With legal sports betting now live in Michigan, NFL betting is set to explode in the Great Lakes State. Licensed sportsbooks across Michigan now offer futures, moneylines, pointspreads, over/unders, parlays, and props for the most popular and most bet on sport in the United States. You can also bet the NFL online with one of many Michigan online sportsbooks and betting apps.

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I use mybookie for sports betting and primarily bet on NBA/NFL and occasionally some college games. The payouts are usually very fast and on most occasions immediately after the game is over. When I have had to reach out to customer service, they are prompt in responding in a live chat. Another method of wagering on the NFL is live betting, also known as in-play betting. No longer are gamblers required to place their bets before opening kickoff and ride out the storm. Now users can watch a game unfold for one, two, or three quarters and place their bets based on updated odds. Online NFL Betting Picks: Tips & Strategies Every avid football bettor is looking to build a successful NFL betting model to ensure that they win the most wins possible. While we still haven’t been able to emulate the success of Bill Benter and his horse racing algorithm, we do still have some tips that help you get more wins.

Across the US there is more money bet on the NFL than anything else in sports. Things are no different in Michigan, home to the Detroit Lions. Michigan sportsbooks allow NFL betting of all kinds, starting in the off-season and running all the way through to the rush of betting on the Super Bowl.

Find out all about betting on the NFL in Michigan, including everything from the best bets to make and where to make them.

Best sportsbooks in Michigan with NFL promos

Live NFL odds

See below for the current NFL futures odds for next season. Click on any odds to go directly to the online sportsbook, claim your bonus and get your NFL bets down. Use the drop-down menu to change your odds board between the next Super Bowl winner, Conference champions and NFL MVP.

How to open a sportsbook account and bet the NFL in Michigan

As long as you are in Michigan state lines with access to the internet, you can bet on the NFL using your phone, tablet or computer thanks to a number of Michigan online sportsbooks.

Betting on the NFL online in Michigan is a simple three-step process requiring you to:

• Register for an account
• Make a deposit
• Fill out a bet slip

Of course, the process will differ slightly between the different betting apps and websites. However, the three basic steps will be the same:

Register for an account

You won’t be able to make NFL bets online in Michigan until you register for an account with a licensed sportsbook. The good news is that the sportsbooks make this easier than you can imagine.

Just follow these simple steps:

• Find the ‘REGISTER’ tab on the Michigan online and mobile sportsbook homepage
• Fill out the required personal and account information fields with things like your name, email, date of birth and last four digits of your SSN
• Enter the exclusive promo code you find on our website for the sportsbook of your choice to make sure you get the best bonus
• Check the boxes accepting all terms and conditions and submit the information

The sportsbook will verify your age and location.

Make a deposit

The next step is getting money into your account. Most sportsbooks offer you a variety of different deposit methods, including everything from credit and debit cards to online payment processors and cash at various retail locations, including affiliated casinos and retail sportsbooks

To make a deposit into your account just follow these simple steps:

• Find the ‘DEPOSIT’ tab on the sportsbook homepage
• Choose the best method of deposit available
• Enter the amount you want to deposit and follow the prompts
• Confirm the transaction

With most deposit methods the funds will be immediately available.

Fill out a bet slip

Filling out a bet slip is the final step in betting on football in Michigan.

This is another simple process that can be completed by following these easy steps:

• Login
• Browse through live betting lines
• Click on a line you want to bet on
• Verify the information contained on the instantly created bet slip
• Enter the amount you want to bet
• Verify the potential payout displayed
• Click the ‘Place Bet’ tab to confirm

NFL bet types in Michigan

Michigan sportsbooks offer the following basic ways to bet on the NFL:

