Beginner’s Guide to Betting on Sports in 2025
Written by: Eddie Griffin
Last Updated: Fri Feb 21, 2025, 06:53 AM
Read Time: 21 minutes
Sports betting has undergone a dramatic transformation in North America, particularly in recent years. With the rise of online sportsbooks, bettors now have access to a wide range of betting options across various sports. Understanding the fundamentals of sports betting is crucial for those looking to make informed decisions and maximize their wagering experience.
The landscape of sports betting has evolved to encompass not just traditional brick-and-mortar sportsbooks but also sophisticated online platforms and mobile apps that provide instant access to thousands of betting markets.
From major league sports to international competitions, from straightforward moneyline bets to complex parlays, the options available to today’s sports bettor are more diverse than ever before. This comprehensive guide aims to demystify sports betting for newcomers, providing essential knowledge needed to navigate this expanding world confidently and responsibly.
Before diving into the specifics, it is crucial to understand that successful sports betting requires patience, discipline, and a commitment to learning.
While betting can be entertaining and potentially profitable, it should never be viewed as a guaranteed way to make money. This guide will help you approach sports betting with the right mindset and knowledge to make educated decisions while maintaining responsible gambling practices.
Bet on Sports in 2025 at These Top U.S. Sportsbooks
Basics of Sports Betting
Before exploring specific betting types and strategies, it is essential to understand the fundamental concepts that form the foundation of sports betting.
At its core, sports betting involves wagering money on the outcome of sporting events, with potential returns determined by the odds offered by sportsbooks. These odds reflect both the probability of an outcome occurring and the sportsbook’s built-in margin, often called the “vig” or “juice.”
In sports betting, sportsbooks act as an intermediary. They set lines and odds with the aim to attract equal action on both sides of a bet. With this balanced approach, sportsbooks maintain consistent profits through their commission rather than relying on specific game outcomes.
Understanding this dynamic is crucial because it highlights why odds and lines move: they respond to betting activity rather than just the sportsbook’s prediction of what will happen.
Success in sports betting requires more than just predicting winners and losers. It demands an understanding of probability, value assessment, and disciplined money management. Bettors must learn to evaluate odds objectively, recognize value opportunities, and maintain emotional control regardless of short-term results.
While sports knowledge is important, betting success often comes more from understanding these mathematical and psychological aspects of wagering.
Understanding Odds and Probability
The foundation of sports betting lies in understanding odds and how they work.
At sports betting sites such as BetOnline and Bovada, odds are primarily displayed in American format, though some sportsbooks allow players to opt for decimal or fractional odds.
American odds are presented with either a plus (+) or minus (-) sign. A minus sign indicates how much you need to bet to win $100, while a plus sign shows how much you’d win on a $100 bet.
For example, -110 odds mean you must bet $110 to win $100, while +150 odds mean a $100 bet would win you $150.
Converting odds to implied probability helps bettors understand the likelihood of an outcome occurring, according to the sportsbook. This conversion is essential for identifying value bets, where you believe the actual probability of an outcome is higher than what the odds suggest.
For negative odds, the formula is as follows:
- Probability = Negative Odds / (Negative Odds + 100) x 100.
For positive odds, the formula is as follows:
- Probability = 100 / (Positive Odds + 100) x 100.
Common Types of Bets
The world of sports betting offers a diverse array of wagering options. Each option comes with its own strategic considerations and potential rewards.
Some players may make many different types of bets, but others may focus on only side bets (moneyline and spread bets) or over/under bets. That said, having a good grasp of many types of bets will help develop a well-rounded sports betting strategy.
While some bets are straightforward and perfect for beginners, others offer more complexity and potentially higher payouts for those willing to take on additional risk or do additional research.
The following sections break down the most common types of bets available at most sportsbooks, from basic straight bets to more complex wagering options.
Moneyline Bets
Moneyline bets are the simplest form of sports betting, where you simply pick which team will win the game.
While straightforward, moneyline odds can vary significantly based on team matchups. Favorites will have negative odds, while underdogs carry positive odds, reflecting their perceived chances of winning. These bets are particularly popular in baseball and hockey, where scoring can be relatively low.
Point Spreads
Point spreads are the great equalizer in sports betting, particularly popular in football and basketball.
The favorite must win by more than the spread number, while the underdog can lose by less than the spread number or win outright for the bet to pay off.
A typical spread bet might have the favorite at -7.5 (-110) and the underdog at +7.5 (-110). In that instance, the favorite must win by 8 or more points for their backers to win, while the underdog must lose by seven or fewer points or win outright for their backers to win.
