College Basketball Betting Sites

College basketball is an incredibly popular betting option, with the NCAA Tournaments in March and April representing one of the largest gambling opportunities on the sports calendar. In 2024, U.S. bettors wagered an estimated $2.72 billion on Men’s and Women’s March Madness, more than doubling the amount of money wagered on the 2024 Super Bowl according to CBS News. 

In this piece, we’ve showcased some of the best college basketball betting sites, including where they’re legal and what makes them excellent options for your gambling activities. We also explained some of the basic betting markets and the bonuses you should take advantage of before locking in your bets.

Best College Basketball Betting Sites for the 2025-2026 Season

Bettor In Green has chosen the following six sportsbooks as the best college basketball betting sites for the 2025-26 season. We’ve composed comprehensive reviews of each operator for a more in-depth look, including what welcome bonuses are available when you register, which you can access by clicking on the name of the sportsbook.

bet365 Sportsbook

bet365 Sportsbook is an excellent option for live streaming for college basketball. Simply log into your account and make sure you’ve placed a bet within the last 24 hours to access the streams.

You’ll also find bet365 has some of the lowest entry requirements for a welcome bonus in the industry, with wagers as low as $1 qualifying users for $150 or more in bonus bets. In states where live college basketball betting is allowed, bet365 has a solid selection of markets available.

Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook offers its users one of the top rewards programs in the industry, with each wager accumulating points that can be redeemed for betting and non-betting-related benefits. It also has one of the highest-reaching welcome bonuses in the industry, with users able to claim second chance bonuses or deposit matches that frequently exceed $1,000 in credits.

On the betting front, Caesars is a fine choice for odds and line shopping, which is browsing multiple sportsbooks to find the best deal on the markets you’re planning to wager on. Caesars’ college basketball odds are competitive with the others on this list and can provide subtle differences that work in your favor, winning you more money on successful bets.

DraftKings Sportsbook

DraftKings Sportsbook has some of the best college basketball betting bonuses, with odds boosts, parlay profit boosts, and bonus bets applicable to NCAAB wagers in many games and markets. If you opt in to promotional emails, you’ll have new offers available nearly every day.

We also highly commend DraftKings for their outstanding customer support experience. The FAQ pages on the web and in the mobile app are thorough and detailed, making it easy for new bettors to familiarize themselves with the betting world in a casual and professional manner; their service representatives are also highly knowledgeable and quick to respond.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel thrives in same game parlay markets, offering pre-crafted wagers for easy addition to your betting slip. You’ll also find loads of lines for player and team props and scores if you want to build your own wager.

Furthermore, FanDuel Sportsbook provides an industry-leading mobile betting app. It is the highest-rated platform for Apple and Android users alike, with an intuitive and smooth app interface leading to a high-quality user experience.

BetMGM Sportsbook

If you’re a futures betting enthusiast, BetMGM is the spot for you! BetMGM is usually the earliest sportsbook to post futures odds for championships and individual awards, giving bettors a shot at even more money on a successful wager before the odds change.

Those who prefer day-to-day sports betting are still in luck, as BetMGM Sportsbook offers good coverage of college basketball games, with live streaming available through the mobile app during March Madness. A rewards program further supplements BetMGM’s solid product.

Fanatics Sportsbook

Finally, Fanatics Sportsbook, though not a true betting site (it operates only through a mobile app), has shown a reasonable performance for college basketball bettors. The memorabilia giant took over PointsBet’s North American gambling operations and relaunched the platform in November 2023, making the 2024-25 season the first full year we’ll fully see what Fanatics is capable of.

The bookie offers FanCash for every wager made on the site; FanCash can be redeemed for bonus bets or used at Fanatics-branded and affiliate online retail outlets. Live betting and live streaming through the Fanatics app have already shown improvement.

What Makes a Good NCAAB Sportsbook?

In assessing the above sportsbooks, we used the following criteria, as you should too when considering what makes a good NCAAB sportsbook.

