Betting on American Football Games
American Football (Gridiron to some) betting may or may not be illegal in your part of the world, but it still happens. The chance to make some money by betting on your favorite football game is too good to resist. Perhaps football betting is legal, semi-legal, ignored, or best handled by your friendly neighborhood bookie in your neighborhood (who’s really not so friendly). Despite the legality, chances are you want to bet.
First, let’s look at the betting format. Football generally uses the point spread style of odds (moneyline is also sometimes available, but almost nobody uses it). Using the point spread method makes it an even money bet (bet $100, win $100, less a percentage to the house on wins). In other words, since all bets are even money, the disparity in the strength of the teams is offset by a certain number of points given to one team (for betting purposes only, obviously). In other words, say the NY Giants (a good team) are playing the Oakland Raiders (a bad team). The Giants will most likely win – so, to encourage betting on Oakland, a point spread is issued – say it’s 7 points. This means the favored Giants must beat the Raiders by MORE than 7 points. If they win by less, those who bet the Giants will lose.
Ties are non wins and the money is usually returned to the better. Point spread betting increases the amount of bettors because who’s going to bet on the underdog to win without compensation? Some will, but not too many.
Another popular football bet is the over/under. There is usually a number given for the game (say 57 for the Giants/Raiders game) – you can bet if the total points for the game will be over or under that amount.
Besides betting on the winner in football, there are many other bets as well. You can bet on which team will have the highest score during the first half, halftime, or during each quarter. Think of them as mini games. Even bets on field goals attempted, number of fumbles, which team will score more points during a weekend or even reach the Super Bowl are valid bets. You can also do what are called parleys and/or teasers – these types of bets sometimes allow you to make two bets, and move the point spread 6 points either way on each game. The catch is you have to win both bets.
Betting on American football is a billion dollar industry – it’s easily one of the most popular sports in the world to gamble on. If you have a favorite team, head on out to Vegas and bet a few dollars – it makes the game far more interesting!
