Basketball Betting Rules

Basketball is one of the most popular sports to follow, and it has quite straightforward rules. You can find thousands of games played worldwide each year, enjoying betting opportunities while you’re at it. Our experts are on hand to give you all you need to know about how to win in basketball betting. First, we’re going to introduce you to all the general basketball betting rules in order to understand when your wager is a winner, loser or void.

Do you want to learn how bookmakers settle bets for all markets and which T&Cs you should notice? Study our article and get all the information regarding max winning limits, when your bet wins and when you can qualify for an early payout. We consider those critical factors and rank the top basketball bookmakers, as you can see in the list below.

Basketball Betting Rules for the Main Markets

When you sign up, the first odds and lines you see are moneylines, handicaps and totals. These main basketball betting markets apply to general settlement rules, unless bookies state otherwise. Suppose you want to bet on the moneyline market, including overtime; undoubtedly, it’s worth knowing all the details of how a game plays out.

⏩ Moneyline
Here, the team you back must win in order to make profit. For settlement reasons, a possible overtime also counts. For example, if you bet on the Boston Celtics to beat the Los Angeles Lakers at 1.90 odds, your wager will be successful even if the Celtics win with at least one point in the regular 48 minutes or after a 5-minute overtime.

⏩ Handicap
In basketball handicaps, a team is required to cover or defend a line. The specific handicap is determined by each bookmaker, with it being either subtracted from or added to the final score at the end of regulation time or overtime. This process determines the point line result according to basketball betting rules for handicaps.

If you're seeking a basketball handicap prediction, consider the following example: Let's say you back the Celtics -5.5 to win against the Lakers. For your bet to be successful, the Celtics must win by at least six points. It's worth noting that unless stated otherwise, possible overtime is taken into account and counts towards the final score as well.

⏩ Totals
In this market, you must predict the final number of points, either Over or Under a specific line. The result is made up of both teams’ combined points after normal time and possible overtime unless only regulation time counts for that specific market. If the line for the Celtics vs. Lakers game is 212,5 points and you back the Under, you’ll need a cumulative score of fewer than 212 points to win (e.g., 110-100).

⏩ Outrights
The settlement of all futures markets is determined by official statistics and rankings provided by governing bodies. For a league’s regular season classification excluding playoffs, where settlement rules are clear for the winners, teams must complete a specific number of games for bets to be valid (e.g. NBA franchises must play at least 72 games).

Betting Rules for Secondary Markets

You can find more options from the standard moneyline, handicap and total markets when betting on elite basketball leagues such as the NBA and the Euroleague or on unique contests like the Olympics. Making it evident that bettors must know when they win or not regarding quarter/half-time betting or their props. Best bookies for basketball follow similar betting rules to settle wagers as in secondary markets. To help you out, we introduce them to you to get to know whether your basketball bet is a winner.

Quarter Betting: All four quarters must be completed for wagers to be valid according to the basketball betting rules; the 4th quarter doesn’t include a probable overtime period.

Half-Time Betting: The 1st half of a basketball game must be completed for wagers to be valid, while the same applies to the 2nd half too. In most bookies, all 2nd half markets include possible overtime.

Games Props: Basketball games props integrate a variety of markets involving stats’ totals, where official sources must deem the settlement. Most bets include overtime, besides some specific markets like the Highest Scoring Quarter.

Teams Props: Length-play rules apply to the teams’ props market as well as for games and players. An NBA game, for example, must have at least 43 minutes played for these markets to be valid. In most bookies, overtime is included, besides some exceptions, like the Team With The Highest Scoring Quarter.

Players Props: Firstly, any chosen players must compete for bets to have validity. The players' props markets involve statistics, and that’s why governing bodies’ own stats coverage must stamp on their settlement.

General Basketball Betting Rules

Understanding the game is imperative when building basketball betting strategies. Sharp players know the rules inside out, finding and reviewing their best bets. They also comprehend how bookmakers settle wagers and how this process actually affects betting. We introduce the general basketball betting rules that are applicable to all markets, analysing critical factors like games’ schedule, minimum length of play and the probability of a push.

Length of play: At least 43 of a total of 48 minutes must be played for NBA games’ bets to be valid. For other North American or European tournaments, it is 35 minutes.

Dates/Venues: Any basketball game you bet on must start on its scheduled date and venue to be valid.

Cancelled bets: Wagers for postponed/abandoned games (before commencement day) stand up to 24 hours from the initially scheduled time. Once this period has expired, they all get cancelled. Stakes on singles are returned, while in ACCAs, the selection becomes a non-runner. For incomplete games, bets on markets whose outcomes have already been settled remain active.

Push bets: A push is common in basketball, especially in the handicap market, when the outcome ends in a tie between bettors and bookmakers. In the case of a push, your stake is returned, whereas the pick becomes a non-runner for combos.

Max winning limits: The minimum winning limit which applies to basketball is around £/€5,000 on most sites, while some bookmakers offer huge max limits of up to £/€500,000.

Early payout: This is a promo some bookies offer, where a bet is instantly won if the team you back takes a specific point lead during the game. It applies to the moneyline market and is offered in top tournaments such as the NBA, the Euroleague and the EuroCup.

Basketball Overtime Betting Rules

Μost pre-game wagers include overtime periods unless otherwise stated by the bookies. Basketball overtime betting rules can vary among bookmakers, so you should carefully read all T&Cs before placing a wager. Let’s see which pre-game and in-play markets include overtime and which don’t.

Including Overtime

• 1
  Moneyline
• 2
  Handicap
• 3
  Games & Teams Totals (read the T&Cs for any possible differentiation)
• 4
  Winning margin in basketball betting
• 5
  2nd half betting markets
• 6
  Players’ props (e.g., points, rebounds, assists, etc.)
• 7
  Double Result (predict Half-Time & Full-Time result)

Excluding Overtime

• 1
  3-way moneyline market
• 2
  4th quarter bets and Highest Scoring Quarter market
• 3
  In-play quarter markets
• 4
  In-play 2-way and 3-way totals for teams and games
• 5
  Race To X points market (for 4th quarter and 2nd half betting)

Where can I find the best markets & odds

In the following complete list of basketball bookies, you can find the highest bonuses, the most competitive odds and all the leagues/markets to bet on.