Best NFL Betting Sites 2021

What are the Best Football Online Betting Sites?

Before you buy or lease a car, you take it for a test drive. Nobody walks into the dealership, points to the first car they see and says, “MINE.” Because you're looking to have some fun wagering on the NFL each week, and may not have time to test-drive every NFL betting site on the internet, we'll do it for you.

Our reviews of NFL sites offer insight into the vast landscape of NFL online betting. Whether handicappers are looking to make simple prop bets, or want to know which NFL sportsbooks have the best deposit bonuses and odds, we have the goods on National Football League betting sites.

Are NFL Betting Sites Legal?

NFL betting sites are very much legal. Most of the top sportsbooks are licensed and regulated by a governing body. There are both offshore sportsbooks and state-regulated sites in the US, and while the offshore betting sites may not be licensed by the states, they’re still entirely safe to legally bet at online.

States Where You Can Bet Legally On The NFL

Odds Shark's Criteria for an NFL Sportsbook

Sportsbooks are the fancy industry name for the NFL website you visit to bet on football games online, and not a book about sports like Grays Sports Almanac.

When we evaluate NFL sports betting sites online, we look for the following:

NFL Betting Site Criteria

NFL Betting Lines and Odds

If betting online is your thing, and you know that most of your sports wagers are being placed on professional football, it’s important to make sure there are great NFL odds available for each and every game. Regardless of whether it’s a Sunday afternoon showdown between the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks, or a Monday night football matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, the top American football betting sites will have the best lines.

NFL Betting Bonuses

Pretty much every betting site offers some sort of bonus to its players. While some promotions are better than others, the most common are welcome bonuses, where new members get a particular percentage up to a certain amount of money. For example, a 100 percent welcome bonus up to $1,000. You might even find a 50 percent first-deposit bonus up to $500, when searching for where to bet on NFL games.

User Interface

Betting online is a lot easier with a user-friendly interface. Some NFL betting sites have a slightly difficult interface to navigate through, some stick with the same interface, while other online sportsbooks are criticized for outdated designs. Most NFL bettors prefer a more simple, easy-to-use, clean, and up-to-date design.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Always be sure to check out the betting site’s banking options. The more payment methods a cashier system has, the better. A wide range of payment options and the fees that come with each, is important. Most NFL betting sites accept credit cards like Visa, Mastercard and American Express, debit cards, checks, money transfers, e-wallets like PayPal, Neteller or Skrill, and cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash or Ethereum.

Safe and Trustworthy

Online football betting is safe so long as you use reputable and trustworthy sites. Before you deposit any of your money into an online sportsbook account, you want to be extra sure that you can trust the people behind the site.

Customer Service and Support Team

It’s crucial that sports bettors are able to get in contact with a representative if ever they have any questions or concerns. The best online NFL betting sites have agents available by phone, email, and live chat 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some sites are even able to assist through their social media channels.

Currencies and Languages

In addition to English, the more reliable NFL betting sites offer a slew of languages including French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese just to name a few. And while the majority of online sportsbooks accept US dollars, they also accept Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, Euros, and Pounds.

Any of the sportsbooks we list above meet our criteria for a positive betting experience, otherwise we wouldn't recommend them.

How to Sign Up at a Sportsbook to Bet on the NFL

From our list of sportsbooks, pick the one you like the best. The sign-up process only takes a few minutes. All you need is your email address and your deposit info ready. You can use everything from PayPal to Bitcoin to fund your account.

Fill out the relevant information and wait with bated breath for a confirmation email or link. This should happen quickly, like a center getting the ball into the quarterback's hands. Look for a welcome offer, deposit bonus or first-time sports bettor rebates, like free bets, to give your NFL betting bankroll a boost.

We can't guarantee you'll make enough cash to buy the Miami Dolphins, but we can guarantee that any of the sportsbooks we champion are reputable and have betting odds on each NFL game played.

