Football Betting Sites In America

American football is by far the most popular sport in the US, both in terms of viewership and real-money betting. The popularity of this American sport has transferred to other countries as well, most notably — Canada.

American Football, just “football” in America, is also known as gridiron and, despite the fact that gambling is severely restricted to Americans themselves, it is a sport on which many a sports punter gambles the world over. The vast majority of that money is bet on the National Football. American football, also known as ‘gridiron’ or ‘gridiron football’, is a team sport that is played by two teams consisting of 11 players on either side. The game takes place on a rectangular field with goalposts located on either end of the field. The offense, the team who has control of the oval-shaped football. Best American Football Betting Sites Find all the best American football betting lines at any one of the sportsbooks listed down below. With so many wonderful wagering options, punters will be able to place any bet they could ever dream of online: # 1. World-Class Sportsbook. Impressive Betting.

Even though Canadians prefer betting on sports like ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, and soccer, the interest in American football betting in Canada has been on the rise over the last several years.

If you are one of the people interested in NFL betting, we are more than glad to help you out. On this page, you will see a list of the best Canadian-friendly sportsbooks that feature American football markets.

Additionally, we will talk about what makes these sportsbooks worthwhile, how you can start betting on American football, what types of NFL bets exist, which sports betting bonuses you can take advantage of, and more.

Our Top Recommended American Football Betting Sites for Canada

Whether you want to predict the next Superbowl winner or place bets on individual players, the sportsbooks listed below have everything that you’re looking for.

These betting sites represent some of the top brands in the industry, and, apart from American football, they offer betting on other sports as well, like ice hockey, tennis, basketball, winter sports and more.

CAD 250	5/5
2	CAD 200
CAD 200	4.9/5
4	CAD 500
CAD 2500	4.9/5
6	CAD 125
CAD 200	4.8/5
8	CAD 200
CAD 500	4/5
10	CAD 2500
CAD 250	4.5/5

Please carefully read through any terms and conditions which will be found on the respective betting sites website in regards to how to claim and use any free bet bonus, failure to adhere to any specific rule may void your winnings so do take some time checking the terms and conditions out.

The above bonus bets are subject to chance at any time, so once again please check out the respective betting sites website for further information on the amount of their current free bet bonus offer.

How We Rank American Football Betting Sites in Canada

The interest in American football betting goes past the US borders, which is why almost all online sports betting operators feature NLF markets on their sites. Most of these sites are available to Canadian bettors, but not all of them are recommended.

In order to come up with a list of truly best American football betting platforms, we had to establish some relevant criteria. All operators that want to get a spot on our list must show that they deserve it by having valid gambling licences, valuable bonuses, a wide range of markets and betting features, mobile compatibility, fast payment methods, and communicative customer support, among other things.

Licensing, Safety, and Trustworthiness

The only way to safely bet on American football online is to visit legit sports betting sites. What makes a given sportsbook legit is its licence, which has to be issued by a reputable online gambling jurisdiction.

You can be sure that all NFL betting sites shared on this page own proper licences and have been checked for safety by our team of experts.

Bonuses

If you want to get a good value on your first deposit, you should look for betting sites that offer rewarding bonuses to their first time players. These bonuses usually come in the form of bonus cash or free bets.

Being avid bettors ourselves, we understand how important lucrative bonuses are, which is why we made sure that all sportsbooks we listed have great welcome packages and other promotions that reward regular customers.

Betting Markets

If you’re only looking for moneyline bets, you’ll find them on every betting site. However, if you want to be more imaginative with your betting, you should look for a sportsbook that allows you to place half-time bets, totals, parlays, teasers, futures, props, and more.

It’s safe to say that the number of different NFL bets you can take on our recommended betting sites will make your head spin. We will talk about different types of American football bets later on, so stay tuned.

Odds

Getting a good value on your bets is one of the most important aspects of betting online. We wanted to save you the trouble of comparing and shopping for odds yourself, which is why we have selected American football betting sites that have the absolute best odds in the industry.

Moreover, you will likely run into some special offers from time to time, such as enhanced odds or accumulator bonuses.

User Experience

Betting on American football online is much easier if you can rely on a user-friendly interface. Unfortunately, you will find many online sportsbooks that don’t really pay attention to their website design, as they often look outdated and sometimes overly complicated.

