Basketball Betting Explained

Founded in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1898, basketball has gone on to become one of America’s favorite sports. Mainly revolving around the National Basketball Association, there are hundreds of betting markets available on every game that is played throughout a busy season. We take a closer look at which markets are available and where is the best place to back your favorite team.

What Makes a Good Basketball Sportsbook

Basketball is an action-packed sport, which is perfect for sports betting - especially for bettors who like to place in-play bets.

When deciding what makes a good basketball sportsbook, we would recommend finding those websites that offer the best selection of basketball betting markets, as well as those who offer regular promotions and offers.

Basketball Odds

Betting odds will give you an indication of how likely an outcome is during a basketball game. Some bettors prefer to focus on the more likely smaller odds, while others are more ambitious and chase those less likely big wins.

Odds are very simple. If you place a $10 bet on at 2/1 odds, you will receive $20 if it wins, as well as having your initial $10 stake returned.

States Where Basketball Betting is Legal

Online basketball betting is now legal in 25 US states, with new states seemingly going live each month. Kentucky, North Carolina and Vermont are all expected to legalize online sports betting before the end of the year.

NBA Betting

When it comes to basketball betting, it really does start and end with the NBS. Each of the 30 teams in the league will play a minimum of 82 games in a season, so the games - and their betting opportunities - come at you thick and fast!

By April, the best 16 teams remaining from the two conferences will face-off in the playoffs, before the NBA Finals are played in June. Considering the regular season starts in October, it’s a very long NBA season!

Betting on College Basketball (NCAA)

College basketball betting is very popular in the US, too - with it culminating in the betting bonanza that is ‘March Madness’. This incredible sports betting event sees 68 teams fight it out over a month of match-ups, with the ‘Final Four’ facing off in the final games. To put it plainly, college basketball betting is a very big deal!

Basketball Betting

With basketball being such a popular betting sport, there are dozens of different betting markets available on every game. Let’s take a closer look at a few of these.

Spread Betting

When placing an NBA spread bet, you are effectively betting on how many points a team will either win or lose by. These markets are particularly popular for games that are expected to be a wide-margin win for one team. If you bet on a team at ‘+5’ and they lose the game by three points, you will ‘cover the spread’ and win your bet.

Money Line Betting

Arguably the most simple bet you can place on a game is a money line bet, where you are betting on one of the teams to win the game. In order to win this type of bet, your selected team simply needs to win the match-up.

Over/Under Betting

With this type of bet, you are betting on how many points will be scored in the game. You have the option to bet on the combined points tally or how many points each of the teams will score individually.

In-Play Betting

While basketball may be a frenetic sport, it is played over a long period of time, which allows for plenty of betting opportunities during the game. These hugely volatile betting markets can flip on the strength of a single three-pointer, but they definitely add to the excitement of a basketball game!

Basketball Betting Tips

With so many basketball betting markets available, players really need to know their stuff before putting their money down. There are a number of important factors to consider:

• Form - how have the teams been playing? Who has the in-form players? Who might be struggling?
• Injuries - as with any contact sport, injuries happen all too frequently. With that in-mind, it is crucial to be on top of all of the latest injury news.
• Statistics - basketball is a very stats-heavy sport, so they can be a useful guide before placing your bets. In particular, you can consider previous match-ups between the two teams in your chosen game.