How to Bet in the US: Sports Betting Explained

How to Bet in the US: Sports Betting Explained

The US Online Sports Betting Market is expected to reach almost $10bn in revenue by the end of 2024, so both the interest and availability to bet online in the United States is growing at a rapid rate.

North Carolina will launch online sports betting in March 2024, becoming the 27th state in America to allow online sports bets, via sportsbook apps or websites. If online betting is new to your state, or you have simply not placed a bet before, then this sports betting guide is for you.

Several factors will impact how you place your sports bets, and where, including your location, the quality of the sportsbook's odds and markets, bonus bets, and sign-up requirements.

With so much competition in the US Sports Betting, sportsbooks know they need to make a splash to stand out from the crowd, and they typically do this by providing the most exciting new customer offers. They may also lead by offering the best odds or the largest number of betting markets.

The biggest names in the US Online Sports Betting market include DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM, and these are the brands you will see in most states.

We are here to guide you through the online sports betting world, as we show you how to bet in the US and explain the things you need to consider before entering the sports betting space.

How Can Sports Bettors Win in the Online Sports Betting Market

Winning long-term in sports betting is a difficult task, and comes with risk, as you simply staking your money on the outcome of a sporting event. There are several tools to help you win money, including stats and projections sites, as well as picks from expert handicappers.

Several factors go into sports betting, and how you manage your money is imperative. You will need to consider your stakes, the types of bets you place, and the odds that you are betting at, to establish the best practices for you when it comes to sports betting.

Here are key things to consider when placing a bet in the online sports betting market in the United States.

• Bankroll - Managing your stakes, whether that be with your first bet or your 50th bet will always be important. You need to ensure you are not getting out of your comfort zone financially and should consider the impact of each bet you place. A winning bet can be mitigated if your losses elsewhere supersede your profits.
• Stakes - Like overall bankroll, how you stake will be important. You need to consider how much you are willing to risk on the outcome of an event, as allocating the same stakes for a Football Moneyline and a Golf Outright would not make sense, for example.
• Betting Odds - Here are oddschecker we will guide you through the best odds for each betting market so that you can find the best value in each sport you wish to bet on. One way to help you win long-term is to create value via odds comparison. We compare the odds for all major sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and more.

Sports Bettors vs. Sportsbooks

The key difference between sports bettors and sportsbooks is the intent for a sports bet. Sports bettors are emotionally and eventually financially invested in a sports event. Sportsbooks are only financially invested, so can take emotion out of the equation.

This is also similar for sports fans vs. sports bettors. If you are simply a sports fan that has no interest in betting, then you can stay emotionally invested in an event, without also being tied to it financially.

Picking an Online Sportsbook

Since the U.S. Supreme Court put the power in states' hands in 2018, allowing them to legalize and regulate commercial sports betting and since then, business has boomed. Online sportsbooks are now tasked with dominating market share in their chosen states, something brands like DraftKings and FanDuel have done well.

Here are key considerations when picking an online sportsbook:

• Location - Not all sportsbooks have launched in every state. For example, Bet365 is a popular US Sportsbook but is only available in 9 states. Conversely, DraftKings and FanDuel have cast their net wide by operating in many states.
• Sports - All sportsbooks will offer odds on the NFL, NBA, and NHL, but if you are into more niche sports like eSports and Handball, you would need to be more selective with your sportsbook choice.

Types of Sports Betting Wager

Now that you have the information you need to pick the most suitable sportsbook for your needs, it now comes down to the types of bets you are looking to place.

For most US sports there are three main bets for each sport, and then there are further markets, like prop bets as additions. Here are three common bet types.

Moneyline

A Moneyline bet is when you are simply betting on the result of a game or event. You are simply picking the winner in regulation, and there are no other stipulations for your bet to pay out.

An example of this would be betting on the Buffalo Bills Moneyline vs. the New England Patriots. If you placed a bet on the Bills Moneyline, it wouldn't matter if they won 21-20 or 47-10, the result would be the same, you would win your Moneyline bet.