• Platform access and performance: Does the sportsbook operate in a reasonable number of states? How reliable is the web platform? Does the bookie offer a mobile app, website, retail sportsbook, or some combination of those three? How does the betting app rate with both Android and iOS users? How often are updates available, and what features are being amended as new versions are released?
• Sports Market Variety: Specifically for college basketball, how many games are covered, and what lines are available for mid-major conferences? How early before tipoff are odds available? In states where college basketball props are legal, how does the variety in prop betting markets look? Similarly, how often are live odds updated during games when in-play wagering is legal?
• Banking: How many banking methods do users have for withdrawals and deposits? When making a withdrawal, how long does the average approval process take? What are the deposit and withdrawal minimums and maximums? Are deposit bonuses available?
• User Experience: Is the interface easy to learn and navigate? How fast do the menus respond? Are they easy to browse? When testing, did we encounter bugs or forced logouts/closures? Do odds displays appropriately fit the screen? Will the app/browser aesthetic appeal to users?
• Customer Support: What communication channels are there to get in touch with a customer service representative if needed? How helpful are the FAQ pages? Are they organized in a logical manner, and are they detailed enough to help solve user issues? Are there specific hours when customer support is available or can you reach an agent 24/7? How knowledgeable, helpful, and responsive was the support team?

Types of Bets You Can Place on College Basketball

There are many types of bets you can place on College Basketball, though it’s possible some of them may not be available in your area. Some states don’t allow wagers on games that are in progress while others may prohibit you from markets that involve betting on individual players.

Here are the most popular markets to play, with popularity determined by both by number of wagers made and dollars wagered.

Moneyline bets

Moneyline bets are the most straightforward type of bet. They simply involve wagering on who you think will win the basketball game. You don’t need to worry about whether the game ends in regulation or overtime or how many points they score; as long as the team you bet on is ahead when the clock hits 0:00, you’ll win.

Spread bets

Unlike moneyline wagers which ask you to pick a straight-up winner, point spread bets act to focus on the margin of victory. A spread bet on the moneyline favorite will require them to win outright and beat their opponent by the posted spread total.

Conversely, a spread bet on the moneyline underdog can win if the underdog wins outright or if they manage to keep the score close and lose by fewer points than the sportsbook’s spread total. Spread bets make great in-play wagers as you close in on the final score.

Totals

While our first two bet types were centered around the winners of the game and the margin of victory, totals bets (also called “over/under wagers”) ignore those factors and instead center around how many points are scored in the game. Regardless of who wins, totals bettors must decide whether the combined point total will fall over or under the sportsbook’s projected total at the end of the game.

Futures

Instead of focusing on single-game outcomes, futures bets are long-term wagers that typically take place over the course of the season, such as projections of team win totals, conference tournament champions, the national champion, and winners of individual awards.

However, some states will not allow you to bet on individual players, so awards like the John Wooden Award (Most Outstanding Player) could be blocked in your state.

Props

Prop bets are wagers made on in-game events such as statistical accomplishments that aren’t always connected to the final score. For example, college basketball prop bets could include wagers on the nature of the first basket, which team will be the first to score 10 points, or a player’s combined points+assists+rebounds total.

College basketball prop bets aren’t legal in every state. Some states have laws that outlaw prop bets for college athletes altogether while some have only prohibited them for in-state teams.

Parlay and Same-Game Parlay Options for NCAAB

Parlay wagers are bets that combine multiple outcomes (at least two moneyline, spread, totals, and/or prop bets) into a single wager with an escalating payout multiplier for each outcome (or “leg”) added to the parlay. However, if at least one leg of the parlay is unsuccessful, the entire bet is scored a loss.

In recent years, same game parlay (SGP) wagers have soared into the spotlight by allowing bettors to choose multiple outcomes from a single matchup rather than across multiple contests. This helped streamline bettor research and analysis and led to loads more prop markets across the board.

According to a survey from Morgan Stanley in October 2024, 48% of all U.S. online sports bets are parlay wagers. 

Even if you’re in a state where player prop bets are blocked, you’ll still be able to make a standard parlay or SGP. However, you may not have as expansive a list of lines to choose from as would otherwise be available for NCAAB betting.

