Pro Football Gambling

Oddsmakers believe Bezos has interest in the Washington Football Team. See the odds for all teams that Jeff Bezos can potentially buy, along with a betting analysis right here. A halftime wager, for betting purposes, resets the score of a game at 0-0 at halftime of a game. For example, if the Green Bay Packers lead the San Francisco 49ers at halftime by a score of 14-10 and you wager on the Packers -3 1⁄2 points in the second half, the Packers must win the game by eight points or more to cover the spread.

With the Supreme Court ending a federal ban on sports betting, the floodgates have opened for some, or all, of the 50 states to legalize wagers on athletic events. With this brave new world of gaming, we’ll see extra focus on players, officials, spreads, lines and money, all as leagues, law enforcement and sports books try to ensure that sports gambling stays incorruptible. Good luck with that: Ever since professional sports were created, players have been betting on games and gamblers have been finding ways to infiltrate the games to shift the odds in their favor. Here are 11 of the biggest scandals in sports gambling history.

1. The Black Sox (1919 World Series): “Never before in the history of America’s biggest baseball spectacle has a pennant-winning club received such a disastrous drubbing in an opening game.” So wrote The New York Times after the Chicago White Sox were defeated 9-1 in Game 1 of the 1919 World Series, unaware that said drubbing was the result of eight players who had agreed to help throw the Series for gamblers.

The degree to which each player helped has been a debate for almost a century. Joe Jackson, banned for life along with seven teammates, hit .375 with a .956 OPS over the eight games and didn’t make an error. “How do you explain that?” Kevin Costner correctly asks in Field of Dreams. (Jackson admitted taking money.) Others, like pitcher Eddie Cicotte and Chick Gandil (allegedly the on-field mastermind) took a noticeable dive.

It turns out that the Sox throwing the Series was the worst-kept secret in baseball. Even before Game 1, the baseball world was atwitter with word that the fix was in but the commissioner’s office was apparently content to look the other way. It was until a separate case one year later that the word about 1919 got out. None of the Black Sox were found guilty in court (a rumor suggests that owner Charlie Comiskey and kingpin Arnold Rothstein helped disappear some key paperwork) but were banned from baseball for life.

2. CCNY point shaving (1950): In 1951, 32 college basketball players from seven schools around the country were caught up in a mafia-run point shaving scheme that hit four New York schools and three out-of-state teams, including Kentucky. It was a major blow for college basketball, especially considering that the bulk of the accused players had been on CCNY’s 1950 team, which became the first (and only) team to ever win the NCAA and NIT tournaments. The scandal decimated the team — which rivaled the Yankees and the Dodgers for New York sports supremacy at the time — and effectively ended the school’s affiliation with big-time athletics. Despite an insistence from a holier-than-thou Adolph Rupp that his boys weren’t involved in such nefarious schemes, Kentucky was banned for a full season as well.

3. Pete Rose: The all-time hit king was banned for life in 1989 for betting on games, something he adamently denied for 15 years. He finally admitted to betting while managing the Reds, but insisted he never bet on baseball while he was a player. Never! A few years later, that was proven to be another lie — evidence showed that Rose bet about once a day in 1987, typically for around $2,000. Though he frequently bet on his Reds, Rose vows he never bet against his own team and, despite his flexibility with the truth, this claim seems legit. No evidence has ever come out to suggest otherwise and, to be honest, it doesn’t really fit with what we know about the man.

4. Paul Hornung and Alex Karras: Before Pete Rose, there was Paul Hornung and Alex Karras. The former was an NFL MVP who set a league scoring record in 1960 that stood for 46 years (and is still the second-highest total in history). The latter was a first-team All-Pro defensive lineman. Despite their success (or maybe because of it), Hornung and Karras routinely bet up to $500 on NFL games while associating with known gamblers. Both men were contrite (Rose should have taken note of that in 1989) and, in issuing his indefinite suspension, Rozelle took care to mention that neither player bet on or against their own teams. The suspension was dropped after a full season. Hornung was later elected to the Hall of Fame and Karras starred on the 1980s sitcom Webster.

5. BC Goodfellas: The most notorious real-life gangster portrayed in Goodfellas didn’t go down for the Lufthansa heist, whacking Billy Batts, robbery, murders or aiding and abetting Joe Pesci being called a clown. Jimmy Burke (played by Robert DeNiro in Martin Scorsese’s mob masterpiece) went to jail because Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) ratted, almost off-handedly, about a point shaving scandal involving the Boston College basketball team. Hill had been arrested on various drug counts and, in his interviews, casually mentioned the BC story. Once it became clear that the Feds were interested in this to help bring down members of the Lucchese family (remember, Al Capone went down for tax evasion), Hill asked for immunity and ratted on his friends. It had been a successful partnership, for a little. After a rocky start, the syndicate began winning money on Boston College, by betting the Eagles to win games but lose against the spread or fail to cover a big spread in a game they wouldn’t have won anyway.