Another example would be to bet on a UFC fighter to win. If you bet on Jon Jones to beat Stipe Miocic, it wouldn't matter if Jon Jones won by Knockout or if it went to the scorecards. A win is a win when betting on the Moneyline.

Spread Betting

Spread bets are different because you are now betting on a pre-determined spread, which the sportsbook will set based on their projections.

Using the same example of the Buffalo Bills vs. the New England Patriots. If you were betting on the Buffalo Bills -7, you would need the Bills to win by 8 points or more to win your bet. A 21-13 win would cover the spread, but a 21-16 win wouldn't.

There is also the chance of a bet to be pushed. If the Buffalo Bills line was -7 and they won 21-14, they have neither covered the spread nor lost, which means your bet would be void and your stakes would be returned. This is why you will often see lines like 7.5 or 2.5 to avoid this.

Totals

A total bet is also known as over/under betting as in most sports you are betting on the total number of points scored by both teams. For example, if the Bills vs. Patriots was set at 44.5, then the 21-13 scoreline wouldn't be enough to cover the spread. You need to clear 45 points. It doesn't matter which team contributes the most points in this bet, only that the bet goes over or under the line set.

These three types of bets are common across all sports and generally involve both teams, but there is also a way to get more granular and bet on individuals, and that is called Prop Betting.

Examples of Prop Betting

Prop betting is a popular way to get involved in sports betting, as individuals and websites like to project how a certain player will perform.

Here are two examples of prop betting, one for the NFL and one for the NBA.

Example 1: You bet on Patrick Mahomes to pass for over 245.5 yards in a game. If Mahomes threw for 245 yards or less, you would lose your bet. If Mahomes threw for 246 yards or more, you would win.

In the NBA, you tend to see people betting on more than one stat line, as bettors tend to combine points and rebounds or points and assists for example. You can however just bet on a single stat as well. Let's look at an example of a common NBA prop bet below.

Example 2: You bet on Steph Curry Over 34.5 Pts + Reb. If Steph Curry has 5 rebounds and 30 points, you would win your bet. If Curry only had 4 rebounds and the same 30 points, your prop bet would lose.

One way people like to spread their action on sports is with Parlay bets, whether that be Same Game Parlays or Multi-Game Parlays, let's look at both below.

Parlay Betting

Let's stick to the NBA for this example, and look at how you can put together parlay bets in two different ways.

Same Game Parlays

With Same Game Parlays, or as they are commonly known 'SGPs' you are betting on multiple different results in the same game. Here is an example of an SGP during an NBA game.

Example of a Same Game Parlay:

• LA Lakers Moneyline
• Over 28.5 Anthony Davis Points
• Over 19.5 D'Angelo Russell points

A representative odds example for this type of bet would be +550.

Here, you are betting on not only the LA Lakers to win but also for Anthony Davis to score 29+ points and D'Angelo Russell to also contribute 20+ points. This shows you how you could boost your winnings, rather than just betting on a LA Lakers win.

These Same Game Parlay bets are popular because they allow the bettor to play out scenarios in their mind. The reason they might want to bet on the Lakers, for example, is they could see both Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell stepping up in LeBron James' absence, and decide to incorporate this into one bet.

Another way to bet on the NBA is to cover multiple games. Let's say you want to bet on the schedule overall and think you can predict more than one result, then this is where you could Parlay Moneyline or Spread bets together.

Example of a Multi-Game Parlay:

• Philadelphia 76ers (-118) to beat the New York Knicks
• Toronto Raptors (-125) to beat the Brooklyn Nets
• Dallas Mavericks (-122) to beat the Phoenix Suns
• New Orleans Pelicans (-285) to beat the Houston Rockets
• Golden State Warriors (-230) to beat the Los Angeles Lakers

Here you are betting on five favorites to win, but you are boosting your bet to odds of +1072, rather than placing multiple bets at short odds individually.

Every time you add a leg to your bet, your odds will increase, but you will also decrease the probability of winning.

It should be noted that Same Game Parlays and Multi-Bet Parlays are a fun way to bet, but long-term should not be considered a viable way to make a profit.

