The 2025-26 NFL season starts on September 4th and promises to be a cracker.
The world of NFL betting UK is somewhat different to that of say Premier League football in terms of such things as when the season runs from, the format and the fact that in the NFL there’s a grand finale, with the Super Bowl.
That said, as you’ll find out in this NFL betting guide, there are also plenty of similarities between the two when it comes to such things as only betting when there are good value bets, the availability of live betting and the importance of always gambling responsibly.
Few sports can match the drama and excitement of the NFL with its fans also arguing that at times it resembles more of a game of chess, making every tactical decision crucial to the final outcome.
Our NFL betting guide coming up just now will focus mostly on the different betting options at your fingertips.
Understanding NFL and American Odds
Here are a few things to be aware of when it comes to NFL betting UK.
American Odds Format
At US Sportsbooks, American Football betting uses American Odds, where the favourite always has a minus (-) number before its odds and the outsider a positive one (+). A bet at +110 means you’re betting £100 to win £110; odds of -140 mean you’re risking £140 to win £100. So a bet at +200 is the equivalent of 3.0, or 2/1, if you prefer.
However, at UK betting sites, NFL odds are expressed in decimal or fractional odds the same way as they are for all other sports.
Key NFL Betting Terminology
One thing that doesn’t change from UK football to American Football is the concept of the favourite and the underdog. Betting on the underdog in NFL on the moneyline means you’re always going to win more than the amount you’re staking in profit, while betting the favourite in NFL means you’re staking more than what you’ll win in profit when playing the same market.
Point spread betting in the NFL is the equivalent of playing the Asian handicap market in football. A favourite starts with a deficit of x points, and the underdog with a head start of x points. Covering the spread means the team you backed wins the market after the final score and spread have been taken into account.
Favourite covers = wins by more than the spread.
Underdog covers = loses by less than the spread (or wins).
Reading NFL Betting Markets
There shouldn’t be a huge amount of difference between how an NFL betting slip looks like, compared to one for football.
Here we’re backing the Eagles -6.5 points at 1.8 for £5 in an NFL bet.
And here we’re backing Benfica to beat Fenerbahce at 1.44 to win the football match, also for £5.
Point Spread Betting – The NFL’s Version of Handicap Betting
Point spread betting is the most popular way of betting on the NFL. The chief reason for that is that most punters like the idea of a game that’s as close to a 50/50 affair as possible by giving the underdog an artificial lead of x points.
The points spread line will change from game to game depending on the moneyline odds for both teams and typically, both sides are around 1.91, or -110 in American odds: the favourite at that price to beat the spread, the outside at that price to win, draw or stay within the spread.
So what is a spread? If you replace the word ‘spread’ with ‘handicap’, then the following football example should help you understand it better.
Manchester City are hot favourites to beat Brighton so on the handicap, it’s:
Manchester City -1.5 goals @ 1.91
Brighton +1.5 goals @ 1.91.
- If City win by two goals or more, backers of City on the -1.5 handicap will win.
- If Brighton win, draw or lose by one goal, then backers of Brighton +1.5 goals will win.
Now let’s apply the same theory to an NFL match.
Kansas City Chiefs -7.5 vs Denver Broncos +7.5
- Chiefs must win by 8+ points to “cover the spread”
- Broncos can lose by 7 or fewer points (or win outright) to cover
Let’s say the game ends 28-18 to the Chiefs. That’s a win by 10 points, so the Chiefs have covered the spread, while the Broncos have failed to stay within the spread.
The 0.5 is there to avoid a tie in the bet. There’s no such thing as half a point in the actual NFL so it’s impossible for there to be a tie in the bet after the score has been adjusted by consulting the handicap, which would include the 0.5.
Moneyline Betting – Straight Win Betting
If you have decent experience of betting on football, then the moneyline market may appeal to you more than the spread when it comes to NFL betting. Especially for NFL beginners, as point spread betting is a bit more complex.
