Betting on the NFL has long been one of American’s favorite pastimes, and following the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the federal ban (PASPA) on sports betting outside Nevada, millions of Americans can now enjoy their hobby legally.
Welcome to LegalNFLBetting! Here, our game plan is to teach you everything you need to know about how to bet legally on NFL football. After all, the NFL is by far the biggest league for sports bettors in the country, and each year, hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of new bettors enter the huddle for the first time. Americans are estimated to bet at least $100 billion on the NFL each year, and the Super Bowl is consistently the most wagered-on single sporting event on earth. For US fans and gamblers, football season is life!
If this season marks your first foray into the NFL betting lifestyle, there’s no better place on the Internet to help you get off the bench and get into the game. LegalNFLBetting is one of the best resources available when it comes to both outlining and analyzing the laws and standards that govern the industry on a state-by-state and federal basis. US sports betting laws are our playbook, and we’ll break down the X’s and O’s for each area’s unique football wagering laws. We’ll also tell you where you can safely wager on the National Football League for real-money payouts, show you how to sign up at legal offshore sportsbooks, explain the rules for online sports betting services and bonuses, and answer all your other legal NFL betting questions.
Is It Legal To Bet On The NFL? Will I Get Into Trouble?
Yes and no. That is, yes, it is 100% legal to bet on the NFL, and no, you won’t get into any trouble for doing so. However, there is a caveat: In most states with sports betting, the only legal, safe way to wager on pro football action is to do so at a reputable offshore sports betting website. Legal sports wagering is available in a state-sanctioned, local capacity in about a dozen US states, and though this number will continue to grow as states embrace the popular industry, the best betting opportunities for the most NFL fans are found at offshore sportsbooks.
- The NFL Playoffs begin in early January once the regular season has concluded. Just as winter begins to set in, betting on the NFL and their highly-contested postseason matchups can always be counted on to provide plenty of heat. Now, there’s an extra team in the postseason mix for each conference creating a 14-team NFL playoff bracket for the first time ever.
- Legal NFL betting is available in more than two dozen states and counting. The 2020 NFL season has been far from ordinary, but the league is back in full swing, and mobile sportsbooks across the country are open for business.
- Sports betting has been legal in Michigan since last March. But to do that, you had to go to an actual casino that offered a sportsbook. But a new era of sports gambling dawns for casual and hard.
Of course, that’s OK, because overseas betting sites are perfectly legal to use. Since they do not function from within the US, they are not governed by any of the state or federal laws that affect betting, such as the Interstate Wire Act (1961) or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA, 2006). Any United States resident who is at least 18 years old (or 21 in some states — we’ll touch on that distinction a bit later) can join one of these sites without fear of any negative legal repercussions.
As a general rule, US-based betting laws are explicitly written to go after unlicensed and unregulated bookmakers and associated banking institutions that operate on US soil. Individual bettors are never targeted by these laws, and there is no record of any US bettor being arrested or fined just for gambling on the NFL over the Internet. As long as you stick with a reputable offshore book that’s established in the industry, you have nothing to fear and everything to gain!
Using Land-Based Sportsbooks To Bet On NFL Games
For most of the long history of sports betting, using land-based sportsbooks to wager on your favorite players, teams, and games has represented the apex of the sports gambling experience. Times, of course, have changed, and the Internet has largely replaced the local sports betting lounge. However, with sports wagering finally federally decriminalized in the US, more and more states are passing favorable legislation, and new brick-and-mortar sports betting venues are opening up shop. Because of their novelty and the overwhelming popularity of sports betting, these venues are currently quite popular. However, in states that have both land-based and online betting, the land-based experience only draws 20–30% of the handle that online betting does — and that’s without factoring in the impact of offshore books.
