Best NBA Betting Sites in California
Sports betting is growing across the country, with NBA betting one of the most popular options. While California has not introduced traditional sports betting yet, those in CA do have options via social sportsbooks and fantasy sites. Read on for a guide to betting on the NBA including information about how to get started, currently available NBA betting promotions, and other NBA betting tips and advice.
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Best NBA betting sites in California
Real money California sports betting is not allowed at this time, either online or in-person at retail sportsbooks. While the possibility of introducing it to CA continues to be considered, those in California do have several online sports betting options with both social sportsbooks and fantasy sports sites. And now, thanks to prediction markets like Underdog Predict and Kalshi, California sports fans have an additional way to get in on the NBA action.
These sites offer a variety of ways to wager on sports in CA. The social sportsbooks, for example, use virtual currencies but in some cases provide chances to redeem winnings for cash prizes. Meanwhile, some fantasy sports sites offer “pick ’em”-style games that in some ways resemble regular sports betting while retaining the “fantasy” descriptor.
So while you cannot bet at like DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM Sportsbook, or similar sites from California just yet, you do have several alternatives that offer many of the same types of sports bets along with various bonuses and promotions to help you get started.
Some of the best DFS apps in California where you can start wagering right now include:
Underdog Fantasy
From CA you can also bet on sports at Underdog Fantasy as a “pick’em” daily fantasy sports site, Underdog Fantasy offers Best Ball wagering (season-long fantasy drafts), Battle Royale contests (daily or weekly DFS contests), Pick’em games, plus other ways to bet. The Pick’em games most resemble traditional sports betting, inviting you to make predictions on player props either as a single wager or as part of a parlay with multipliers applied to payouts.
Currently if you sign up at Underdog Fantasy using bonus code BETODDS, you can receive up to $50 in Bonus Cash as part of the welcome offer. This is a 50% deposit matching bonus, meaning you’ll get 50% of your first deposit amount as Bonus Cash that must be wagered on the site.
Sleeper
Sleeper is another daily fantasy sports site that offers free-to-enter fantasy leagues and paid contests like other DFS sites. There are also Sleeper Picks games where you can choose from two to eight players and pick whether their statistical performance will go over or under certain lines. You can pick as few as two players or as many as eight. The more picks you get right, the higher your payout, including the chance of winning 100x your stake.
Use bonus code BETODDS when registering at Sleeper and you’ll receive a first deposit match worth up to $1,500 you can then use to enter paid contests.
Betr Picks
Betr Picks is another fantasy sports sites that invites players to make picks on players’ performances in a way that resembles prop betting at regular sportsbooks. You predict whether players will make “more” or “less” certain totals, and the more picks you get correct the bigger your payout.
Not unlike the other sites, there’s a welcome offer at Betr Picks as well for new sign-ups. Use bonus code BETODDS when registering at Betr, and you’ll get a 100% deposit match bonus worth up to $200.
Note that the sites listed above all have apps allowing you to place bets over your mobile device. Look for these sports betting apps in the Apple Store or at Google Play.
Best NBA odds boosts and promos
One of the more exciting ways to bet on the NBA is by looking out for betting bonuses including odds boosts and promos that either match something you already wanted to wager or enhance a bet that helps make up your mind.
With the popularity of NBA same game parlays growing, we’ve seen many sites concentrate many odds boosts toward that. DraftKings offers many profit boosts throughout the NBA season, giving you a percentage increase (e.g., 25% of 50%, or even 100%) of your profits on specific parlays, applied to the winnings. This is an excellent way to enhance your payouts. Also keep an eye out for bet insurance for SGPs.
All odds boosts and NBA promos come with their own terms and conditions, including minimum betting odds and maximum bet amounts, so check them out before you bet.
Different bet types at NBA betting sites
Learn all about the most common kinds of NBA bets you’ll find in California below.
NBA moneyline, spread, and totals bets
Moneyline NBA bets are simply picking the winner straight up. However, if a team is a heavy favorite, you’ll get less than favorable odds. And what does the plus (+) and minus (-) in sports betting refer to? Quite simply, the favored team will also show negative odds while the underdog will show positive odds.