We prefer betting sites that have a clean and simple design, which allows users to navigate through the website easily and find exactly what they want in a matter of a few clicks.

Mobile Betting

The most convenient way to bet these days is by using your mobile device. If you’re not at home or near a PC, you can simply log in to a betting site over your mobile browser of place bets using a mobile betting app.

All of our recommended operators are mobile-friendly. They all have well-designed mobile sites optimized for smaller screens, while a good portion of them also has apps that you can download and install on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.

Live Betting

Every sports betting site features in-play betting, which is especially popular for NFL games. As time goes by and the score changes, the odds will change accordingly.

Live betting is very convenient, and it works well in situations when you want to change your initial pre-match bet or when you have a better insight into the game now that it has already started.

Payment Methods

A quality online betting site should allow you to perform transactions using safe, quick, and convenient payment methods. When rating American football sportsbooks, we always give advantage to those operators that accept as many different payment methods as possible.

Of course, the sheer number of banking options is not the only thing that matters, which is why we also look at the things like minimum and maximum deposit and withdrawal limits, available currencies, potential bonus restrictions, withdrawal pending times, and fees.

Is betting on American football in Canada legal?

Online sports betting in Canada has been legalized and regulated in several provinces. However, Canadian-based sports betting sites are not exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to American football betting, especially because it is still illegal to place parlay bets in Canada.

That’s why a lot of Canadians prefer to bet on offshore betting sites. While offshore sportsbooks are technically not legal in Canada, they are not illegal either, as Canadians laws do not explicitly prohibit this type of action.

Top Betting Sports

How to Start Betting on American Football

Are you new to online American football betting? Don’t worry, as getting started is a piece of cake. Here’s everything that you need to do:

Signup To A Sportsbook With American football Markets

Pick a website from the list that we’ve provided.

Head over to that website and create an account.

Make A Deposit

Football Betting Sites In America History

Claim that you want to use the operator’s welcome offer.

Go to the cashier, select a deposit method, and enter the amount you want to deposit.

Once the transaction is completed, the money will show up on your account page.

Make A American football Bet

Browse the list of available sports and click on American football.

Start creating your betting slip. Good luck!

Canadian Betting: American Football

Canadians pay close attention to the NFL and support their favorite team’s right throughout the 17 week season. A number of Canadians also regularly place bets on the NFL teams they support and sometimes even on other teams if they believe they can win money off them.

A number of reputed sports betting websites such as Bet365, Paddy Power, William Hill, Betfair and 888 Sports offer betting on American football. These sports betting websites offer betting via their online website and also via a mobile app that is compatible with both Android and mobile platforms.

Some of the bets offered on American football include match betting, total match points, winning margin, tri-bet, handicap betting, alternate handicap, away team total points and home team total points.

Most NFL games run for a little more than an hour but with the amount of commercials and timeouts these games can run for well over two hours. Most sports betting websites offer in-play betting on American football games.

Top American Football Betting Events

It is probably the Super Bowl that most people associate with American Football, and whilst it is true to say that this one annual event does indeed have a huge amount placed and wagered on the outcome of the match, there are plenty of other ways to bet on American Football throughout the year.

In this section of the Betting.ca website we shall let you know not only which American Football events you can wager on but also what types of wagers you can place and of course present to you are range of our top rated online betting sites, all of which accept American Football bets and offer some of the best odds around.

National Football League (NFL)

The NFL is the biggest and most popular American football competition in the world. It consists of 32 teams divided into two conferences — the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference and features teams such as the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins.

The NFL season typically lasts for 17 weeks between September usually one week after Labor day and runs till December, with each team having to play one game a week. After the regular season’s conclusion, the top seven teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, which are played in a single-game elimination system.

The crown of the NFL season is the Super Bowl, which is one of the biggest single-game sporting events in the world. The Super Bowl usually takes place on the first Sunday of February.

Unlike the NBA, NHL, and MLB, the NFL does not feature any Canadian teams. Nevertheless, plenty of Canadians are die-hard fans of American football and love placing bets on NFL games.

Super Bowl

The biggest sporting event in regards to the American Football Calendar is of course the Super Bowl, however you can also place wagers through the season on many different American Football teams all of which are in the American Football Conference (AFC), the National Football Conference (NFC) which make up the National Football League (NFL).

The Super Bowl is broadcasted throughout North America and has a history of being one of the most watch events in every calendar year. The event also results in a massive amount of bets being made both in America and Canada.