• Moneyline: Pick a winner of a game. Then, book a moneyline bet at the currently posted odds. Favorites show a negative (-) number indicating how much you must bet to win $100, plus your bet back. Underdogs show a positive (+) number indicating how much you’ll earn for every $100 you bet. If the Detroit Lions moneyline is at -120, then every $120 bet on the Lions stands to win $100, plus your bet back. If the Lions moneyline is at +200, then every $100 bet on the Lions stands to win $200, plus your bet back.
• Point spread: Pick the winner of a game, but factor in the point spread set by oddsmakers into the final score to determine the betting winner.If the Lions point spread is -6.5 they will need to win by at least seven for point spread bets to pay. If the Lions point spread is at +6.5, not only does the bet cash if the Lions win, it cashes if they lose by fewer than seven points.
• Total: Pick whether the total points scored in a game or period of a game will be over or under a line set by oddsmakers.
• Props: Prop betting allows you to bet on whether certain things may or may not happen during a game, including players and teams reaching certain statistical milestones. Will the Lions score first? Will Lions QB Matthew Stafford throw more than three TD passes?
• Parlays: Combine two or more basic bets into a single bet. Get paid at ballooning odds, but only if every bet that’s part of the parlay wins.
• Futures: Pick a team to win the Super Bowl, MVP, conference, or division at opening odds.
• NFL live betting: NFL live or in-game betting is betting on games that have already started at odds that are adjusted based on what’s happening on the field. Live betting is offered at retail and online and mobile sportsbooks, but it’s much easier to manage online because of the speed at which the odds change.

A look at the 2021-22 NFL season

The 2021-22 NFL season will kick off Sept. 9, 2021. The season will wrap up with Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 6, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The NFL Playoffs will follow the regular season with an expanded 14-team single-elimination tournament to determine who plays in the Super Bowl. In a new wrinkle adopted in 2020, the league added two playoff teams to each conference’s tournament.

How to bet on the NFL preseason

The NFL preseason is just a tuneup for the regular season. Regular season starters get more rest than playing time and winning isn’t really the goal. Michigan sportsbooks offer betting lines on preseason games, but your guess is as good as theirs as to who will actually win these meaningless contests.

Training camps are set to be held from late July through August each year.

Betting on the NFL regular season

The NFL rewards winning and until teams have locked up playoff spots and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, every team tries to win every game it can.

The league divides its 32 teams into two 16-team conferences: The AFC and NFC. Each team plays 16 regular-season games over a 17-week regular season and only the best seven teams in each conference make the playoffs.

Michigan sportsbooks offer various betting markets for every regular-season game and futures markets on team performance, allowing you to bet on almost every aspect of the NFL regular season.

Betting on the NFL Playoffs

Only the best seven teams in each of the AFC and NFC make the NFL Playoffs. This includes the team with the top regular-season record in each division, seeded one through four in the conference.

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In each conference, the teams with the fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-best records qualify for the playoffs as wild cards.

The NFL Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament to decide the NFL champion, so it goes without saying that teams are trying to win. Lines set by sportsbooks will be stunningly accurate because oddsmakers have fewer teams to focus on.

Wild Card Weekend starts things off with three division winners hosting three wild card teams in each conference. The top-seeded team in each conference gets a bye.

The three wild card winners move on to round two along with top seed in the Divisional Round. Then those winners meet in the AFC and NFC Championship games.

Betting on the Super Bowl

The AFC and NFC Conference champions face off in the Super Bowl to determine which team will hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Michigan sportsbooks will offer more props and betting markets for the Super Bowl than any other sporting event. The Super Bowl has become one of the single biggest days in sports and sports betting.

Where are the best places to bet on the NFL in Michigan?

Looking to head out to catch the action on an NFL Sunday or for one of the primetime tilts? Here are some of the top spots for you to check out here in Michigan, all of which will feature the latest odds for the games.

1. MGM Grand Detroit / BetMGM

• Name: BetMGM Sports Lounge
• Address: 1777 3rd Ave, Detroit, MI 48226
• Phone: (877) 888-2121
• Sportsbook hours: 7 days – 9 a.m – 11 p.m
• Lounge hours: 7 days – 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Online sportsbook:BetMGM Michigan

The BetMGM Sports Lounge features six betting windows for you to take care of business, and there are also 14 self-serve kiosks elsewhere on the property. Amenities include a full-service bar and 60 HDTVs to enjoy the games on.

2. MotorCity Casino Hotel / FanDuel Sportsbook

• Name: FanDuel Sportsbook
• Address: 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI 48201
• Phone: (866) 782-9622
• Sportsbook hours: 7 days – 9 a.m – 12 a.m.
• Online sportsbook:FanDuel Michigan

The launch of the FanDuel Sportsbook was met with much fanfare in March 2020. It’s easy to see why with 67 HDTV’s, a sports ticker, six betting windows, and 54 self-serve kiosks among the amenities that are waiting for visitors.

