Americans have bet more than $125 billion on sports since sports betting became legalized in 2018. Football is the most popular sport and even more money will get wagered during the 2022 season.

Does the fear of missing out on betting on football get to you? Once you learn how to bet on football, a huge world opens up.

You have a stake in every game you bet on, even more than with a fantasy football league.

If you’ve never bet on football before, you probably have a ton of questions. How do you read the odds? Where do you place your bets? Does Odds Comparison matter when you are aiming to win big?

You happen to be in the right place to get those answers and more. Just read on to learn how to bet on football and get some smart gambling tips to win.

Is Betting on Football Legal Where You Live?

Wait, didn’t the Supreme Court legalize sports betting in 2018? That should mean that you can bet on football all across the country, right?

Not so fast.

Now, here’s where the sports betting legalities get confusing. The Supreme Court cleared the way for sports betting, but there’s not a federal law that legalizes it.

It’s up to each state to decide if sports betting is legal or not.

Some states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey passed legislation shortly after the Supreme Court decision. Other states like California, Hawaii, and Vermont haven’t legalized it.

To make things more confusing, state laws vary in the types of sports betting you can do. For instance, in Tennessee, you can only place bets online.

In Delaware, your only sports betting option is to place a bet at a retail sportsbook.

Then several states offer both options.

You need to learn what your options are where you live.

How Do You Want to Bet?

If you’re lucky enough to have more than one sports betting option, you’ll need to decide how you want to place your bets.

You can place bets online, through a mobile app, or at a sportsbook near you.

Are your options limited to retail or online only? You’re limited, but at least you can legally place football bets.

Set Your Betting Bankroll

You might be a beginner at betting on football, but you can wager like the most seasoned professional.

The top gamblers don’t share how much discipline it takes to bet on football. One of the top gambling tips is to have a bankroll and stick with it.

Beginner gamblers get carried away by emotion. It’s easy to do when you’re watching your favorite team.

A bankroll is the amount of money you’ll spend betting on football. Consider it your betting budget.

You need to manage your bankroll wisely. You should bet only a percentage of your bankroll on each bet. Most gamblers start with 10%.

Find a Sportsbook

A sportsbook can make or break your enjoyment of sports betting. You don’t want to try to place a last-minute bet only to have the app crash.

Revisit the work you did earlier to learn what your options are. If you live someplace where you can only go to a retail sportsbook, then you’ll need to find the closest options.

These are usually within other gambling establishments, such as horse racing tracks and casinos.

If you have options open, then you’ll want to find something that’s registered in your state.

You’ll want to compare the types of sports bets you can place, customer service, app quality, and odds. Read online reviews because you’ll get a lot of information about the sportsbooks in your state.

Research Your Picks

One of the best football betting tips often gets overlooked by new football bettors. That’s to research your picks before placing your bets.

One of the most interesting trends is the use of artificial intelligence in sports betting. Some sites use AI in predicting the score and over/under.

You can find a good example at https://www.oddstrader.com/ncaa-college-football/picks/.

Learn as much as you can about teams, hot players, cold players, and recent trends. You’ll spot opportunities that others will overlook.

Reading Football Odds

What are all of those numbers on sports betting sites about? Well, let’s take a look.

One of the most popular sports bets is the moneyline bet. This is where you have two teams with a plus sign and a minus sign next to them.

The plus sign means that a team is an underdog and the minus sign signifies the favorite.

A team with +600 is a heavy underdog. That means if you bet $100, you’d win $600 if the team won.

A team that shows a moneyline of -300 means that you need to bet $300 to win $100.

Another popular bet in football is the point spread. This is where the underdog gets additional points to even the score.

Let’s say that Michigan plays Michigan State. Michigan is the favorite with a 5-point spread. Michigan has to win by five or more points.

You can place futures bets, like who’s going to score the first touchdown or which teams will make it to the college football playoffs.

A parlay bet is a single bet, but you’re betting on a whole slate of games. Your parlay could be for four games, or all of the game of the day.

One of the fun things about football betting online is that you can play in-game bets. These are bets that you can make during the game. If you think a team is poised to make a comeback, place the bet and win money.

How to Bet on Football and Win

What does it take to place winning bets on football? Start with learning how to bet on football and put the basic information here to use.

You just learned everything from the lingo, how to read football odds, set a bankroll, and how to research your picks.

The football betting tips gave you enough knowledge to bet on football like a veteran gambler. You’ll be prepared to place smart football bets and win.

If you’re still dreaming of financial freedom after learning about betting on football, check out the Financial Freedom section of the blog.

Jane