A Full Guide to the UK’s Best New Basketball Betting Sites

There’s no doubt that basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, especially in America. Millions of people tune in to the big games, and the sport is gaining ever-increasing popularity in Europe, including the European leagues themselves. And, as is the case with any popular sports – opinions are rife, so people are also happy to put their theories and predictions to the test by betting on basketball. That’s why we are always excited to find new basketball betting sites with fresh offers and good odds.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at the most popular basketball betting markets, while also comparing offers available on the sport, as well as helping you to find the best basketball betting sites in the UK.

How to Spot the Best Basketball Betting Sites

If you’re looking for somewhere to bet, you’ll have plenty of options as basketball betting sites are everywhere – with nearly every sportsbook offering a range of markets on the sport.

However, it’s always important to check out a few different bookmakers and look at their product offering before signing up. Some important considerations to make are the welcome offers and bonuses available, how good the odds are, the payment methods available, as well as the general terms of the site. After all, with plenty of bookmakers to choose from, this gives the power to the player to select the best site for them.

Basketball Betting Offers

There are plenty of special basketball betting offers available to the UK, although these tend to be general sports offers that can be applied to basketball, rather than offers created purely for the sport.

Welcome offers and bonuses are one of the best things about signing up to a new basketball betting sites, with many companies offering things like matched deposit bonuses once you’ve registered. One of the best examples of this is NetBet’s bonus which you can read about on our comprehensive NetBet review.

Another common sports offer is the “Acca Boost”, whereby some bookmakers add a percentage bonus to any winnings on accumulator bets. This difference can lead to players winning literally thousands more if their bet comes in. This is more common in football betting.

Betting Markets for the Sport

When it comes to betting on basketball, there’s so much more to it than simply betting on the winner of the match (although you are of course welcome to do that if you wish).

People bet on basketball in many ways, but the points and handicap markets are amongst the most popular, due to the high scoring nature of the sport. Many people consider basketball to be easier to predict that other sports like football too, as with so many points being scored, it reduces the likelihood of a freak result or occurrence based on a single moment – as often happens in football.

How to Cross-check the Best Odds

It’s important to get the best value possible when betting, whether that be on basketball or anything, so you should always check you are getting the best odds.

Bookmakers odds can vary wildly, especially on more niche markets, so a top recommendation is to always use an odds comparison website before placing your bet. This way, you can be sure you are getting the most bang for your buck.

To highlight the importance of getting the best basketball odds, you needn’t look further than an accumulator bet. For example, if you pick 10 selections all at odds of evens (2.0) at one bookmaker and placed a £10 bet, you would get a return of £10,240 if you win. However, if another bookmaker had those same markets at a marginally bet price of 6/5 (2.2) each, you’d win £26,559.92 for the same bet. This small difference in price can equate to huge differences in winnings.

The Variety of Basketball Bet Options

With such a variety of betting markets available on basketball, there’s no need to simply put your stakes on the traditional winner markets.

Even if you think a match will be too close to call in terms of picking a winner, you can still bet on what type of match you think it’ll be, i.e. high or low scoring, and place a bet on whether the total number of points scored will be more or less than a certain amount.

In-Play Betting and Live Streaming

One of the biggest innovations in sports betting in recent years has been live betting, with players able to bet on the events of a match as it’s taking place. This means if you can see a pattern emerging during a game, or a player is looking in particularly good form, you can try to capitalise on this with live b-ball betting at one of the best new live betting sites.

Most sports bookies now offer in-play betting as standard, with many even offering live streams of matches taking place. Typically, bets placed on live events are subject to a five-second confirmation delay, but otherwise function in the same way as pre-event betting.

Why is BBall a Popular Market in the UK?

Although basketball isn’t one the UK’s more traditional sports, it nevertheless has a strong – and growing – following, with many people following the NBA, while more hardened fans follow the British Basketball League.

Basketball originated in Massachusetts, America, in 1891 and became one of – if not the – biggest sport in North America. Today, basketball in the States is a multi-billion industry and one the likes of the NBA are hoping to broaden its global appeal. Just like football’s Premier League in England trying to reach a new audience in America, so too is the NBA but in Europe.

Of course, we’ve seen NFL fixtures being played in London in recent years, but the NBA was the first to introduce the concept and has had international fixtures in London since 2011, known as ‘NBA Global Games’.

The Biggest Basketball Leagues and Events

While NBA is undoubtedly the biggest basketball league in the world, the sport also has numerous other leagues and tournaments that are growing in popularity. The following sections, we’ll take a look at some of the biggest competitions in basketball.

NBA

The NBA is one of the most famous leagues’ in the world – across any sport. The league is made up of 30 teams, 29 of whom are American and one Canadian (Toronto Raptors). The league was founded in 1946, with the Boston Celtics the most successful all-time team with 17 titles – although most of these came in the 1960s. The NBA starts with the regular season before the top teams go to the play-offs to battle out and see who will be crowned the champion.

WNBA

The WNBA is the women’s branch of the NBA and was founded in 1996, with the first season starting in 1997. As of 2018, 12 teams take part, all of whom are American. In recent years, the competition has been dominated by Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks.

The EuroLeague

Undoubtedly the biggest men’s basketball competition after the NBA, The EuroLeague has been running under its current name since 2001, but it was originally started in 1958 under the name FIBA. Teams enter the EuroLeague if they qualify from their domestic league – just like the Champions League in football.

Many of the teams are also part of the same club as famous football names, including CSKA Moscow, Olympiakos, Fenerbahçe and Barcelona. Unsurprisingly, Real Madrid are the dominant European force.

Liga ACB

Outside the US, the biggest domestic league is found in Spain: the Liga ACB. Again, like in football, the league is dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona, with just five other teams winning the league title in the over 60 years of the competition.

HEBA A1

Basketball is extremely popular in Greece, with the country also boasting one of the best domestic basketball leagues. The Greek Basket League (also known a HEBA A1) was founded in 1927 and has long been dominated by Panathinaikos, who have 36 league titles to their name as of 2018, as well as six EuroLeague successes.

Summer Olympic Games

Basketball is a popular event at the Summer Olympics every four years, although its unsurprising who the dominant nation are: the US.

Basketball was first played at the Olympics in 1904, but it only became a mainstay event from 1936. There is both a men’s and women’s competition, with America having won gold in 15 out of the 19 men’s events, and eight out of the 11 women’s events.

The History of BBall Wagering

Of course, betting on basketball is nothing new, people have always been betting on sports – whether legally or not. Gambling restrictions can be especially tight in America, but the emergence of online betting in the UK has caused a real spike in betting on the sport in recent years.

What’s more, the television footage of the NBA helped to really increase the following of the sport in Europe, and that has grown even more as live streaming becomes increasingly available – allowing players to watch any match they want from their computer or mobile. Indeed, the introduction of basketball live betting markets has further fuelled the appetite for betting on the sport – with a much more immersive experience now available compared to a couple of decades ago.

Conclusion

The popularity of basketball continues to grow, and as such, so has the demand for betting on the sport. Basketball betting markets are available at nearly all online bookmarkers, with players able to bet on anything from the NBA, to the EuroLeague and even the British Basketball League.

If you’re looking for the best new betting sites in the UK, the likes of MansionBet are well-worth a consideration, as are NetBet, who provide a supreme user experience, as well as an extremely generous £50 matched bet bonus for new players.