The Super Bowl championship generally takes place the following year. This means that the NFL 2016 season will see the final championship take place only during the early part of 2017. The finals usually take place on a Sunday which is often referred to as Super Bowl Sunday.

Types of American Football Bets

The most basic American football betting types are the moneyline, the point spread, and the totals. These are the three types of bets that almost every sports betting site offers. Still, some of the more sophisticated sportsbooks will give you a chance to explore many other markets that will make your betting experience even more enjoyable.

Even if you’re not familiar with any of the betting types mentioned above, there’s no need to worry. We are about to explain them to you in the simplest way possible, while also using some examples.

Handicaps

Should it look like one of the teams playing cannot possibly lose, then the outright winning odds on that team will be restrictive, however thanks to Handicap Betting the opposing team is given a head start and as such the odds reflect their chances with this enhanced starting score.

Match Betting

This is probably the most popular type of wager on any American Football sporting fixture. Simply pick out the team you want to win, place you bets and if that team wins then so do you.

Away Team Total Points

For those of you are looking to get some of the best odds available on any American Football wager, then it is going to be the more exotic types of wagers that you should be placing, if you think you can predict the total points scored by the Away Team, then these types of wagers are renowned for their large payout odds, however they can be rather hard to predict, hence the large odds given!

First Team to call a Timeout

Another of the more unusual types of American Football betting opportunities is the first team to call a timeout wager, the bet is exactly as its name suggests, and you will find many online and mobile betting sites offering you the ability of placing such a wager

Total Points Betting

One final type of American Football betting opportunity that may or may not be of interest to you, but one that can offer some generous winning payout odds is the Total Points wager. This is your chance to correctly guess just how many points will be scored throughout any match, and if correct you will be rewarded with some rather large winning odds.

Moneylines

Two teams are playing against each other, and you need to pick who wins the game. That’s all there is to moneyline betting, which is why this type of bet is ideal for beginners.

The moneyline odds can be good if the two teams are evenly matched. However, if there’s a clear favourite, moneyline automatically becomes less interesting.

For example, the LA Rams are playing the New England Patriots. The odds for the Rams to win are 1.55, while the odds for the Patriots sit at 2.60. This means that the Rams are the favourites, but the game could go either way, and the Patriots winning can bring you a nice payout.

However, the Titans are a much bigger favourite than the Jaguars, and the bookie has given them the odds of 1.10 to win and 7.00 to lose. Therefore, th Titans are very likely to win, which is why you will only get a $1 profit if you decide to bet $10 on them.

Point Spreads

Point spreads are very similar to moneylines in the sense that you only need to pick the winner. However, instead of just picking the outright winner, you’ll be allowed to decide whether the team can win or lose by a certain number of points.

For example, if the spread is +6.5 on the Vikings and you take that bet, that means that the Vikings need to win or lose by 6 points or less. Alternatively, if the spread is -6.5, you should hope that the team you backed wins the game by 7 points or more.

Point spreads are a way for the bookie to level out the playing field and make things between two unevenly matched teams more interesting.

Totals (Over/Under)

If you are not certain on who will win an NFL game, but you have a good hunch regarding the overall score, you should explore the totals, which are also referred to as the over/under market.

Over/under is another market that only has two possible outcomes. The bookie will set a number, for example, 52.5. If you think there will be a total of 52 points or less in the game, you would bet on under. Alternatively, if you feel like the game might finish with 53 points or more, you should place your money on over.

Just like point spread, the totals are a 50/50 market, meaning that the odds for each outcome will usually be around 1.90.

Halftime and Quarter Bets

Moneyline, point spread, and totals can be wagered on for a full-time result, but they are also available for specific periods of the game. Most bookies will give bettors an opportunity to explore these markets for each of the quarters and halves.

Parlays

Parlays are multiple bets placed on a single betting slip. In order for a parlay to be successful, all bets on your betting slip must be successful as well. If you have a pretty good notion of how all the matches will finish during a Monday night time slot, you can combine them on a single slip and get very good odds.

Note that your parlay bet does not have to feature the same betting market for every game you plan to put on your betting slip. Instead, you can place a moneyline bet on the first game, a point spread on the second one, and an over/under bet on the third one.

Also, parlays can work across different sports, so you can combine your American football bets with basketball or ice hockey.

