The NFL playoffs are underway, and Super Bowl 58 will be played Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. While we don’t know which two teams will face off for the Lombardi Trophy, it’s never too early to start thinking about a responsible plan for betting on the big game.
Betting on the Super Bowl responsibly starts with betting within your means by setting an affordable budget. In other words, an amount of cash you can afford to live without. Then, you’ll need to spread that budget across lower-risk bets that offer you the best chance to win, even if the returns are more modest.
Whether you can afford to bet $50, $75, or $100, set your budget there. Then, pick one of the teams and stack together bets on that team. It sounds simple because it is. Make the correct picks, and you should make out OK, but it’s important to remember there are no guarantees when you place a bet. The NFL and the Super Bowl are anything but predictable, which is why you need to have a plan and bet responsibly.
How to Get a New Betting Account
The most convenient, fastest, and easiest way to bet on the Super Bowl from wherever you plan to watch the game is to do it on your phone with a sportsbook app. You can download and install these apps from sportsbook websites, Google Play, or the Apple App Store. Then, follow these steps ahead of the game to get a new betting account, deposit, and bet on the Super Bowl:
1. Get a New Betting Account
Sign up with any online and mobile sportsbook available in your state by filling out the registration forms on the app with all required personal and account information.
If a bonus or promo code is available, enter it to ensure you get the best bonus possible.
2. Deposit Money In Your New Betting Account
Deposit money in your account you can use to bet on the game. Use any available deposit methods on the app, ranging from online banking and third-party payment processors, such as PayPal, to credit and debit cards. You can even deposit cash at 7-Eleven or CVS using PayNearMe or affiliated retail sportsbooks and casinos.
3. Browse And Bet With Your New Betting Account
Browse through the available Super Bowl betting markets. Click on the odds for any bet you’re interested in placing. Fill out the instantly created bet slip, and place your bets with one confirming click.
Best Way to Spend $100 Betting on the Super Bowl
Newbies to Super Bowl betting can still give themselves a great chance to win by spreading a limited budget around to bets that offer reasonable payouts without significant risks and stacking these bets on one team or the other. We recommend allocating the following:
- 50% of your budget on a basic moneyline or spread bet for your pick to win the game;
- 30% of your budget on Super Bowl MVP bets involving top players from your pick to win the game;
- 20% of your budget on simple correlated Super Bowl props revolving around your pick to win the game.
We’ve based this allocation formula on the idea that the winning team will put up better numbers, and one player from that team will be named MVP. All you have to do is pick a team and stack your bets around that idea.
It allows you to diversify your bets, spread your risk, and improve your chances of winning at least something. Focussing all your action on one team also sets you up for a better payday if you make the right pick.
We cleaned up betting $100 with this formula on Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. The Los Angeles Rams were -198 moneyline favorites, and we bet $50 on LA to win outright. Because we liked the Rams, we liked Rams QB Matthew Stafford to win MVP. After all, a QB had won 30 Super Bowl MVP awards in 55 prior Super Bowls.
But with even bigger odds on Rams WR Cooper Kupp winning MVP, even after he led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards, we split our $30 bet between Kupp and Stafford. Finally, with $20 left for props, we leaned in further on the Rams, betting $10 on Cooper Kupp to score a TD at -170 and $10 on the Rams to score first at -135.
The Rams scored first and won the game by 3 (the spread was -4), Kupp scored two TDs, and he won MVP. We won every bet and more than doubled our money. You could have done something similar, betting on the success of the Kansas City Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes using this allocation formula in Super Bowl LVII last season.
Basic Super Bowl Bets Explainer for Newbies
If you’ve never bet before, you’ll need an explanation of how each bet works.
Moneyline: This is where you pick an outright winner. There’s no point spread or anything else to consider; you choose the team you think will win. The favorite will be the team with negative moneyline odds. These odds spell out how much you must bet to win $100. The underdog will be the team with positive moneyline odds. These odds determine how much you can win for every $100 bet.
Spread: This is where you pick a winner with a point spread set by sportsbooks factored into the final score. The spread evens out the odds between the two teams, and you either deduct the points from the favorite or add the points to the underdog’s score to determine whether your spread bet wins.
Super Bowl MVP: This is where you pick a player to be named Super Bowl MVP. It’s hard to predict a winner here, so there are positive odds available on every player ahead of the game – even the starting quarterbacks, despite the fact a QB wins this award most of the time. The odds work exactly like moneyline odds.
Super Bowl props: Props are side bets on something that might happen during the game. Most props surround scoring and other stats, but for the Super Bowl, some props are available for things happening off the field. The odds work exactly like moneyline odds. However, props either ask yes or no questions or ask you to bet over or under a statistical line set by the sportsbook.
More Super Bowl Props
There are so many different and exciting Super Bowl props available that the Super Bowl props market makes headlines every year. You can bet on almost everything happening on and off the field.
Traditional props involve betting on every player and team stat, who will win Super Bowl MVP, and just about every aspect of the game. Non-traditional props, or exotics, often involve betting on the spectacle surrounding the Super Bowl, such as the length of the national anthem, halftime show costume changes, or what color Gatorade gets poured over the winning coach.
Popular Super Bowl team props include:
- Rushing/passing/total yards
- Scoring
- Safeties, sacks, interceptions, defensive TDs
Popular Super Bowl player props include:
- QB passing yards
- RB rushing yards
- First/anytime TD scorer