Updated Updated: 2024

Basketball betting: guide, tips, and best online bookies

An in-depth understanding of basketball as a sport can wield numerous opportunities to make a steady profit while betting on it.

Top UK online bookmakers to bet on Basketball

No Code Required
4/5
Bet £5 & get £10
No Code Required
4.1/5
£10 free bet on your first deposit
No Code Required
4.5/5
£10 RISK FREE FIRST BET MONEY BACK IN CASH IF IT LOSES
No Code Required
4.2/5
Up to £40 sports bonus
No Code Required
4.9/5
Up to £100 Extra Winnings with a 100% Profit Boost
Code: EXTRA10
3.8/5
Bet £20 get £20 (2x£10)
No Code Required
4/5
Get a £10 Surprise Bet & 30 Free Spins
No Code Required
4.3/5
Get a £20 free bet
No Code Required
4.5/5
DOUBLE THE ODDS ANY SPORT. ANY BET. ANY ODDS.
No Code Required
4.5/5
£20 free bet welcome offer
See more

Basketball betting overview

Basketball betting guide banner

As a sport, basketball has grown from a tiny sport with just a handful of teams playing for the NBA to a massive sport with thirty teams across North America. Talent for these teams is sourced from around the world, and each team plays 82 games each season.

The basketball season takes place over a seven-month period, meaning that punters don’t have to wait too long for the season to start again when it ends. They can also make the most of the season, as matches are held on a daily basis.

With basketball betting UK sites, you will often be betting on matches that are held as part of the NBA. But, some bookmakers also offer you the opportunity to bet on college basketball. If you can’t get enough of the season, then you should take a look at college basketball because thousands of games are played every season, with dozens of games being held on a nightly basis.

Types of Basketball Bets

Placing basketball bets can be easy or difficult, depending on the types of bets that you are going to place. The three main betting types include:

  • Line Betting

Line betting is one of the most popular forms of betting on basketball that bookmakers offer. Easily recognized as a type of handicap betting, Line betting works with a point system. You simply have to make sure that you pick the right side of the bookmaker’s bet.

  • Money Line Betting

We would highly recommend that you start out with Money Line betting if you are unfamiliar with the nature of basketball as a sport. When you place a Money Line bet, you are betting on which team will win the game.

  • Totals Betting

Over-under betting basketball is something that you will hear about a lot, but it is also known as totals betting. With totals betting, you are placing a bet that determines whether or not the points scored in a basketball game will be higher or lower than a number that is set by the bookmakers.

  • Alternative Bets

If you are familiar with basketball and you feel like you are ready to place bets that are slightly more advanced, then you could also look into the following betting types that are offered by bookmakers in the United Kingdom:

  • Double Result Bet

When you are placing a double result bet, basketball games can be full of possibilities. These are where bookmakers split the outcome of the game into different sections, and you can place bets on any of the four different game periods. Usually, one team won’t win each of the four quarters, so you can earn some decent money by splitting the bets up.

  • Multiples Betting

Betting on multiples is the same as accumulated betting, as you have to pick more than one winning bet. If you pick three winners, then you could stand to win a lot of money, but only one of your teams has to lose for you to lose the entire bet. If you are betting on teams who are firm favourites to win, then you could stand to win more money than you would by betting on each team separately.

What games should I bet on?

Basketball betting markets are incredibly lucrative because of the sheer number of games that are held each year, but the sport can also be quite difficult to follow because of that. If you are the type of person who likes to watch each of the games in online live streaming that you bet on, then you could stand to lose quite a lot of time.

We would advise that you take a look at the following basketball areas to start with:

NBA

The National Basketball Association offers some of the best games to place bets on and you can place bets on almost every NBA game with a number of different British bookmakers. We would recommend that you start out by betting on either teams or divisions that you are already aware of, as this should enable you to slowly build on the teams that you recognize and the statistics that you are aware of.

College Basketball

Some British bookmakers will also give you the opportunity to bet on college basketball. College basketball events take place on a daily basis and thousands are held each season, meaning that you will never run out of options.

Placing Basketball Bets Online

You can easily place basketball bets online by using a reputable bookmaker. Most of the bookmakers who are based in the United Kingdom will let you bet on National Basketball Association games, and some will bet you bet on college basketball games.

We highly recommend that you shop around for the best bets, as some bookmakers, will offer better odds than others.

Basketball betting strategies

Now that you are familiar with the different types of basketball bets that you can place, you should use some of our basketball betting tips to develop your own strategy. When you find a strategy that works, you should stick to it, as basketball betting tips and predictions can be quite hard to come by. We would highly recommend that you:

  • Start out with teams that you recognize.
    One of the best NBA basketball betting tips is to start by betting for or against one of the teams that you are most familiar with. By betting on a team that you know, you can give yourself the opportunity to learn where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Once you have done this with one team, you will find it much easier to do the same with another.

What do you know about the current basketball team that you follow? Do you know who the players on their roster area? Do you know where their skillsets offer the most benefits? Do you know what approach they take during games? If you know all of these things, then you should be able to make educated bets around that team. This is much better than diving in at the deep end and betting on teams across the board because you could potentially stand to lose money by doing that.

