The NFL is the most viewed sports league in America. Millions of people tune in every week to watch the stars of this sport perform and hope that their team makes the Super Bowl this year.
It is also fair to say that the NFL is a game of statistics. Every pass completed and every sack is another stat for someone to check off and tick a box. This also means that there are a lot of opportunities for the betting companies to introduce markets based on these statistics. We live in an age of options when it comes to gambling, and whereas certain markets would historically have been the only ones available, there are now hundreds of different ways that people can potentially gamble.
Plenty of people like to spend a long time getting up to date on statistics before they make a choice on what to bet on. Way before this stage, though, there are some basics that people should be aware of.
Find a reputable betting site
Of all of the different aspects of NFL betting to expect, one of the most important is choosing a betting site that is reputable. It is essential that players choose a betting site that protects their details as well as their finances.
There are quite a few indicators of quality here and it is simple enough for players to do a bit of research on the brands that are operating in the local area. NFL is not just watched and gambled on in the US, either. The UK and many other countries have their own gambling markets and websites and brands offering NFL markets.
Licensing is a big part of the betting industry and players should check that the brands they interact with are fully licensed to operate.
They also need to look out for things like whether the brand has good support and contact options. If somebody wants to get in touch after running into a problem, how can they do so and will they even get a quick response? Reading reviews of the betting sites can give a good indication.
It isn’t the most entertaining aspect of the process but it is really important that players know they are dealing with trusted operators.
Markets
Markets are the actual aspects of the NFL game that players are betting on when they make a wager. There are a lot of different markets and as explained already, this is a growing area.
Moneyline
A moneyline bet is the simplest and most straightforward type of wager in NFL betting. When betting the moneyline, a gambler is simply choosing which team they think will win the game. There are no point spreads involved or anything more nuanced; just a direct bet on the winner. The odds for each team will vary based on things like form and other factors, with the underdog offering a higher payout than the favorite. For example, players might see odds that look like this:
Kansas City: -200
Las Vegas Raiders: +150
In this example, a $200 bet on Kansas City would net you a $100 profit if they win, while a $100 bet on the Raiders would give you a $150 profit if they win. The plus and minus signs indicate the favorite (minus) and underdog (plus). The minus figure shows how much a player needs to bet if they want to win $100, but the plus refers to how much they will win if they bet $100.
Over/under points scored
This is a simple bet where the sportsbook will predict the total number of points that will be scored in a particular match, and you bet on whether the actual total at the end of the match will be higher or lower than that of the prediction. The points totals of NFL games can vary a lot. The lowest scoring games in the history of the NFL have had just three points (this has happened multiple times) but there are also a few examples of games where there have been over 100 points. It can vary by a huge amount.
Individual markets and prop bets
Sportsbook companies can offer a lot more now in terms of the markets that are out there. Live coverage and statistics collected for every single game show a lot of different ways people can potentially gamble, including player-specific outcomes (like how many passing yards a quarterback will throw), but there are also more obscure team bets, like which team will score the first touchdown.
Popular NFL prop bets include things like:
- Total passing yards for a specific quarterback.
- Number of touchdown passes.
- Number of rushing yards gained by a team’s offense.
- Will the coin toss result in heads or tails?
When betting on things like rushing yards it can help to know which team’s offenses are in top form at any given moment or have made their way into mid-season honors.
NFL parlays
A parlay is a specific form of bet. In other sports, they may be called accumulators or “accas”. Put simply, a parlay is a type of bet where multiple bets are combined into one. The odds then build or “accumulate” based on multiple things having to happen.
These bets lose if just one of the things doesn’t happen, so although they have higher odds, there are some potential considerations for people to think about if they are making this kind of bet.
A parlay might include one team to cover the spread and another to win, or even in-game parlays on passing yards, rushing yards and more. With some sportsbooks, the gamblers have the option to build their own bets.
Conclusion
There are a lot of markets out there and this does mean a lot more ways for people to play. Some people just pick a couple of markets to do research on and stick to those. When starting out, many people stick to the simple-to-understand team bets. Whatever you do, be sure to always gamble responsibly.