We Only List Safe and Secure Online Sportsbooks
The best basketball players in the world play in the National Basketball Association. For more than 70 years, the NBA has showcased not only the best American talent, but also the best international players. Today, it is hard to find a corner of the world where people are not playing or watching basketball. The NBA's reach and impact are felt everywhere.
The best basketball players in the world play in the National Basketball Association. For more than 70 years, the NBA has showcased not only the best American talent, but also the best international players. Today, it is hard to find a corner of the world where people are not playing or watching basketball. The NBA's reach and impact are felt everywhere.Sure, watching an NBA game is a thrill in itself, but adding gambling to the mix takes the experience to a whole new level. Watching a player throw down an acrobatic dunk is one thing; experiencing the simultaneous euphoria of having just hit the over and winning hundreds of dollars on that dunk is another.
The only thing is that you’ll need to make sure you place those bets with the right sportsbook.
Although the online betting business is booming, many companies lack ethics and have no qualms about scamming innocent bettors out of their money and private information.
If you want to bet on the NBA but are worried about getting scammed, you've come to the right place. Our team of specialists is constantly reviewing betting sites for authenticity and security, so we can be sure of the sites we recommend to our readers.
We spend our lives evaluating gambling sites and searching for the most trustworthy, legitimate operations so that you can dive right into the fun aspects of online gambling without a care in the world.
In addition, we are not only interested in helping you find the best betting sites on the web, we want you to clear your head and actually succeed at betting with real money. So, after you check out our recommended sites and understand why we chose them, take some time to read our extensive and in-depth guides that cover almost every conceivable sports and gambling topic.
We take responsible betting apart and explain in detail not only what it is, but why it is important to all gamblers, and especially to you. Then we throw in the obvious caveat that even with responsible betting, there's no guarantee that you'll win, either in the short or long term. So what's the point, really? And we might as well ask why some of us bet at all, with the question of motivation hanging over our heads like the Sword of Damocles.
Choosing Your Ideal NBA Betting Site
We don't need to tell you that while the Internet is easily one of the greatest inventions ever made by man, it can also be a pretty intimidating and dangerous place. There are countless honest, trustworthy gaming sites out there that are simply trying to earn your business, but there are also the opposite types of sites, and they're the ones you really need to be on the lookout for. Internet security: It's kind of a big deal.
Well, at least we do; you just have to stick with our recommendations and benefit from our painstaking research!
Our elaborate process allows us to evaluate a gaming site and determine its eligibility to be presented to our readers. We aim much higher than simply trying to avoid fraud; we always want to share the absolute best gaming platforms available. The end result is trust.
If you are interested in learning more about how we determine a site's legitimacy, please follow the link below to our article. In the meantime, here are some of the critical factors we consider. These are essential factors.
Safety/Legitimacy
The top priority at casino-guide.biz is to ensure the financial safety and security of our readers. We share a passion for sports and gambling, and we want to interact with people who have similar interests - without worrying about whether our money is safe, whether we're dealing with an unfair bookmaker, or whether our identity is safe from theft. These are all things that many people unfortunately have to deal with when they play online. The world is stressful enough without having to deal with thieves and scammers during our downtime.
The leading gambling sites we recommend are the best of the best in the industry. We only recommend sites that we are confident are safe and secure, and you can bet that we have our own accounts open at the same online sportsbooks and casinos that we recommend to you. We put safety and security first when it comes to online gambling, and so should you!
Fast Payouts
There are few things more annoying than trying to get your money out of your betting account if you're an experienced online gambler. You know what I mean. Transactions take forever. And when they don't, there's some kind of shortcut that makes you feel like you're being robbed. Bet the house that when you win online, you don't enjoy the same kind of glorious payday that you would if you went out and won a poker tournament in person.
Depending on the banking methods used, it is clear that the majority of withdrawal requests cannot be processed immediately. However, some sites make it part of their business model to either delay cashout requests or make them confusingly difficult.
These sites will use all sorts of tactics to keep your money in their accounts. They'll set ridiculously low weekly withdrawal limits; they'll redirect your withdrawal requests into a black hole; and they'll even make ridiculous accusations against you in order to keep your money in their account.
