Are you thinking about betting on the NFL in Ohio now that sports betting is legal? If so, you are in the right place because you will find everything you need to know on this page.
Fan Favorite Popular Choice Top-Rated Promo Hot & Trending There are 15 online sportsbooks in Ohio at the time of this writing, so it would take you a lot of time to evaluate all of them.
This is understandable, but we have done the legwork for you. Our professional researchers have determined that these are the best sportsbooks for betting on the NFL in Ohio.
DraftKings is one of the leaders in the online sports betting space in Ohio for some very good reasons. With a generous sign-up bonus and ongoing specials for standard users, this is a go-to book for betting on the NFL in Ohio.
BetRivers may not be as familiar to many newcomers, but this operator has been making a mark in markets all around the country over recent years. They offer a quality online sportsbook along with a highly rated sports betting app that is perfect for betting on the Cleveland Browns and other NFL teams on the go.
There is no better place to bet on the NFL in Ohio than Caesars Sportsbook. This name is royalty in the gaming business in America, and Caesars provides a top-notch online sports betting experience on every level.
If you would like to get a nice head start as you start to bet on the NFL in Ohio, you should definitely consider bet365. This is a sportsbook that is huge in Europe, and they typically offer an especially sweet bonus offer that will give your bankroll a boost from the outset.
Betting on the NFL in Ohio couldn’t be easier in light of the intuitive platforms that our preferred sites have developed, and here are the simple steps that you take to get started.
The NFL odds structure that is used by Ohio sportsbooks is very simple and straightforward. American odds are expressed through the utilization of plus and minus values that make it easy to calculate the winnings that are commensurate with your investment.
For example, you may see something like this on a sportsbook betting board:
| NFL Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | +10.5/-105 | +420 | O 47.5/-115 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | -10.5/-115 | -560 | U 47.5/-105 |
In this matchup between the Broncos and the Bengals, Cincinnati is a 10.5-point favorite on the point spread.
This means that you would win a spread bet on Cincy if they win by 11 points or more. Conversely, if you bet on the underdog Broncos, you win if they do not lose by more than 10 points.
The -115 that goes along with the Bengals spread is the amount that you have to bet to win $100. In this instance, you bet $115 to win 100. If you bet on the underdog Broncos, you have to lay $105 to win 100. As you would imagine, this ratio is also utilized if you bet more or less than $100.
With the moneyline, there is no point spread. You are simply betting on the team that will win the game outright regardless of the final score. Since the Broncos are plus-money, you would win $420 for a $100 bet on Denver. In order to win $100 on the Bengals, you would have to risk $560 because they are the very likely outright winner.
Finally, there is the “total” portion of the grid. The posted total for this game is 47.5, and you can bet that the final score of the game will go over or under 47.5 points. Once again, you have to bet $115 to win 100 on the over, and you must wager $105 to win $100 on the under.
In addition to the types of bets that are presented in the standard grid above, there are other possibilities, and here is a rundown:
As we have stated, a spread bet is a wager that involves giving or taking a certain number of points. The spread is calculated based on past performances, and the sportsbooks use computer algorithms combined with some professional expertise to determine the line that is appropriate for each game.
After the opening line has been established and people start placing bets, the sportsbook may take more action on one side than the other. Under those circumstances, they will change the line in an effort to attract action on the other side. In a perfect world, they will take equal action on both sides.
The term “prop bet” refers to a proposition wager. This is a very interesting type of bet that does not apply to the overall outcome of the game. In a real sense, prop bets are individual games that are taking place within the actual game.
Let’s look at our hypothetical matchup between the Broncos and the Bengals to explain what a prop bet is all about. There can be a proposition on a quarterback throwing for a certain number of yards during the game. You can bet the over or the under, and there could be a similar proposition for yards gained by a wide receiver.
We have already explained over/under betting, but to elaborate, this can be a good way to go if you have a strong opinion about the pace of a given game. To illustrate, let’s say that you are handicapping a football game with a 48-point total.
