Our recommended basketball betting sites have got everything you could possibly wish for, including the best bonuses, fastest withdrawal times and in-play betting. Looking for some pointers to get you started with basketball betting? You’ve come to the right place — read on for everything you need to know before you hit the bookies.
Basketball Explained
Basketball in a Nutshell
America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) is by far the world’s biggest basketball league. The NBA is home to some of the most talented athletes on the planet, from championship-winning players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, to newer stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic.
The NBA features 30 teams split into two conferences — the Eastern and Western. Each team plays 82 games throughout the regular season, and then the top eight teams from both conferences go into the playoffs to determine the conference champions. The season concludes with the NBA Finals, where the Eastern and Western winners battle it out to be named league champion. With such a huge number of games taking place throughout the season, it’s safe to say you definitely won’t be short of NBA betting opportunities.
Milwaukee Bucks Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
Online basketball betting isn’t limited to American leagues, though — most sports betting sites offer markets on a wide range of other leagues as well. The EuroLeague is the number one competition outside of the US, and features the best teams from across Europe, while you can also bet on top domestic leagues like Spain’s Liga ACB. There’s also NCAA college basketball, which is very popular in the States and can be wagered on at the best online bookies.
Even throughout the off-season, you’ll never struggle to fill out your betslip. International competitions, such as EuroBasket, the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics, are sure to provide you with plenty of markets and excellent odds.
Here are the top competitions you can expect to find at basketball betting sites:
- NBA
- NCAA
- EuroLeague
- EuroCup
- Spanish Liga ACB
- German Bundesliga
- French Pro A
- Italian Lega A
- Greek A1
- Turkish Super League
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Australian NBL
Market Depth
Betting Options
There are a whole range of exciting markets to wager on at basketball and NBA betting sites, with some great value to be found. 
Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular.
Money Line
The money line bet is simply where you wager on the result of a particular match. There are no draws in basketball, so all you need to do is pick which of the two teams you think will win. What’s more, due to the speed of play, the momentum of a match can swing at a moment’s notice and it’s not uncommon for a game to go right down to the final few seconds. That’s why we always recommend doing some solid research before you place your bet.
Handicaps
Handicaps, or point spreads, involve wagering on a team to win while maintaining a points advantage or overcoming a disadvantage. So if you bet on a team with a -3 handicap, they’ll need to win by four points. Basketball spread bets provide a solid alternative to money line bets if the odds on a match-winner aren’t too favourable. But bettors should be warned that the odds on the handicap market are often longer than money line bets.
Over/Under Points
Also referred to as total points, this is where you bet on the total points scored in a match to be more or less than a certain number. This market is a good alternative for those who have an idea about how a game will pan out but don’t want to take up any poor value money line odds.
Quarter/Half Bets
As well as wagering on markets based on the entire duration of a game, you can bet on just a quarter or half of a match, such as 1st quarter total points or 1st half result. If you want to make things interesting, you can even combine bets on each quarter into an accumulator to boost the size of the potential payout.
Proposition Bets
There’s a huge range of proposition bets available at the best basketball betting sites. These include points scored, rebounds scored, assists, steals and so on. Proposition bets are placed on far more specific events so be wary that the odds for any of these markets are likely to be long.
Outright Betting
You aren’t limited to betting on events in specific basketball games as you can also bet on the overall season outcomes. If you’ve got an idea about who will win their respective conference title and overall championship come the end of the campaign, or who you think will be taking home the title of MVP or Rookie of the Year, then the outright market is for you.
Accumulators
An accumulator bet, commonly known as an acca, allows for multiple single bets to be combined together under the same wager. This can involve several wagers on several different NBA games, or even across sports. It can be quite high risk, depending on how many bets you add into the mix, however, with risk often comes reward. In order to win with an accumulator on the best basketball betting sites, all elements of your accumulator have to come true, so even if you have four wins and one loss, overall you’ll lose the acca bet. This method of betting can also be referred to as parlay betting, and naturally requires at least two bets to be wagered together.
Do Your Research
Statistics play a huge part in basketball, so taking a statistical approach when setting your stakes makes a lot of sense. A quick look through stats, such as points scored per game, points allowed per game and point differential can help you place better-informed bets. Other factors like recent form, injuries, home advantage and head to head history can also be useful when making your predictions.
Keep up to Date with Player News
Looking at individual players within a team can be really important when making your basketball bet. Injury news can be a really important thing to look out for because not only can a key player be ruled out for several weeks, but if the team’s replacement isn’t up to scratch, then the team could be on a downward trend for some time. In the short term, however, individual players could just be rested as part of the coach’s load management strategy, which would just mean that for one gameweek certain players won’t take part in the action.
