There’s never a shortage of college-basketball games each night during the regular season, which means bettors have ample opportunity to find advantages.
College basketball already was one of the most popular sports to gamble on, and online wagering has made things even bigger for NCAA hoops.
If you want to get in on the action betting on college basketball, it is important to make sure to pick the best sportsbook. Each will offer unique odds and lines, and shopping around allows bettors to see which point spreads, moneylines, or totals provide the largest potential payout.
It’s also imperative to find a sportsbook that offers a wide variety of college basketball betting options, as some might not include smaller schools — especially during the regular season.
Benefits of Betting on NCAAB Online
There are numerous benefits to betting on college basketball games online, such as:
- You can shop around at different sportsbooks to find the best value on a moneyline, point spread, or total.
- Betting online allows you to conveniently place a wager from the comfort of your own home by using your mobile device, office laptop or desktop computer.
- It also aligns well with live betting, since that requires quick decision-making. Most online sportsbooks offer comprehensive live betting sections.
- You also have an opportunity to take advantage of lucrative welcome bonuses or useful promotions.
- The payment process is more convenient online because you can deposit or withdraw with the click of a button, rather than going to the sportsbook location.
Best College Basketball Betting Sites
The best sportsbooks offer the best variety of options, including point spread, moneyline, totals, and props bets. Some of my favorites are:
Caesars Online Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook features several options for college basketball bettors, but what really sets it apart are its daily odds boosts.
Each day, Caesars selects a few college basketball games and boosts their odds. For example, a parlay that requires Penn State to cover the point spread with the game going Under 146.5 points could be boosted from +250 to +350.
Odds boosts like these help bettors by maxing out profit, and it’s integral to take advantage of offers like these when they’re available.
BetMGM Online Sportsbook
BetMGM’s user-friendly interface makes it an especially great sportsbook to consider for college-basketball betting.
The sportsbook offers several options for college basketball betting, including specially curated college basketball parlays and a few futures to optimize the college basketball betting experience.
BetMGM also offers competitive odds, odds boosts and other useful promotions.
DraftKings Online Sportsbook
DraftKings Online Sportsbook provides users with several betting options for college basketball and has useful promotions with a VIP rewards system.
The sportsbook also features a comprehensive live betting selection, which is great for college basketball since there are so many games each night.
There are also a number of player props available, which helps set DraftKings apart from the competition.
FanDuel Online Sportsbook
In addition to the usual betting options, FanDuel also includes a vast selection of player props, making it a desirable choice for college basketball wagering.
Props are a great addition to the college basketball betting market, since they tend to be a more limited elsewhere. You also have an opportunity to find an edge here, since it’s a relatively new market.
FanDuel also has a number of other useful features, such as a user-friendly interface and useful promotions.
BetRivers Online Sportsbook
BetRivers (Sugarhouse in NJ), the same company with different names depending on where you are in the United States, offers about 100 betting markets for every college basketball game each night, making it one of the more robust options for prospective college basketball bettors.
BetRivers also includes stats, tips and historical data about each team right on their site, arming prospective college basketball bettors with important information to make the best possible decision for each bet.
The site has been known to feature some of the best welcome bonuses in the industry.
How To Pick the Best CBB Betting Sites
When considering which sportsbook to choose for college basketball betting, it’s important to think about the following:
- User Interface: You want your sports betting experience to be as efficient as possible, so a user-friendly interface is important. The website should have an organized layout, allowing you to find your bet as quickly as possible.
- Welcome Bonuses: These are useful because they provide you with bet credits to use on your college basketball betting. They also give you extra playable money because you can make risk-free bets or use your first deposit bonuses on longshot parlays for greater payouts.
- Odds: You want to make sure that the betting site you choose has favorable odds to put you in a better position to succeed. Keep an eye on the point spreads and compare your website’s odds to other sportsbooks.
- Payment: It’s important that your sportsbook provides you with multiple deposit and withdrawal methods to suit your needs. It’s also crucial that they have quick processing times for your withdrawals. You don’t want to wait several days to receive your money.
- Bet Types: Make sure that your sportsbook includes several bet types for college basketball bets, such as point spreads, moneylines, totals, props and futures.
Why You Should Avoid Illegal Betting Sites
When choosing an online college basketball betting site, make sure to stick with the legal ones. There are several reasons why illegal betting sites need to be avoided, such as:
- Odds: Illegal sportsbooks often have inflated moneyline odds that put you in a tougher position as a bettor. For example, you might see a team at (-165) instead of (-125). This type of difference in price can have a negative impact on your bankroll.
- Payment: Offshore sportsbooks have limited payment options with delayed withdrawal times. When you receive a payment, it might show up on your bank statement under a different name, which makes the whole process feel untrustworthy.
- Promotions: These sites don’t have useful promotions like odds boosts or risk-free bets, which makes it harder to build your account.
- Support: Customer support is not as timely and efficient on offshore betting apps as it is on legal sportsbooks, and in some cases it may be non-existent.
- VIP Programs: Illegal betting sites don’t provide VIP rewards or other loyalty perks like mainstream online sportsbooks do. Stick with the legal sites and you can redeem points for hotel accommodations, restaurant dollars, site credits and many other perks.
College Basketball Betting Site Promo Offers
You’ll want to take advantage of the welcome bonuses provided by these sportsbooks. Below, you’ll find an explanation of each type of welcome bonus.
No-Deposit Bonus/Free Bet
A no-deposit bonus is when the sportsbook provides you with bet credits without requiring you to deposit any of your own money.
Free bets are given to you as a loyalty reward, and you can use them on specific betting markets, such as college basketball. These are usually lower amounts between $5 and $20.
First-Deposit Bonus
First-deposit bonuses are provided to new users once they have deposited funds into their account. Sportsbooks will match your first deposit up to a certain amount, usually between $100 and $1,000.
These bonuses are paid out in bet credits, which can be used on a variety of bet types and betting markets, and essentially double your playable amount without needing to win right away.
Risk-Free Bet
Risk-free bets, or when a sportsbook allows new users the opportunity to place a bet without incurring financial risk, are offered to many new signups of online sportsbooks.
Risk-free bets are usually anywhere from $100 and $5,000 and are especially useful since new users can place whatever bet they want — it could be an underdog to win, or a longshot Cinderella future bet or a five-leg, underdog parlay — without fear of losing.
Bet & Get
Bet & Get is when users place a bet on a certain market then are provided with either bet credits or VIP points which can be redeemed for certain perks within the sportsbook.
You also might receive credits to use in the online casino if it is provided by your sportsbook or legal in your state.
Where Can I Legally Bet on NCAAB Online?
You can legally bet on college basketball online in the following states:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
However, there are some rules regarding player props and/or in-state teams in the following states:
- Arizona: no in-state teams or player props.
- Colorado: no player props.
- Connecticut: futures bets on in-state teams only.
- Illinois: you can only wager on in-state teams in person.
- Iowa: no player props.
- New Jersey: no local teams or games played within the state.
- New Hampshire: no local teams or games played within the state.
- New York: no local teams.
- Pennsylvania: no player props.
- Rhode Island: no local teams or games played within the state.
- Tennessee: no player props.
- West Virginia: no player props.
Choose More Than One College Basketball Betting Site
Make sure to choose more than one betting site for college basketball betting. You definitely want to take advantage of the useful welcome bonuses, like first deposit bonuses and risk-free bets, which each site offers when you register and deposit.
Having money in multiple online sportsbooks also enables you to shop for the best odds. Winning is great, but it’s even better when you know you maxed out your winning because you shopped to get the best odds possible.