3. FireKeepers Casino / Dacey’s Sportsbook

• Name: Dacey’s Sportsbook
• Address: 11177 E Michigan Ave, Battle Creek, MI 49014
• Phone: (877) 352-8777
• Sportsbook hours: M-F: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. S/S: 9 a.m. – Midnight
• Online sportsbook: TBD

Dacey’s Sportsbook has received high marks from Casino Player magazine and the praise is warranted. Beyond the standard betting windows and kiosks, there’s a bar and restaurant on site, as well as several large video screens to soak in all of the action.

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These are three outstanding spots to watch and wager on the NFL, but there are several other stellar options to consider when looking for NFL lines in Michigan. Included on that list are The Onyx Sportsbook by William Hill at Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg, and the Four Winds Casino Sportsbook in New Buffalo.

Basic NFL betting strategy

The best NFL betting strategies are all information-based. That means you have to watch NFL games and read and watch everything you can about the league to bet on the NFL successfully.

High-quality research is key. You need to pore over news reports on the internet and consume everything you can about the NFL from multiple sources with the goal of turning your guesses into informed and educated picks. You also need to watch NFL games as there is no substitute for seeing what teams and players are capable of with your own eyes.

Of course, you also need to learn how to be selective. You don’t have to bet on every game, just the ones where the information you’ve uncovered shows that one team has an edge.

Plus, you must learn to avoid the tease of multi-game parlays that promise big paydays but rarely come through.

• Shop for lines: When you find a side you like, don’t forget to shop around for a price on it. Look at the line at every licensed Michigan sportsbook you can. Shop around for the best price on a bet because finding it is like putting money in your pocket, win or lose.
• Fade the public: Lines might move because of injuries to key players and reports of bad weather. But when they move because of big bets or increased action on one side you should be ready to pounce. When a line moves because the betting public is on one side or the other you can fade the public. These movements are artificial. There’s no on-the-field reason for the adjustment. Take advantage by sticking to oddsmakers’ initial predictions with a little extra leeway.
• Don’t chase losses: Chasing losses with bigger and more bets is a quick way to go broke. Instead, manage your bankroll by betting the same amount most times. That way you’ll still have a bankroll when the inevitable winning streak comes around.
• Avoid betting with your heart: Diehard Detroit Lions fans often make the mistake of betting with their hearts, not their heads. Use information, stats, and data to make picks instead.
• Favorites for a reason: NFL longshots offer attractive paydays, but you’ll lose a lot more of these bets than you’ll win. Try mixing in a few favorites with your dogs for better overall results.

How to watch the NFL in Michigan

Live streams of certain games are available free on the NFL app. This includes some Detroit Lions games and nationally broadcast primetime games like ESPN’s Monday Night Football and NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

The Yahoo Sports app or an online streaming package is required if you want to stream NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football games. Your cable package is another option to access NFL Network.

If you want online access to the entire NFL schedule, you need to purchase an NFL Sunday Ticket or NFL Game Pass package that allows for live streaming of all games and online replays.

The NFL has granted FOX (NFC) and CBS (AFC) TV broadcast rights. This means you can watch regional NFL games on TV for free, so you’ll find most Detroit Lions or Green Bay Packers games on Fox affiliates in Michigan, including:

• Alpena: WBKB-DT2 11.2
• Cadillac (Traverse City): WFQX-TV 32
• Detroit: WJBK 2
• Flint: WSMH 66
• GrandRapids: WXMI 17
• Lansing: WSYM-TV 47
• Marquette: WLUC-DT2 6.2
• Sault Marie: WWUP-DT2 10.2 (satellite of WFQX)
• Vanderbilt: WFUP-TV 45 (satellite of WFQX)

Road games against AFC opponents will be aired on CBS affiliates in Michigan, including:

• Alpena: WBKB-TV 11
• Bay City (Flint): WNEM-TV 5
• Cadillac (Traverse City): WWTV 9
• Detroit: WWJ-TV 62
• Kalamazoo (Grand Rapids): WWMT 3
• Lansing: WLNS-TV 6
• Sault Ste. Marie: WWUP-TV 10 (satellite of WWTV)

FOX and CBS affiliates also air national games and games of regional interest.

