Basketball Questions

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, especially in countries such as the US, the Philippines, Australia and Canada. There are also major basketball leagues and competitions across Europe which makes it a worldwide sport.

With any popular sport, there are a variety of betting options available. Even if you’re not familiar with how a basketball game or competition works, betting on it is relatively simple and straightforward and the articles and guides on this page should help you understand the different markets and options available.

The Most Popular Basketball Betting Markets

Moneyline

Moneyline markets are most popular when betting on American sports and many punters in the UK are not familiar with how moneyline betting works despite it being relatively simple.

When betting on the moneyline in basketball, you are simply betting on the team that you think will win the game.

Above is an example of a basketball moneyline market from Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

Handicap Betting

Another popular basketball betting market is handicap betting which is also known as the points spread.

When betting on a handicap, you are giving one team either an advantage or disadvantage from the start of the game.

For example, if you were betting on the Toronto Raptors as shown above at odds of 1.83, they would start the game with -5.5 points and the bet would be settled based on the final score with 5.5 points deducted from the Raptors total.

Similarly, if you bet on Orlando Magic, they would start the game with a 5.5 points advantage.

Handicap betting is a way to even the game between the favourites and the underdog so that the odds for both sides are close.

Over/Under Betting

Over/Under markets are popular on a range of sports such as Football, American Football, Rugby and several others. In basketball, you are betting on the total number of points being over or under a certain amount. There are often options to bet on over/unders for points scored by an individual team or the total combined points in the match.

Other Basketball Betting Markets

You’ll often find some bookies offering additional markets on basketball matches. These markets may vary between bookmaker but some examples are betting on which team will score the first basket or which team will score the first 3 pointer.

Basketball In-Play Betting

Basketball is a fast-paced sport and one of the most exciting to watch. Points can be scored within a few seconds of each other meaning that scores can change rapidly which in turn, causes the odds to fluctuate frequently. This may be seen as a hindrance to some bettors but for others they see it as an opportunity to make money if they can correctly predict what the next play will be.

This makes basketball one of the most popular sports for in-play betting with the vast majority of the top bookies offering in-play markets.

With in-play betting on basketball being so popular, many bookmakers now offer live streams of basketball which allows customers to watch games live and bet on them at the same time directly through their bookmaker account.

Most Popular Basketball Leagues & Competitions

Basketball is not a seasonal sport meaning that there are games taking place in leagues and competitions around the world throughout each month of the year. Some of the most popular basketball events include:

NBA

The NBA, or National Basketball Association League, is the biggest basketball league in the world and consists of 30 teams located across the US (29) and Canada (1).

FIBA World Cup

The FIBA World Cup is held every four years and features 32 of the best national basketball teams in the world.

Spain won the 2019 FIBA World Cup after defeating Argentina 95-75 in the final.

The next FIBA World Cup is due to be held in 2023 across the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

Euro League

The Euro League features teams throughout Europe with matches played midweek throughout October to April each year. It runs separately to domestic leagues across Europe and features 16 teams.