Futures Betting on NCAAB

As alluded to above, futures betting on NCAAB is a popular option for many bettors. As a general rule, the earlier you make a prediction on who will win a futures wager, the more favorable your odds will be.

As favorites for the futures market become clearer, odds will shift. Betting action is a major factor in the odds as well, so making your futures bets as soon as you’re confident in your selection will typically yield the highest payout potential, especially for picking the NCAA Championship winners on the men’s and women’s brackets.

For this reason, we highly recommend BetMGM for your college basketball futures wagers. BetMGM is frequently the earliest to post championship futures odds, so getting your bet in before other books have odds available can work in your favor.

Live Betting for College Basketball

Live betting for college basketball is another exciting option because it lets sportsbooks offer dynamic odds based on how the game unfolds. This can lead to getting more favorable odds than were available before the start of the game, allowing you the opportunity to hedge your bets and guarantee a profit.

When live betting, we highly encourage you to only place in-play wagers on games you’re actively watching rather than relying on box scores, game threads, and social media discourse to make your picks. Seeing the stats is important, but stats only tell part of the story.

The dynamic odds also require you to be able to make split-second decisions about whether to place a wager or wait for the lines to change again. This important skill takes a lifetime to master, but it is crucial to practice this skill when making in-play wagers.

Unfortunately, as you’ll see in the table below, some states do not allow live betting on college athletics.

College Basketball Sportsbook Promos and Bonuses

Sportsbook promos and bonuses help supplement the college basketball betting environment by awarding players more money for winning wagers, helping to offset losses by awarding extra funds to use, or giving players the opportunity to make bets without using money from their bankroll.

Here are a few of the most frequent college basketball bonuses you’ll see at the six sportsbooks mentioned above.

• Bonus bets: Bonus bets are a form of site credit that are locked in at a predetermined amount, typically in a multiple of $5 ($10, $25, $50, etc.). They can substitute the stake of your cash wagers or be used in tandem with real-money wagers to increase the profits of winning bets.
• Second chance bets: Most often available as part of a welcome bonus, second chance bets are only awarded after a losing wager. If the bet used to qualify for the promotion settles as a loss, a second chance bet would award you a bonus bet equal to the amount of your qualifying stake. You would then have a short time period (usually seven days) to wager the second chance bet in its entirety to try for a winning wager.
• Deposit matches: Deposit matches issue site credits when you’re adding funds to your account. Typically, this is a 100% match rate (so a $25 deposit would result in $25 in bonus funds for $50 in credits to use), though we’ve seen sportsbooks offer match rates ranging from 25% to 200%.
• Odds boosts: Odds boosts enhance the odds total of a single outcome, which in turn increases profits if the line was included in a winning bet. They can be used on a single straight wager but also offer great utility when included in a parlay.
• Profit boosts: Similar to odds boosts, profit boosts are applied after your wager settles as a win. As part of the promo, sportsbooks will calculate the bonus percentage from your profit total (for example, 10% or 25%, up to a maximum defined in the promo rules) and tack it on to your payout when you collect your winnings from that bet.

Bettor In Green recommends DraftKings, bet365, and Fanatics as the sportsbooks which offer the most frequent and useful college basketball bonuses. We also recommend BetMGM and Caesars for their generous rewards programs, both of which allow you to earn more bonuses as you make more bets.

Strategies for Betting on College Basketball

As you prepare to bet on college basketball, we hope you’ll keep these strategies in mind.

• Projections are guidelines, not gospels: Perusing through betting previews, studying betting trends, and following social media betting experts can shed some light on matchup insights, but no expert is ever 100% correct. In fact, those who claim to have incredibly high winning bet rates should be subject to extra scrutiny. In college basketball, favorites can fall off with an injury or a cold night of shooting. Underdogs can get hot and go on a run, making even the most logically sound outcomes fall short. Take accountability for your picks, make wagers that make sense, but accept that losses are going to happen. The more even-tempered you are, the more likely you are to find successes and engage in safer gambling practices.
• Shop the odds and lines: Checking the odds and lines at several college basketball betting sites will help you find better deals for the wagers you want to make. Subtle differences in the lines and odds can lead to noticeable differences in your profit margins over time.
• Balance your research metrics: There isn’t a single stat in existence that is available before a game that can predict the outcome with 100% certainty. Some teams will win games by playing an up-tempo style that lights up a scoreboard while others try to slow the game down to keep scoring low and make each shot attempt more important. Rebounding totals and free-throw percentages are useful too, but overreliance on any one metric will lead to more losses than wins. As you do your research, find as many useful stats to help make your selections as possible, with the intent of finding the right answer rather than only those that confirm your biases.