Michigan NFL teams and rivals

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions play in the NFC North Division. The Lions were originally the Portsmouth Spartans, who joined the NFL in 1930, moved to Detroit from southern Ohio in 1934, and were renamed.

The team is owned by Sheila Ford Hamp. She took over the team in June 2020 from her mother Martha Firestone Ford, the grandchild of the founders of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. and the widow of Henry Ford’s grandson. William Clay Ford bought the Lions in 1963 and passed controlling interest on to his widow when he died in March 2014, who then passed it to their second-oldest of four children.

The Detroit Lions have won four NFL championships, but the team’s last title came in 1957, winning one playoff game since then. The Lions have never been to the Super Bowl. The Lions have played home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit since 2002.

2019-20 Detroit Lions

The 2019 Detroit Lions started the season with two wins and a tie. However, the team lost 12 of its last 13 games and did not make the NFL Playoffs.

Starting QB Matthew Stafford fractured bones in his back in Week 9 and backup QBs Jeff Driskel and David Blough did not win a single game in relief.

The Lions ended up posting with a 3-12-1 record.

However, Head Coach Matt Patricia is returning for a third season in 2020 and the Lions signed Pro Bowl corner Desmond Trufant to a two-year, $21-million deal heading into the season. Other high profile additions include tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (five years / $45 million) and linebacker Jamie Collins (three years / $30 million).

The Lions selected Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah with the third pick of the NFL Draft, adding Georgia running back D’Andre Swift in round two.

Lions rivals

The Detroit Lions’ two longest rivals are in the NFC North division and have been playing against the Lions since the team joined the NFL in 1930

Of course, the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers have enjoyed much more success than the Lions have.

The Bears won eight NFL Championships prior to the AFL–NFL merger and Super Bowl XX in 1985. The Packers won 11 NFL Championships prior to the AFL–NFL merger and Super Bowl I, II, XXXI, and XLV.

Three of the best Detroit Lions of all time

1. Barry Sanders: Sanders played for the Lions for 10 seasons from 1989 to 1998. He led the league in rushing four times and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year twice. Sanders was a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma State and won NFL Rookie of the Year in his first NFL season. In 1997, he became just the third player ever to rush for over 2,000 yards and was named NFL Most Valuable Player. Sanders retired just 1,457 yards short of the NFL all-time rushing record and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
2. Alex Karras: Karras played for the Lions from 1958 to 1970. He made the Pro Bowl four times. Karras went on to find another career as an actor starring in the 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles and the ABC sitcom Webster from 1983 to 1989. Karras was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
3. Charlie Sanders: Sanders played tight end for the Lions from 1968 to 1977. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, three-time First-Team All-Pro and a member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team. Sanders was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Professional football is the king of pro sports in the United States. Professional football draws the largest TV audience of all pro sports in America. If that’s not proof enough, understand that NFL games also draw the biggest live audiences, and that’s saying something considering the size and fandom of NCAA football games. To top things off, pro football is the most gambled-on sport in the US. Lest you forget, the Super Bowl is by far the most exciting sports event in the USA, a marketing juggernaut, an event like no other. Clearly, Americans love pro football.

As more and more Americans discover they have the ability to place online bets, we’re getting more and more requests for information. We’ve prepared this page as a guide for our readers in the United States who’re interested in online football betting.

An FAQ for First Time Online Football Bettors

What is online football betting?

Online football betting is using the Internet to place wagers on professional football games. Online football betting differs from traditional sportsbook betting only in its use of the Internet. Substitute an online bookmaker for the guy behind the counter at a Vegas sportsbook, and you’ve got online football betting.

Isn’t it illegal to bet on football online?

This question is tricky to answer. In America, we have to deal with three layers of gaming law. The federal government has its share of laws, but most gaming regulation in America is done at the state level. To further complicate things, some local governments (county and city) have their own gaming laws in place. You can see why this question gives us a bit of a headache.