Futures Betting

Futures betting is when you are betting on an event more than a day out. So instead of betting on an event on the day, you are betting on a future event, hence the term "futures".

Think of betting on the Super Bowl, NBA Championship, or the Stanley Cup as an obvious example of a Futures bet.

These futures odds will update as the season goes on and we get a better example of how a team is playing.

An example of this would be tracking the NBA Championship odds.

On Opening Night of the current NBA Season, the Golden State Warriors were +800 to win the NBA Championship. They are now as big as +5000 to win the NBA Championship, following a poor first half of the season.

US Betting Odds Explained

In the US, bookmakers have adopted an American odds approach, which are displayed as Positive (+) and Negative (-).

An easy way to establish what these mean is to use a representative of $10. When there is a + in front of the odds, for example, +110, you are being told how much you will win with a successful bet. So if you bet $100 on a +110 bet, then you would win $210 in total, as your original stakes ($100) are returned, plus $110 profit.

If the odds read -110 instead, then you would be betting $110 to win $100. Again, your stakes are returned if your bet wins in this circumstance, so you would win $210 just like you did above, your stakes were just higher to make the $100 profit.

We are using a $100 example as a clear representation of how a bet would work, but the maths remains the same whether you bet $1, $10, or $100, and it scales with your stakes.

How to Spot a Favorite or an Underdog in a Game

Do not be overwhelmed by the use of + or - in odds, the formula is simple. If you are betting on a game where one team is +190 and the other is -230, then the team that is -230 is the favorite. This correlates with having to bet more to win more on this selection.

Here is an example of this in action.

• Golden State Warriors (-230)
• LA Lakers (+190)

Here the Golden State Warriors are the favorites on the Moneyline, with the LA Lakers considered the underdog.

What if Multiple Teams are Plus-Money to Win?

This is more common in long-term bets, like betting on Super Bowl futures or NBA Championship futures. Let's look at the top 5 in the Super Bowl 2025 odds as an example.

• San Francisco 49ers (+550)
• Kansas City Chiefs (+650)
• Baltimore Ravens (+900)
• Buffalo Bills (+1000)
• Detroit Lions (+1200)

Here, there is not a standout favorite in the Super Bowl market, but the San Francisco 49ers hold the shortest odds for Super Bowl 2025, making them the favorites to lift the Lombardi Trophy in 2025.

What Happens if Two Teams Both Have Negative Odds?

Teams can also both hold negative odds to win a particular matchup if both teams are considered strong and difficult to split.

Here is an example of this in action.

• New York Knicks (-105)
• Philadelphia 76ers (-115)

Here, the Philadelphia 76ers are the favorites, because the bigger the number following a negative signifies a strong favorite. Here, the 76ers are -115 signifying an implied probability of 53.5%. The Knicks are -105, which implies a 51.2% chance of winning. It is close, and both teams have over a 50% chance of winning, but the 76ers are slight favorites.

In summary, If a team or player has a “-” in front of the odds, the bigger number is the favorite.

If a team or player has a "+" in front of the odds, the smaller number is the favorite and a larger number denotes an underdog.

Can You Win Long-Term When Sports Betting?

The short answer is yes, but it is not straightforward. Over the long-term, the odds are stacked against you in sports betting, and to consistently beat the sportsbooks takes a lot of research and dedication.

There are several ways to increase your chances of winning when it comes to sports betting in 2024, but there are no guarantees what will and won't work for you.

Here are some simple tips that may just help you win when sports betting.

• Research - It is very basic, but without researching each bet you make, you are already climbing uphill. You can of course predict the winner of a one-off NBA game without research, but over the course of the season, the sportsbooks will win, if you don't look into lineups, injuries, betting trends, and more.
• Betting Limits - Make sure you keep to your limits. If you win, don't go overboard reinvesting, bet smart and stay within comfortable limits.
• Check the Odds - Be sure to use odds comparison tools like oddschecker to check you are getting the best value on your bet.
• Expert Handicappers - While we wouldn't suggest exclusively following handicappers' advice, and suggest you still research your own wagers, it can be helpful to get advice from those researching extensively on a daily basis. Check out our oddschecker picks page for more.