How to Bet on NFL Matchups: Best NFL Bets

There are many ways to bet on an NFL game. Whether you're looking to lay down a few dollars on Patriots odds or take the UNDER in the next AFC or NFC championship game, our football gambling tutorials will help take your NFL betting IQ to the next level.

Moneyline Betting: Picking a Winner

Often referred to as a straight-up bet, the moneyline requires you to pick an outright winner of the game. NFL betting odds would look something like this:

In this scenario, the Saints are the favorite - as denoted by the minus sign (-). The Falcons are the underdog - as shown by the plus sign (+).

If you were to bet $25 on the Saints, a winning ticket would give you a $38.51 payout - your original $25 is returned along with your winnings of $13.51. The flip side of that bet would need to see the Falcons win and you would get $56.25 - your $25 comes back along with your loot of $31.25.

Betting on the dog comes with more risk, therefore, it's more financially rewarding. To see what you would win based on the amount of your bet and the odds, check out our Odds Calculator.

Point Spread Betting: Which NFL Team Will Cover?

To give both sides in a game an equal betting field, oddsmakers create a spread. The underdog is given a certain amount of points and the favorite has that same number of points taken away. This is done to give the dog an advantage, which is great when betting on football games where one side is completely outmatched by the other.

NFL betting odds would look something like this:

Those who took the Steelers would need the football team to win by five or more points. Those who bet on the Packers would need their team to either win the game or lose by four or less. If the final score is 28-24 for Pittsburgh, the team did not cover the spread since they only won by four. However, Green Bay did cover since they only lost by four.

Totals Betting: More or Less Points Scored

Totals or OVER/UNDER bets require you to predict if the total score of a game will be more or less than the oddsmaker's set number. For instance, the total for a game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks is set at 35.5. If you believe the total will be less than 35, you would bet the UNDER. If you believe the total will be more than 35, you would bet the OVER.

Let's say the Rams score three touchdowns (21) and the Seahawks score one TD (7) and a field goal (3). That would make the total 31 and those who bet the UNDER would be on the receiving end of a winning wager.

Sometimes you'll see totals without the decimal (.5). For example, for the same game, the total could be 35. If the combined score is 35 exactly, it's called a PUSH. Should this happen, you would get your money back since you didn't win or lose your bet.

Prop Betting: Fun Wagers

NFL Prop bets online are popular with NFL bookmakers, especially during the playoffs and Super Bowl. Props are bet options that can be made on certain players or the team as a whole. Player props include: How many rushing yards will Derrick Henry have? Or, how many TDs will Patrick Mahomes throw in the big game?

You can also make fun Super Bowl bets like: What will be the color of Gatorade poured on the winning Super Bowl coach? Or, how long will it take to sing the national anthem?

Futures Betting: Long-term Gambles

Football betting sportsbooks offer NFL wagering year-round, including the offseason and the preseason, in the form of NFL futures odds. These are bets made on events that usually take place at the end of the regular season. With future odds, you can wager on things like which teams will win their divisions, betting NFL season win totals, which teams will make it to the Super Bowl, total passing and rushing yards, and NFL draft picks.

Parlay Betting: The Multiple Bets Bundle

This is a bet that combines two or more bets on one ticket. Parlays let you create a betting slip with a moneyline, OVER / UNDER and point spread bets on it. However, all your bets must hit in order for your parlay to cash out.

Live NFL Betting Online: Wagering While the Game is Going On

One of the greatest things about putting money on the NFL – besides the potential to win money – is live betting. Football wagering sites offer betting action on live odds and lines as the game is going on, giving you the chance to bet on almost every play. In-game betting, or in-play betting as it is sometimes called, allows you to bet on potential drive results like whether it will end in a touchdown. You can also bet on what the next play could be.

Bets Placed Soon After Release

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Bets Placed Just Before Kickoff

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Bets Placed During a Game

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NFL Betting Tips