Totals (Over/Under)
Totals, or over/under bets, focus on the combined score of both teams rather than the winner. The sportsbook sets a number, and bettors wager whether the actual total will be over or under that amount.
This type of bet allows you to profit from your prediction about the game’s pace and scoring without necessarily picking a winner. Weather conditions, injuries, team strategies, and head-to-head history often influence totals betting.
Props (Proposition Bets)
Proposition bets, or props, are wagers on specific events within a game that may not directly affect the final outcome. This market took off because of Super Bowl player props four decades ago, but now there are props for almost any sport or competition. For example, NBA player props are one of the most popular ways to bet on NBA games.
Prop bets can include player performance metrics (like total passing yards in football or points in basketball), game events (first team to score), or various statistical achievements.
Props have become increasingly popular with the rise of daily fantasy sports, offering bettors ways to capitalize on specific player and game knowledge.
Parlays
Parlay betting involves combining multiple bets into a single wager, where all selections must win for the bet to pay out.
While parlays offer higher potential returns due to multiplied odds, they’re significantly riskier than single bets. A typical two-team parlay at -110 odds each would pay approximately 2.6 to 1, but both picks must win.
Parlays are popular among recreational bettors seeking larger payouts, and big parlay wins receive a lot of attention in betting news articles and social media posts. However, professional bettors typically avoid them due to their increased risk and house edge.
In recent years, same-game parlays have become extremely popular. Same-game parlays, also known as SGPs, allow players to combine multiple lines from the same game. For example, you can bet on the Los Angeles Lakers to win and for Luka Doncic to go over his listed assist total for a particular game.
Teasers
Parlays and teasers share some fundamental similarities, but teasers allow bettors to adjust point spreads or totals in their favor in exchange for lower payouts. Teasers can be done in a few sports and leagues, but they are most popular with those who like to bet on NFL games due to the nature of NFL spreads and potential scorelines.
A typical 6-point teaser allows you to add 6 points to an underdog’s spread or subtract 6 points from a favorite’s spread. Like parlays, all selections must win for the teaser to pay out. While the adjusted lines make winning seem easier, teasers still require multiple correct predictions and often carry significant house edges.
Futures
Futures bets involve wagering on longer-term outcomes, typically season-long achievements like championship winners, division winners, or individual awards. These bets usually offer higher potential payouts due to their longer time horizon and increased uncertainty.
Futures odds can fluctuate significantly based on team or player performance, injuries, and market activity throughout a season, tournament, or event.
It is common to see teams who are considered championship contenders before the start of a season fall out of the running due to those factors. Some teams are able to return to form by the end of the season, while others are not able to get it together at any point and fall well short of expectations.
It is similarly common to see teams who were not seen as top contenders far exceed preseason expectations. For example, the Arizona Diamondbacks did not face high expectations entering the 2023 MLB season but went on to reach the World Series for the first time since winning their first and only championship in 2001.
These fluctuations and surprise outcomes create opportunities for value, but careful timing and bankroll management are required.
Live/In-Game Betting
Live betting allows wagering on games after they’ve started, with odds adjusting in real-time based on the current situation.
This dynamic form of betting offers opportunities to capitalize on momentum shifts, injuries, or other in-game developments. Markets can include adjusted spreads, totals, and various team, player, and game props.
Live betting requires quick decision-making and a good understanding of how games typically progress, as odds can change rapidly based on events.
Popular Sports and Events for U.S. Bettors
What Are the Most Popular Sports and Leagues to Bet On?
NFL Football
Betting on NFL odds each week dominates the American sports betting landscape from late summer to the middle of winter.
Because the NFL is the most popular league in North American sports, most regular season NFL games receive significant betting attention. In particular, casual and professional NFL betting picks can be found in droves for prime-time matchups on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights.
The NFL season wraps up each February with the Super Bowl, the single largest betting event of the year. Well over 100 million people in the United States alone tune in on Super Bowl Sunday, and billions of dollars are wagered on markets ranging from Super Bowl over/under odds to Super Bowl player props, which are a highly lucrative market.
The NFL’s scoring system and natural breaks in play make it ideal for various betting markets, from traditional spreads and totals to player props and live betting opportunities.
NBA Basketball
The National Basketball Association offers near-daily betting opportunities during its season, with the NBA’s fast-paced nature perfect for live betting on NBA odds.
The playoffs and NBA Finals are particularly popular among bettors. Each postseason series provides four or more games to analyze and bet on. Basketball betting goes beyond simple game outcomes, with quarter-by-quarter lines, player performance props, and team totals offering diverse wagering options.
MLB Baseball
Major League Baseball’s long 162-game regular season provides abundant opportunities to bet on MLB odds.
