Are you ready to play like a champion? If you head to our LV BET Sportsbook you will find all the current news about basketball betting. With this article we will give you all the latest about basketball betting 101, especially if you’re a new Sportsbook visitor.
The game of basketball was invented by Canadian-American James Naismith, in the late 1800s, when Naismith was asked to come up with a new indoor sport at a college where he taught. Back in the day, the number of players on a team would vary depending on the size of the court (or playing area, since back then there was no designated court). Teams began with five players on each side when the playing area was less than 167.20 square metres. But, teams may rise to seven a side or even nine a side if the playing area exceeded 334.50 square metres. Today, each basketball team has 12 active players, with five of them on the court at any given time.
Basketball is one of the few sports with solely American origins, since Naismith himself and five of his original players were all at the Springfield YMCA College in Massachusetts. But, basketball reached European soil when it was first introduced to France in 1893, in England 1894 and then went on to Australia, China, India and Japan not that long after.
The first professional basketball league was the National Basketball League (NBL), founded in 1898. But basketball assumed major league status when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed in 1946. The NBL and the BAA then merged in 1949 and the renowned National Basketball Association (NBA) was born.
The NBA rose in popularity throughout the 80s as attendance records were broken and it gained more and more television recognition. The popularity of this organisation gave rise to many other basketball associations popping up all over the world. From Europe to Asia and Australia, basketball is now a worldwide phenomenon that made its way to Sportsbooks at online casinos. Make that bank shot and learn all about how to place bets on some of the biggest basketball events in the world.
Basketball has a lot of history, and with that a lot of tournaments to choose from. Let’s explore some of the main basketball leagues you’ll encounter.
The National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league comprising of 30 teams (29 in the US and one in Canada) and is one of Americas’ major men’s professional sports leagues. The season runs from October to April with each team playing a total of 82 games.
The EuroLeague is also another major basketball tournament. Its average attendance is over 8,000 attendants — the fifth-highest number of attendants of any professional indoor sports league aside from the US. The Euro League is one of the largest European basketball leagues in the world.
The Liga ACB, is one of Spain’s top professional basketball leagues organised by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB). There are a total of 18 teams that play, and goes on from October to May. Along the span of the season, each team plays every other club twice — at home and away — for a total of 34 games. Ranking points are earned according to total wins where the eight highest-ranking teams face-off at the playoffs and the winner is crowned champion of the tournament.
The National Basketball League is a men’s professional basketball tournament taking place in Oceania, and is Australia’s and New Zealand’s premier professional basketball league. It is composed of nine teams — eight in Australia and one in New Zealand. The regular season begins in early October and ends mid February. Each team is required to play 28 games — 14 home at 14 away where only the top four teams advance to the finals.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association governs college basketball — a basketball league dedicated to college students.
Now that we’ve gone through some of the largest basketball events of the year, let’s take a look at the betting options you’ll have at most basketball Sportsbooks:
A Point Spread bet is one of the most common types of bets in basketball. Placing a Point Bet implies wagering on the outcome of a match, where the payout depends on accuracy rather than a simple win or lose outcome as in outright bets. The point spread is designed to even the playing field, where the match favourite (listed as ‘-’) must win by the spread. Wagers on the underdog (listed as ‘+’) and will win if the underdog wins outright or loses by an amount smaller than the spread.
The over/under bet is a wager on the total number of points scored in the match according to the set total. For example, if a set is at 205, placing an over/under bet would imply that the total score of both teams combined will be either over or under 205. The totals of each game differ quite a bit depending on the styles of the teams playing. Most totals lie between 190 and 210, but a matchup between two defensive or offensively-challenged teams can have a total in the 170 range, and a matchup between two up-tempo offensive teams can have a total in the 230 range. Overtime is also included in the total.
The moneyline bet is also a pretty common betting option you’ll have, and also the simplest to understand. This type of bet can act as a good foundation to basketball betting since all it requires is predicting which team will win the game. Players who are confident in their team winning but don’t want to give up the point spread can place an additional bet on the moneyline as well.
A parlay bet wagers on the outcome of more than one game or event. For a bettor to receive a payout, each prediction must be correct. The more games (or legs) the bettor adds to the parlay, the better the final payout — if each of them win. While the payout may be handsome, bettors should keep in mind that this betting option comes with increased risk since all legs must win, so always wager responsibly. At an online Sportsbook, a parlay bet is often called an acca (accumulator) bet.
The proposition bet covers a wide range of opportunities on specific teams, player statistics as well as in-game occurrences. They may serve as more of an entertainment bet, like betting on which team will score first for instance.
Basketball has a lot of history riding on its back, so if you have only just entered the basketball betting scene, you will find that there are actually a few things to catch up on — from teams and game rules to the plenty of betting options you’ll have available. Luckily, you can easily get yourself situated when betting at LV BET.
Our Sportsbook offers an extensive range of betting markets to choose from on some of the largest annual sporting events all over the world. Sports betting does not stop at basketball though, as LV BET players will find that we do not fall short on alternatives. From tennis betting to football betting, volleyball betting and esports betting too, our Sportsbook is bursting with action as we keep our finger on the pulse. Stay closer to all things sports betting with our LV BET Sportsbook mobile app and easily follow all of your favourite tournaments while getting access to prematch betting and live betting.
To make your LV BET Sportsbook journey even better, we also host brilliant Sportsbook bonuses to help level up your Sportsbook experience. While they may be subject to your jurisdiction, a few of these bonuses may include the Acca Boost, Safe Bet offer or the Enhanced Odds bonus. You’ll find everything you need to know at our ‘Promotions’ page, so check that out for the hopes of earning a slam dunk!
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