NFL Betting Sites 2021

When it comes to sports betting in the USA, the NFL is king. NFL season is the busiest time of year for any sportsbook—especially the growing number of legal online sportsbooks and apps where you can legally bet on the NFL online.

Here’s a complete look at how to bet on the NFL at legal online sportsbooks in the US with direct links to register for and get free bets or bonuses at the top legal sportsbooks in every state. If you’re ready to bet and want to compare spreads, moneylines and totals for every NFL game every week across top US online sportsbooks, head to our NFL odds & betting lines page.

Compare the best NFL betting sites

The majority of online sportsbooks have an app you can download for both iPhone and Android. A betting app is your best tool for betting on the NFL as you can access and make live bets virtually instantaneously as the game progresses. You can also shop for the best NFL lines quickly and easily before the game. Use the links below to access and download any sportsbook app in your state.

Best Sportsbooks for NFL Odds & Promos

There are now lots of sportsbooks for bettors to choose from in every legal betting state. In some states, well over a dozen even.  As you’d expect, virtually every sportsbook invests heavily in its NFL offerings as it’s by far the most popular sport to bet on. Here’s a breakdown on why each sportsbook may – or may not – be worth it for your NFL action.

DraftKings Sportsbook – NFL Props, Betting Pools

An exceptionally good betting platform has helped DraftKings become one of the market leaders in sports betting. NFL bettors will want to check out its weekly lineup of NFL props, which is among the best that you’ll find.

DraftKings also offers NFL betting pools, a feature that’s just not found elsewhere. Add in an excellent approach to live betting, and it’s not too tough to see why many bettors view the DraftKings app as their go-to NFL app.

• Pros: Prop betting markets, betting pools, live betting interface
• Cons: Promo offerings could be a bit more clear cut

BetMGM Sportsbook – NFL Promos, Props

BetMGM Sportsbook has become a go-to spot for lots of bettors in a number of legal states. Great ongoing promotional offerings have helped to bring bettors in the door, while a slick site and app have made them stick around.

BetMGM goes the extra mile with NFL game and team props that aren’t available everywhere, while the live betting section does the hard work of keeping you updated on what’s happening on the field.

• Pros: Ongoing promo offers, great prop and live betting sections
• Cons: Website navigation takes a little getting used to

FanDuel Sportsbook – Same-Game NFL Parlays

As one of the most user-friendly betting sites and apps on the planet, it should come as no surprise that the Fanduel app is crushing it in several legal states. The NFL betting odds are right in line with what you’ll find elsewhere, and there are a number of great features tucked inside.

Included on the list are its same-game parlay feature, which makes building out multi-leg bets very simple. FanDuel is a big deal, and NFL betting is the backbone of its product offering.

• Pros: Incredibly user-friendly and same game parlay feature
• Cons: Layout for available props could be a little cleaner

Caesars Sportsbook – Competitive Odds, Celebrity Reps

The Caesars brand name may need no introduction to casino regulars, but the company announced its arrival as a major player in sports betting with a huge advertising blitz for its Caesars Sportsbook app featuring JB Smoove and Patton Oswalt, among others.

It’s not all hype. This is one of the smoothest betting platforms that you’ll come across. Pregame odds for NFL games are always competitive, and you’ll like what you’ll see for all of the other major ways to bet during football season.

• Pros: Odds that are always on point; all of the bet types that you expect
• Cons: Sorting through game listings on the website should be easier

SugarHouse Sportsbook – Season-Long NFL Contests

For an excellent option that may not have the national recognition of the big books, check out SugarHouse. It’s part of the Rush Street umbrella, the company that’s also behind the BetRivers brand.

SugarHouse brings to the table a season-long NFL spread contest and other exciting promos to take advantage of. The site and app are also great spots for all of your other NFL betting needs, including props, parlays, and in-game.

• Pros: Season-long contests and great tech behind the scenes.
• Cons: Only available in select markets

NFL Betting Bonuses For New Players

It’s always a good time to start betting on the NFL online. The legal sports betting industry continues to expand across the US, and there are more and more bonus offers for new players to take advantage of. These are some of the most common NFL bonuses and how they work:

Free bets: These are free funds to bet with after you sign up. The amount of the free bet can’t be cashed out, but any winnings are yours to keep.

Risk-free bets: Many sportsbooks will let you place your first bet “risk-free.” That means that if it loses, you’ll get a credit back for your stake (up to the limit of the offer). These are real-money site credits that you can use to place more bets.

