Betting on NBA Games With High Odds

Best NBA Betting Sites

As the US government made it possible to participate in NBA betting perfectly legal, many states have already created wide opportunities for betting online. This gave a green light for many top betting companies like MGM, DraftKings, Scorebet, and Unibet to establish their local sportsbooks in the range of US states. The best NBA sports betting sites offer huge welcome bonuses to attract a large pool of bettors m the newly opened locations. Below we give you advice on the sportsbook choice and describe the laws accepted in different states regarding wagering on sports. In addition, you will find out how NBA betting works and how to read NBA odds to make your experience not only fun but also profitable and conscious. We will also mention how the bookies determine their odds and how can a betting line change which may help bettors place their wagers at the right time and place.

A big focus is made on NBA betting as this basketball league keeps the bettor’s attention even during the offseason having a huge variety of games all year round. In addition, the game of basketball is very versatile and ever-changing by design, so NBA online bettors usually opt for in-play betting: the chances become more evident. This is why you will most likely find the best NBA odds on the legal US online betting platforms. In addition, NBA was the first league to openly support legalizing sports betting and their efforts have also made a great influence on the odds and lines provided by the online betting sites.

TOP-3 NBA Betting Sites

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Payout Speed 1-3

• Online casino;
• Good line on American sports;
• Poker;
• Esports betting.

Rank 7.6/10

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Payout Speed 1-3 days

• A large number of video broadcasts;
• Match center;
• Esports betting;
• Awesome in-play features;
• Good line for the races.

Rank 7.3/10

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Payout Speed 1-2 days

• High limits
• Video broadcasts of matches
• Match Center
• Mobile applications
• Large selection of sports betting markets.

Rank 9.3/10

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Deposit and Withdrawal Options

Legal betting sites in the USA can not provide the users with the widest choice of deposit methods at the moment; however, the most popular systems and e-wallets can be found in the best NBA betting sites. Such systems include PayPal wallets, Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards, and bank transfers. The latter option usually implies bank commission fees, so it is not so widely used. In addition, it is possible to find casinos that accept Neteller and Skrill wallets, PayNearMe systems, and paper checks. Checks and prepaid cards are convenient for in-person betting when you have to visit a certain physical casino to get access to their mobile system. The same options are valid for money withdrawals.

A cryptocurrency is also an option for those who bet in Tennessee and Montana: here cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash are approved by the local jurisdictions. If you use Bitcoin wallets in the other states, this will not actually lead to severe problems, but you will not be protected by local laws in case of any fraudulent actions towards you. The main advantage of using Bitcoin is that it is the fastest payment method: both for deposits and withdrawals.

Live NBA Betting OddsWhere It Is Legal to Bet on the NBA

After the federal ban was repealed, every state gained the right to establish its own rules on sports betting — online or offline. At the moment, 21 of the 50 states have finished the process of sports betting legalization and not only released the legislation documents, but also started actually accepting bets on sports. There are nuances in each state’s law.

• Arkansas allows sport betting in traditional offices; online sportsbooks are not legal. There are two sportsbook offices in the state. The same laws were issued in Delaware, New Mexico, and New York;
• Illinois’s laws are similar to the ones accepted in Colorado. At the moment, there are six betting websites with dedicated mobile apps where bettors can place their wagers. The same practice is applied in Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Michigan.
• A range of states, that are Mississippi, Montana, and Nevada created a certain policy for online betting: it is possible to wager online after a bettor comes to a physical casino to sign up for the app personally;
• New Hampshire allows the use of traditional sportsbooks or making bets using one official mobile betting provider DraftKings. The other states with the lone online sportsbook are Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C.

The other states have either accepted sports betting but have not released any further actions yet; only four states, e.g. Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, and Alaska are not going to make any movements towards legalization even in the distant future.

Best NBA Sportsbooks and Apps

The best NBA betting sites are chosen for their good welcome bonus offers, best NBA betting odds, and markets for the NBA games, and the payment methods given for the customers. Let’s quickly review the top-rated NBA betting sites according to the rankings of experts and bettors.

William Hill

William Hill is a British company but it went legal on the US market to become one of the largest sports betting providers in Nevada and most states where the betting sites are legal. They offer a very convenient browser and mobile experience with a dedicated app available for iOS and Android. If you compare the odds given for NBA betting, they are rather competitive and the number of markets, especially for live NBA betting is rather impressive. The main drawback is the lack of deposit method choice: only a credit/debit card, or Discover is accepted.

BetMGM

This NBA betting site offers in-person and mobile betting for most legal states and gives a risk-free first bet of 600 USD as a welcome bonus. They have the best odds for parlays and also give competitive lines for NBA betting on totals, spreads, and props. The withdrawals are quite fast and the customer service is rated as helpful and quick.

Bovada

This is not just a betting site, but also an online casino; NBA betting is represented in a wide range of betting lines. The main distinctive feature is that Bovada offers cryptocurrency payments and give special deposit bonuses for Bitcoin users which can reach $750 of a first deposit match.