NBA spread bets allow you to wager on a team based on the number of points they could win or lose by. For example, Golden State Warriors -6.5 over the Los Angeles Clippers +6.5 means the Warriors need to win by 7 points if you bet them. On the flip side, the Clippers can lose by up to 6 points, and you’ll win if you bet them.
NBA over/under bets refers to the point total combined in the game. In the Warriors vs. Clippers example, the o/u could be 216.5, meaning they have to score 217 combined if you pick the over, or 216 or less if you pick the under.
Best NBA props & futures
NBA player props as well as team and game props are becoming more common as more bettors realize they don’t have to count on the final score and who won to win bets. Especially in the NBA, it’s easier to rely on the performance of one or two players than to guess how a team as a whole can do.
Player props focus on the individual, such as the example below. You can bet on the number of threes Stephen Curry will make or the number of points LeBron James will score. This is presented as an over/under total for you to bet on both sides.
Team props and game props are robust and allow you to break down the game on a granular level to find the bets you’re comfortable with. You’ll get NBA odds on the first team to score, the total points they’ll score, who will lead at the half, winning margin bets where they can fall within a range for you to win, who will have the lead in total team stats, and much more.
Meanwhile, futures bets revolve around just that — specific events that will happen in the future. These could be division winners, Finals winners, NBA MVP awards, and more. You can bet on these before the season starts and throughout the season, although the odds can be better for a bet like the Lakers to win the Championship the longer you’re out from the event.
NBA alternate lines
You can also use alternate lines for your bets to customize your NBA spreads or over/unders. Many sportsbooks will allow you to go against what’s set for the game and adjust your odds accordingly.
For example, if the Warriors are favored over the Clippers by -6.5 (-110) but you feel like they’ll win by more, you can adjust the spread to -10 (+220) and gain more favorable odds due to the risk involved.
While riskier, the reward is obviously more significant if it hits. You can also use these alternate lines in certain parlays, which will increase the reward but also increase the risk if all the legs don’t hit.
How to find the best NBA lines
Not every sportsbook betting odds are the same or the same spread or points total, so it’s essential to know who is doing what so you can get the best NBA odds. Movement in the odds can depend on several factors, including injuries, betting trends, recent play, and simply the number of bettors wagering on one side or the other.
You may find more volatility in NBA betting lines compared to NFL odds, which don’t usually move much throughout the week unless a critical injury happens, or MLB, which stays relatively consistent when you know who the everyday starters and pitchers are. This can be for many reasons, such as the quick turnaround between games and the small number of players on NBA rosters who can impact a game.
NBA in-game betting
Most of what we’ve discussed here is placing pre-game NBA bets and paying attention to the odds and markets. There’s also a movement lately toward live NBA betting because you never know what can happen during the course of a game and can make wagers to adjust on the fly. Some of the sites mentioned above like Fliff do offer live betting on NBA games.
NBA in-game betting refers to making bets in real-time with the odds adjusting on the fly according to the game’s momentum. Let’s say the Los Angeles Clippers run up the score early against the Warriors, and Steph is in foul trouble, so the odds might move heavily in their favor. Now you can bet on Golden State with more favorable odds if you believe a comeback is in the works.
You’ll also find plenty of game and player prop bets that can be specific to a half, a quarter, or even possession. It’s a fun way to enjoy the flow of the game and be able to wager in kind.
What makes NBA betting special or unique?
As we mentioned before, basketball odds can fluctuate more than other sports for a number of reasons, including having only a few stars per team that can make an impact. NBA betting is almost geared toward live wagering because of this.
And because the games happen pretty much every other night if you’re following one team, you can get quite the read on a team’s momentum and use it to your advantage. If you know a player’s hot or a team has been great in the 1st quarter or strong coming out of the half, you can easily go for those markets if you feel strongly about it.
Another point that makes NBA betting so popular is the sheer number of markets you can wager on. Between standard lines, game props, player props, and others, you’ll have hundreds of bets to choose from for every game. And parlaying them together is easy to do as well.