Deposit match or bonus: These are extra credits that you can get with an initial deposit. In some cases, it’s a dollar-for-dollar match (100%) up to a certain amount (even up to $1,000+) while others are a percentage of what you put in. The bonus money is released as you bet and must be used on site.

Bet insurance: This offer gives you some protection on your bets up to a certain amount. You’ll often have to opt-in to access. Exact offers will vary, but the benefit is that you’ll get back your stake for things like a close loss or a single missed leg on a parlay.

Odds boosts: Sportsbooks will often enhance the potential returns with boosts on the odds for single-game bets, props, or special parlay opportunities. This is a great way to potentially boost your bottom line with minimal effort.

Football Betting Promo Codes 2021

See below for the best current NFL betting promo codes from legal US online sportsbooks:

Sportsbook	Promo Code	Bonus Offer	NFL Betting App
DraftKings Sportsbook	None - Use Links	Up to $1,050 Bonus	Yes
BetMGM Sportsbook	PLAYBONUS	Up to $1,000 Risk Free Bet	Yes
FanDuel Sportsbook	None - Use Links	Up to $1,000 Risk-Free Bet	Yes
Caesars Sportsbook	LEGALRF	Up to $1,000 Risk-Free Bet	Yes

5 Ways to Choose The Best NFL Online Sportsbook

Having several different sportsbooks to pick from is a good problem to have. However, finding the best fit for you isn’t always a simple task. To save yourself equal amounts of time and pain, work through the following questions as you decide.

1. Is it legal and safe?

Right off of the bat, this is where to draw the line in the sand. If an online sportsbook isn’t licensed in the state you live in, move along. There are still plenty online sportsbooks from other countries that illegally accept US customers. Don’t take the bait. If the sportsbook isn’t registered as an approved operator in your state, take your business elsewhere.

2. What’s the sign-up bonus?

The online sports betting industry is incredibly competitive. Sportsbooks have to do all that they can to stand apart from the crowd. Bonus offers for new players are very common, as are ongoing promotions for loyal users. Before signing up, you should take the time to make sure you’re getting some sort of free bet or bonus for starting your account. Use any links on this page to claim the listed bonus.

3. How much does the sportsbook actually work for you?

Shiny coats of paint in the form of bonuses and incentives are great and all, but if the engine doesn’t do it for you, then you’re not going to be happy. Don’t be shy about taking sportsbooks for a proverbial test drive.

While doing so, make note of the little things like how easy it is to get around, find the sports and leagues you’re looking for or customize your odds. Oftentimes, you’ll find that the best sportsbooks are also the easiest to use and will go the extra mile to find bets you’re most interested.

4. Does it have all the services and odds markets I want?

While you won’t have any trouble finding NFL odds at the legal online sportsbooks, you’ll still want to make sure it has everything that you want. The bet types that you prefer should all be there, and the payment methods that work the best for you should be available.

Additionally, make sure that you’re happy with things like customer service options and the other markets that are available for betting. If you like betting soccer or golf on the side, make sure the sportsbook has a good selection of international leagues and PGA odds.

5. How good are the actual odds?

Last but not least, even the best sportsbooks are complete duds if they post bad odds. The odds have a direct impact on your bottom line, so don’t overlook this factor.

Our interactive odds board is a good way to compare the odds across all major legal sportsbooks. When deciding on your preferred sportsbooks, you’ll want books that are on point with the odds game-to-game and week-to-week.

By asking those five questions, you’ll have a much better sense of which sportsbooks will work for you long-term. From there, dig into the factors that are most important to you as you make the call on which books deserve your business.

How To Sign Up And Bet On The NFL Online

If you’re in a legal betting state and of legal age, you can be up and betting on the NFL in a pretty short amount of time. The process requires following just a few steps.

• Click on our links to claim the bonus offer and get started
• Follow the prompts and enter the requested information
• Complete the registration process to create your account
• Claim your free bets and make your first deposit
• Check out the latest NFL lines under the “NFL” tab and start filling out your betting slips

If you do the above online, you can download the sportsbook app to your phone directly from the sportsbook. From start to finish, you’re looking at under 30 minutes to get access to a live, legal online sportsbook or betting app.

How to read NFL betting lines & odds

NFL betting can seem intimidating at first, but it suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting once you get a handle on the basics.  As far as various kinds of bets, let’s walk through it all in full detail, starting with where to place a bet.

For NFL games, three types of bets are the most common: point spread, moneyline and totals (over/under). Here’s what you need to know about each of them.