• Let’s start with federal law – is there any federal law that declares online football betting illegal? There is, but that sounds worse than it really is. The Federal Wire Act of 1961 declared wagering on sports across state lines “by wire” illegal, and the Department of Justice clarified this in 2011 to focus on Web-based sports betting exclusively. But there’s an important caveat. The US government is not in the business of arresting individuals for placing bets on sports. The Wire Act is designed to attack the operators of illegal gambling, not the participants. The federal government is not coming to your house to press charges for placing bets on the NFL.
• What about state laws? Yes, some states have banned online gambling in general, so if you place a bet on football and you live in one of those states, you’re breaking the law. The list is: Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. In those states, it is illegal to place any wager online.
• As for local laws, Ythey’re so convoluted and they change so often that it’s impossible for us to keep our finger on that particular pulse. If you’re concerned about a local gambling law, consult a lawyer in your area familiar with the gaming industry.

Where can I place a legal online football bet in America?

The US online gambling market is a complicated thing. It’s even more complex when it comes to the sports betting marketplace. That’s because the US government has an enforceable law which says, plainly, that placing sports bets across state lines using the Internet is illegal. What’s worse, this law has been on the books in some form for sixty-five years. But as we’ve already said, this law shouldn’t be a concern for you, the sports bettor. The Department of Justice is interested in big fish – lawsuits that bring down multi-million dollar operations and put the heads of these organizations in prison. They never have, and as far as we can tell never will, arrest Joe Blow for buying a $100 parlay once a week during the NFL season.

The 2006 UIGEA bill adds another wrinkle. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act became law by being tacked onto a unanimously-approved anti-terror omnibus law. While the goal of UIGEA was to end all online gambling in America, it fell far short of that mark. The only thing that a sports bettor has to deal with in regards to UIGEA is the fact that it’s hard to send and receive money as an online gambler than it was before UIGEA passed.

We said all that to say this – so long as you’re placing sports bets with an offshore company, you’re not technically breaking the law. You’re certainly not breaking the law in any way that will attract the attention of law enforcement. That means you’re free to make an account at any online sportsbook that accepts US customers.

A Crash Course in Online Football Betting

Football Lines & Odds

The odds formats used for online bets on football are the same that are used for betting on many different sports. If you already know how to wager on basketball, baseball, or hockey games, you’ll immediately recognize the betting options available for football bets.

NFL bettors use four different types of bets on NFL games: money line, point spread, game totals, and parlays. These four bets make up the vast majority of (if not all) bets placed on professional and college football. Each of them acts a bit differently.

The Money Line

Bookmakers create the money line in the hopes of bringing in balanced bets. That is, their goal is to make both sides of the contest attractive, so that they profit regardless of how the game turns out. The money line is popular in part because it’s easy to read, and you can glean a lot of information about a game from a quick glance at a money line.

Beating the money line is as easy as picking the team that’s going to win outright. The money line is created by oddsmakers, who evaluate each team against its opponent and create a line that honors the favorite as well as the underdog. The difference in odds created by this balance of favorite and underdog is desirable for the bookmaker, but can be tough for the bettor to beat.

Here’s a totally made-up money line to use as an example:

What do we learn from these two simple lines? For starters, the Colts are identified as the favorite. How do we know that? The favorite in a money line is always marked with a “-” sign. We also know that the game is taking place in Houston – the team on the bottom is always the home team. Since the favorite is marked with a “-” symbol, the underdog must be the one marked with a “+” symbol. In other words, just from looking at the line, we know that Indianapolis is favored to head down to Houston and walk away with a road win.

What about those numbers next to the team names? Each team’s number indicates something different. For the favorite (in this case, Indianapolis), the number indicates how much you have to bet in order to win a $100 payout. For the underdog (in our example, the Texans), the number indicates the payout for a successful $100 bet. If you want to win $100 by betting on the Colts, you’ll need to drop $210. If you place a $100 bet on Houston to pull off the upset, your payout will be $170.

The Point Spread

A point spread is a different tool oddsmakers can use to create a balanced set of bets on both sides of a contest. The point spread is a number that stands for the difference in point totals between the two teams. It sounds complicated, but here’s an example of a made-up point spread to give you an idea of how it works:

We get a lot less information here than we do with the money line. In this example, we know that Denver is the favorite, because their point total is reduced by 13 to equal the Raiders’ point total. We also know that Denver is the visitor, and Oakland the home team, since the home team is always listed at the end.

In this example, the sportsbook has decided that the Broncos are going to beat home-team Oakland by 13 points. If you want to bet on Denver, the team’s final score must be 14 points or more above the Raiders’ score. If you want to be successfully on Oakland, the Raiders have to either win outright or lose by fewer than 13 points.