Mobile Betting for NCAAB Games

For several years now, online wagering has been the most popular way to gamble on college basketball, with mobile betting accounting for the majority of money and wagers made on NCAAB games. In analyzing handle numbers reported by the sportsbooks themselves, more than 60% of wagers in a given time period will come from mobile apps and browsers.

As a result, having a high-quality mobile app is crucial for a sportsbook to be successful. Mobile app reviews are a useful option for learning what features to expect when using the platforms, which is why we wrote thorough tests for each of the sportsbooks mentioned above.

Here are the app store ratings for each of those six sportsbooks as of December 1, 2024. Keep in mind these ratings may change following app updates.

Legality of College Basketball Betting in the U.S.

College sports betting has been a pain point in legalizing sports betting across the United States. It tends to be one of the most discussed topics surrounding gambling legislation, resulting in some states allowing sports betting but not permitting wagers on collegiate athletics; other states have restricted betting on college sports by not allowing wagers on individual athletes.

Below is a table that should help clarify the types of college basketball betting available across the U.S., along with any restrictions and limitations, by state, of how you’re allowed to make your wagers.

** NOTE: Missouri voters passed the state’s sports betting bill in November 2024, giving the industry a one-year timetable to launch. It’s unclear at this time if the Missouri sports betting launch will occur before 2025 March Madness. We will update this page once specifics about the availability of college basketball betting in Missouri are available

Conclusion

Picking the right sportsbooks to use for college basketball betting is an important step on your betting journey, and as you’ve likely figured out, there’s no one right answer for which is the “best” to use. Different features, odds, bonuses, mobile apps, and market offerings can all impact which sportsbooks best match your betting objectives.

This means the “best” way to go for your NCAAB betting is to have a few sportsbooks you use in rotation. When you have a few in your arsenal instead of only relying on a single bookie, you can take advantage of more bonuses while also shopping odds and lines for the best deals.

As a reminder, you can learn more about bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel by checking the reviews we conducted of each operator. These reviews share active bonus information, deep dive into mobile app performance, and much more!

FAQ

What are common NCAAB prop bets?

When they are available, common NCAAB prop bets include player point totals, a player’s combined points+rebounds, a player’s made three-pointer total, and the method of the first basket.

Do college basketball betting sites offer live streaming?

Yes, college basketball betting sites offer live streaming. This is a particularly popular option during March Madness. If you’re considered an active user (placed a wager within the past 24 hours), and especially if you’ve placed a wager on the game you want to stream, you should be able to access a stream of the game through a majority of sportsbook apps and browser platforms.

How do I place a futures bet on NCAAB?

Placing futures bets on NCAAB follows the same formula as placing futures bets in other sports: decide on which market you’re going to play, pick the option you’re backing and a dollar amount for your wager, then submit your bet. However, you should know some states don’t allow wagers on individual college athletes which could impact your ability to back them in futures bets.

Can I cash out bets early during college basketball games?

Yes, you can cash out bets early during college basketball games. However, each sportsbook will have different eligibility requirements for cashing out your bet before the game is over. Be sure to check the “House Rules” section of the sportsbook before placing a wager to determine if your bet is eligible.

How do odds differ for college vs. professional basketball?

College basketball odds can differ from professional basketball odds in a few ways. Totals bets and player props typically see lower projections because college games are shorter (men’s games are two 20-minute halves while the NBA plays four 12-minute quarters; this is closer for women’s games, where both college and WNBA games consist of four 10-minute quarters). Spreads also can be a higher total than NBA and WNBA games due to talent differences between colleges.