A Brits Guide to Betting on the NFL

The National Football League is the biggest and most famous of American Football tournaments. It’s the number one sporting competition in the United States and has been for generations. But it’s not just our friends across the Atlantic that love the NFL. They may call it football when most of the time the ball is in hand, they may even try to undermine our love for the beautiful game by calling it soccer, but none of that deters fans in the UK. Watching and gambling on games at the top NFL betting sites is huge and continues to grow.

Our love for the NFL is so big; in fact, the schedulers even make room for a match to be staged at Wembley Stadium in London. We’ve been treated to some crackers over the years too. This year attentions move across the city to the multi-purpose and visually stunning new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London. The home Premier League club Spurs, the venue also hosted a heavyweight world title boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk. It will now showcase two NFL matches – New York Jets v Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins v Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ramp up your interest

The stadium will be packed to capacity on those nights in October, with millions more watching the action live on TV around the UK. Armchair fans may want to ramp up their interest in the matches by making predictions and placing bets. There will be pre-game markets available then in-play betting throughout the contest.

New to betting on the NFL and want to give it a try? There are a few things they do differently in the States when it comes to betting, and it pays to know the difference. This page will help you cut through the jargon and concentrate on placing your bets.

How long does an NFL match last?

The NFL is known for its love of stoppages, and that puts a few potential fans off watching. Each quarter can last up to 40 minutes, and it’s not unknown for a game to last three hours. The time difference between the UK and the US means that’s just too big a commitment for some fans, but the games in London will be scheduled to suit the home crowd.

Doesn’t it get boring?

Despite games lasting three hours, they aren’t dull. The NFL is known for keeping supporters and viewers glued to their seats and entertained, even when there’s not a lot of action on the field of play. It’s fair to say American Football isn’t for everyone, and it shouldn’t be marketed as that, but the sport’s popularity around the world is no fluke. Even if you have never watched an NFL match before, the games in London will intrigue many new fans.

How can I bet on the NFL?

Just as easily as you would bet on the English Premier League. The names of the markets may sound different and can even be a tad confusing for some, but that shouldn’t put you off. A great example of why it shouldn’t put you off is Moneyline betting. That sounds like an expensive bet, right? To UK fans, it’s simply match-winner betting. There’s no draw in the NFL. American sports fans aren’t in favour of both teams coming away with a result. When betting on Moneyline, you are betting on which team will win the match.

Handicap betting is just that, as you’d see in football or rugby. Spread betting and totals is the number of points between the teams and the number of combined points in a game. Different words for the same bets we all know.

Can I place an Acca on the NFL matches?

You may see some sites refer to it as its American betting term – parlay – but you can absolutely place an accumulator on NFL games. The matches are often spread across Friday to Monday, and many are shown live on TV. The kickoff times mean there isn’t too much competition for your usual bets, either. Backing NFL at 03:00 isn’t exactly going to clash with your Premier League bets at 15:00 unless you stay up to watch the live match and sleep in for the football.