NBA betting is growing in popularity in the United States every year. With sports betting legal across many states, betting lines and parlays have become a major talking point in NBA broadcasts and sports shows. I expect this trend to continue as betting on games becomes a bigger part of NBA fandom.
On this page I will recommend our top rated betting site for US bettors, touch on the sports betting regulatory climate in Utah, Idaho, and New Mexico, explain the popular bets you can make on an NBA game, and provide a straight forward guide you can follow to place your NBA bets online.
Best NBA Betting Site For Americans
| Sportsbook | Bonus | Visit |
|---|---|---|
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100% up to $250 | Visit |
Bovada.lv is our recommended betting site for residents of Utah, Idaho, and New Mexico interested in betting on the NBA online.
Bovada is the most popular offshore sportsbook serving the US market. They have built a strong reputation as a trusted and respected online sportsbook for US bettors. Bovada offers a huge selection of fair betting lines for all NBA games.
Sports Betting in Utah, Idaho and New Mexico
Sports betting is not currently legal in Utah or Idaho, and in New Mexico it’s only allowed at tribal casinos.
Sports betting, and gambling in general, is illegal in Utah, and this is not likely to change anytime in the near future.
Similar to Utah, sports betting is not legal in Idaho, and there has not been any bills submitted to legalize sports betting in the state since it became possible to legalize sports betting on a state level back in 2018. It’s unlikely that legal sports betting comes to Idaho in the near future.
In New Mexico sports betting is technically legal, but it’s only allowed on-location at tribal casinos. Currently there are only five tribal casinos in the state offering on-site sports betting.
Utah, Idaho, and New Mexico residents are able to bet on sports through offshore betting sites that are licensed and regulated outside of the USA, while accepting American bettors. Bovada falls into this category as an online sportsbook licensed and regulated in Curacao, while accepting players from most US States including Utah, Idaho and New Mexico.
NBA Betting Options
The three most common NBA bets that take the majority of betting handle on a typical NBA game are the spread, money line (to win), and total. Below I will use a Jazz vs Pacers game from this season as an example to explain each of these three popular NBA bets.
Spread
The spread is meant to even the game between the two teams. The favorite must win the game by more than the spread amount, while the underdog must either win the game outright or lose by fewer points than the spread amount.
In the above example the Indiana Pacers are 6 point favorites (-6). A spread bet on the Pacers would win if the Pacers win by 7 or more points. The Utah Jazz are 6 point underdogs (+6). A spread bet on the Jazz would win if they either win the game outright or lose by 5 or fewer points. If the Pacers win by exactly 6 points then the spread bets would “push” and be returned.
Win (Money Line)
A money line bet is simply a wager on which team will win the game. The odds dictate the risk vs reward of a bet on either team.
In the above example the Pacers are -230 favorites. This means every $230 wagered on the Pacers would win $100 if they earned the win. The Jazz are +190 underdogs, which means every $100 bet on the Jazz would win $190 if they pulled off the upset.
Total
A total bet is a wager on the amount of points scored in the game by both teams combined. You can bet on whether the total points will be over or under the total.
In the above example the total is set at 241 points. Over bets would win if 242 or more points are scored and under bets would win if 240 or fewer points are scored. If exactly 241 points are scored the total bets would “push” and be returned.
Check out our NBA betting page for more examples of these bets.
How To Bet On The NBA From Utah, Idaho or New Mexico
Follow these three steps to bet on the NBA online.
Step 1. Open A Bovada.lv Account
Click the above link, select ‘Join Now’ on the landing page, and complete the sign up form to open your Bovada account.
Step 2. Deposit
After logging into your Bovada account click the ‘Deposit’ link under your accounts drop down menu. Choose your preferred deposit method, enter the deposit amount, and follow the instructions to fund your account.
Bovada accepts deposits via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more.
Step 3. Place Your NBA Bets
- Click ‘Sports’ from the top menu bar and ‘Basketball’ from the secondary sports menu.
- Select ‘NBA’ from the Trending Competitions or Basketball A-Z menus in the left sidebar.
- Select the odds of the bet you want to place to add it to your Bet Slip.
- Enter your risk amount on the Bet Slip and click ‘Place Bets’ to lock in the wagers.
Check out our betting guide section for more articles to help you get started betting online.
Are you ready to bet? Click here to visit Bovada.lv.
Idaho betting • NBA betting • New Mexico betting • Utah betting