Game Totals

The simplest way to bet on an NFL game is to bet on the game total. Also known as “over/unders,” game totals represent the oddsmakers’ educated guess about the point total between two sides in a match. It works like this – the sportsbook will set a number (something like 40) and accept bets on both sides of that total. If you think the teams will score more, you bet the “over.” If you think the teams will score less, you bet the “under.”

Parlay Bets

Parlay bets are a popular way to bet on pro football. So popular are parlay tickets, a handful of US states now sell them as part of their state lotto system. Parlays are sometimes considered exotic wagers, in that they pay off potentially big rewards for a small investment, and the odds are often very long, depending on the size of your parlay ticket.

So what is a parlay ticket? A parlay bet is a bet placed on the outcomes of multiple games on the same day. A parlay ticket has to be made up of at least two games and generally no more than twelve on a single day of NFL play. Parlay bettors pick the size of the combo bet, and obviously the more teams you add to your ticket, the larger your potential payout. A parlay bet only pays off if all the selections on the ticket are correct.

Here’s an example pay table for a parlay card. Note how the payout increases exponentially as you add more games to your card:

How can you use this information to become a better football gambler? Smart bettors incorporate all four of these styles of bets for different situations. While we don’t recommend that novice sports bettors jump in and start wagering with parlays or other exotic bets, you’ve learned plenty about money lines, point spreads, and game totals to get out there and start placing pro football bets like a seasoned veteran.

How to Place an Online Football Bet

Placing a bet online is easier than betting in a live sportsbook. The atmosphere is much less intimidating. You can’t really make a mistake, since the bets are laid out for you. Your living room is probably more comfortable than even the fanciest sportsbook lounge, especially considering you can place an online sports bet in your underwear or from the bathtub or whatever.

Though every online sportsbook offering football bets uses a slightly different interface, the basic idea is the same. Log in to the sportsbook where you have an account. You’ll find football bets listed in a prominent location – sportsbook operators know that Americans have a lust for football betting, so they make NFL bets easy to access. Sometimes you’ll have to find NFL bets on a drop-down menu, or in a list running down one side of the screen.

Once you’ve found the football bets, you’ll find a list of available games, along with some other options. The fancier sportsbooks online have streaming game links and other ways to follow along. Regardless, you’ll see every NFL game bet available that day, which is usually most games for the week, minus a Thursday or Friday contest mid-season.

Each contest is like to have its own drop-down menu of available odds formats and bet styles. You can choose a straight-up wager, your odds format, and other options as you click through and research the game. You can easily add a game to a parlay ticket – most online sportsbooks make this option easy, since they want to encourage exotic bets. Once you’ve built your wager, it’s time to confirm it, then way for the game to play out.

Football Betting Strategy

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We could write volumes on the subject of sports betting strategy. Handicapping, the act of comparing the abilities of two athletes or two teams, is an art unto itself. The world’s best bettors are constantly studying, learning new techniques, and producing new content for us to study. It’s a vast echo chamber, and there’s no way to cover it in a “crash course” format that won’t leave you wanting more.

Below you’ll find our most powerful football betting tips for newcomers. We’ve distilled thousands of words of strategy down to the five critical elements of a beginning sports betting regimen. If you follow this advice, then continue to do your own research on the subject, you’ll be a better and more confident football bettor.

1. Take advantage of football’s schedule.

The NFL’s schedule is beneficial to new bettors, because it offers an extended period of down-time between games. Sure, every now and then a team is dealt a short week. Sometimes, a team will play on Sunday night and then turn around and play again on the following Thursday. But even in those rare short week cases, bettors still have four days to do research, to handicap matchups, and to shop for the best lines before they have to decide on a wager. Some Web-based sportsbooks open their NFL lines as early as Sunday night. That means that NFL bettors can act and react at a slower pace. It also gives you time to study and adjust your strategy for new situations.

The NFL schedule benefits bettors in another important way – some game odds aren’t released until later in the week, due to an injury, a trade, or some other big shift in the team’s makeup. Even in these situations, you’re unlikely to have to make a big betting decision in a matter of hours, thanks to the stately pace of the NFL’s schedule.