Identifying Licensed Online Sportsbooks

Here are the recommended websites for each state, who already made sports betting legal. We focus only on legitimate operators who are officially acknowledged and licensed by the local state’s organs. All websites we give can be checked at the official websites of the betting regulators.

New Jersey:

• DraftKings;
• BetMGM;
• NJ Unibet;
• NJ Bet365;
• Borgata Online;
• CaesarsCasino.com;
• Bally’s;
• theScore Bet;
• NJ Bet America;
• Golden Nuggets (with a range of restrictions for NBA bet);
• Resorts Casino

Colorado:

• The list is given at the Department of Revenue;

Indiana:

• The list is given at the State Gambling Commission;

Iowa

• The list is given at the State Racing and Gaming Commission;

Michigan

• The list is given at the Michigan Gaming Control Board (Resources Section)

Tennessee

• The list is given on the Sports Betting Tennessee website

Pennsylvania

• The list is given at the Pennsylvania Gambling Control Board

Comparing Licensed Betting Sites

Every NBA betting site we mentioned in this review a place where someone can make their bets on NBA games. We enlist the NBA betting sites that are approved by the local jurisdictions. However, while each website is totally legal and you can feel protected enrolling in them, there are differences in terms of odds, sign-up bonuses, deposit methods, and withdrawal restrictions.

Licensed betting sites take responsibility for all the data accuracy and reliability; a big focus is made on the security of the systems. In addition, all the officially approved betting sites can guarantee compliance with the self-restriction policies of the state and control of suspicious betting activity. All services are specially checked for having the necessary technical abilities for keeping the experience of the customer on a high and secure level.

In addition, the policies of the best NBA betting sites imply having more competitive lines and a number of markets.

Considering Other Odds and Ends

As soon as New Jersey’s casinos started getting licenses for sports betting, some major exclusive exception was released for the Golden Nugget Online. It is not allowed for them to accept bets on any NBA games, as their owner also owns the Houston Rockets team, and may have an interest in the game outcome. Later the rule was changed and now it is possible for them to accept bets on NBA games unless the event does not involve Houston Rockets.

The same fate waited for all casinos and betting companies who operate under the Golden Nugget license. Thus, the same rules were applied to the BetAmerica and PlaySugarHouse. After this restriction, the latter decided to withdraw from the Golden Nugget License and switched to another operator.

Official NBA Stance on Sports Betting

NBA Stance on Sports Betting

As soon as Adam Silver became the Commissioner of the NBA, he began the first attempts of lobbying the legalization of sports betting in the United States. The main purpose was the changing of the PASPA law accepted in 1992, which banned such a type of gambling in all states except Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware. Finally, with the help of Adam Silver and the NBA lobby in the Senate, the PASPA law was repealed in 2017 and every state could make its own decisions regarding online and offline sportsbooks legalization.

Adam Silver was the first representative of the major sports league who openly supported the legalization of sports betting and created an official letter in which he explained the advantages of regulating and monitoring this gambling area on the governmental level. In his opinion, this helps the industry of basketball a lot as it will protect the gamblers from the fixed games and other dishonesty.

NBA Lobbying Efforts

After the Supreme Court found in favor of New Jersey, which commenced a case regarding the betting legalization, the NBA basketball league began their lobby campaign. What were their demands?

One of the first issues, still not solved at the moment is the Integrity Fees. The NBA is claiming to have exclusive content and to be the driving force for the legalization of the betting market. For this, they suggest that every state paid them a handle of 1 percent from the bets made on NBA events. However, it is not welcomed by any state at the moment.

Data Rights is partly released within the NBA’s lobby campaign. The purpose is to finally make all operators purchase the betting data only from the NBA.

Finally, the NBA is struggling to hold the Right to Prevent Certain Types of Bets. It means that they want to control betting providers and ban the bets that can be a subject of unfair gaming.

Generally, all efforts of the NBA have already resulted in major benefits in terms of income as the legalization of NBA betting has increased the involvement of fans and brought a lot of profit from ads and sponsorship campaigns.

How to Bet on the NBA Online

Odds are given in the format of positive or negative integers. The favorites are indicated by the negative odds, like, -100. The number shows the amount of money you have to place to gain a net profit of 100 USD. If the odds are positive, it means that you will gain the amount of money equal to the odds if you place a bet of 100 USD.

Total payouts given to a bettor consist of the payout according to the odds plus their bet. For instance, you made a bet of $100 at odds +200. The bet won, and you receive $200 according to the odds, and also your stake amount of $100 with a total of $350 to withdraw.