They assume that if they can make you angry enough or keep you waiting long enough, you will eventually give up and start gambling with the money again. There have even been cases where site operators have accused customers of being professional gamblers or somehow cheating the code, and used this as an excuse to deny payouts.
Such nightmarish scenarios are exactly what we want to avoid. Place your bets on the NBA with one of the reliable, fair and trustworthy sites listed on this page. The payout time will vary depending on the banking method you choose, but the sites we use all make an effort to pay you as quickly as possible. Some of these sites don't require you to have a bank account in order to bet with them.
If you choose to receive your funds by paper check instead of Bitcoin or e-wallet, it could take more than a week to arrive. The alternative, faster payment methods will still be available to you if you wish.
Variety of Betting Options
After ensuring your safety on a betting site, we focus on the service they provide. The online sports betting business is highly competitive. This competition forces bookmakers to offer a growing number of sporting events and new types of bets.
Even though we're here to make money, we're also here to have fun. So we can't be reduced to a state of boredom because of a few bets and games.
In addition, success in sports betting requires finding and capitalizing on underpriced lines. This is an arduous task for championship games and mainstream betting options that are heavily scrutinized by bookmakers. If you want to work against the house, you need to dig deeper into the betting menu and find the more specialized betting opportunities that exist within it.
Multiple Banking Options
An online gaming site is better off if it offers a good selection of almost all types of payment methods. At the same time, it is not necessarily a disadvantage to use a site that focuses on a single method. As the legal status of web-based gaming continues to evolve and vary around the world, so too do the ways in which players around the world fund their games.
U.S. citizens can engage in offshore online gambling even if their own government disapproves. They can access gambling sites in places like Costa Rica. But the sites can't be operated from within the United States. And even accessing those gambling sites can be considered a crime by people in certain states. There's also an anti-online gambling law that prohibits U.S. banking institutions from processing transactions with sites that are known to be gambling operations.
For this reason, US citizens have funding problems because they can't use credit or debit cards. They may have to resort to using bitcoin or special gift cards that bypass the rules and allow them to deposit into an account. This variety of funding options is necessary because HD makes funding almost impossible for a significant portion of the US. The best solution is for online gambling sites to offer as many alternative methods as possible.
Sites that focus solely on a single payment method can also be quite useful. These companies are often better at processing deposits and withdrawals in their specific banking type, and they can do it faster than sites with many different options. Some online casinos and sportsbooks that only accept bitcoin can even send withdrawals instantly these days.
Bonuses and Loyalty Programs
Our recommended sites all offer enticing bonuses when you decide to sign up or make a deposit with them. The industry standard seems to be offering you free play coins or matched deposits to entice you to choose their site. But these bonuses - a decent chunk of change to make them worth your while - usually come with some hefty terms and conditions attached. So if you don't want to be blindsided after guiltily spending your bonus money, it pays to read the fine print.
A bonus is "free" money that a gaming site gives you in the hopes that you will bet or play. Of course, the sites hope that you will lose if you use their bonus to bet! Most bonuses have something called a "rollover" attached to them. This means that you have to make a certain amount of wagers before you can withdraw your money. These wagering requirements are often as high as 30x, which means that if you accepted the bonus for the same amount and type as we just did, you'd have to wager a total of $3,000 before the money you won is actually yours!
If you are looking for gifts or rewards from your betting site, loyalty rewards programs are where you will find the good stuff. The more you wager with a site, and the more you wager on average, the greater the rewards for your loyalty. Almost all sites have a points or tier system that dictates what you can expect to receive. 1. Systems range from pretty lame to pretty generous. 2. Even the lamer systems tend to give you something halfway decent. 3. The decent stuff: half-off coupons, free merchandise, and the occasional no-strings-attached cash. 4. At the higher end, some sites have programs that give you a good return on your loyalty.
Point programs simply give you points for each action you take. In total, you accumulate points over time. They can then be redeemed for various permutations and combinations of prizes that get really hard to keep track of; the interface keeps track of them for you. I'll give you some examples. The odds on some bets get better the more you bet. Also, your own betting influence can affect the odds and results of other bets. This is a set of features that really makes the bookie look a little sinister.