Right now, there are several states that have legalized land-based sports betting, though only 11 of them have sportsbooks that have opened to the public. The US states where you can find legal NFL betting include:
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Iowa
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- West Virginia
Legal NFL Betting Online
The concept of online betting on the NFL is much newer than land-based betting. But because of the fact that so many people have the access to an Internet connection and the option to connect to a sportsbook with just a few taps or clicks, it’s much easier — and much less expensive and time-consuming — to wager this way. But one of the stipulations for betting legally online requires the vast majority of US NFL bettors to use offshore sportsbooks. If you live anywhere other than the states that currently have licensed and regulated online betting operating within their borders you will need to go with a reputable offshore Internet betting shop. Fortunately, online betting sites like these are very safe to use, and the best ones have withstood the test of time among generations of avid sports bettors.
Bovada.lv
- 50% Bonus up to $250
BetOnline.ag
- 50% Bonus up to $1k
SportsBetting.ag
- 50% Bonus up to $1,000
BetDSI.eu
- 100% Bonus up to $500
Current NFL Betting Odds
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Who Can Legally Bet On NFL Football Online?
Any US citizen can legally bet on NFL football as long as they meet the minimum age requirement as outlined in his or her state code. The age minimum varies from one state to another, but it will always be somewhere in the 18 to 21 range. While most online sportsbooks set their membership age minimum at 18 years old, we recommend following the laws of your state, which is something that the top books also request you to do. In other words, even if a sportsbook says you have to be 18, if you live in Mississippi, you have to be at least 21 before you can safely sign up and bet, as this is a specific state law.
Bet On Football Games Online
There are, however, a few states where the age laws are ill-defined or unspecific, or where there are no laws at all. In these cases, it is safe to sign up at 18 per your betting site’s terms of service. Under no circumstances, however, should you ever sign up under the age of 18. Joining offshore NFL betting sites if you’re not at least 18 years old will result in your account being terminated and all your funds — including any pending winnings you’re owed — to be forfeited to the sportsbook. Underage betting simply isn’t worth it.
Will I Get In Trouble For Betting On The NFL?
Nfl Betting Picks
No! In fact, you have a better chance of winning the lottery and then being struck by lightning than you do of getting into trouble for betting on the NFL. In fact, in over 15 years in the industry, we have never found a single case of anyone being arrested — or even cited — for wagering on the NFL via offshore betting sites. This is because there does not exist any law that says a person cannot bet on sports in the United States. Remember, American gambling laws only affect those who stand to profit from illicit bookmaking, so unless you are taking bets for money and are doing so on a grand scale, you shouldn’t worry about getting in any trouble. You should, however, worry about your team’s chances of beating that spread on Sunday afternoon.
How Does The UIGEA Affect Deposits And Payouts?
The 2006 law known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) bans money transfers to and from online gambling sites, but only if the processing institutions (i.e. banks) are based inside the United States. Further, it only bars these financial institutions from “knowingly” processing these payments. However, because the sportsbooks listed on this page are based in other countries, they are out of reach of American law. As it stands, there are plenty of easy ways to fund your sportsbook account and make withdrawals.
The one way that the UIGEA does affect money transfers to and from overseas sportsbooks is that credit and debit deposits might get caught by an automated blocking system (which happens about 1% of the time), and payouts via chargebacks to such cards are forbidden. This is why you will not find credit cards offered as a method of withdrawal at any legal NFL betting site. However, as we mentioned before, there are plenty of easy payout methods you can use, including courier checks, money orders, wire transfers, and so on. If you want the fastest payouts possible, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the way to go.
Bet On Football Games Legally
Best Legal NFL Betting Sites
Now that you are more familiar with some of the main laws that affect how to legally bet on football, you are ready to sign up with a legal offshore betting site. We at LegalNFLBetting have compiled a comprehensive list of all the top online sportsbooks, taking into consideration all of the most important player concerns. First off, all of our recommended sites are legal and safe to use. They are also free to join, and players from all over America are welcome to sign up. These betting sites are stacked with the latest member features and benefits, including great odds and wager types, funding methods, payouts, and much more. Each also features live betting, mobile betting, and a host of other gambling types to keep you occupied during every halftime and pregame report.
Nfl Betting Picks
The sites we suggest for legal NFL betting are the sites we personally use, and they include longstanding industry favorites like Bovada, BetOnline, SportsBetting, 5Dimes, BetDSI, MyBookie, and BookMaker. While there are other books out there, none have stood up to the test of time like these services. Check out a few of them reviewed below, and sign up now to bet on NFL action all year long!
