There is an often-repeated gambler’s fallacy that states you should only bet on sports with a round ball, as the behaviour of such a ball is considered to be more predictable. This introductory look at American Football betting, completely disproves this theory.
Wagering on American football offers some of the most predictable markets in all of sports betting, which has made it massively popular with UK gamblers looking for Non GamStop sportsbooks. When you look at major football leagues like the NFL, you will find that upsets are rare, and due to this predictability of match outcomes, the actual betting itself is what gets really in-depth.
The devil is in the details of the conditions of the wager. The crown jewel of American football is the annual Super Bowl (where over 50 million people) wager more than £13 billion. Plus, thanks to the trusted Non GamStop gambling sites we recommend, there has never been a better opportunity to sign up for American football betting at a casino not on GamStop.
Uncover the Hidden Opportunities in Football Betting
As the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events of the year, there is a wealth of online data available on team performances, player stats and game predictions that are essential for making informed bets. American football is also one of the most widely televised and publicised sports meaning it is easy keeping up to date with the latest happenings.
Furthermore, NFL and other football events are one of the most widely represented sports in online betting which means multiple Non GamStop casinos will cater to American football punters. With its wide representation, you will be able to hunt down the absolute best odds for your bets at any one of our recommended sports betting sites not on GamStop such as Black Magic Casino.
Understand How This Works: Tips for Successful Football Betting
The NFL is the highest level of professional American football, with a league consisting of 32 teams. The 32 team are split into 2 16 team divisions or “conferences” called the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC)
The NFL features basically three major seasons throughout the year with multiple games being played between teams and divisions, all culminating in the national event, the Super Bowl. It’s important to distinguish these seasonal game differences, especially for punters that are interested in taking up football betting.
1. Pre-season
Preseason games between the AFC and the NFC do not count towards the standings of the regular season. Instead these games are seen as exhibition matches used by coaches to set their strategies for the year.
Preseason games are not very popular with fans or players as these games increases risk of injury for players and the audience do not see the teams play to win. Preseason games are also very unpredictable so they see the lowest amount of betting of the entire season.
2. Regular season
With 272 games played over an 18-week period, this is the main event of the football season. 14 teams face each other to determine who will be eligible for the Super Bowl, the grandest event of the American sporting sphere.
3. Post season
Our favourite NFL betting period is the NFL playoffs featuring 14 teams in a single elimination tournament setup. It uses 7 of the top teams from each division along with 3 wild card teams.
Another highlight of the post season is the Pro Bowl, an all-star game held a week before the Super Bowl and it offers some exciting betting action as it features teams consisting of the best players the NFL has to offer.
4. The best of the rest
Canadian Football League (CFL) – while it features high level professional football action featuring some of the finest athletes in the world, it does still unfairly sit in the shadow of the NFL. We love CFL betting as the smaller roster of nine teams is just a much more fun and manageable way to bet.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) – this offers exciting and fresh college level football from America. It’s a wild division to bet on as matches are much more unpredictable than with the NFL. The young future stars put it all on the line and this can result in some huge pay outs for UK gamblers. The unpredictability means UK and US gamblers are on the same footing, in being able to predict the outcomes.
Experience the Rush of Betting: Choose Your Winning Path
Before we look at the ways UK gamblers can bet on American football and other events, we must first understand how odds are displayed for these events.
Harness the power of odds to maximise your luck
In UK and European sportsbooks, we will see the use of decimal odds. If we take two NFL teams, the Raiders and the Packers, in a head to head matchup, we will see the odds displays as below:
| Las Vegas raiders -177 | Green bay packers -215 |
In European sports betting these odds will be displayed as 1.77 and 2.15 respectively. What these figures mean is for example, if you are going to place a wager on the Raiders to win, in order to win £100, you will need to wager £177.
Furthermore, you will also notice that they have plus values and minus values next to the odds. The favourite to win will always have a minus symbol while the underdogs will always have a plus symbol featured. This seems a bit counter intuitive but it’s related to the point spreads needed to win the wager.
The best way to place your bets
Moneyline bets
Moneyline bets are simple straight bets on who will be the winner or loser of a specific game. Some events like boxing matches may have a “draw” option as well. Using our previous example, the advertised betting option in the UK will look like this for example:
| Las Vegas raiders 1.77 | Green bay packers 2.15 |
Spread bets
Spread bets are more involved than a straight money line bet. Here your wager is based on a winning margin that is set out by the bookmaker. Let’s use the above two teams as an example again.
A spread bet will look like this:
| Las Vegas Raiders (-2) 1.9 | Green Bay Packers (+2) 1.9 |
In this example, the “+” next to the Green Bay Packers team means they are the underdogs in this matchup. If you bet on the Packers, they will need to win, but you can also win the bet if they lose, but by a margin of 2 or less.
If you place a wager on the favourites, in this example the Raiders, you will bet that they will win, but they must win by a margin of two or more points for you to claim your winning bet.
Teasers and parlay bets
While teaser and parlay bets are very exciting and challenging to strategies, they usually are not in the bettor’s favour. Straight bets are a safer way to start out sports betting.
- Parlays – combine multiple bets onto one package, but you must win every bet in the parlay
- Teasers – in this bet, the bettor can set the point spread win margin themselves, to make the odds more favourable, but in turn it will lower the pay out of the bet
Personally, we always avoid teaser and parlay bets as it just gets too complex as the variables increase. Moneyline and spread bets keep us more than entertained and we just feel a lot more confident in our betting strategies with the two basic ways to bet.
Proposition bets
Proposition bets are unique and popular wagers that have spread from America all over the world. These wagers are on events or conditions or circumstances not directly related to the match and score.
For example, it can offer bettors a chance to wager how many homeruns a specific baseball player will hit in one game, perhaps something as cheeky as how many red cards a football team will get in a specific game. Proposition bets can get as wild and wacky as the betting site’s imagination. While these bets are very fun, they of course can be very risky.
How to Get the Best Odds?
Odds on sports events can vary greatly when it comes to online sports betting. When it comes to betting on American football, literally every single decimal point counts with regards to the available odds. Betting on the NFL is all about finding the best point spreads at the most favourable odds.
Casinos not on GamStop are a great place to find all the most popular American football bets in one space. These vetted and trusted recommended sites all carry favourable odds on the biggest matchups in the NFL and many other football divisions.
UK sports betting fans who don’t want to be limited by the registered sites on GamStop can access a world of exciting online sports betting at casinos such as Blood Moon Casino, Mr Sloty Casino, and many more that deliver real money betting to UK gamblers.