• Moneyline betting: This is a straight bet in which all you do is pick the winner. The overwhelming majority of the time, there will be a clear favorite and underdog. This will be represented by the odds, which will appear as a negative value for the team expected to win, and as a positive value for the underdog. For example, the favorite may have odds of -120, while the underdog may read as +100.
• Spread: To even the playing field, oddsmakers attach a point spread to each NFL game. In a nutshell, the spread is a projected margin of victory for the favored side. As handicappers, our job is to decide whether or not it’s a good number. For example, Team A may be favored by three points over Team B. If you think the former will win by three points or more, then you would bet the favored side. If you believe the margin will be less than that — or like the underdog to win outright — then you would take the other side. Typically, spread bets are in line for both sides with odds of -110.
• Totals: Oddsmakers will also attach a projected point total to each NFL contest. Sports bettors can then decide if they expect the total points scored to be over or under that number. For example, consider a contest with a projected total of 49.5 points. If the final score was 30-24, then the over would have been the correct call. If the score came in at 27-21, then under bettors would have winning tickets. Total bets will also typically have odds in the same range, and odds of -110 on both sides are not uncommon.

There’s also live NFL betting, which means you will be placing wagers on specific events or outcomes as the game moves along including specific team and play prop bets. In addition, there is an active futures market for the NFL. You can place bets on an event which has yet to happen, such as the winner of the Super Bowl or the number of regular-season wins a specific team will have.

• Prop Bets: Each game will have an additional prop or “side” bets for handicappers to consider. These bets can cover things such as the result of a specific quarter, yardage totals for a player, or which side will score first in the game.
• Live Betting: As the game unfolds, numerous operators will offer live betting opportunities. These can be similar to prop bets, just on a smaller time frame as opposed to covering the full game.
• Futures: Before the NFL season kicks off, and as it unfolds, there is an active market for betting known as futures. These are bets on events that have yet to take place. For example, the winner of a division, or the player you think will win the MVP award.

How to Bet on the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the biggest betting event of the year. Sportsbooks go all out for the Big Game, so you can expect to see hundreds of different prop betting opportunities to choose from. Check our complete guides to NFL Playoff and Super Bowl betting here:

• Super Bowl Betting Odds
• Super Bowl Prop Bets
• NFL Playoff Betting Odds
• NFL Regular Season Betting vs. NFL Playoff Betting
• Super Bowl Betting Games for Football Haters

When you can bet on NFL games every week

Once the regular season kicks off, fans can look forward to 18 weeks of regular-season action that comes with hundreds of betting opportunities. Here’s how the games are scheduled and spread out:

• Thursday Night Football: There is one Thursday night game for each of the first 16 weeks of the season. The lone exception is Thanksgiving Day when there are three contests spread out over the day. Because there’s just one game to focus on, Thursday Night Football odds are highly scrutinized and draw a ton of action.
• Sunday afternoon: This is when the majority of NFL betting takes place. There are two windows of games, one for the early part of the afternoon and one for the latter portion. Keep in mind that some of the international games can have a kickoff as early as 9:30 a.m. EST.
• Sunday Night Football odds: This is the marquee game of the weekend. Many of the matchups project out as the best of the week, at least on paper. This is a standalone game in which the eyes of the NFL world are watching so, much like MNF and TNF, Sunday Night football lines are dissected deeply.
• Monday Night Football: As we all know, NFL action doesn’t wrap up on Sunday night. There’s one Monday night game per week, except for the final week of the season. A lot of bettors see MNF as a chance to roll their profits over from Sunday or gain back some ground after a rough Sunday slate, so MNF odds are a very big deal and action is heavy from Sunday Night to kickoff.

Once the playoffs get underway, there are four games spread over Saturday and Sunday for both the wild card and divisional rounds. Conference championship games take place on Sunday, as does the biggest sporting event of the year, the Super Bowl.

NFL betting tips

One of the great things about sports betting is that your involvement level can vary as you see fit. Some casual bettors prefer to focus on a game or two per week, and there’s the other end of the spectrum for handicappers who like to tackle the whole slate.

In between those two extremes are various other approaches. Naturally, it’s entirely up to you. The same applies to how you approach the actual handicapping of games. You could take a hands-off approach, rely on specific sources to make decisions or even pay for NFL picks.

There are plenty of bettors who also take the time to develop their detailed routine. It’s entirely up to you, and it also depends on the amount of time you have at your disposal.

If you’re looking to develop your own NFL betting system, it can help to start small and expand from there. A great starting point is to use football power rankings, which attempt to assign a reliable numeric value to each team.

Many power rankings are free to use on the internet, while there are also plenty of subscription services which provide metrics. It’s important to remember that power ranking numbers are not the only piece of the puzzle, but they can be a great tool to have in the belt.