All 17 Weeks Of Regular + Postseason Lines
Bovada is one of the most widely recognized online sportsbooks for NFL betting. They accept all US players who are old enough to bet, except for those living in Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland. Bovada offers a great combination of member perks and benefits, including an exhaustive list of odds and wager types, deposit and payout methods, bonuses, customer service, and mobile features. You will be lucky to find another site that offers this many customer rewards, and during NFL season, there are even more to choose from.
Bovada is an online sportsbook that NFL bettors can trust. Millions of people bet here regularly, and this includes football fans from all over the US. The site is legal for Americans to join. Bovada’s headquarters is in Quebec, Canada, in the Mohawk Territory, where it has operated since its inception. These are just a few of Bovada’s many bona fides that provide ironclad proof of its legitimacy. The greatest proof, however, is in the site’s membership numbers. Bovada has the most US members of any betting site, drawing in players old and new with its award-winning website, its vast odds boards, its industry-leading $250 welcome bonus, and its commitment to football. When it comes to NFL betting, choosing your sportsbook doesn’t have to be a Hail Mary. Bovada is Tom Brady in the two-minute drill: 100% guaranteed!
Up To $150K Can Be Won On Single Parlay!!!
One of the nice things about BetOnline is the fact that they do not restrict residents of any US state from eligibility. Folks from all 50 states are welcome to sign up for an NFL gambling account at BetOnline. Players who go with BetOnline won’t have to worry about getting into any trouble, either, provided that they are old enough to bet (18 in most states). The sportsbook is based in Panama City, Panama, and the service has always been more than accommodating for players in the US. By the numbers, BetOnline ranks second among US bettors in terms of popularity, and it’s easy to see why the site could one day be the number-one sportsbook in the country.
Although there’s lots to wager on at BetOnline, it’s the NFL betting odds that really make this an attractive bookmaker to join. BetOnline offers you a full slate of NFL betting lines, highlighted by year-round Super Bowl odds that can be found from the day after the Super Bowl all the way to the kickoff for the next one. BetOnline stays on top of their Super Bowl odds even in the offseason, but things really kick into gear during the regular season week-to week. No site offers more NFL lines and props than BetOnline, and the chances to win — and win big — are innumerable. A big parlay win could pay out $150,000 or more, while new members can get an immediate bankroll boost by accepting the site’s $1000 maximum welcome bonus (promo code: “BOL1000”).
Options For Mobile, In-Stadium Betting
SportsBetting is an old standard when it comes to comprehensive NFL betting, and the site accepts players from all 50 US states. The real draw of SportsBetting — besides their world-class betting boards and gambling amusements for NFL fans — is in their banking options. At SportsBetting, even if you only have just a few dollars, you can sign up and be wagering in just a few minutes. The site accepts Bitcoin, other altcoins, checks, debit cards, credit cards, money orders, bank wires, and more.
Once you get your account funded, you can also choose to accept one of SportsBetting’s many bonuses, like their $1000 welcome bonus (promo code: “SB1000”) or their $1000 cryptocurrency bonus (promo code: “100CRYPTO”). They’ve also got reload bonuses and friend referral perks, too, so you can really pad your pigskin bankroll. Then, once you’re ready to bet, you’ll get over 1000 wagering chances on every single Sunday during NFL season, as well as access to a highly-rated, fast-action live betting portal that gives you hundreds of chances to win during every contest on the gridiron. SportsBetting might as well be called NFLBetting, because the site is really just that good!
One Of First Sites To Post Lines Every Week!
The NFL betting odds at 5Dimes are always the first betting lines listed at the site during football season. These, of course, are the lines bettors want, and 5Dimes does away with any sort of marketing pretense to give NFL fans exactly what they crave most. 5Dimes makes sure that their account holders are satisfied with the selection that is available, and they always go the extra mile to bring you loads of alternate lines on every single game. If buying points is your preferred way to bet, nobody offers more than 5Dimes.