Depending on how you plan to bet, you may want to check out the different loyalty programs before committing to a site. We take these into account in our rankings as they can be very rewarding in the right circumstances. If you find a bonus or rewards scheme that you can work with, it can really enhance your experience as a customer.
Guide to Betting on the NBA
All the serious stuff is behind us; now we can finally talk about NBA betting! More than any other sport, basketball is driven by superstar players. Because each team only has five players on the floor at any given time, and because those players (unlike, say, hockey) can go long stretches without being subbed out, the game's best players have a far greater impact on the outcome than the stars of any other league.
There are several things to keep in mind when betting on the NBA. First, understand that the NBA is a league dominated by a few very strong teams that consistently win more games than they lose. This means that over the course of a long season, you have a pretty good idea of which teams are likely to do well and which are likely to do poorly. Conversely, even if you think a certain outcome has a good chance of happening, you have to remember that there are a relatively small number of games where any outcome could be the right one on any given night. That's what makes betting on the NBA so exciting.
Here we will touch on a few basic aspects of sports betting and the National Basketball Association before moving on to more specific topics. These are the basic concepts of both subjects on which we'll build this guide to successful sports betting. If you want to learn more about a specific aspect, just follow the links and read our related articles.
The Basics
The most common misconception about betting on the NBA and sports in general is that you're trying to predict the outcome of the game, event, or bet. It's not about picking the winning side; it's about identifying value in the bets you make and using your noodle to figure out which way to lean so you can come out ahead in the long run. No one is accurate enough with their predictions to consistently make a profit over time without taking value and implied probability into account.
Concentrate your betting on sports and especially on teams that you follow and understand. The more in-depth your knowledge, the better you'll be able to assign winning probabilities to them when you handicap the contest. But if the reason you're so knowledgeable about a team is because you're a fanatic, try to keep your fanaticism in check so that you're betting with your head and not your heart.
If you don't already have a favorite NBA team, take some time during the offseason to learn about the league. Then, as the next preseason approaches, pick a few teams to follow and make them your own. The 2023-2024 season consists of a long 82-game stretch in addition to the playoffs, so there's plenty of opportunity for you to wring insight and data out of a single year of quasi-investment. By the end of it all, you're guaranteed to have a much better feel not only for the league, but also for the routine that a given team will settle into over the course of the next few months.
To gain further insight into sports betting and the world of online sports gambling in general, you can read the following articles. They cover a range of topics related to not only the art of handicapping, but also the not-so-simple science behind it.
Be Smart
It's important to remember that betting, whether on the NBA or in a casino, has the potential to lead to problematic behavior and terrible financial results if not managed in a wise, controlled manner. Before you ever make a deposit or place a single wager, you should have a plan for your bankroll and your bets. Your bankroll is the amount of money you set aside for betting after determining what you can afford to lose without it negatively impacting your life.
Your betting plan is how you divide your bankroll into individual bets. Instead of just randomly betting on every basketball game you like, you have a scheme for how many times you're going to bet and how much of your bankroll you're going to risk on each bet. That way, if you make your picks based on value, the math will work out in a way that you'll profit over the long haul.
If you do not organize your bets, you run the risk of winning a high percentage of your bets and still losing money.
It is possible to grow your bankroll even if you win a small percentage of your picks. And it is certainly possible to grow your bankroll if you win a fairly consistent percentage of your picks. In fact, this section should be called "Making Your Bankroll Grow: Part 1". Because there are certainly methods you can use to grow your bankroll. But if you're in the dark about what the next method is after this one, or why you're using this method, or what you should expect to happen at the end, then it doesn't make sense. And if it doesn't make sense, you might as well not do it. At least with any sort of consistency.
If you're new to the world of sports betting, the terms involved can be confusing, even foreign. But don't worry, here's a glossary to help clear up any confusion about the new nomenclature.
