/under." One big take-away: While point spreads, moneylines, and totals are standardized, player prop bets aren't – yet – standardized. In brief: You can see one site listing a yardage over/under 10 or more yards apart from a competitor site. There definitely is a lot to try and game a "middle" between sites.

Futures

Most books provide futures. There are both team (win totals, division winner, Super Bowl winner, etc.) and individual player futures (MVP, yardage leaders, etc.) offered.