At 5Dimes, available NFL betting odds include the point spread, straight moneyline, and over/under point total for every game each week on the calendar. A variety of exotic bets can be made as well, not just straight wagers. These include parlays, teasers, pleasers, and more. 5Dimes main claim to fame, however, lies in its support of wacky, off-the-wall player and team props you won’t find anywhere else. Add in the site’s exclusive Reduced Juice program, and there’s no reason not to add 5Dimes to your NFL betting portfolio. If you’re shopping lines on NFL games and don’t have 5Dimes bookmarked, you are leaving big money on the table. At 5Dimes, you’ll never miss out on that Sunday game check!
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Want To Learn More About The Legality Of Betting On NFL Games?
We’ve so far only scratched the surface about the legal aspect of betting on the NFL. There are many things to be mindful of regarding laws of this nature, and the more information you have, the more you will begin to understand why wagering on the NFL is legal, especially when using an offshore betting site like those listed here. When it comes to land-based NFL betting, things are generally clear, as legality is explicitly understood and advertised on a state-by-state basis. However, when it comes to betting on the NFL online, things become a bit trickier to understand. Still, we wish to be as comprehensive as possible in this summary overview. Hopefully, the following sections will answer 99% of prospective NFL bettors’ pressing legal questions.
Federal NFL Betting Laws
At the federal level, there are two major laws that impact NFL betting. These are the aforementioned UIGEA (2006) and the Interstate Wire Act (1961). The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA, was a 1992 law that — until 2018 — was in effect and banned all states other than Nevada from offering domestic land-based or online NFL betting, and it’s the law that is most responsible for the advent and popular growth of offshore NFL wagering sites. However, PASPA is no more, and each US state can institute its own sports betting laws as it sees fit.
Wire Act — The Wire Act is an old law, passed in 1961. This was allegedly designed to stop organized crime from trafficking in sports betting. Simply put, the Wire Act prevents US-based bookmakers from accepting wagers across state lines. This is why, for example, a Cowboys fan living in Texas cannot simply call up a licensed Las Vegas sportsbook to place a wager on their favorite team. In the age of the Internet, the Wire Act also applies, so bettors are similarly restricted from using online Nevada or New Jersey sportsbooks to place wagers from outside those states. It is important to understand that the Wire Act has no jurisdiction over offshore sportsbooks and that the law does not target individual bettors in any way.
UIGEA — The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is a banking restriction that became law in 2006. This forbids domestic US financial institutions from knowingly processing payments to or from gambling sites on the Internet. In the 2000s, the UIGEA was slightly impactful, but most offshore betting sites simply altered their deposit and withdrawal options, bypassing the law entirely. As with the Wire Act, the UIGEA does not target individual bettors at all.
State NFL Betting Laws
At the state level, laws generally differ. One thing remains true across the board, however: No bettor in any state has ever been cited or arrested for wagering on the NFL over the Internet at offshore sports betting sites. As for the current breakdown in terms of legal domestic sports betting, there are 11 states that currently offer sports betting to their residents and visitors, with a few others that should be doing so by the time the 2019–2020 NFL kicks off.
The states with legal NFL betting available through state-licensed bookmakers include the following (check back for additions to the list as football season approaches):
- Delaware — Land-based NFL betting only.
- Mississippi — Land-based NFL betting only.
- Nevada — Land-based and online NFL betting.
- New Jersey — Land-based and online NFL betting.
- New Mexico — Land-based NFL betting only.
- Pennsylvania — Land-based and online NFL betting.
- Rhode Island — Land-based NFL betting only.
- West Virginia — Land-based and online NFL betting.
- Arkansas — Land-based NFL betting only.
- New York — Land-based NFL betting only.
- Iowa — Land-based and online NFL betting.
More About Betting Real Money On NFL Football Games
With the important legal questions out of the way, there are only a few more quick points you should be aware of before signing up and wagering at legal NFL betting sites. The topics of import to the beginning bettor include deposits, payouts, bonuses, and — of course — how to read the odds. We will touch on each one briefly here, but we will offer more complete breakdowns elsewhere on the LegalNFLBetting network.
