Futures Betting Explained
sports-betting

Futures Betting Lines

Betting on futures such as who will win the AFC East title, the Super Bowl or the College Football Playoff National Championship Game continues to grow in popularity. And it’s not just football that offers futures wagers, as you’ll also find lines on the NBA Finals champion, the World Series champion and the Stanley Cup champion before the seasons get underway.

In fact, just about every sports league will have futures wagers available at the sportsbooks, from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, to college football and college basketball, to MLS and European soccer leagues, and even to golf, tennis and motorsports. Favorites and long shots to win upcoming titles can be found all year long on the futures boards online.

Why do People Bet on Futures? 

Sports fans like the notion of being smarter than everyone else almost as much as they like the idea of winning money. So being able to pick the Super Bowl Sportsbook in August makes you the smartest handicapper in town.

You can also get tremendous long-shot odds on futures bets if you are clever or lucky. Recall the 1999 St. Louis Rams, who started off as 300/1 underdogs on Super Bowl futures bets. What a nice payoff for bettors who put a few bucks down on that.

The problem with futures betting is that it takes six months or longer to grade your bet. That’s a long time to have a part of your betting bankroll locked into a bet. However, if you pick a small amount as futures betting fun money, it can produce nice profits for you.

And the best thing about prop bets and futures bets is that different sportsbooks offer a unique set of betting options, so you can find something interesting and you can compare odds to get the best deal.

Back to Top