Baseball betting differs from other sports due to its heavy reliance on pitching matchups and the popularity of moneyline betting over point spreads.
The MLB playoffs and World Series attract increased betting attention, while player props based on strikeouts, hits, and home runs have grown in popularity with the rise of advanced analytics.
NHL Hockey
With 32 teams duking it out over an 82-game regular season, followed by a postseason that features four rounds and 16 teams, making NHL betting picks can prove to be rather lucrative. Like baseball, hockey primarily features moneyline betting, though puck lines (the hockey equivalent of point spreads) are also popular.
The Stanley Cup playoffs generate significant excitement and culminate in the Stanley Cup Finals, in which the last two teams battle it out for one of the most recognizable trophies in sports.
As with the NBA playoffs, each NHL playoff series potentially offers up to seven games of betting opportunities.
College Sports
NCAA football and basketball attract substantial betting action, specifically on the Division I level.
While the NFL has a hold on Sundays in the fall, betting on college football odds has a hold on Saturdays. Many of the biggest rivalries in American sports are centered around college football, including Alabama-Auburn, Michigan-Ohio State, Mississippi State-Ole Miss, and Oklahoma-Texas.
The College Football Playoff, which was expanded to 12 teams in the 2024 season, gives college football bettors even more meaningful games to wager on, both with the playoff games themselves and the regular season games made more meaningful by the race for one of the prized playoff positions.
Once college football ends, the focus turns to the hardwood and the quest to be the last team standing in early April. With more than 360 basketball teams in Division I, there is a wealth of college basketball odds to comb through daily on the road to March Madness.
March Madness, the moniker most widely used for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament but also now used for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, is one of the most popular betting events annually on the North American sports betting calendar.
Betting on March Madness games and futures odds brings in interest from both college basketball diehards and casual fans, and the Final Four is must-see television each year.
Motorsports
Motorsports, particularly NASCAR and Formula 1, have passionate fan bases and provide exciting betting opportunities.
NASCAR betting is popular in the U.S., with events like the Daytona 500 and playoffs drawing significant wagering action. Bettors analyze driver performance, track history, and head-to-head matchups when placing bets.
Betting on Formula 1 has surged in popularity, especially with the increased American interest in the sport. Races take place worldwide, and betting markets include outright winners, podium finishes, fastest lap times, and head-to-head driver comparisons.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
The UFC and other MMA promotions provide year-round betting opportunities, with high-profile fights generating massive betting interest.
UFC betting is the most prominent in the MMA space, with events nearly every weekend. Bettors wager on fight winners, method of victory (KO/TKO, submission, or decision), and round betting.
Major fights, such as UFC title bouts and super fights, often draw as much betting action as some of the biggest events in team sports, making MMA betting an exciting option for bettors interested in the fight game or looking for action beyond traditional leagues.
Major Events and Tournaments
Beyond regular season games, certain events draw exceptional betting interest:
- The Super Bowl: Super Bowl betting offers hundreds of proposition bets beyond the standard markets, including cross-sport props and novelty bets like coin toss odds and halftime show odds.
- March Madness: The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments drives massive betting volume through bracket pools and individual game betting, with the Final Four generating particularly high interest.
- The World Series: MLB’s championship series provides up to seven games of betting opportunities, with extensive props on player performance and game situations.
- Stanley Cup Finals: The NHL’s premier event attracts heavy betting action, with each potential game offering numerous player props and period-specific bets.
- Triple Crown races: The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes are the most popular horse racing events for casual bettors, offering traditional win/place/show bets and exotic wagers.
- Major golf tournaments: The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship attract significant golf betting interest with tournament winner, head-to-head matchups, and various prop bets.
- Tennis Grand Slams: The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open feature extensive tennis betting odds including match winners, set betting, and live wagering opportunities.
- Boxing/MMA title fights: Major UFC events and championship boxing matches draw substantial betting action, with proposition bets on method and round of victory.
- Motorsports: The Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and Formula 1 races offer race winner, head-to-head matchups, and prop bets on various race outcomes and driver performance
How to Bet on Sports Online
The rise of online sports betting has revolutionized how people engage with sports wagering, offering unprecedented convenience and access to betting markets.
Successfully navigating the online betting landscape requires understanding several key aspects, from choosing the right sportsbook to managing your banking options effectively.
Choosing a Sportsbook
Selecting the right sportsbook is crucial for a smooth and enjoyable betting experience. Many bettors turn to well-established platforms like BetOnline, Bovada, and Sportsbetting.ag, which are known for their competitive odds, diverse betting markets, and user-friendly interfaces.