Look at Team Schedule
Fatigue can be a real factor when it comes to a fast-paced sport such as basketball, so if a team have got a packed out schedule of back to back fixtures, the chances are that they will be pretty tired. As such, they will not be at their peak performance levels and a could be staring down the barrel of a defeat. This is the prime time for a potential upset if a team like the LA Lakers or Golden State Warriors are suffering from a hectic schedule.
Specials and Promotions
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Debit Cards
Debit cards are the most familiar payment method available to sports betting punters, with the banking method used for a variety of other non-gambling related transactions. Deposits can be made instantly in most cases, while withdrawals typically take longer — usually between three to five working days. The best basketball betting sites offer the Visa Fast Funds service, however, which will allow you to withdraw your cash in as little as four hours. Depositing and withdrawing using a debit card is also incredibly safe, with industry-standard data encryption software protecting all your personal information.
E-wallets
E-wallets are fast becoming a popular way for customers to pay for their online betting, with services such as PayPal, Neteller and Skrill now widely used by punters across the world. One of the key benefits of using an e-wallet is the speed with which withdrawals can be processed, with it taking just 24 hours for transactions to go through in some cases. E-wallets are also free to sign up to and can be accessed from your mobile phone. Some e-wallets are excluded from certain welcome bonuses, however, so you should check out the T&Cs before you claim the bonus.
Prepaid Cards
Prepaid cards are the perfect banking method for punters who are looking to pay for their online gambling with total security. The Paysafecard, for example, can be bought in one of several values — £10, £25, £40, £50, £75 or £100 — using either a debit card or cash. This means that no bank details need to be shared in order for you to deposit your funds at a basketball betting site. You won’t be able to withdraw your cash using a Paysafecard, however, so you will need to use an alternative method to get your hands on your betting funds.
Trustly
Trustly works on the basis of Open Banking, meaning you don’t have to set up an account with a third party payment provider. In fact, all you need to do is sign in to your bank, via Trustly, and this top provider will do the rest while keeping your details secure. More and more of the best basketball betting sites are offering Trustly as a payment option, although it’s still not available across the board. Benefits include super fast deposit and withdrawal times, as well as no transaction fees from Trustly. Rest assured that your money is safe with Trustly – it’s regulated by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, and compliant with the European Payment Services Directive, plus on top of this Trustly uses state-of-the-art encryption technology meaning the process is water tight. Once the process is complete, Trustly deletes all of your personal data from their servers, too.
Pay by Phone
Pay by Phone is a super quick and convenient method of making a deposit at the best basketball betting sites. All you need to do is submit your mobile number, verify your identity via a quick text message request, and it’s all done. You will see the payment added onto your phone bill at the end of the month, or the amount is simply deducted from your total allowance if you have a pay as you go (PAYG) phone tariff. Keep in mind that you are likely to need a second payment method to withdraw your cash, and there are usually quite low deposit limits associated with Pay by Phone, typically no higher than £30 a day.
AstroPay
Relatively new to the online casino scene in the UK, AstroPay operates as a virtual prepaid card, as well as offering the capabilities of an e-wallet account. Similarly to Trustly, it isn’t available at all online betting sites, so check before registering. Using SSL encryption technology, it’s a very safe way of making deposits and withdrawals, with the added bonus of great budget management that comes with a prepaid card system. Simply download the AstroPay app, and you have access to hundreds of currencies, including six versions of cryptocurrency. You can buy the virtual prepaid cards in certain denominations, and use them at the best basketball betting sites. Added benefits include speedy casino transactions, alongside privacy with no requirements to upload any personal details to the online betting site.
Latest NBA Betting News
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are basketball betting sites safe?
Yes. As long as you’re betting at a site licensed by a governing body such as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), you can rest assured that your account is safe and secure. This is because licensed sites have security measures such as industry-standard data encryption to protect your personal details. Only licensed sites make it onto our top bookie list, so you know you’re betting at trusted operators when you pick from our recommendations.
Do I lose my bet if the match goes into overtime?
Generally, unless you’ve bet on a quarter or half market, then overtime counts for most wagers. This means that if you bet on a team to win and they draw in normal time but then lose in overtime, you’ll lose your bet. Make sure to read up on the betting rules of your chosen bookmaker just to be sure, though.
How do I deposit at basketball betting sites?
Whether you choose a top online sportsbook that accepts debit card payments, or a PayPal sports betting site, making a deposit is easy. Simply head to the cashier page, select your preferred payment method and enter your chosen amount. Just make sure you read up on deposit and withdrawal limits, as well as processing times.
Can I place accumulator bets on basketball?
Yes. The top basketball betting sites offer markets on a wide range of leagues, which is great for stacking up the odds with an accumulator. You don’t have to stick to money line bets either- handicaps and other markets can also be added to your betting slip.
Should I follow basketball betting tips?
There’s no harm in checking out some basketball tips, as long as you remember that no tipster can guarantee a winning punt. We think the best way is to build up your own knowledge of the sport so that you’ll be able to make well-informed bets, rather than just wagering based on predictions you find online.