Futures

At any given moment during or before the NFL season, you can bet on which team you think will win the next Super Bowl. This can be a very hard bet to guess, but that’s exactly why the odds tend to be high.

Betting On Football

Apart from guessing the outright winner of the competition, you can also bet on individual player rewards, such as the MVP, Rookie of the Year (both offence and defence), Defensive Players of the Year, and more.

Future bets also allow you to predict whether a certain team will make the playoffs or when they are going to be eliminated.

Proposition Bets (Props)

Props are the bets that include various scenarios during the game. For example, you can bet on which quarter you think will have the most points, how many touchdowns will be scored, the number of total passing yards recorded by a quarterback, which team scores first, which player scores the first touchdown, and others.

Different Types of American Football Betting Bonuses

Essentially, there are three types of sports betting bonuses that can be used on American football — cash bonuses, free bets, and money back promotions.

Cash Bonuses

Cash bonuses are usually given to players upon signup, but they can also come in the form of reload bonuses that are designed to be used after you’re finished with your welcome offer.

In any case, cash bonuses are given as a certain percentage of your initial deposit. For example, if the sportsbook offers 150% up to $200, that means that if you deposit the maximum amount of $200, you will get another $300 in the form of a bonus.

Of course, you won’t be able to withdraw the bonus money right away, as it’s only meant for wagering. You can only cash out once you complete the wagering requirements.

Free Bets

Free bets are the most common type of online sports betting bonuses. They come in the form of bonus cash as well, but unlike regular cash bonuses, their size is the same regardless of your deposit amount. Also, some bookies might offer free bets immediately after you’ve signed up, without requiring a deposit.

To get a free bet, the bookie might ask you to place a qualifying bet that has a minimum odds requirement first. Once that bet has settled, you will get to claim your free bet credits. If your free bet is unsuccessful, it’s no biggie, as you got that bet for free anyway.

But if your free bet is a winning one, you get to keep the profit. Of course, before you are allowed to cash out your free bet winnings, you will have to meet the wagering requirements.

Money Back

Money back is an increasingly popular sports betting promotion as of late. It’s basically a win-win bet, but there’s a catch.

If you win a bet during the money back promotion period, you win as usual, but if you lose, the bookie will give you your stake back. However, the money that is given back to you won’t be withdrawable and instead will come in the form of a free bet that has its own set or requirements.

Tips and Strategies for Betting on American Football

Here are a few general American football betting tips that you should consider before creating your betting slip:

• Don’t be biased — Always bet with your head, not your heart. We understand that you might be a big fan of a certain football club, but don’t let your emotions get in the way.
• Follow the analysis — Keep up with stats to try and figure out certain trends, like how a certain team plays at home as opposed to away, head-to-head history between the teams, how a certain team performed in the last few weeks, etc.
• Pay close attention – to player transfers, new sign-ups, player suspensions and injuries both before and during the season
• Take the time to study – the past 3 seasons and see how the team you want to bet on has performed
• Check the injury reports — Only one player getting injured can mess up the entire team’s structure. See which players have missed practice over the last few weeks and whether they are likely to return for the next game.
• Make use of in-play betting to hedge your bets.
• Explore different kinds of bets — Try and diversify your wagers to see which bets sit with you the best.
• Gamble responsibly — Never bet with money that you shouldn’t spend. Establish a reasonable bankroll and stick to it.

Final Thoughts

We hope that this guide has been useful and that you’ve learned some things that you previously didn’t know about American football betting.

If you think that you are ready to start placing bets on the NFL, take another look at our list of the best American football sportsbooks in Canada and take your pick. Good luck!

American Football Betting FAQ

Online sportsbooks we’ve listed in this article are 100% safe. They are licensed and regulated, and they employ modern SSL technology that protects all transactions.

The easiest type of bet you can make is the moneyline, as it just lets you predict the winner of a given game. However, moneyline bets tend to have low odds on teams that are heavily favoured to win. In such cases, it’s best to bet on point spreads that give underdogs a certain number of handicap points, thus evening out the odds.

The easiest bet to make, especially for beginners, is the match bet. With this bet type, all you have to do is bet on a single team taking the win according to your best judgment. However, if you rely on match bets in the beginning, you should also consider whether your betting provider has the “push” rule, which states that you won’t actually win in the event of a draw.