2. Ignore the talking heads.

If you’re brand-new to NFL betting, you’re not likely to know much about handicapping. You probably don’t know how to compare two teams. It’s tempting, in that situation, to put ESPN on at all times, in the car, at home, even at work. ESPN delivers easy-to-digest news and opinions, and you probably already pay for ESPN. Heck, the radio station is free. We say you should probably ignore ESPN, stop watching Sportscenter, and turn all the talking heads off during the NFL season. At least while you’re betting.

Face it, these guys are there to entertain us. They’re not there to provide legitimate insight into the game. Not the kind of insight you need to actually gain an edge on the bookmaker. Remember, the bookmaker is one of the best in the world at handicapping, at comparing two teams, at predicting sports future. You’re just some guy who works in Accounting. Arming yourself with the dime-a-dozen pieces of advice that any idiot with a TV has access to is not arming yourself at all.

Your task is to find alternative sources of information that do a better job than ESPN, Fox Sports, and the rest. Elsewhere on this page, we identify some sources of information that will actually help you learn to out-fox the book, from time to time. One day, you’ll have a regular list of sources to trust. For now, your best bet is to do all your research on your own, stick to one or two games a week, and follow the rest of the advice in this section.

3. Bet consistently.

For your first season of online NFL bets, we recommend that you decide ahead of time how much and how often you’re going to wager during the regular season. The playoffs are a different animal altogether, and we cover that strategy elsewhere on the site. During the regular season, you’ll want to create a unit bet size, and bet consistently.

Creating a unit bet means betting the same amount on every game. Here’s how we recommend newcomers do it – take your bankroll for the season, divide it by seventeen (the number of weeks of the NFL regular season), then divide that number the total number of games you want to bet on per week. Here’s an example – let’s say you have $2,000 to wager for the coming NFL season. That gives you $117 to bet per week. Since it’s your first year betting, you should probably bet no more than two games. That leaves you with a unit bet size of $58 per game. Think of it this way – if you identify a game that you have a strong feeling about, you could always double your bet on that game and skip betting on the second game.

Why are we betting so consistently? If you’re not a professional sports handicapper, you have no business giving any weight to one bet over another. You just don’t know how to handicap games yet, at least not well enough to be deciding to bet $200 on THIS game, but only $50 on THIS one. Remember, the oddsmakers are smart, they’re good at this, and they’ve been doing it since before you were born. That’s not to say that they never make mistakes – just that you, as a novice, are unlikely to be able to find and exploit them.

4. Practice patience.

You’re not going to get rich overnight by betting on NFL games on the Internet. In fact, odds are you’ll NEVER get rich betting on NFL games on the Internet. Remember, this is supposed to be entertaining. If you learn to practice patience, you’ll enjoy sports betting more, which is really the same as winning more often. None of the tips on this list are designed to actually turn you into a person who knows more than the sportsbook. Instead, you’ll notice, they’re designed to help you enjoy yourself while you bet.

Online Nfl Betting Legal

Some weeks, you may not feel strongly enough about any contest to place a bet. Other weeks, you may decide to place a double-size bet on one contest, because you’ve found a great line or have some insight into the outcome. Remember that if the odds are too long, there’s a reason for it.

The world’s best sports bettors struggle tooth and nail to achieve a win rate above 50%. If professional sports bettors only barely win more than half the time, how well do you think you’re going to do? Be realistic – be patient.

5. Use a reputable sportsbook.

Online Nfl Betting Lines

Don’t sign up with the first online sportsbook you find. Don’t sign up with a sportsbook just because it offers NFL bets. Don’t sign up with a sportsbook without doing your research. Check the many online blacklists for mentions of any sportsbook you’re about to send money to. If nothing else, put the book’s name in a Web search and see what people are saying. The downside to signing up with a scam site? You could literally lose every cent you send them. Or they could refuse to pay you a legitimate win. With so many legit sportsbooks still serving the US market, and plenty of sites to find reviews and lists of scam operations, you have no excuse for signing up with a disreputable book.

Summary

Online Nfl Betting Sites

Betting on the NFL is as American as the Second Amendment. It is part of our birthright – at least, that’s how many of us feel. Though some in the federal government have been trying to shut it down for years, and others at the level of state government are still actively pursuing its prohibition, betting on the NFL on the Internet is still legal. We’ve covered the basics of placing online NFL bets, and even outlined the legal landscape. It’s now up to you to put our advice into practice.