Deposits At Legal NFL Betting Sites
Deposits are obviously crucial to your NFL betting experience, because without being able to put money into your online account, you’d have nothing to wager with! Most of the top offshore betting sites will accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express for instant deposits, as well as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, DASH, etc.). If you don’t mind waiting a few days for your deposits to clear, you can also use bank wires, money orders, services like Western Union and MoneyGram, and even cashier’s checks. Our recommended method is Bitcoin, as this offers fast transfer speeds, the lowest associate fees, and is the most secure banking option available.
Withdrawals At Legal NFL Betting Sites
A sportsbook is of no use to you without timely payout options. To that end, all of the best online NFL betting sites support a number of different ways to withdraw. As with deposits, Bitcoin (or any supported altcoin) is our choice for the fastest payouts with the lowest fees. In fact, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is the only same-day payout method available among offshore books. All the other methods take longer because they require physical (rather than electronic) transactions. If you don’t mind waiting and aren’t into the crypto craze, you can use things like money orders, wire transfers, and courier checks to get your NFL betting winnings delivered stateside. These options come with various associated transfer fees and can take up to two weeks, but they are all valid and trustworthy.
Bonuses At Legal NFL Betting Sites
Every legal NFL betting site is going to offer bonuses to their new and returning US members. Some bonuses, like Bovada’s 50% Sports Welcome Bonus, are worth taking for almost all bettors, while others, like BetOnline’s $1000 first-time deposit bonus, is better suited only for more avid wagering aficionados. When it comes to whether or not you should accept a legal NFL betting bonus, it’s all about the bonus’ rollover requirements.
For example, at Bovada, that 50% welcome bonus has a 5X rollover. This means that if you put in $100 and accept the bonus, your account will have $150 in it. Before you’re able to withdraw any winnings from that deposit, you will have to wager that full amount 5 times, which is $750. Most bettors will have no problems doing this. However, if you get a $1000 bonus at another site and have to meet a 10X rollover, you can see how that might add up in a hurry. For high rollers and daily bettors in it for the long haul, even a bonus with steeper rollover requirements can make sense.
Odds At Legal NFL Betting Sites
Last but certainly not least, if you’re going to be a successful NFL bettor, you’re going to need to understand how betting odds work. All the best online NFL betting sites will have spread bets, straight bets, totals bets, and a host of props, specials, futures, and more. However, none of these will make sense if you don’t know how to read the moneyline. In the American system of bet pricing, each wager has an associated moneyline. This can be a positive or negative number, and it indicates the ratio of risk to reward for a given bet. If the moneyline number is positive, this shows how much money you stand to win on a $100 bet. If the number is negative, this shows how much money you must wager to win $100. Remember, these aren’t betting minimums, they simply show the payout rate. Most legal NFL betting sites will allow you to place bets of just $0.50 to $1.00.
In spread betting, totals betting, and prop betting, moneylines will be negative on both sides of a wager. For example, if the Patriots are favored by 7 points against the Dolphins, both teams might have a -110 moneyline, usually shown in parentheses. This means that you have to bet $110 to win $100, with the sportsbook taking the extra $10 as their fee (aka “juice” or “vig”).
In straight betting, the moneyline indicates the favorite and the underdog. For example, if the Chiefs (-240) are playing the Raiders (+210), the Chiefs are favorites due to their negative moneyline, while the Raiders are underdogs due to their positive moneyline. Following the rules for reading the American moneyline, then, a $240 bet on the Chiefs would pay out $100, while a $100 bet on the Raiders would pay out $210.
Keeping things like these topics in mind will give you a head start in your NFL betting process so that you can know exactly what to expect when you make the decision to place real-money wagers at any sports betting site. While most bettors will want to sign up at several different sites in order to shop lines for the best odds on every single NFL matchup, you will want to choose the sportsbook or sportsbooks that are best for your needs and wagering habits. All of the legal NFL betting sites we recommend are excellent choices, and you really can’t make a bad decision signing up with any or all of them. So what are you waiting for? Hike the ball!