Second to the match bet is the handicap bet, which is a more advanced bet to make and should be only done when you have basic understanding of how this works. With spread bets, if you bet on the winning team you’ll only win when the team scores over the minimum margin. On the other hand, if you bet on the weaker team, you’ll win both in the case of a win as well as when the win margin is lower.

The key things you have to look out for are the overtime rules that some betting sites apply. Unlike other sports where overtime is rarely counted, with American football match bets or “moneyline” bets have a “push” rule that gets your stake back after over time if the scores are even.

The same rule sometimes applies to spread bets, which if level (handicap applied) after the fourth quarter are still considered a “push”. Another rule to keep your eye on is that, in most cases,the bets stand as long as 55 minutes of gameplay has been realized, even if the game is later replayed.

Yes, all of our recommended sportsbooks have live betting features that allow you to place different kinds of bets while the game is on.

The yardage is one of the most basic methods Canada bettors use to estimate bets since it relies on the basic principle of team strength. The way yardage is applied is by looking at the offensive and defensive yard of each team, i.e. how many yards have been gained and how many defended.

The logic is that, naturally, the teams that gain more yards in the offensive are considered to be the likeliest winner. Of course, this isn’t a failsafe method, but it can often help you pick better.

How to Bet on Football

If you're looking to learn how to bet on NFL football, you're reading the right betting guide. There isn't a more popular sport to bet on in North America then football, as bettors each fall clamour to anything and everything related to betting on football. From point spreads, to over/unders, to money lines, to everything in between, there is no busier time in the sports betting landscape then during those fall and winter months when football season is going on.

How to bet on football during the season is about as easy as it comes as sportsbooks everywhere make the sport their priority. There is never a shortage of betting options on football games, and with the popularity of fantasy football as well, player props – NFL bets based on the player's production – are plentiful as well. To learn more about the NFL game and NFL players check out ourNFL headlines page which is constantly being updated for the latest NFL news and injuries to help you with your NFL bets.

Best Football Betting Sites

Rank	Football Sportsbooks	Welcome Offer	Legal States	Bet Now
1.	BetMGM Visit Review	Risk-Free Bet up to $600 T&C’s Apply, 21+	Available in CO, IA, IN, MI, NJ, NV, PA, TN, VA, WV
2.	PointsBet Visit Review	2 Risk Free Bets to $2,000 T&C’s Apply, 21+	Available in CO, IA, IN, IL, MI, NJ
3.	WynnBet Visit Review	Up To A $500 Risk-Free Bet T&C’s Apply, 21+	Available in CO, MI, NJ

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Understanding Football Odds

The biggest thing in regards to understanding NFL odds relates to the point spread that's put up on each game. Betting on football isn't as simple as just picking the eventual winner of the game, you've got to consider who will win, but more importantly by how much. The point spread is considered the great equalizer in football betting, and being on the right side of that line is the goal of every football bettor. An example of this would be seeing the Kansas City Chiefs as a -4.5 favorite over their opponent, meaning they would have to win the game by at least five points for a bet on KC to win. Otherwise their opponent covers the point spread and that side would win.

Aside from the point spread, the next biggest betting option in football odds each year is the over/under, or total for the game. All these are are point totals bettors are asked to go over or under on for the total combined points in a game. For example a total may be posted at 48.5, and the bettor's job is to predict whether or not the total number of points in the game will exceed or stay below that number. A final score of 30-20 would cash an 'over' bet (50 total points), while a final score of 24-21 (45 total points) would connect on an 'under' selection.

NFL Future Wagers

Future wagers in football are what bettors everywhere spend a good chunk of the summer breaking down, as it's all about what football teams will ultimately come out on top in whatever category the future wager concerns itself with.

The biggest future wager deals with who will ultimately win the Super Bowl that year, and that's one where all the teams will have varying odds on their championship potential. The more likely the team is to be in the championship/playoff fold, the lower their odds will be, but that shouldn't discourage you from looking at teams further down the odds list. Anything and everything can happen during a football season and often does.

Aside from trying to correctly predict the outright champion, other future wagers in football deal with eventual winners in different categories. For team-based futures, these include things like winning their respective division or conference (in college football), winning the AFC or NFC conference in the NFL, and probably the most popular, whether or not a team will go over or under their season win total projection. That's as simple as it sounds. Numbers are put up on how many outright wins a team will have in a given year – say 8.5 for the Buffalo Bills – and the bettor's job is to decipher whether or not the Bills will finish with at least 9 wins (over) or less (under).

