Football Betting Odds & Online Football Betting Action

Football runs in the blood of most Americans, and it’s by far the most popular sport for fans and bettors to put their money on. Because teams only play once per week, bettors have the opportunity to spend days researching games, current trends, and their favorite team’s line movements.

The vast array of options and football betting odds makes the sport exciting to put your money on, and there’s never a shortage of college football betting lines and NFL odds year-round.

If you’re looking to bet on football, you should first check out the odds before deciding what kind of bet you will place. The most popular betting options for American football include:

Betting against the spread: Choose if the favored team will win by more than the sportsbook’s point spread or whether the underdog will lose by less than it (or win the game outright)
Moneyline betting: Bet on who will win outright regardless of point spread
Game totals: Combined total points by each team
Half/quarter: Place all the above bets on a specific quarter or half
Props & specials: Bet on how the first points are scored, the distance of the longest field goal, or future bets like who wins the Super Bowl or Rookie of the Year honors at season’s end
Live betting: Bet on the favorite or underdog during the game at any point after the opening kickoff

At BetMGM, we are proud to have a wide array of betting options. Please have a look at our pro football betting odds to place your bet now. You can also bet on all the exciting college football action here. Register today and start betting.

Football Betting FAQs

1. How to bet on football

There are almost limitless wagers you can place on professional and college football, but the most popular bets include the point spread, moneyline, over/under, and future outcomes, which includes up-to-date NFL conference odds or entertaining NFL Draft specials like predicting the college athlete taken first overall.

Let’s dig into the basics of how odds work before diving into the most common bets you’ll discover inside a casino sportsbook or gambling app.

2. How the odds work

When you’re searching online, football betting odds can feel a bit confusing at first, but they’re a lot simpler than you might think.

Let’s use the National Football League to explain. The San Francisco 49ers are listed at -7 (-110) over the Seattle Seahawks, who are +7 (-110).

If you bet on the 49ers -7, San Francisco must win by 8 points or more for your betting slip to be a winner. If you take the Seahawks +7, Seattle can lose by 6 points or fewer — which includes beating the 49ers outright — and you’ll win.

And what if the final score is a perfect seven-point margin with the 49ers winning 24-17? It’s a push, just like in blackjack, and you get your original wager back.

3. So what does -110 mean?

Now you know how easy it is to understand point spreads, but what in the world does -110 mean?

Think of -110 as the sportsbook’s share or cut for taking your bet. Also known as the vig, vigorish, or juice, -110 represents the amount a casino will keep for themselves even if you win your bet.

Let’s revisit our 49ers versus Seahawks wager. You drop $100 on the 49ers to cover the -7, and San Francisco does just that by knocking off Seattle 38-10. With the vigorish set at -110, you will win $190.91 ($100 original bet; $90.91 in winnings).

Sometimes the book will set the juice at -120, so your winnings will go down a touch more. However, you may also see contests where the vig is EVEN. That means the casino takes no portion of your winnings, and your $100 49ers’ bet will put an even $200 back into your account.

4. How do you bet the moneyline in football

Betting doesn’t get any easier than moneylines. Don’t be intimidated by the term; you simply bet on the team you think will win regardless of the game’s accompanying point spread.

After looking at the moneyline odds, you’ll see who’s favored and who’s the underdog. The favorite team will have negative odds, and the underdog will have positive odds.

Let’s look at moneyline pro football odds featuring the 49ers and Seahawks again:

San Francisco 49ers: -315
Seattle Seahawks: +250

The 49ers are such big moneyline favorites you would have to wager $315 to win $100. However, a $100 bet on the Seahawks would win you a whopping $250, making moneylines an intriguing proposition if you like an underdog to win a game outright.

5. What is the over/under bet in football

Also known as the totals bet, the over/under is the combined score of both teams when the final whistle blows. Bettors will need to predict whether the combined points scored will be over or under a certain threshold as set by the bookmakers.

For example, the 49ers and Seahawks have an over/under at 48.5. You will need to predict whether the game’s final combined score will be over 49 or under 48 points.

Not only is betting the over/under incredibly simple, it’s a nice alternative if you aren’t sure which team will cover, win outright, or if you believe a game will be low or high scoring regardless of who wins.

6. Can you bet on preseason?

Yes, you can bet on the pro football preseason. Betting on the preseason is considered tough, however. It’s challenging because of the way teams approach these games. As there is not much at stake, predicting outcomes isn’t as simple as the regular season.

Preseason differs due to the team’s motivation, starting lineups, substitutions, and playing style. Try and see what the two teams are setting out to achieve from a game. This will help you better predict the outcome of the game.