The moneyline is the equivalent of the match winner market/1×2 in football in that the margin of victory is irrelevant. If you’ve backed the Chiefs on the moneyline, it doesn’t matter if they win by 1 point, or 15.
Same as if you backed Chelsea to beat Fulham at 1.8. It doesn’t matter if Chelsea win 3-2 or 4-0; you just need them to win.
There’s a key difference between playing it for football or NFL, though. In NFL betting UK, it’s a two-runner market with no draw in it, whereas in football, it’s a three-runner market with the draw being the third runner.
That’s because there are no draws in the NFL; all matches go to overtime and your bet carries on. If tied in regular time, the team winning after overtime is obviously the winner on the moneyline market.
Backing outsiders on the moneyline means far greater returns than backing favourites but then again, they’re outsiders for a reason.
Totals (Over/Under) Betting
Other extremely popular markets in football are the over under 2.5 goals/3.5 goals and total goals markets. It’s worth pointing out that here we’re talking about how many goals will be scored in the game as a whole by both teams, not how many will be scored by a particular team.
It’s a similar story in the NFL with the ‘totals’ market. Again, it’s how many points will be scored by both teams combined. Long-term stats show that the average number of points in an NFL game is 35-65 total points, so 99% of the time the totals line will be in that range.
For example, it’s the Chiefs v Broncos again and the line is set at 47.5 points. Here are your options:
- Back over 47.5 points @ 1.91
- Back Under 47.5 points @ 1.91
As you can see, it’s almost a 50/50 affair, like with spread betting, and there’s also always a 0.5 in the line to avoid the possibility of a tied bet.
If the game ended 30-15 that’s 45 points so ‘unders’ would win. If it ended 35-15 that’s 50 points in total so ‘overs’ would win.
This is a good market to play if you don’t want to pick sides but have an inkling it’s going to be a high-scoring or low-scoring game.
Accumulator Betting (Parlays)
The football acca, especially the Saturday afternoon one, is a staple of football betting in the UK and one you should be familiar with. Putting Arsenal/Chelsea/Liverpool all to win in a football acca means the odds of each selection are multiplied by each other. As long as you’re not betting on really short-priced favourites, the acca should come to chunky odds, for that very reason.
The downside of the football acca, or any acca, is that you need all selections to win for the acca to win. That said, whereas in the past one wrong selection was just tough luck for the customer, these days lots of Sportsbooks offer ‘acca insurance’, meaning that if one leg lets you down- while meeting certain criteria in your bet- you can get your stake back as a free bet. This often applies to NFL accumulator betting, not just football accas.
Over in the US, accas are known as parlays, but the concept is the same.
It’s important to note that your acca/parlay doesn’t need to be made up of selections from the same market. Yours could involve a point spread bet, a moneyline bet and a player prop bet from three separate matches. So, perfect for Sunday nights, when lots of different teams are in action.
A recent development is the NFL Bet Builder/Same Game Acca, available at such Sportsbooks as Bet365, allowing you to build a parlay from selections all picked from the same match.
Player and Game Props – Novelty Betting
These days there are hundreds of different football side markets revolving around the performances of individual players, rather than those of the team as a whole. A player to score/be first goalscorer, a player to be booked, a player to assist, a player to commit/suffer a foul, are just some of the many on offer.
In American Football betting, they’re known as player props. Examples of prop bets you might come across include:
- Quarterback passing yards (e.g., Josh Allen Over/Under 275.5 yards)
- Running back rushing touchdowns (e.g., Derrick Henry to score 2+ TDs)
- Wide receiver receptions (e.g., Tyreek Hill Over/Under 7.5 catches)
Once the Superbowl comes around, these Player Prop markets get plenty of press and generate millions in bets. Part of the reason for their popularity is that you might be completely wrong about the outcome of the match or the performance of a team as a whole, but might be right about what a particular player does on the day.
Not only are they fun markets to play which keep you engaged till the end, but researching the performances of individual players is arguably easier to do than for the team as a whole.
