When talking about the different sports to wager in the United States, the first league that is mentioned is likely the NFL. The league remains king in American sports whether it’s through TV ratings, nationwide interest, and the discussion it receives on sports talk shows during the season and into the offseason. Many leagues can claim to be a year-round sport, but none of them compare to the amount of attention the NFL sees every year, especially once the postseason begins.
The NFL is by far the most popular sport to bet on in the United States. The league will continue to see growth as the sports wagering industry continues to spread across the country. With a limited number of games compared to the other professional leagues, fans and bettors seem like they cannot get enough of the NFL during the regular season. The interest from bettors increases dramatically once the playoffs get started every January. With stand-alone games and fans taking in every minute, the format lends itself to a high volume of NFL wagers coming in for each matchup, culminating with the Super Bowl, the biggest day for sports betting.
In this article, we will take a look at betting on the NFL Playoffs in the state of New York through detailed explanations to get you ready for the upcoming postseason of America’s most popular sport. We will look at where bets can be placed, the different betting types, and some beginner tips for betting on the NFL Playoffs.
Where can you bet on NFL Playoffs in New York?
It is currently legal to bet on the NFL Playoffs in New York but at this point, wagers are only being taken from brick-and-mortar locations inside the state as mobile betting is not yet available. New York is in the process of taking the next steps in legalizing online sports wagering through the legislative process. Each state is responsible for setting up the rules and regulations for online sports betting and with New York expected to be a big player in the industry relatively soon, plenty of eyeballs will be on how it will be legislated and where wagers can be placed.
Mobile betting is the most crucial avenue for sports wagering to thrive in the state because of its ease of use and convenience. Online betting has not gone live yet in New York. Many residents will drive to New Jersey to place a wager because it’s a close option where online betting is legal. That will likely change soon, and residents and visitors will be able to place bets inside New York’s borders through some of the most popular online sportsbooks already operating across the country.
Some of the most popular online sportsbooks include DraftKings and FanDuel, the two daily fantasy sports giants that have evolved and added sports betting, as well as places like BetRivers, PointsBet, Fox Bet, William Hill, etc. There should be no shortage of interest from the sportsbook companies as they are competing to add new users from a state that will likely produce a high volume of wagers, especially when the NFL Playoffs come around. The postseason wagers would likely increase even more if the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, or New York Jets are contending in the playoffs.
Types of bets you can make on NFL Playoffs
When you decide you’re going to place a wager on the NFL Playoffs at some point, you’ll need to know the most basic ways to bet on the sport. Below we will take a look at some of the major NFL betting types you’ll see at every sportsbook including the moneyline, point spread, over/under, and prop bets.
- Moneyline: Betting the moneyline is pretty straightforward. You’re betting on which team will win an individual game. It’s the easiest betting type to understand, but the odds are adjusted depending on the matchup. There would be a greater payout if the underdog wins than there would be if the favorite leaves with a victory.
- Point spread: The point spread is a very popular way to wager on the NFL Playoffs, and it’s fairly easy to understand. The spread is essentially the oddsmakers evening the playing field by giving the lesser team a head start, and they want to set the perfect number that will get roughly 50% of the betting action on both sides. For example, if you want to bet the Buffalo Bills as 3.5-point underdogs to the Kansas City Chiefs, that means you will need the Bills to either win outright or lose by less than 3.5 points. Conversely, if you bet on Kansas City, you would need the Chiefs to win by more than 3.5 points for the bet to be a winner.
- Over/Under: The over/under, which can also be referred to as the total, is based on the total number of points scored between the two teams in a particular game. If the New York Jets and Houston Texans are playing in a playoff game and the over/under is set at 48.5, bettors can decide whether they believe the combined score will go higher or lower than the total. Like the point spread, oddsmakers would like to set the number in a way that will see half of the action go toward each side of the wager.
- Props: You have probably heard of prop betting especially leading up to the Super Bowl, which is the king of prop bets, but they are prevalent throughout the NFL Playoffs as well. Prop bets, which are short for proposition bets, can be looked at as a game within the game and somewhat of a side wager. Props can be skill-based and can be wagered on by research, while others are complete luck. Examples could include individual performances in a game or something like the game’s coin toss.