How to Bet the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the single biggest betting event on the sports calendar each year, and finding a place to bet on the game is never hard. How to bet on the Super Bowl is a tough thing to explain because you can literally bet on everything about the game and all the surrounding festivities that go on within it, so it's really up to the individual bettor on their wagering preference.

Super Bowl odds for the game itself are the first numbers to hit the market, as the Super Bowl line for the game is the number that quickly gets quoted and discussed about once the matchup is set. But Super Bowl betting is such a vast landscape as a whole, that it's a good thing for some that there is a two-week lead up to the game itself. Below are various tables of the best NFL betting sites with signup bonuses to get you started on your NFL betting journey.

How to Bet the College Football Playoff

NCAA Football odds bring a bit of a different dynamic to football betting overall, as the disparity in talent a lot of the time between college programs brings much larger college football point spreads in general. That tends to not be the case once the college football playoff arrives, as these are the consensus four best teams in the country that year, and with a full season of data behind them, sportsbooks are able to put out some of the toughest (aka sharpest) college football lines out for those playoff games.

College football betting lines during the CFB playoff are dissected for weeks, as bettors look to get what they believe to be the best of the number depending on which program(s) they are looking to back. It's a format where you get three total games to break down from a side and total perspective, and hopefully when it is time for that National Championship game, you keep the big picture in mind of what said teams did over the course of the entire year, and not just how good/bad they looked in advancing through the semi-final matchup.

Popular Football Wagers

Popular football wagers can generally be described as any and all wagers on the point spread or total for football games because of the overwhelming popularity of the sport for betting on the whole. Part of the reason for such popularity is the format of the game itself, as bettors get essentially a full week to do all the research they deem necessary to be successful and then go from there. There are fewer snap decisions or feelings of unpreparedness as there can be with the other major North American sports that operate on a daily schedule because there is only so much one can do in a single day.

NFL Point Spread

If you had to rank or make a list of the most popular football wagers, the point spread would have to come in at the top. All football fans/bettors believe they have more of a grasp on the general question(s) of what team will win and by how many, as opposed to the total points scored, which effectively can be a bit more random. Point spread wagers are where everyone likes to concentrate their attention first.

NFL Over-Under

The total, or over-under, for a football game would have to be classified as next on the popularity list, as it is a wager where you can find a bit more of an edge over the oddsmaker if you are confident in what your handicapping process entails for totals. Yes, the total points scored can be considered a bit more random then the eventual winner of the game, but it's over-under numbers that see more movement on the whole each week leading up to a weekend of football action because bettors everywhere believe their data models etc give them a significant edge at certain numbers and don't hesitate to exploit them when available.

NFL Money Line

Money line bets in football are those where bettors can eliminate the second half of the questions regarding what football team will win and by how much. The “how much” doesn't matter at all in money line plays and oddsmakers price them accordingly. A bettor will have to put up much more money to win say $100 on the ML for a team that's got a -10 number beside their name on the point spread as opposed to a -3 favorite. But that's the price some are willing to pay to avoid getting burned by the 'winning by how much' question.

How Do I Bet Football Parlays

Speaking of money line wagers in football, one of the most common forms of getting a bulk of money line wagers is to have a few of them parlayed together. Betting football parlays is relatively simple in that you need at least two games to make a parlay, and whether or not you chose to use the money lines, point spreads, totals, or any combination of those three is completely up to the bettor.

An example of a football parlay would go like this: Say you believe the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos are both going to win their respective matchups on Sunday. This would be where you are using money line prices only and not concerned with the point spread or over/under for the games.

New England has a money line price of -200 while Denver has a money line price of -150. Bet separately, a bettor would have to put up $200 to win $100 on New England and $150 to win $100 on Denver, but combining the two teams in a money line (aka ML) parlay would have those odds multiplied together. In turn that creates a +150 price overall, and now a single $100 bet would end up potentially paying out $150 in profit for the bettor. However, both teams have to win their games, otherwise the parlay wager is a loser. That's the risk you take with parlays.

What are NFL Prop Bets

Prop bets, short for proposition, are bets that are essentially on anything and everything not specifically related to overall result of who wins and loses. That's not entirely true on specifics, but that's also part of a discussion for another day.