The types of NBA wagers and their number can significantly differ. This depends on the amount of information that analysts of betting sites have when they create a betting line — the list of events for betting on with the odds. Special scripts form the lines according to statistics and then the experts check and publish them. After the line is released, it can be adjusted according to the pre-match changes or events happening right during the game. Almost all NBA betting sites contain the following bet types in their betting line:

• Moneyline – a simple wager on who will win. The higher are the odds for a moneyline bet, the fewer chances a team has to win;
• Point Spread – a bet type that gives a handicap to the underdog teams and makes the opponents more or less equal;
• Point Total – bet on the total score of the team or player, you bet stakes over or under a given score;
• Game Props – bets on statistical scores: points, assists, blocks, turnovers; the outcome does not matter;
• Team Props – the same as game props, but the bets are placed on a certain team’s metric like shooting percentage;
• Player Props – betting on statistical results of an individual player, for instance, passes, block shots, assist, rebounds;
• NBA Futures – prop bets on a team’s or player’s achievement within the NBA series, for instance, who will be the MVP;
• Parlays – a combination of different bet types; parlay is won if the whole combination worked out;
• Alternate Spreads – adjusted spreads, an alternative version of the point spreads. More common for the NBA but not rather popular.

In-Play NBA Betting

Live betting has the same principle as the previously described standard wagering on NBA. The main difference is that a bettor makes their wagers in real-time mode as the game progresses. Live markets are mostly the same as the standard ones; the principal difference is the odds that are adjusted according to the course of events.

The most popular live betting markets you can find at any bookies we recommend for NBA wagering are the following:

• Moneyline, Total, and Point Spread live betting: the mechanics and rules of betting are absolutely the same. The odds, though, are changed till the very finish of the game, and wagers are accepted till the game ends, too;
• Prop bets (player): Here it is possible to wager on a certain player’s statistics: who will score next, the number of points, or assists, and rebounds of one player. Player props bet can come in an Over/Under or Total format;
• Prop bets (team): The most popular team props are connected with the points scored by one team; it is also possible to bet on which team is going to score next. Such bets do not usually have to do anything with the overall outcome of a match;
• Half/Quarter live betting: Betting on the outcome of a part of the match in live mode.

Betting on the NBA Finals

Most bookies offer wagering options for the NBA Finals during the whole year, even when the season is over.  The bets are rather plain when the Finals are not in action: you have to bet on a team, who will win the Finals. When the Finals actually start, bettors have a wide variety of markets including wagers on a certain game outcome, teams, and players’ props.

The odds are given by bookies for the possible winners obviously change constantly. It is essential for both bettors and bookmakers to monitor every team and all news connected with their possible quality of performance. Betting on a winner during the offseason far before the actual start of the Finals can be a risky deal as real chances become more evident closer to the outcome.

In addition, it is a common practice for the bookies to stop accepting bets on the Finals winner after the first games of the series. For instance, in 2020, betting sites closed the line for the final NBA series winner after the ultimate winning of Lebron James‘ Los Angeles Lakers in the very first game of the Finals. If the bets are still accepted, betting on finals at the height of action can be rather challenging as the odds become more evident and still crucially change at the very last moment.

Daily Fantasy NBA

Daily Fantasy NBA is a special way of betting, which can be compared to a skill game like poker or similar ones. The principle is the following: a manager (this is how a bettor is called in Fantasy leagues) is choosing players from the really existing NBA leagues for their virtual team. There are certain limitations in terms of players and their virtual salary, so the team can not consist of Michael Jordan level members only. Then the real matches of the NBA and performance of the players bring points to a virtual fantasy team.

The Daily Fantasy Sports makes a rather positive impact on the real leagues: as the virtual team members are chosen from all teams, the customers of DFS betting sites are tightly involved in all kinds of games, including the ones between the outsiders of a season. The views of matches increase a lot thanks to the Daily Fantasy and involve more categories of bettors which is certainly profitable for all leagues including the NBA. In addition, DFS betting sites have played an important role in legalizing sports betting in the USA as their popularity evidently showed the possible revenues of the legal betting sites even after the Covid-19 pandemic which broke down the profits of the leading companies of the betting industry.

Among the largest and highly rated Daily Fantasy betting sites, we can mark the following: the DraftKings, Fanduel, and Monkey Knife Fight. Let’s see what do they offer in terms of NBA basketball Fantasy sports betting for the customers.

DraftKings

This is the largest provider of Fantasy Sports games. With the million dollars pool prizes, it has different options for contests, including the ones for high-rollers and for beginners as well. A little about the details: the roster of Draft Kings includes eight items, some of the events allow late swap, and the points are counted according to the limited statistical scores which include points, double-double, and triple-doubles, not included in the score counting on the other sites. They offer a nice signup bonus for the new customers which is a 100 percent match to the first deposit of up to $500.

FanDuel

This is another leader of the industry that instantly attracts new customers with the $1000 risk-free bet bonus. Their distinctive feature is a wide choice of one-day Fantasy games with instant payouts so it is real for the bettors to get regular profit from the daily sporting events. The offer to pick a new NBA virtual team and other leagues each weak to control the money pool in terms of any changes in the sports leagues. Bettors also appreciate customer support and estimate it as a high-level service.

Monkey Knife Fight

This California-based website is popular among American bettors because of the wide variety of game options and variants to participate in tournaments and win money. Its distinctive feature is that Monkey Knife is based on the player props and gives rather reasonable odds for a range of NBA and other events. They offer a nice signup bonus of up to 50 USD and give the new customers the right to participate in one free event up to a $5 rake rate.