NFL Playoffs - Legal Betting Sites And Playoff Learning Center

Betting The NFL Playoffs From Your Smartphone - To legally bet the NFL Playoffs on your smartphone in the United States, you have to understand sports betting laws. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (2006) and Federal Wire Act (1961), along with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (1992), disallow US-based bookmakers online and off from offering betting on the NFL playoffs. Or any other sport for that matter. That is why you need to know which non-US companies are the best at legally providing NFL betting options when the playoffs roll around. The few top operators deliver really enjoyable and reliable mobile sports betting options, they have been around for decades, and they can legally honor US sports bettors. We have listed the cream of the crop here on our website. Simply click through the links provided, and then click on the "mobile" tab. Open an account, you will receive free bonus money, and you can bet the NFL playoffs from your smartphone legally and reliably.

Our Top 3 USA Online Sportsbooks To Bet NFL Playoff Games

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Bovada Sportsbook $250 5 Stars Visit Site Read Review
Betonline Sportsbook $1000 5 Stars Visit Site Read Review
Sportsbetting.ag $1000 5 Stars Visit Site Read Review

How Many NFL Playoff Games Are There to Bet On?

The division winners and 2 wild-cards from the NFC and AFC make the playoffs each year. That means 6 teams representing each conference. Wild-card teams can play in as many as 4 NFL playoff games, and conference winners play in as many as 3, including the Super Bowl. But after the end of the National Football League regular season, you only have 11 playoff games on which to bet. There are 4 first round games which include wild-card teams, followed by 4 divisional games, the AFC and NFC Championship Title Games and then the granddaddy playoff game of them all, the Super Bowl. This means that parlay, pleaser and teaser bets are at a minimum, and the most common NFL playoff bets are spread, total and money line wagers.

Understanding The NFL Playoffs Wild-Card Format

In 1978 the NFL went to a 16 game season. The postseason was also expanded. Both the AFC and NFC now had wild-card berths, as well as an additional week added to the NFL Playoffs. In 1990 a third wild-card berth was added to both conferences, making for 12 total teams in the National Football League postseason. The league grew to 32 teams in 2002, with first round playoff byes going to the top 2 seeds in each conference. The two division winners with the worst records face wild-card teams, the teams in the AFC and NFC with the best records that did not win their division. This usually means that the underdog 5th and 6th seed wild-cards almost always have to win 3 straight playoff games on the road to make it to the Super Bowl. That having been said, 10 wild-card teams have made it all the way through the grueling NFL playoffs and into the Super Bowl, and 6 have won it. The 1980 Oakland Raiders, 1997 Denver Broncos, 2000 Baltimore Ravens, 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2007 New York Giants and 2010 Green Bay Packers each won the Super Bowl out of a wild-card spot.

How Important is the NFL Playoffs First Round Bye For the Top 2 Seeds?

As mentioned above, the top 2 seeds from both the AFC and NFC receive a first round playoff bye in the NFL. You would think that having an extra week to rest and heal what would be a great thing. But is it really? Honestly, does a first round bye help or hurt an NFL Playoff team? In the 11 NFL Playoffs from 2001 to 2011, an incredible 9 times at least 1 team with a first round bye lost their first playoff game. In that 11 year period, a full 16 of the #1 and #2 seeds lost their first game after the bye. Remember that when you bet an NFL playoff game. The teams that make it to the postseason are so talented that even a heavy underdog can get rolling with a first round win, and beat a top conference seed which may have lost some momentum by sitting the first week of the playoffs.

Is There Really a Home-Field Advantage in the NFL Playoffs?

Those wild-card and first round bye stats got us thinking. We dug a little deeper. The Green Bay Packers wild-card team won the 2011 Super Bowl, as the first team since 2005 to win a 3-game road trip in the NFL playoffs. So is the legendary "home-field advantage" everything it is cracked up to be? Especially in the playoffs? Looking at postseason play in the National Football League from 1940 through 2011, the home team holds more than a 2 to 1 lead in victories. So yeah, playing at home is important. In 443 playoff games, NFL home teams compiled a 293 - 140 record (.677 winning percentage) in that time span. And that is significant for another reason. Over that same time frame, the regular season home-field advantage was just 6,967 wins versus 5,195 losses (.572). So playing in the NFL playoffs means more than a 10% boost in winning possibility for the home team. Remember that the next time you bet the NFL playoffs.

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