In general proposition bets cover things like statistical results for players – how many completions will a QB have, how many catches or receiving yards will a player have, or even how many points a field goal kicker will account for in a game. The list for what's offered in prop wagers for a specific football game is extremely long at sportsbooks, far too long to fully get into here, but if football bettors come to them with a fantasy football background they are much more easily digested. Prop betting is a market that's picked up exponential interest in recent years on online betting sites because the numbers oddsmakers typically put out are believed to be more beatable, but again, it takes plenty of time and research to feel completely comfortable in what you're doing with them. For example, you can place an NFL prop bet on Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper to have over 8.5 catches on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants. NFL Prop bets allow the game to remain entertaining even when the score is lopsided.

NFL Teasers

Teasers are another popular football bet where NFL bettors can essentially manipulate the point spread and/or over-under line to a more favorable number for their selection. Sportsbooks offer NFL teasers in a variety of point ranges – as even buying a half-point on a spread is a form of a teaser, but in general, 6, 6.5, 7 and 10-point teasers are offered.

Depending on the range a bettor selects – say a 6-point teaser – lines are then manipulated plus or minus 6 points for the bettor depending on what team/side they like. If the New England Patriots were a -7 favorite against Buffalo and you wanted to use a 6-point teaser on them, the new point spread would be New England -1 (moving 6 points lower), whereas if you liked the underdog Buffalo Bills instead in that game, the teased line would then be Buffalo +13 (moving 6 points higher. Teasers do also function like parlays in the sense that you've got to have at least two teased options to make a single teaser.

NFL Live Betting and In-Game Wagering

Many bettors and oddsmakers alike believe that live betting and in-game wagering is the future of sports betting on the whole, and with football betting being the biggest piece of the sports betting pie, live betting football games can be quite thrilling and profitable all at once.

How it works is exactly as the name suggests, as point spreads, totals, and money line prices (among numerous other things including prop bets) are offered throughout each game and before each play. Prices reflect the current score at the time and who has the football and where on the field, so if a pre-game favorite finds themselves in an early hole on the scoreboard, you can rightfully assume that that team is getting at least some support on the ML or new point spreads in live betting offerings.

Super Bowl 54 that saw the Kansas City Chiefs come back in the 2nd half to the beat San Francisco 49ers saw plenty of in-game wagering overall, as bettors who believed the Chiefs would ultimately come back did not hesitate to get as good as underdog price on the ML as they could with Kansas City when they were trailing.

With the way that data is consumed instantly these days, in-game wagering is offered on all NFL games each week and the majority of college football games as well. So whether it's Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, or just a typical Sunday afternoon of following a full slate of football, live betting is something that every bettor should be willing to add to their toolbox as a handicapper.

NFL 1st half and 2nd half bets

These NFL bets are rather self explanatory as well, as they are just point spreads, totals, and money line prices for the respect 30 minutes of play they are titled as. Generally speaking (although it's by no means exactly how they work) 1st half bets are the full game numbers cut in half, give or take a point or so. So a full game line of New England Patriots -7 with a total of 48.5 would see 1st half lines of New England -3.5 or -4, with a 1st half total likely somewhere around 23.5 to 24.5.

2nd half bets are a bit of a different beast as they have to account for what's happened in the first 30 minutes so far and adjust accordingly to what was listed pre-game as well.

Other Football Leagues in United States and North America

Nfl Football Betting Sites

XFL Football

XFL Football returned in 2020 before being shutdown like every other sporting event in the spring because of world events, but in the short time XFL action was on the football field, it had plenty of sports from football bettors everywhere. The success in that market proves just how much bettors love to bet on the game of football regardless of the league, and with the XFL coming back for 2021, and the league's initiative to welcome sports betting talk and referencing with open arms, there is likely tremendous growth in store for XFL betting markets in the future.

Canadian Football

Best Football Betting Sites

Canadian Football (aka the CFL) has a few key rule differences to that of the NFL/NCAA football, but it's still the same game out there on the gridiron and can still be bet on accordingly. Given scoring and rule differences – like the XFL – key betting numbers in terms of the point spread and over-under lines are a little different, but CFL betting lines aren't nearly as obsessed over NFL/NCAAF lines are for oddsmakers and if you are able and willing to put in the time, CFL profits can be just as green for your bankroll's bottom line.