Creating an account is typically quick and straightforward, requiring basic personal details such as your name, address, date of birth, and email. This streamlined signup process allows bettors to start wagering with minimal hassle.
When evaluating a sportsbook, several key factors should be considered:
- Betting Markets & Odds – Look for a sportsbook that offers competitive odds and a wide range of markets, from major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB to niche sports and live betting options. The competitiveness of odds and betting lines can significantly impact your long-term profitability, while the range of available betting markets and types of bets affects your wagering options.
- Bonuses & Promotions – Many sportsbooks provide welcome bonuses, reload bonuses, and odds boosts to reward players. Checking the terms and rollover requirements is crucial to maximize value.
- Banking Options – The best sportsbooks support a variety of deposit and withdrawal methods, including credit cards, cryptocurrency, and bank transfers, ensuring convenient and secure transactions.
- Payout Speed & Reliability – Fast and hassle-free withdrawals are a must. Platforms like BetOnline, Bovada, and Sportsbetting.ag are known for efficient payout processing, especially via crypto transactions.
- User Experience & Mobile Access – A seamless betting experience on both desktop and mobile is essential. Look for sportsbooks with intuitive navigation, responsive design, and a reliable mobile platform.
Additionally, robust security measures and data protection protocols are essential for safeguarding your personal and financial information.
By focusing on these factors, you can choose a sportsbook that best suits your betting style while ensuring a smooth and rewarding experience.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Managing your sportsbook banking effectively is essential for a smooth betting experience. Most legitimate sportsbooks offer multiple options for both deposits and withdrawals, though availability may vary by state and operator.
For deposits, sportsbooks typically accept credit and debit cards, bank wire or e-check transfers, and cryptocurrency methods such as Bitcoin and Tether.
Withdrawal options are generally more limited but still provide sufficient flexibility for most users. Common methods include bank wire transfers, cryptocurrencies, and physical checks.
In recent years, many sports bettors have embraced cryptocurrency as a banking method for gambling transactions because it does not involve jumping through the same security and verification hoops that using other methods may.
When selecting banking methods, several factors deserve consideration.
Processing times can vary significantly between methods, with some offering instant transactions while others may take several days. It is also important to be aware of any associated fees, particularly for withdrawals.
Understanding minimum and maximum transaction limits helps ensure your chosen method aligns with your betting needs.
First-time withdrawals often require additional verification, so familiarizing yourself with these requirements in advance can prevent delays.
Finally, consider whether your preferred method can be used for both deposits and withdrawals, as this can streamline your banking process.
Sportsbook Bonuses, Promos, and Rewards
Online sportsbooks offer various promotional incentives to attract and retain customers. Understanding these offers and their terms is crucial for maximizing their value while avoiding potential pitfalls.
Sportsbook welcome bonuses typically come in the form of matched deposits or risk-free first bets, while ongoing promotions might include deposit match offers, odds boosts on specific games or markets, and parlay insurance.
Many sportsbooks also operate referral programs and VIP and loyalty programs that reward continued play. Special event promotions tied to major tournaments or sporting events can offer additional value throughout the year. For example, Super Bowl betting promos are available at many sports betting sites.
The best sportsbook bonuses are not nearly as generous as the best online casino promos, which can be 400% or even higher. However, wagering requirements for sportsbook promos are much lower than rollover requirements for online casino bonuses. By making informed decisions and utilizing sound bankroll management, sports betting rollover requirements can be navigated in a reasonable amount of time, even with deposits of a higher amount.
When evaluating promotional offers, careful attention to terms and conditions is essential, especially those related to wagering requirements and time limits on bonus completion.
Minimum odds requirements for qualifying bets can affect which wagers count toward clearing bonuses, and maximum winning limits may cap potential profits from promotional bets.
Mobile betting sites and apps have become the preferred method for online sports betting, offering convenience and real-time access to odds and markets. These sites and apps typically mirror the functionality of desktop websites while providing additional features like quick bet options and live streaming of certain events.
Line Shopping and Finding Value When Betting on Sports
One of the most crucial skills in sports betting is the ability to compare odds across different sportsbooks, known as line shopping.
Different books may offer varying odds on the same event, and these small differences can significantly impact your long-term profitability.
At Betting News, you can compare moneyline, point spread, and over/under odds from the best online sportsbooks for all of the top matchups in major sports leagues and competitions. Whether it is NBA lines for the night’s biggest game or UEFA Champions League odds for a mouthwatering matchup between two heavyweights of European soccer, we have you covered.
While a difference between -110 and -105 or -115 and -110 might seem minimal for one bet or a few bets, it can substantially affect your bottom line over hundreds or thousands of bets.
