Now the 2020 NFL season is past the half way mark, we’re already getting for the finale. For many of us, wagering on the outcome of games can bring some added interest, as we stake on the winners and losers each week, play the points spreads or even try to predict which players will make the biggest impact.

Betting on the NFL can be fun, although it can sometimes be tricky to understand fully, if we’re not entirely familiar with the terminology or the way odds are presented at sportsbooks. With that in mind, this quick guide aims to point novice bettors in the right direction, focusing on “Futures” and “Game Lines” as two of the most popular betting options.

Team & Player Futures

Arguably the easiest of all NFL betting to understand, “Futures” are simply a way of predicting how any given team or player will perform through the course of the season. It’s worth taking note of what the handicappers at OLBG have to say, as they are bound to have researched into areas you won’t have begun to consider! “Futures” are always popular at the start of a new campaign and in the opening weeks, they are almost like a ranking with betting odds, as everyone attempts to predict which teams and players will be the most successful.

One of the favorite NFL betting lines amongst fans is the Team Futures market. This year the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs are considered to be the leading teams. 

For added value, most of the leading sportsbooks also offer odds for Conference Winners, Division Winners, and the chance to back which teams will make the playoffs. Win Totals can also make for interesting betting, with the chance to predict whether teams will achieve over or under a certain number of winning results during the regular season.

In addition to predicting how teams will fare, there’s also the chance to back our favorite players with Awards betting. The big individual prize each year is the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, presented in conjunction with the Press Association. Quarterbacks often dominate and amongst the favorites for the 2020/2021 award are Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers.

Game Lines

Whenever you’re delving into the Game Lines area of NFL betting with most of the leading sportsbooks, you’ll typically find three main options. The easiest to understand is the Moneyline, which is essentially a straight up bet on which team will win the game, regardless of how many points are scored and the margin of victory.

As opposed to picking an outright winner, NFL Point Spread betting is a way for oddsmakers to level the playing field a little, while also making things a little more exciting. Points are added (+) to the final score for the underdogs and subtracted (-) from the final score of the favorites. 

The aim of Total Points betting is to predict the final score of a game. Essentially, what we’re betting on here is the combined score of both teams, rather than a winning points margin or an outright winning team.

Presented as Over (O) and Under (U), the aim here is to successfully back one or the other, based on the combined score offered by the sportsbook. 

Playing Safe

The best tip when betting on American football is to do plenty of research, before placing your bets. Make use of useful NFL statistics websites which feature lots of information, study which players are in form and how teams are performing, as this will always help you to judge whether odds offered by sportsbooks are good value.

Set yourself some limits when betting, including a starting bankroll that you’re comfortable with. Try to avoid emotional betting as that can often lead to mistakes, keep to the data and let statistics be your guide, even when your favorite team is playing. Finally, always make sure your betting is fun and if at any point it isn’t, stop for a while.

More and more states in the US are finally heading towards the legalization of local sports betting within their territories. This started in May 2018 when the Supreme Court of the United States have stricken down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act or PASPA of 1992. Since then, sports betting has been made federally legal and each state is given the freedom to decide whether they should allow betting within their borders.

Currently, there are already over 20 states with legal sports betting. Many US casinos are now accepting sports wagers especially in the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, Illinois, New York, Iowa, and a few more. States like Maryland, however, is just starting to head towards its legislation.

The recent election revealed how the locals of Maryland approve the legalization of sports betting. The voters in the state approved of the ballot question by a 2-1 margin. The yes vote that the state accounted for 68.8 percent of the casted ballots. That’s several around 1,867/310. Meanwhile, no votes only accounted for 32.2 percent or 920,524 of the casted ballots.

The sports betting referendum was voted on by the senate with 47-0 earlier this year. Even if the voters have also already approved this, the Senate will still have to vote on enabling the legislation for it to be launched. Overall, the process could take around a year.

When it comes to the main benefactor of the sports betting revenue that the state will get once it is up and running, it would be the education system of Maryland. This was approved by the Maryland General Assembly. They all agreed that the vast majority of the funds would go toward education and this was also posed to the voters via referendum.

Senator Craig Zucker who is a Montgomery County Democrat was known to have sponsored the sports betting legislation. He was interviewed by CBS Baltimore about this and said, “It’s very important in this age of COVID, where the economy is still suffering, that any additional revenue we can get from sports betting will help to close the budget gap around education.”

Senator Zucker said that the most pressing question that needed an answer was whether the locals approve of it and surely, they do judging by the results of the recent elections. He said, “What else is included and how those bets are made, that’s to be determined. I think the biggest obstacle that we were facing was: Do Marylanders approve it or not? And I think there was a resounding yes.”

And so, the locals of this state will soon be able to enjoy sports wagering. However, there is still a lot to discuss when it comes to how this will be implemented by the state. The founder of a law firm in the state that covers the local gambling industry shared his thoughts on how the state will be regulating betting.

Ifrah said that the law will probably allow retail betting licenses at places like horse racing tracks, casinos, and sports stadiums. He also said that it’s likely that mobile betting will also be allowed. Overall, he thinks that the state may only be able to launch it by Super Bowl 2022.

He said, “Assuming [legislators] could get all their ducks in a row, I would think that it’s not unrealistic for them to be done by the end of next year and ready to stand up some initially licensed operators.”

Gordon Medenica, the director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency spoke to WBAL-TV that it may be launched rather quickly. He said, “If the bill is very streamlined, straightforward, sports betting for the casinos, and let’s say horse tracks as well, they can get up and running very quickly. Most of those entities have contractual relationships with several major sports betting providers.”

When it comes to what Senator Zucker thinks about mobile betting, he said, “I can’t imagine a scenario where the state wouldn’t allow it online.”

State officials are estimating that sports betting will generate an amount between 20 million and 40 million US dollars each year. They also anticipate that around 80 percent of the wagers will be from the online or mobile sector. This is just like how it is in the state of New Jersey where 80 to 90 percent of the state’s sports betting handles are from online and mobile wagers.