February of 2021 offered the first chance for Michigan online sports bettors to place legal bets on the Super Bowl from their couch.
It was an exciting time, and thousands jumped in head first.
Maybe you weren’t among those thousands for whatever reason, and no matter the reason, that’s perfectly fine. But perhaps now you’re curious, and guess what? It’s Super Bowl time again, and having a little skin in the biggest game of the year sounds enticing.
If that sounds like you, keep reading for a quick explainer to help you get started in time to make your first bet by Super Bowl Sunday.
How to start an online sports betting account in Michigan
You can begin by creating an account with a sportsbook. A great way to do that, is by clicking “Play Now” on one of our partners’ links below. As you can see, they all offer great deals for new users.
If you’re not sure which one to use, you can read the reviews found on our Sports Betting page. If you’ve dabbled in daily fantasy with DraftKings or FanDuel, that could be a good place to start, as each allows you to link your accounts.
Once you’ve picked your sportsbook, you’ll want to register your account and download the app.
All of them are going to require personal information, such as your name, birthdate, address, email address, phone number and social security number (at least the last four digits). It’s a lot, but you’re going to be exchanging money here. Also, taxes. Yes, taxes.
You will need to have some form of online payment available in order to deposit money. Making that first deposit is necessary in order to take advantage of all those sweet deals.
Placing a bet in an online sportsbook
Now you have your account and you have some money in it. You probably even have a free bet to take advantage of (check the promotions section of the app!). So let’s make a bet.
We’ll stick with the Super Bowl, as that’s the reason you’re here, right?
The Super Bowl is a fun experience for first-time bettors, because there are so many options, and sportsbooks are going all out to take advantage of the biggest sporting event of the year.
The most common bets are the spread, moneyline and total (over/under).
Spread bets
If betting the spread, you are getting nearly even odds to wager that one team will win by a specific amount of points, or be within that amount of points. For instance, the Los Angeles Rams are favored to win, and in most places the spread is -4.5. If you bet the Rams to cover the spread, you will need them to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals by at least 5 points.
The Bengals, meanwhile, are the underdog, and betting Bengals +4.5 means your bet wins as long as the Bengals don’t lose by more than 4.
Spread bets typically pay just below even money, so you’re likely to see a -110 or -115 listed alongside it. You’re not quite doubling your money with a win, but you’re close. A $100 bet at -110, for instance, would return $190.91 (your original $100 plus $90.91 in winnings).
Over/under total bets
The total works very similarly when it comes to odds. Most sportsbooks are listing it at 48.5 for the Super Bowl, so by taking the over, you’re betting the two teams will combine for 49 or more points in the game. An under bet would need the combined score to be 48 or below.
Both of those numbers include a .5, so there’s no chance at a push, or tie. If the spread is -4, though, and the Rams win 24-20, you get your money back.
Moneyline bets
If you place a moneyline bet, you’re simply picking a team to win straight up. The odds change here, though. The Rams moneyline is sitting near -200 in most places. So a $100 moneyline bet on the Rams to win would return $150. The Bengals, meanwhile, are at +160, which would return $260.
What about props and parlays?
OK, so you want to get adventurous with your first bet. I can respect that.
Prop bets can cover a multitude of things, and if you have a deep knowledge of the teams and players you’re betting on, it’s worth exploring what your chosen sportsbook is offering.
You can bet on who will win the MVP, who will score the game’s first touchdown, how long the game’s longest touchdown will be … the list is almost endless in the Super Bowl. That includes betting on individual players and their performances, such as Cooper Kupp‘s yardage total.
Some of those bets are over/under and feature fairly even odds. Some are more ridiculous and feature much longer odds, like Rams reserve running back Jake Funk (who I had to Google) scoring the game’s first touchdown, which comes in at +10000. If lighting money on fire is your thing, you can bet on the guy who had two carries all season to come through. And if he does, your $100 bet nets you $10,100.
A parlay is combining two or more bets to create longer odds. All of the bets you put in your parlay have to hit in order get any money out of it. There’s no consolation prize for hitting 11 of 12, as amazing and agonizing as that would be.
The more bets you put into a parlay, the longer the odds become and bigger your potential payout.
Once your bet of choice is placed, you sit back, relax and enjoy the game. Actually, you’re going to sweat, scream and jump around, but that’s more fun, anyway.