Value betting involves finding odds that you believe underestimate the actual probability of an outcome. This requires developing your own assessment of probabilities and comparing them to the implied probabilities of the odds offered.
It is important to understand that finding true value in sports betting is not just about picking winners – it is about finding bets where the potential payout exceeds the risk based on your calculated probabilities.
Bankroll Management and Sports Betting Strategy
Proper bankroll management is arguably the most important aspect of successful sports betting.
Establishing a dedicated betting bankroll separate from your regular finances is crucial. Most experts recommend never betting more than 1-3% of your total bankroll on a single wager, regardless of how confident you feel about the bet. This conservative approach helps ensure you can withstand inevitable losing streaks.
Developing a consistent betting strategy helps remove emotion from your decision-making process and helps you avoid making common betting mistakes. This includes setting specific criteria for what constitutes a betting opportunity, maintaining detailed records of your bets, and regularly analyzing your performance to identify strengths and weaknesses.
Successful bettors often specialize in specific sports or bet types where they have developed expertise, rather than betting on everything available.
Sports Betting Research and Analysis
Do bettors need to know a sport like the back of their hand to turn a profit? No, but effective sports betting requires thorough research and analysis.
This includes studying team statistics, injury reports, weather conditions, historical matchups, and current form. Understanding key statistics and trends such as offensive and defensive efficiency in basketball, pitching matchups in baseball, or turnover differentials in football goes a long way towards maximizing the possibility of both short and long-term success.
Advanced analytics have become increasingly important in sports betting. Metrics like Expected Goals (xG) in soccer, Player Efficiency Rating (PER) in basketball, or Defense-Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS) in baseball can provide deeper insights than traditional statistics.
Sites like KenPom (college basketball), Fangraphs (MLB), and Pro-Football-Reference (NFL) feature metrics that can help bettors evaluate teams, players, and matchups, while sites like Team Rankings (numerous sports) track valuable current and historical trends that may help identify which teams and matchups to embrace or avoid.
However, it’s important to remember that bookmakers also use these metrics, so finding an edge often requires identifying factors that may be undervalued by the market.
Understanding Variance and Long-Term Thinking in Sports Betting
Sports betting outcomes are subject to significant variance in the short term. Even the most well-researched bets can lose, and lucky bets can win. This is especially true in a sport like baseball, where teams that may be at the lower end of the MLB standings can have an edge in pitching matchups against teams that may be in the upper echelon of the league, and even the best teams and best pitchers run into rough nights regularly.
Understanding this variance is crucial for maintaining perspective and avoiding tilt. What is tilt? It is the emotional state where bettors make increasingly risky bets to recover losses. Successful bettors focus on the quality of their decisions rather than short-term results.
The concept of expected value (EV), which is also relevant in casino gambling, is fundamental to long-term success in sports betting. A positive EV bet is one where the potential profit multiplied by the probability of winning exceeds the potential loss multiplied by the probability of losing.
However, realizing this positive expectation requires a large sample size of bets and the discipline to stick to your strategy through inevitable downswings.
Responsible Gambling
Responsible gambling practices are crucial for maintaining a healthy relationship with sports betting. This includes setting strict limits on time and money spent betting, never chasing losses, and recognizing signs of problem gambling.
Most sports betting sites offer tools for self-exclusion and betting limits. Bettors must take advantage of these resources if the need arises.
Conclusion
Sports betting can be an exciting and potentially profitable activity when approached with the right knowledge, mindset, and discipline.
Success requires a combination of understanding odds, finding value, managing your bankroll effectively, and maintaining emotional control through the inevitable ups and downs of betting.
Remember that becoming a successful sports bettor is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires continuous learning, adaptation, and refinement of your strategies. While this guide and our other sports betting guides provide a solid foundation, experience will be your best teacher as you develop your own approach to sports betting.
The most important takeaway is to approach sports betting as a form of entertainment that requires responsible participation. By following the principles outlined in this guide, maintaining realistic expectations, and always prioritizing responsible gambling practices, you can enjoy sports betting while minimizing its potential risks.
Learn More About Sports Betting
This guide covers a lot of information that will serve sports betting beginners well, but it is just one of many guides we have for both new and experienced bettors.
Whether you want to learn about over/under bets, prop bets, and other types of bets, sportsbook bonuses, notable sports betting terms and phrases, or sports betting strategies such as hedging and middling, we have you covered.
Do you love to play online slots, blackjack, roulette, and other popular online casino games? Check out our catalog of casino guides and learn all you need to know to play your favorite games the best online casinos.
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