When you look into the past performances, you see that 7 of the last 10 games that the visiting team has played in went under the total. Meanwhile, the home squad has gone under the total in 8 of the last 10 home games. In this situation, it would make sense to bet the under.
A moneyline bet is the simplest wager in the sports betting world. The only objective is to pick a team that will win the game outright. That may sound like a great opportunity to make easy money, but it is harder than it appears to be on the surface.
As you saw with the hypothetical line for our Bengals-Broncos game, you have to bet way more than you would win if you place a wager on a big favorite. Upsets do happen, and there are no sure things, so one losing bet on a significant favorite can offset multiple wins.
When you bet a parlay, you add multiple legs or different unique bets to the same betting slip. You win if you connect with every single leg on your parlay. Two legs are the minimum, and online sportsbooks in Ohio will take parlays with 10 legs or more depending on the operator.
Obviously, it gets harder and harder to win when you keep adding additional legs. At the same time, your winnings can be astronomical if you are fortunate enough to hit a huge parlay.
A teaser has the same structure as a parlay regarding the multiple-leg nature of the wager, but there is a big difference. These bets are based on the point spread, and you get extra points in your favor when you play a teaser.
Traditionally, football teasers could be played with 6, 6.5, 7, or 7.5 point advantages. Since the advent of online sports gaming in the United States, many sportsbooks will now allow you to pick the number of points that you get.
Football teasers are popular, and you can also play basketball teasers because these are the sports with point spreads. If you hit a teaser, the payout is nowhere near as generous as a parlay return because you are getting an advantage with the extra points.
As the name would indicate, futures are bets on an outcome that will be determined in the future. The classic futures bet is a wager on a team to win the Super Bowl or World Series before the season starts, and there are futures for individual division, league, and conference championships.
You will also see the odds posted for player futures, such as the winner of the NBA MVP award or the Heisman Trophy winner. A lot of people play futures before the season starts, but the odds are adjusted as the campaign unfolds, and you can get in on the action as long as they are still taking bets.
Live betting is another innovation that has entered the picture since online sports betting has blossomed in America. With this type of bet, you place a wager after the game is underway. The book will continually update the lines to reflect current game circumstances.
To give you an idea, let’s say that you bet on the Cincinnati Bengals before a game starts. They suffer a key injury, and they do not look like they are motivated on that particular day. You could potentially make a live bet on the other side in an effort to offset your losses.
This would be a strategic utilization of live betting, but there is a more basic reason to place a live bet. You may simply miss the start of a game that you want to watch with wagering action, and live betting gives you a chance to place a bet even if you are late to the contest.
In closing, we will leave you with a few tips that will help you enter the Ohio NFL betting experience with a winning game plan.
You have to be aware of getting in over your head when you bet on the NFL in OH, and far too many people have learned this the hard way. In the beginning, you should determine how much you can afford to lose over a given period of time if it comes down to that.
This will be your betting bankroll that sits apart from your general funds. The increment that you bet should be between one and five percent of your wagering bankroll. If you deviate from a standard increment framework, you can wind up losing even if you win more than half of your bets.
There are precious few professional sports bettors. If you want proof, look at the Ohio sports betting landscape. There are 15 different operators that want a piece of the action, and they don’t want to be involved so they can pay out more than they take in.
Our advice is to look at sports betting as a form of entertainment that may cost you some money.
For instance, let’s say the Monday Night Football game features the Jets and the Giants, and you couldn’t care less about either team, but you love football. If you place a bet on the game, you suddenly have a lot of interest, and you are entertained for the next three hours.
Everyone has lucky streaks, and some people have very lucky moments. Unfortunately, a lot of them decide to use the winnings to bet more than they were wagering previously, and you know what they say about a fool and their money.
Do the smart thing and cash out in these instances. This will remind you that the funds are more than a number on the sportsbook screen – they are actually green American dollars that are yours for the taking.
