While American Football doesn’t have a huge following outside of the USA, it is steadily increasing in popularity and in recent years the UK has regularly hosted NFL games. There is even talk of establishing an NLF franchise in London. The sport is hugely exciting to watch and it brings with it masses of betting opportunities. Here at mr.play Sports you will find all that you need to bet on American Football including extensive betting markets and some truly generous odds.
American Football Odds Explained
If you are a newcomer to betting on American Football then you may feel slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of betting markets available. There are numerous markets available for each game as well as markets that relate to the league as a whole. This means that you will have plenty of chances to place winning bets, but in order to give yourself the best chance of doing so, it is important that you understand the different types of market available.
American Football Markets
Regardless of which American Football league you are interested in, NFL, CFL, or anything else, you will see that there are two categories of markets. There are Game Odds, which are markets that deal with individual games, and there are Outrights, which are markets that deal with the league as a whole.
Most of the bets you place will be Game Odds, and it is not unusual for there to be more than 100 of them available for any given game. The simplest market is Winner Full Time, a bet on one of the teams to win. However, you can be very specific with your bets. There is of course spread betting available, which is always very popular. Spread betting can appear a little confusing at first, but it is very simple. You will see that one of the teams is marked with a minus sign, they are the favourite, and the other is marked with a plus. The number that follows refers to how many points the favourite must win by or the underdog must not lose by. For example, if one team has -3.5 and the other has +3.5 it means that the first team would have to win by at least 4 points for you to win that bet, alternatively if you bet on the underdog then as long as they do not lose by more than 3 points then you would win the bet.
Another very popular market is the Over/Under Full Time, which is simply a bet on there being more or less than the specified number of points scored by the end of the game. You will see that many of these markets are also available for specific periods, such as halves and quarters. You can bet on Winner 1st Half, Spread 1st Half, Over/Under 1st Half, Winner 1st Quarter, and so on. It is also possible to bet on the Total Team Points, the first team to score (and in individual halves and quarters), the last to score, the winning margin, the highest scoring quarter, the team with the highest scoring quarter, and far more.
If you are interested in betting on players then you will see that you can bet on players to score the first or last touchdown, or a touchdown at any time. You can also bet on players’ passing yards, interceptions, receptions, receiving yards, and so on.
The markets are split into categories such as General, Halves, Quarters and Players, so be sure to explore them all carefully and you are bound to find many interesting bets. Furthermore, you can combine the bets to cover many different eventualities and give yourself the best possible chance of winning.
Outright Markets
The outright markets are on a league as a whole and they are usually available for the duration of the season. A great thing about outright markets is that the odds are very generous, nearly always better than even money. The most basic outright market is a bet on the league winner. The odds on this market will change as the season progresses, so by keeping a careful eye on them you may spot some great opportunities. However, there are many more markets. You can bet on the Regular Season MVP Award Winner, the Winner of different regions (e.g. AFC South/East), the Offensive Rookie of the Year, specific teams to reach the playoffs, teams to win a specific number of games, and more.
American Football Leagues and Tournaments
The most famous American Football league is the National Football League (NFL). However, there are many more leagues such as the NCAAF (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the CFL (Canadian Football League). The NFL consists of 32 clubs that are divided into two conferences of 16 teams. Each conference is divided into four divisions of four clubs each. There is a 17-week regular season, with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week. At the end of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) go through to the playoffs, an elimination tournament that culminates with the Super Bowl, which is usually held in the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.
No matter which of these leagues you are interested in or what game you want to bet on, here at mr.play Sports we are sure that you will find all that you need.
