The NFL is the biggest betting event in America every single week of the season, and with games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday, there’s never long to wait for the next chance to get some action down with NFL Vegas Odds available on every game.
But millions of football fans still live in states where you can’t legally use US sportsbooks, including California and Texas, two of the biggest football markets in the country. Florida bettors, meanwhile, are limited to a single legal option. That’s why so many NFL bettors use offshore sportsbooks, which accept players from all 50 states and cover every game and every market.
Below, we’ll show you the best NFL betting sites, how to sign up, and exactly how to bet on football, from your first moneyline wager to spreads, totals, and parlays.
Best NFL Betting Sites
To bet on the NFL, you need a sportsbook that covers every game and accepts players from your state. These are our top five NFL betting sites, all of which offer fully functional mobile sites, so you can bet from your phone without downloading an app:
Sportsbook ratings
BetOnline
RegionsAustraliaCanadaUnited States
No Strings Welcome Offer50% up to $250
Minimum deposit$10 Crypto
BetUS
RegionsCanadaUnited States
Welcome Bonus125% up to $2500
Minimum deposit$100
MyBookie
RegionsCanadaUnited States
Crypto Bonus100% up to $1000
Minimum deposit$20 (crypto) / $45 (card)
Lucky Rebel
RegionsCanadaUnited States
Welcome Bonus125% Free + 50 Free Spins
Minimum deposit$50
BetWhale
RegionsCanadaUnited States
Crypto Bonus200% up to $6000
Minimum deposit$20
How to Bet on NFL Games Online
Getting set up to bet on the NFL takes a few minutes, and it’s worth doing before the weekend. Nobody wants to be filling in forms at 12:55 ET on a Sunday with the early games about to kick off.
Choose a sportsbook from our top five and hit “claim now.” You’ll land on their sign-up page, where you enter a few basic details and create your login. If there’s a welcome bonus, check the terms at this point, since some offers need to be claimed with your first deposit.
Next, add funds through the cashier. Most offshore books take cards and crypto, and crypto deposits usually land almost instantly, which is handy if you’re reacting to late injury news.
PRO TIP: Get your ID verification done early in the week rather than after a big Sunday. Your first withdrawal will go through much faster.
How to Place a Bet on an NFL Game
Now that your betting account is open and funded, it’s time to decide which games you want to bet on. Every NFL game comes with three main betting options.
To demonstrate this, let’s take a look at the odds for a game between the Cowboys and Texans:
Moneyline
NFL moneyline betting is where you place a wager on a team to win the game. This usually includes overtime. However, if the game ends in a tie, the sportsbook will usually rule the outcome a “push,” and your stake will be refunded.
A – (minus) symbol before the odds indicates the favorite, and the + (plus) symbol means the team is an underdog. When a game is close to a toss-up, both teams can have minus odds.
Based on these odds, a $100 wager would win:
Cowboys (+125): $125
Texans (-145): $68.97
If your bet wins, your wager amount is returned on top of the winnings shown, so a winning $100 bet on the Cowboys pays back $225 in total.
Spread
The spread is the most popular way to bet on football. The sportsbook gives the favorite a handicap to level the playing field, and you bet on whether a team will cover it.
Here, the Texans are 2.5-point favorites:
Houston Texans (-2.5): Your bet wins if the Texans win by three points or more.
Dallas Cowboys (+2.5): Your bet wins if the Cowboys win the game, or lose by two points or fewer.
So if the Texans win 23-21, the moneyline bet on Houston wins, but so does the spread bet on Dallas.
If the spread is a whole number, like 3, and the favorite wins by exactly that margin, it’s a push, and your stake is returned.
You’ll notice the odds on this spread aren’t even. A $100 bet on the Texans -2.5 at -118 would win $84.75, while the same bet on the Cowboys +2.5 at -102 would win $98.04.
That’s because of the NFL’s most important number: Three.
It’s the most common winning margin in the league thanks to the field goal, and a Texans win by exactly three covers at -2.5. Rather than move the line to 3, the sportsbook makes you pay a little extra for the Texans side. Seven, a touchdown and extra point, is the second key number.
