American Football betting has never been so popular in the UK and across Europe. Regular season games in London and Munich have supercharged the following of the sport, and each week more and more fans seek to learn how to bet on American Football.
And so, Paddy Power has created the ultimate American Football betting guide to help newcomers to the sport understand its intricacies. In this quick guide you’ll learn how to bet on American Football the right way, what odds are available in the Paddy Power sportsbook, and some great tips to get you started.
What is American Football betting all about?
American Football betting is a little different to betting on other sports because there are so many statistical variables. This is a team sport with lots of points being scored, but not that many scoring moments. What’s more, the sheer number of stats associated with the game means American Football betting fans can wager on all sorts of markets.
Naturally the NFL dominates the betting markets and will be our focus in this guide. The NFL season involves 32 teams from across the USA that are split into six divisions. Win your division and you progress to the playoffs, or get there as a wildcard for being one of the top-performing teams. The playoffs eventually whittle down to the Super Bowl, which takes place in a different stadium each year.
How to bet on American Football
Betting on American Football first requires punters to know the rules of the game. American Football is not the easiest to pick up but here are the very basics:
- Teams try to score points by getting the ball in the opposition’s end zone (a touchdown)
- Teams get 6 points for a touchdown, 1 for a field goal after a touchdown, and 3 for a field goal in general play
- There are four 15-minute quarters in American Football but the clock regularly stops
- A team in possession has four chances to progress the ball 10 yards down the field. Fail to do this and the opposition team gets the ball
We told you these were the basics!
Best American Football odds
When it comes to American Football odds it’s not always easy to pick between the literally thousands of options every NFL weekend. There are so many markets, lines and special bets that many players simply stick to what they know. That’s actually not a bad way to go about betting on American Football, because you’re more likely to win a bet you have knowledge of, than blindly wagering on a random outcome.
Here are some of the best American Football odds and markets new players should be aware of:
- Match bet – This is simply a wager on who will win a game. In NFL there are very few ties, so you can practically eliminate this outcome and bet on either the home team or the away team.
- Handicaps – Handicap betting in the American Football is arguably the best way to extract greater value from a wager. Here, you bet on a team to win with a plus or minus points handicap. The idea is that this levels out the odds. For example, you bet on the Buccaneers beating the Vikings with a +6.5 handicap. The Bucs only need to lose by six points or fewer for you to win your bet.
- Total points – Bet on the total points a team may score, or the total points across a whole game. There’s an over/under line here. For example, you bet on there being +40.5 total points in a game between the Cardinals and Commanders.
- Super Bowl winners – Players can wager on which team will win the Super Bowl in the outright markets. It’s also possible to bet Each Way here, and wager on a team at least making the Super Bowl.
- MVPs – American Football has plenty of MVPs dished out across the season, and bettors can wager on the regular season MVP, the Pro Bowl MVP, and Super Bowl MVP.
American Football betting tips
Most new American Football bettors will tend to stick to the match odds and handicap markets. After all, these are great wagers to follow when you’re just starting out and learning how the American Football odds work. However, there are also some good tips out there for those who want to get more out of their American Football betting experience.
Here are some straightforward American Football tips to get started:
- Bet low and often – Newcomers to any sports betting site should start with low bets, so as not to risk too much at once. It can also be a good idea to bet regularly with small stakes, as you can build your understanding of the sports markets without pushing too close to your budget cap.
- Set a budget – On budget caps, it’s always worth setting one before you start betting. There’s no point going big on your first bet only to lose it. Set a budget and use Paddy Power’s responsible gambling resources to help.
- Experiment with the handicap – Betting low means you have more flexibility to experiment with wagers, and the handicap market may well become your go-to bet. Understanding a team’s likelihood of scoring, and its limitations, will help you here.
- Consider accas – Accumulators are the quickest way to supercharge your payout potential from dead-cert bets. NFL often throws up uneven games where one team is practically guaranteed to win. However, their match odds are therefore really short. Smart bettors therefore create accas and combine a series of short-odds bets into one mega wager.
- Read the stats – Betting on American Football is a stats-based endeavour, so make sure you’re on top of it all. Betting on individual players to score points or set a specific number of yards or tackles can only be done if you know the stats.
- Learn from the experts – Get the best NFL tips right here at Paddy Power and see who our tipsters are backing during every gameweek of the season.
American Football Draft Betting
Betting on the NFL draft can prove hugely profitable. Every year at Paddy Power you can wager on which new prospect will become the first pick of the following season. Usually the first pick is well known beforehand but occasionally there is a surprise.
Paddy Power offers American Football draft odds way in advance of the draft. For bettors new to the sport, it’s worth reading up on which teams have early picks in the draft and which players are more likely to go to one team over another.