When devising your system, focus on the most important statistics, e.g., average points scored and allowed for each team, as well as for and against yardage.

Turnovers and sacks are also helpful metrics to consider. You can even get as advanced as spotting the differences between disciplined and undisciplined squads by looking at things such as penalty yardage.

There are plenty of ways to develop a system, but it’s often helpful to start with the basics and work your way out. You can become as advanced as you like in your research. However, there’s nothing wrong with keeping it simple and focusing on the areas you deem to be most important. And remember, even with extensive preparation, there could be arising factors that are out of your control such as bad weather during NFL games.

It’s great to have a betting system, but it’s also beneficial to know the red flags to avoid when it comes to NFL betting.

Here are some of the common mistakes that inexperienced bettors can make:

• Chasing your bets.
• Betting way too much.
• Betting with your heart as opposed to your head.
• Always betting on the favorite or the underdog.
• Wagering while impaired.

The list is far from all-encompassing, but those are some of the most significant potential NFL betting mistakes.

Online betting vs. retail sportsbooks

In fully legalized US states, consumers will have the option to make their best NFL bets at an online sportsbook, on a sportsbook app, or at a retail sportsbook.

Experiences can vary. Some operators spend a lot of money on the technical side, and the result is a smooth product devoid of glitches. Other web and mobile-based options may not necessarily be as user-friendly. In the end, the product to use is entirely up to you.

The same rules apply for betting online versus at a retail sportsbook. Often, the sportsbook will be located in a casino. Typically, there will be betting windows that are operated by employees, as well as some self-serve kiosks.

On the retail side, it’s not uncommon to find that the sportsbook has numerous amenities, such as a bar, food menu and multiple television screens to watch the action.

Once again, placing bets online or in-person comes down to user preference, as well as the convenience factor. Placing bets online can be a snap, but visiting a retail sportsbook can certainly be worth the trip.

Is NFL betting legal in the US?

On May 14, 2018, the US sports betting landscape changed forever. The Supreme Court of the United States gave its nod of approval, and the floodgates opened up soon thereafter. NFL betting is now completely legal in a growing number of states in at least some form – retail, online, or both.

New Jersey was one of the first states out of the gate, and the Garden State has emerged as a premiere location for legal sports betting. Other major markets that have opened up since that point include:

• Pennsylvania online sportsbooks
• Indiana online sportsbooks
• Michigan online sportsbooks
• Illinois online sportsbooks
• Colorado online sportsbooks
• West Virginia online sportsbooks
• New Hampshire online sportsbooks
• Iowa online sportsbooks
• Tennessee online sportsbooks

Looking ahead, Arizona online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are soon to come as is New York online sports betting.

For the legal sportsbooks, NFL betting is the biggest game in town. From the opening kickoff of the regular season straight through to the Super Bowl, each and every game on the docket will bring in tons of betting volume. To see where things stand on a state-by-state basis, you can check out our US legal gambling guide.

Legal NFL betting sites vs. offshore betting

While sports betting is legal in several US states, there are plenty of operators out there that have serviced US consumers for many years. These operators are also known as offshore betting sites.

These sites have accepted US consumers while pointing to the unclear legal situation as the reason for doing so. Just because many remain open for business isn’t a reason for bettors to take their business there.

Here are some reasons why users should only use legal, regulated sites:

• Safety: For US-regulated sites, they must adhere to the precise laws on the books. We can’t say the same about offshore operators. If problems arise, there are avenues to follow when it comes to a legal site. If the same thing happens with an offshore site, there aren’t many places to turn.
• Funding: Legal, regulated sites will offer crystal-clear deposit and withdrawal options. It’s not uncommon to see unusual payment processors or unregulated cryptocurrencies as a payment option for offshore operators. Also, numerous payment processors will automatically block and flag transactions that seem suspicious. Dealing with an offshore gambling site falls into that category.
• Legality: In the regulated US states, the laws are now on the books and in effect. There are no questions as to whether or not sports betting is a legal activity in these locales. Offshore sites are not legal.
• Reliability: To get up and running in a legal US state, sportsbook operators have to make a substantial investment. Also, they have to follow specific rules and regulations. Offshore operators pop up regularly. Some will stick around for a while, but it’s also not uncommon to see entities that virtually vanish. When this happens, consumers who have balances left on these sites are left with nowhere to turn. In the unlikely event that this happened with a regulated operator, users will have a road map to follow for resolution.

At PlayUSA, we only review and recommend legal, regulated operators. Our advice is to always stick with these sportsbooks as opposed to taking chances with an illegal entity elsewhere.