Total (Over/Under)
Totals betting is about how many points are scored by both teams combined, no matter who wins. In this example, the over/under is set at 48 points, at -110 either way.
If you bet the over, you need 49 points or more. If you bet the under, you need 47 or fewer. If the game lands on exactly 48, it’s a push and your stake is returned. So in our 23-21 example, the 44 total points would be a winner for the under.
How to Place an NFL Parlay Bet
If you want to bet on more than one game, you can combine your picks into a parlay. The odds multiply with each leg you add, which means a much bigger potential payout from a small stake. The catch is that every selection has to win, or the whole bet loses.
To build a parlay, click the odds for each pick you want, and they’ll stack up on your bet slip. Then select the parlay option and enter your stake.
For example, we’ve combined three moneyline picks into a three-team parlay:
- Houston Texans (-145) vs. Dallas Cowboys
- Arizona Cardinals (-125) at New York Giants
- Las Vegas Raiders (+177) vs. Kansas City Chiefs
As you can see on the bet slip, those three picks combine into odds of +742, so a $100 parlay would win $742. If any one of those teams loses, though, the whole $100 is gone.
To compare, this bet slip shows what happens if you split the same $100 into three $33.33 straight bets:
If all three win, you’d make $108.64, far less than the parlay. But one bad result doesn’t sink everything:
- Texans lose, the other two win: $52.32 profit
- Cardinals lose, the other two win: $48.65 profit
- Raiders lose, the other two win: $16.32 profit
That last one shows why the odds matter. The Texans and Cardinals are both favorites, so winning those two bets leaves you just $16.32 up once the Raiders loss is taken off. With straight bets, you’re trading a big payout for a safety net, and the safety net is smaller when your winners are short-priced favorites.
If one leg of your parlay ends in a push, it’s usually removed, and the parlay pays out at the odds of the remaining legs.
Why Use Offshore Sites to Bet on the NFL?
For a lot of NFL fans, offshore sportsbooks aren’t just an alternative. They’re the only way to bet at all.
California and Texas are home to five NFL teams between them, and neither state has legal US sportsbooks, so apps like DraftKings and FanDuel simply don’t work there. The same goes for Georgia, home of the Falcons. That’s millions of football fans with no legal US option on game day.
Even in states where betting is legal, there are catches. In Florida, bettors are limited to a single sportsbook. That means one set of odds and no way to shop around for a better line. In a sport where getting the Cowboys at +3 instead of +2.5 can decide your bet, that matters.
US apps also only work while you’re physically inside a legal state. If you travel to watch your team play on the road in Dallas or Houston, your app stops working the moment you cross the state line.
Offshore sportsbooks don’t have any of these restrictions. They accept players from all 50 states, work wherever you are, and cover every NFL game and market. You can also open accounts at more than one site and compare odds to get the best price every week.
NFL Betting FAQs
What’s the best site to bet on the NFL?
BetOnline is our top pick for NFL betting, thanks to its early lines, huge range of markets, and strong reputation among serious bettors. BetUS and MyBookie are also excellent choices.
Is MyBookie good for NFL betting?
Yes. MyBookie covers every NFL game with a full range of spreads, moneylines, totals, and futures, and is known for its regular promotions during football season. It accepts players from all 50 states and works on any mobile browser.
Which NFL betting sites accept players from all 50 states?
All five of our recommended sites, BetOnline, BetUS, MyBookie, Lucky Rebel, and BetWhale, accept players from every state, including California, Texas, and Georgia, where US apps like DraftKings and FanDuel aren’t available.
Can I bet on the NFL on my phone?
Yes. None of our top five sites require an app download. BetOnline, BetUS, MyBookie, Lucky Rebel, and BetWhale all have fully functional mobile sites that work in any browser, so you can check lines, react to injury news, and bet from the couch on game day.
Should I sign up with more than one sportsbook?
It’s a smart move. Having accounts at two or three sites, such as BetOnline and BetUS, lets you compare odds on every game and take the best price. In the NFL, half a point on the spread can be the difference between winning and losing your bet.
What’s the best NFL bet for beginners?
The moneyline is the simplest, since you just pick the winner. Once you’re comfortable, the spread is where most NFL betting happens, and it makes lopsided games worth betting on too.