6. John “Hot Rod” Williams: Before he became a beloved NBA veteran, John “Hot Rod” Williams faced jail time over a 1985 point shaving scandal at Tulane that ended up shuttering the basketball program for four seasons. With a healthy mix of money, cocaine and 1980s-era bravado, five players were accused of shaving points in two games, all for a shared pot of $17,000. Williams twice went to trial – the first was declared a mistrial and the second ended with his acquittal on five counts. He went on to play 13 years in the NBA.

7. Rick Tocchet: The story of Tocchet, an NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup champion, was sordid enough. He pled guilty to involvement with a $2 million gambling ring that took bets from the rich and famous. But Tocchet’s tale took an unexpected turn when the name of Janet Gretzky, wife of the Great One, appeared in the books.

8. Art Schlichter:The fourth pick of the 1982 draft accrued nearly $1 million in gambling debts by the end of his first year in the NFL, by betting various sports including, allegedly, 10 NFL games. (Like Hornung and Karras, Schlichter was never accused of betting on his own team or using his position to influence his wagers.) Schlichter was reinstated in 1984, was out of the league by 1985, never won an NFL game and has spent the last 30 years in and out of jail. His latest offense — a scan selling phony tickets to sporting events — sent him to prison for a decade.

Pro Football Gambling Games

9. Joe Namath: After Super Bowl III, Namath, a playboy bachelor, was the biggest thing in American sports. He decided to capitalize on it by opening a night club named, cleverly, Bachelor III. Mark Kriegel wrote in his biography Namath: “ regulars included con men, fences, bookmakers and of course made men — exactly the kind of guys you’d expect to find in a hot East Side joint.”

Commissioner Pete Rozelle told Namath to sell his interest in the club because of its reputation but, rather than sell, Namath retired instead. He changed his tune one month later after a meeting with Rozelle. On his way out of the commissioner’s apartment, after agreeing to cut ties with his club, Namath was approached by Rozelle’s 11-year-old daughter. “Mr. Namath, I just want you to know that everyone in the Rozelle family doesn’t hate you.”

10. Tim Donaghy: In 2007, an FBI investigation revealed that Tim Donaghy, a longtime NBA referee, had bet on NBA games and fed information to other gamblers after falling into debt. The scandal was both a huge story and quickly faded from the public consciousness, almost like sports fans want to delude themselves into thinking that everything is always on the up and up.

11. Northwestern: Dewey Williams and a teammate were given a brief prison sentence for their role in fixing games during the 1995 season. Why gamblers didn’t trust Northwestern basketball players to simply lose games on their own, as per usual, is the enduring mystery of this tale.

Betting on football has never been more popular, and according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), close to $100 billion is wagered on National Football League and college football games each year with an estimated 98% of football wagers being placed through online offshore betting websites. But is any of this legal?

To learn more, read on to find out the sports betting laws involved as well as the best football sportsbook sites on the web in our legal online US football betting guide.

Is it Legal to Bet on Football in the United States?

Depending on where you live, you may have more than one option for betting on football. Due to PASPA's repeal, state lawmakers are now allowed to pass their own legislation and determine whether to legalize sports betting in their respective state. Multiple states have already legalized and launched domestic sportsbook gambling initiatives.

Legal international sports betting has been available to Americans for decades, and does not violate any US federal laws. There are only two states that prohibit offshore online betting: Connecticut and the state of Washington. Offshore sportsbooks covering NFL betting lines offer attractive bonuses and a wide range of wagering options.

Best USA Friendly Sportsbook To Bet On Football Games

In House

If you enjoy betting on football, then Bovada Sportsbook is where you should consider playing. Players who are familiar with the big names in online gambling know Bovada is a name they can trust since they are part of the Bodog group of reputable online betting sites. Bovada accepts all USA players and offers easy funding methods.

As far as football is concerned, Bovada offers everything you can imagine in the way of betting on football games from NFL, College and Arena with all the betting options you've become accustomed to such as straight, halves, quarters, 2nd half lines, prop bets, future bets, teasers, parlays etc... And the fact that you are playing with one of the most reputable names in online betting should give you the peace of mind you need so you can actually just enjoy the games and sweat your bet, not getting paid.

• Extremely Reputable - They've never missed a payout

• Only Players from the US, Mexico and Brazil accepted

Yes, but only if you place a wager through a legitimate destination that is subject to strict regulatory oversight or that is owned and operated by a parent company that holds licensing credentials. Some states offer domestic options of this nature to expand the range of opportunities offered by reputable, US-facing offshore sportsbooks. Our staff has reviewed, put together, and vetted the betting sites on this page and have verified that these sites are operating legally within the industry and always process their payouts for winning bets on football reliably and effectively.