NFL playoff betting tips for beginners
Whether you are a more serious gambler or a sports bettor looking for some entertainment during the NFL Playoffs, everyone gets into it to try and make money. Picking consistent winners is an incredible thing to do, as sports betting is designed for the sportsbooks to win, not the sports bettor as unfortunate as that is. Having said that, here are a few tips to look for before placing your next wager on the NFL Playoffs.
- Never bet too much: A good rule of thumb especially for beginners is to never place a wager with an amount of money you would not be comfortable losing.
- Don’t chase your losses: Staying disciplined is very important in sports betting, and chasing your losses is the opposite of that. Chasing your losses occurs when you’re betting on something like an NFL Playoff game and after a loss, you immediately go after the next game on the slate just to make up the money on your loss. This can be a dangerous slope to go down, and you could continue to keep digging yourself into a bigger hole.
- Do your homework: With the sports betting boom across the United States, sports betting information has never been easier to access. Before placing your wager, make sure you’ve checked the latest betting trends, injury news, etc. so you can make a more informed wager.
- Have fun: Sports betting is designed for entertainment, and it can make watching an NFL Playoff game more fun when you have some additional skin in the game.
How do you bet on NFL Playoff futures?
Some of the most popular topics throughout the NFL offseason are which teams will advance to the postseason or who is going to win the Super Bowl. The NFL typically does a great job in creating parity throughout the league, giving the idea that all 32 teams have a chance at doing something special heading into the season. That’s where the appeal of futures betting comes in.
You may see the day after the Super Bowl that odds are already out for which team will win the big game the next season. That’s an example of a futures bet. Payouts can be quite high for a wager like this because so much can happen between then and the next Super Bowl, and they are difficult to pick with 32 options to choose from. Other examples of team futures bets include whether or not a particular team will make the playoffs, division winners, conference champions, etc. Also, wagers are available for individual awards as well like which player will win the league’s MVP award.
Odds for futures bets will fluctuate throughout the offseason and during the season as oddsmakers adjust based on performances and the latest news.
Live betting the NFL Playoffs
One of the newest innovations to the sports betting industry is live betting, which can also be referred to as in-game betting. As you might imagine, live betting gives bettors the option to bet on games while they are happening. No longer do bets have to be placed before the start of a game.
Live betting can be a thrilling way to wager on an NFL Playoff game, as it is a fast-paced style of betting. NFL Playoff odds and betting lines can fluctuate by the second based on the latest happenings of the game, and bettors have to be quick on their feet to get in on the best number before the line moves again. The line movement adjusts via an algorithm that is put in place by the sportsbooks based on game situations.
One popular wagering strategy among bettors is placing a bet at halftime. Based on previous trends, bettors can potentially gain an edge wagering on a head coach who might be better at halftime adjustments than another head coach. That’s just one of the developing strategies in a young development where sports bettors can identify value.
Prop bets you can make on Playoff games
Prop bets are more prevalent during the NFL Playoffs and especially the Super Bowl for a few different reasons. For one, there are fewer games to worry about, so sportsbooks can get creative, and prop bets are typically a fun way to wager, especially in a big game.
Some prop bet examples include how many passing yards the starting quarterback will throw for or who will score the first touchdown. For the Super Bowl, there are prop bets for just about everything including individual performances, the coin toss, the length of the national anthem, the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning head coach, etc.
Sportsbooks will typically have a limit on how much can be wagered on some of these props because there is the possibility of inside information leaking out to the betting public. For example, one of the people working on the national anthem production could potentially hear the rehearsal of the song and have an edge over the sportsbooks.
Overall, prop bets are meant to be fun, and they can be an entertaining way to wager on the Super Bowl especially if it is a party setting where everybody can be involved whether they are a big NFL fan or not.
Conclusion
Betting on the NFL should remain the most popular sport to bet on in the United States for years to come, especially for the biggest events like the NFL Playoffs. Betting on the league will only increase as sports betting legalization continues to spread across the country with some of the biggest states like New York set to come onboard.
With the competition among all the sportsbooks vying for consumers of their apps combined with the increase in information in the industry, there has never been a better time to bet on sports. New York should launch online sports betting soon and when it does, the volume of wagers on the NFL Playoffs will become even greater than it already is.