Common NBA Bets
You have come to the right place if you want to learn how to bet on NBA games. The first step, of course, is to familiarize yourself with the most common types of bets that you will encounter in the sports book and online. Basketball, by its very nature, lends itself quite well to all types of bets, ranging from the kind of things you might see on a betting slip, like the eventual winner of the finals, to bets regarding the nightly scoring output of the two teams, and especially bets that you might place in-game as the action unfolds.
- Point Spread - Point spreads are a form of handicap betting
- instead of using a moneyline system of betting, which makes betting on the favorite a high-risk, low-reward venture, oddsmakers set a final score handicap and then give both teams even odds of winning. If a heavily favored NBA team has a spread of, say, 12.5 points, that means that if you bet on the favorite to cover, they have to win by more than 12.5, or else your bet is a bust and you're left crying. Meanwhile, if you bet on a nice 12.5 point underdog, as long as that underdog barely loses by 13 or more points, you'll walk away with the winnings.
- Totals (Over-Under) - Totals bets are a way to gamble on the total points in a game without having to pick a winning team
- you're betting against the line that the bookmakers set. For example, if they set the over-under for the Pacers vs. Cavs game at 200, and you think that the combined score of both teams will be a number greater or less than 200, and you're pretty sure of your reasoning, then it's time to either bet the over or the under
- Parlays - Parlay cards are a way to combine multiple individual bets into one larger wager;
If you want more than a quick summary of the different types of sports betting, check out our special guide. It explores the many betting options available to you, how they work, and why you might enjoy them. Types of betting options you have.
Betting Systems and Strategies
As you learn to handicap NBA games, you may find it useful to use betting systems that have already been developed and work. Here are a few systems you can get started with.
One betting system you have probably heard of is the Martingale system.
You double your bet after each losing bet until you win and then you start over.
We don't necessarily recommend the Martingale for NBA betting. It can cause massive losses, and it doesn't really do anything to improve the odds of winning when you're betting. It's just a strategy for dealing with losing streaks. A better system for betting the NBA is what we call Non-Conference, High Totals. This is a system that works without fail for the entire duration of the 82-game NBA season.
You look for non-conference games where the total is set at 220 or higher, and bet the over. By and large, this is a winning system. You are looking for something specific and you react when you find it. With Bet the Over on Non-Conference Games Totaling 220 or Higher, you get a tip to look for something a little more unusual (a total of 220 is pretty high) and bet on a game to go over when you find it.
If you're ready to start the serious work of formulating or using advanced betting systems, check out our more sophisticated strategy guides for betting on the NBA.
About the National Basketball Association
For just over seventy years, the NBA has provided countless moments of unforgettable drama and memorable performances to countless cultures. It has established itself as a unique moment-making machine - "you had to be there" moments, as well as those that will find a place in the all-time annals of show business. While it is true that other professional leagues have larger overall followings, no sport north of the Rio Grande can match the reach and relevance of the NBA's stars.
The league is controlled by a commissioner elected by the thirty franchise owners. For decades, the position was held by David Stern, who was eventually succeeded by his protégé Adam Silver, who still holds the position today; in fact, he started off with a bang, ousting longtime owner Donald Sterling for racist comments.
Historically, Silver's mentor has been involved in some significant controversies and conspiracy theories. So far, though, Silver has largely managed to avoid anything that would make him look bad. On our "All About the NBA" page, we look at the league's darkest days and reveal the most damaging scandal in NBA history. We also discuss how what we learned from this scandal can be used to make informed and intelligent bets on NBA games.
Our "All About the NBA" page is a portal to our collection of writing about the NBA and its byways. You can find not only the straightforward histories of its teams, players, and moments, but also discussions of its controversies, our takes on what the rules mean (or should mean), and even, in some cases, how controversy has shaped the league's paths. Check it out.
The League
Founded in 1946, the National Basketball Association is the highest level of professional basketball that can be achieved. The thirty-team league occupies North America, with twenty-nine teams and one lone team north of the border in Canada. A league with only thirty teams, and with each team consisting of between twelve and fifteen players, makes for the smallest number of available jobs in any profession we can call a sport, which is why the guys who hold those jobs are by far the highest paid athletes in the world.
The two parts of the league are called the Eastern and Western Conferences, each of which has three divisions. Each division consists of five teams. These teams are divided by geographic region. The divisions in the Eastern Conference are: the Atlantic Division, the Central Division, and the Southeast Division. The divisions in the Western Conference are: the Northwest Division, the Pacific Division, and the Southwest Division. The two conferences and their respective divisions determine the teams' regular season schedules and playoff seeding.
It may be hard to imagine, but the NBA was not always the global force it is today. In fact, until the mid-1970s, the league struggled to attract fans and broadcast games that were more taped than live. To understand the league's history and how it became one of the most admired sports leagues and cultural forces in North America, read this account of the league's various stages of development.
The Season
The NBA's 82-game regular season begins in October and runs through April, followed immediately by the playoffs. Each team plays 41 home and away games. The schedule is as follows:
- Each year, teams play each member of their division four times, for a total of sixteen games
- they also play six of the other two divisions in their conference four times each, for another twenty-four contests
- the final four teams from the other two divisions in the conference are played three times each, for a total of twelve games
- they also play each rival from the other league two times, for another thirty games, bringing us to 82 games on the schedule;
Playoffs
The playoffs are administered by the two conferences-Eastern and Western. A maximum of sixteen teams - eight from each conference - advance to the playoffs after the regular season. The teams that make the playoffs are seeded from one to eight in each conference. They are seeded by and according to record. And as an added bonus to the team with the best regular season record in each conference, the number one team in that conference enjoys home-court advantage.
The NBA playoffs consist of four rounds, with each round consisting of a series of up to seven games. When a series begins, the team with home-court advantage opens with two games in its own arena. After that, the teams alternate venues, with the higher-seeded team playing two of the final three games on its home court.
The champion of the Eastern Conference plays the champion of the Western Conference in the NBA Finals for the title of best team in the league. From 1985 to 2013, the Finals followed a 2-3-2 best-of-seven structure, but it was deemed unfair to the team with home-court advantage by many and was scrapped in favor of the more traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format.
All-Stars and All-Time Greats
The Association has produced some of the most revered athletes in history. Legends like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James have become global icons through their exploits on basketball's biggest stages. Many of these iconic figures have continued to play prominent roles within the NBA through team ownership, front office positions, or other types of employment within the league. Some of the former greats have even made an appearance on the court during the annual NBA All-Star Game! To give you an idea of the types of players we will be covering on the NBA's Greatest Players page, here is a brief look at some of the Association's all-time greats.
- Michael Jordan - The GOAT
- Six-time champion, legendary shoe salesman and current owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Michael Jordan
- LeBron James - LeBron James earned the nickname "King James" while still in high school
- He has lived up to the promise he showed when he entered the league in 2003. He has won three championships, along with a mountain of individual awards
- Larry Bird - Larry Bird is a legendary Boston Celtic
- One half of the rivalry that is credited with bringing the NBA into the mainstream, the "hick from French Lick" is one of the game's greatest shooters. He, of course, is Larry Bird
- Hakeem Olajuwon - Hakeem "the Dream" is one of the most exceptional centers to ever take the court;
It is now getting one of the largest collections of talent in its 71-year history, and the new stars are likely to be even more exciting for would-be bettors! The players: more global icons. And exciting! And every game is a bet!
For additional discussions of the best athletes to ever play the game of basketball and the act of betting on the NBA All-Star Game, check out these pieces.
College Basketball – The Future of the NBA
Before embarking on an NBA career, most players play in the NCAA college basketball system in the United States. The league is exploring ways to eliminate that step - expanding its developmental league and eliminating the requirement that a player be one year removed from high school to play in the NBA.
For now, college basketball remains the league's most common entry point. For most NCAA stars, the March Madness tournament is their last best chance to put on a show before heading to the NBA. If they haven't hired an agent yet and go undrafted, they get to come back and play one more season in the Big Dance. However, if they have signed on the dotted line with an agent, they can't come back no matter what happens.
To see a complete breakdown of the March Madness tournament, get tips on filling out a bracket, learn about the history of the competition, and find the best sites to bet on NCAA Tournament games, read the article below.