Futures Betting – Outright Markets
As the start of the football season approaches, punters are quick to check out long-term markets, or outrights if you prefer. Using the Premier League as an example, you can bet on: who will win it, who will finish Top 4, who will be Top Goalscorer, be relegated, and many other things.
There are plenty of equivalent markets in the NFL, known in the US as ‘futures’. They include:
- Super Bowl winner (like Champions League winner)
- Conference champions (AFC/NFC)
- Division winners (like Premier League top 4)
- Individual awards (MVP, Rookie of the Year)
- Team season win totals (Over/Under 8.5 wins)
- Coach of the Year
- Player with Most Receiving Yards.
These futures/outright markets will appeal to customers who like to take the long-term view on the NFL season, meaning pre-season opportunities are there for the taking. The downside is that your money could be tied up for six months or so.
NFL Betting Strategy for UK Bettors
No-one said betting on the NFL was easy or that turning over a long-term profit was par for the course. Especially if you’re a beginner when it comes to NFL betting UK.
But here are a few useful strategies to put you on the right path:
- Manage your bank – The NFL can be unpredictable so you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket by risking a big part of your bank on one bet, or even across one match. Never risking more than 1-2% of your bank on one bet is a good starting point.
- More is less– Be discerning about which games you play and which markets you play. You’re better off focusing on 2-3 teams and 2-3 markets that you know really well, than trying to master the lot.
- Knowledge is King– The better informed you are, the better your chances. Being up-to-date on player injuries, team form, weather conditions and other factors will help you make better betting decisions.
- Have at least two accounts– Having multiple betting accounts allows you to: bet on your favourite markets which aren’t always available at all NFL betting UK sportsbooks, always secure the best odds on your selections and claim more bonuses, so it’s advisable to hold at least two betting accounts.
Further advice is to bet with your head not your heart (on your favourite team) and to start with small stakes, until you’ve mastered the whole thing.
Getting Started: Practical Steps for UK Bettors
Things can be a bit daunting for the NFL betting novice with so many bookies, markets and choice on offer, so here are some tips to get you started:
- Choose the right bookmaker for you– Here are a few things to look out for: a good welcome bonus, lots of NFL markets, generous odds, a nice variety of good-value bonuses, a strong live betting product, livestreaming of NFL matches and other extras like Odds Boosts and Cash Out.
- Start slowly– We’ve mentioned bank management already but additionally, you should keep stakes low when you start out and play markets you’re more familiar with from your football betting experience, such as the moneyline, rather than ones you might not know so well, like the totals or points spread.
- Build knowledge– Watch games, talk to experts, read match previews, listen carefully to the TV commentators and special NFL podcasts to build knowledge of the game and uncover betting angles. Additionally, build knowledge about your own betting by keeping records of all bets you strike and seeing which type of bets, or which teams, work best for you.
Responsible Gambling and UK Resources
Last but certainly not least is a reminder to always gamble responsibly.
Remember that all NFL betting UK Sportsbooks have a house edge built into them, making it hard to ‘beat the house’, so betting on NFL, just like on any other sport, should be done primarily for entertainment purposes, making watching a game more enjoyable, rather than being seen as a way of making a living.
If you’ve been betting on football for a while, you’ve probably learnt the importance of such things as setting yourself limits on how much time you spend gambling. Plus, how much money you risk on a particular game or over the course of a week. Apply those same principles to NFL betting, too.
And just because it’s the Superbowl, that doesn’t mean you should bet more than usual; be as disciplined as ever.
If you feel you’re struggling to control your gambling, you can visit the Responsible Gambling section of your Sportsbook, read the content and use their responsible gambling tools to set yourself deposit limits, loss limits, (time) reality checks and other restrictions. If that doesn’t do it, then you might consider self-excluding either temporarily or permanently.
The second option is to seek help from charities and other organisations, such as Gamcare or Gamblers’ Anonymous, where trained, experienced professionals can help you address the problem.