The most popular sports league in the United States in terms of individual game viewership is also the most popular sport to bet on in the country with estimates of around $55 billion to be bet on the NFL for this season alone – meaning 98% of all NFL action comes from online offshore sportsbooks.

Pro Football Players Caught Gambling

NFL odds and betting lines feature much tighter margins and lower numbers when compared to its collegiate counterpart. This is because the professional tier of the sport is the pinnacle for American football, and playing the game perfectly is expected each week.

Games in the NFL can literally be decided on one play where the outcome simply swings one way because one player gave 100% and his opponent only gave 99%, making the phrase “game of inches” hold even more weight due the sheer amount of games being decided on only an inch many times in the past with more to surely come in the future.

The professional NFL bettors can predict all of this on a regular basis since they routinely know which side holds more value and more importantly – which side can come up with that extra inch to guarantee a winning bet. Learn more from our page targeting legal NFL betting online.

College football is where American football all started and is by far the most popular college sport in the country today in terms of viewership and betting with roughly $45 billion being bet on this level of football annually.

The NCAA organizes and legislates the game of college football, and Division I is where most of the betting action takes place since it features the best college football athletes of today with many hoping to become the NFL stars of tomorrow.

“Chaos” is the name of the game in college football, since younger minds are more likely to crack when the pressure is on – regardless of talent level. The odds and betting lines may be bigger than the pro game of football, but don’t get fooled into thinking that a team much less talented has no chance of winning or what the top priority should be: covering.

Betting on college football games is like investing in stocks where even the most reliable stock, or team, can plummet after just one bad product release or game played in this analogy. It can be a volatile market, to say the least, but the best college football bettors, much like the best investors, can reliably predict when chaos will strike and reap the rewards, after all is said and done each Saturday night.

The XFL is back and this time the league is poised to last at least a few years giving the massive funding provided by Alpha Entertainment and owner Vince McMahon. The league is different from the NFL in many ways but one of the most notable differences is that the teams are owned by the XFL instead of franchise owners. There will also only be eight teams that compete in a ten-game season that concludes after a two-week playoff system.

The XFL is also geared to be gambling-friendly considering almost every team (except Florida) is located in a state that has passed or has pending sports betting legislation. Our guide to betting on the XFL will offer our advice on the best XFL sportsbooks and have you ready for the inaugural season of the revamped football league that is set to begin on February 8th, 2020.

What is Football Point Spread?

A point spread in football is an estimated number of points by which the favored team is predicted to defeat the underdogs.

Example: New England Patriots over New York Jets (-7.5)

Whenever a negative number is given, the team favored must win by more than the margin for your bet to payout. In the example, to win a bet on the Patriots requires the team to win by 8 points or more for the bet to payout. If a wager was placed on the Jets, the Jets don’t have to win the game, but instead, only need to lose by 7 or less points.

How Do Over/Under Bets Work?

The over/under in football is where the sportsbook sets a number for a statistic and a wager can be placed on whether the outcome of the statistic will be higher or lower than the established number.

Examples: New England Patriots vs. New York Jets (47)
Philadelphia Eagles 2018 Season Total Wins (O/U 10.5)

If 2 teams are shown, typically attached to a (O/U) to indicate an over/under, the number shown is the combined point total of both teams at the end of the game. If a bet is place on the over the total points scored in the game must be over 47, and if a bet is on the under then the total must be lower than 47. If both teams combine for exactly 47 points, then a bet is lost on both sides because bets are placed on the over or under and not the exact amount.

Profootballtalk Gambling

Futures with over/under odds are common too. Typically, this will be on a season win total or a end-of-season player statistic. As shown above, if the Eagles win total at the end of the season falls below 10.5 then the under wins, and if the total is above 10.5 the over wins. And again, if the set number is the outcome, then both the over and under lose.

Why Should I Bet on Futures Odds?

A futures bet on football is a wager placed ahead of time, sometimes weeks or months in advance, where the result and payout will not occur until a future date.

Example: Chicago Bears (+1200) to win Super Bowl 54

The most common futures wager in football each year will be on the Super Bowl. Odds for futures are simple: The +1200 indicates the payout in American odds, so to receive $1,200 if the Bears win the Super Bowl, a bet of $100 would need to be placed. Other ways to show futures odds may be with fractions (12/1) or decimals (13.00).

You can learn more about wagering options from our guide to understanding the different types of NFL bets and how they work.

Football fans typically are driven to follow their teams and players, gathering the latest news and information, and go into a season 'in the know'. Its a great way to get ahead of the game with an edge in calculating extra factors that may affect the betting lines and odds. Two great resources include the official websites for the NFL and the NCAAF.