  • Shop around before you place your bets.
    If you are going to place a specific bet, then you should shop around to see what odds different bookmakers are offering on your chosen bet. No two bookmakers will offer exactly the same odds on every match, and you need to treat basketball betting like a serious business. Even a difference of 3/1 and 4/1 is a difference that will add up over time.

You should also keep track of every bet that you place and make sure that you write down what the outcome was. This can help you by preventing you from making the same mistakes in the future, especially if you use basketball betting tips today so that they stick in your head.

  • Learn how to analyze a team.
    If you are going to be placing bets on a team that is part of the National Basketball Association, then you need to learn how to analyze a team and their statistics. By understanding how well a team could potentially perform, you can improve your returns.

This is the same as what bookmakers do when they are deciding what odds to offer punters, but they have a number of analytical minds and tools that they can use to their advantage. Luckily, the minds belong to humans and humans do occasionally make mistakes.

When you analyze a team, you should think about the following:

  • Where will the team be playing?
    It’s a well-known fact that teams have an advantage when they are playing at home. With the National Basketball Association, this is expected to be an advantage of approximately 2 points. You should definitely take this into consideration when you are placing your bets, as it can determine the outcome of the entire game.
  • How well do the players work together as a team?
    You could have a brilliant set of basketball players as a team, but if they can’t play together as a team they won’t make much headway. Sometimes, egos can run high among basketball teams and players can decide to do things that simply don’t work. If you watch a few recent games, you should be able to get a feel for the overall team dynamic.
  • Are all of the players healthy?
    Unfortunately, injuries are quite common among NBA players. We would highly recommend that you keep your eyes on social media to see whether or not players are injured, and take a look at the roster to see whether or not any substitutions look like they could upset the balance of the entire match.
  • How much of an advantage will one team have?
    The National Basketball Association is quite unique in that the better team statistically won’t always have the upper hand. There are only thirty teams who play for the NBA, and this means that they all know each other intimately. A team might have what they think is a secret play, but it might be predictable because of how well another team knows their tactical approaches.

Did you know ?
The results of National Basketball Association games can often be unpredictable, and at least several teams beat the bookmaker’s expectations every season.

  • Create a betting system and stick to it.
    We would highly recommend that you should develop a betting system and stick to it if you are planning on betting on more than just a handful of games. Most people make sure that their models include points, shooting percentages and rebounds. By creating a model of your own to follow, you can accurately work out whether or not a team is worth betting on without putting in hours of research.

Last but not least

Before you place your first bets, make sure that you understand the odds and understand how well the teams that you are betting on are capable of performing. The NBA season is long and contains hundreds of games, but it can often be unpredictable and dark horses can rise up and take on the top teams at any given time. We recommend taking a look at the betting bonus offered if you bet on NBA for the first time.

Luckily, bookmakers are known to make quite a lot of mistakes when they are setting their odds, and these could be quite profitable for you if they are treated properly. Try to make sure that you follow all of the advice that we have laid out in this guide and you should be in for a profitable season.

Best online bookmakers to bet on basketball from The UK

No Code Required
4/5
Bet £5 & get £10
No Code Required
4.1/5
£10 free bet on your first deposit
No Code Required
4.5/5
£10 RISK FREE FIRST BET MONEY BACK IN CASH IF IT LOSES
No Code Required
4.2/5
Up to £40 sports bonus
No Code Required
4.9/5
Up to £100 Extra Winnings with a 100% Profit Boost
Code: EXTRA10
3.8/5
Bet £20 get £20 (2x£10)
No Code Required
4/5
Get a £10 Surprise Bet & 30 Free Spins
No Code Required
4.3/5
Get a £20 free bet
No Code Required
4.5/5
DOUBLE THE ODDS ANY SPORT. ANY BET. ANY ODDS.
No Code Required
4.5/5
£20 free bet welcome offer
See more

FAQ

Money Line betting involves betting on who the winner of a basketball match will be. We would highly recommend that people who are new to the field of betting on basketball start off with Money Line bets.

A spread involves betting on a margin that is set by the bookmaker. You can bet for it or against it, and you don’t have to bet on who the actual winner of the basketball game will be.

If you find yourself wondering how to bet on basketball, you will be happy to hear that it is notoriously easy to do. Most British bookmakers will give you the option to bet on National Basketball Association games, and some will also allow you to place bets on smaller games, although the odds that you are offered might be less favourable.

When you are trying to find the best basketball betting sites, we would recommend that you shop around for the best odds instead. Try opening accounts with a number of different bookmakers. That way, you won’t have to faff around too much if you see that one is offering better odds than another. Some of the best are:

-Bet365

-William Hill 

-Betfair

When betting on basketball you can choose the easiest way and bet on who is going to win/lose the game or you can decide to bet on different action of the game. For instance you can bet on which team is going to score the next points. If you like in-play betting you can bet on penalties and bet on the next player to score a penalty.. or not

NBA is the highest lvl of basketball you can find. The top 3 for the 2018-19 season is lead by:

1) Golden States Warriors
2) Boston Celtics
3) Houston Rockets

There are a lot of online bookies offering to bet on basketball such as:

There are several online bookmakers available in The UK offering to watch online live streaming basketball games such as: