College football, and college sports in general, are fairly specific to the United States. They offer a direct route to pro sports for the country’s best young football, baseball and basketball players. Betting on college sports is permissible at some UK sports betting sites. Here’s your complete guide to college football betting in the UK.
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Here is a list of the top betting sites in the UK where you can bet on college football. Note that college football in the US is run by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA for short.
Now you know our top ten online college football betting sites, it’s time to scrum down and get to know our favourite five a little bit better.
BetUK is one of our favourite sports books all round, but we were surprised to find that this site offers college football betting. It is, after all, a site that concentrates on UK betting markets, and even American football fans in the UK find the American love of college sports a little bit baffling. Because BetUK is a great all-rounder when it comes to sports betting, we’ve listed it atop our rundown of the best college football sites in the UK.
So, what can you bet on, NCAAF-wise at BetUK? Well, we are happy to report that BetUK is one of the few betting sites in the UK where you can bet on individual college games. The full moneyline is available – match winner, handicap (the spread) and total points (over/under). If what’s offered isn’t enough, there are alternatives too. Outrights are available as well, such as the overall NCAAF champion and the winner of the Heisman Trophy.
What We Like:
Room for Improvement:
If you bet on the NFL then you will know what player props are. They are bets on the performances of an individual player during a match. For a quarterback, it could be the amount of yards thrown. For a running back, it could be the amount of yards rushed. That’s okay at the pro level, but in America it’s not really the done thing to bet on player props for college athletes, and indeed in many states, it’s banned. However, in the UK, there is no such ban.
Despite this, there are very few UK sports betting sites that will accept individual player props on college football, but PaddyPower is one. If you head to the site and select ‘American Football > Competitions’ you’ll be able to find both game betting and outright betting. You will find the player props listed there, although when we checked they were for season-long props such as number of passing touchdowns thrown. There was also betting on individual games (with a limited number of markets) and betting on the winners of all the Level I-A conferences.
What We Like:
Room for Improvement:
BetGoodwin is a site that is centred upon horse racing betting (and indeed BetGoodwin is the online presence of horse racing telephone betting service Goodwin Racing) and football, so we were shocked when we found that BetGoodwin covered American football too, right down to the college football level which is just what we are looking for! The coverage of the pro players in the NFL is superb, of course, but there are a few snippets for college football fans too.
To get to the college football betting options it takes a few clicks. Go to ‘Sports > American Football > United States > NCAAF’ and you will get there eventually. When we checked the site BetGoodwin were not giving betting options for individual games but we wrote this during the off season, so that might change come August. You could place bets on the winner of the Heisman Trophy (awarded to that season’s top college football player) and the overall winner of the NCAAF Championship.
What We Like:
Room for Improvement:
It will come as no surprise to find that bet365 has made it onto our list of the best college football betting sites in the UK. Bet365 really does excel at everything in terms of sports betting and American football is no exception. We didn’t place it top of the list though as we still have qualms about that ugly site design. In terms of betting opportunities when it comes to college football though, bet365 can hardly be bettered.
When we checked this sports betting site we found a decent number of NCAAF betting options, including the outright winner, conference winners and the winner of the Heisman trophy, but we found one betting option we’d not seen elsewhere – betting on the number of wins a college team would record over the season on an under/over basis. Not every single Division I-A team was listed here, but almost seventy were! One tip here – make sure you are betting on the right side as universities have similar names (i.e. Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, etc).
What We Like:
Room for Improvement:
It’s perhaps no surprise that BetMGM finds its way onto our list of the best college football betting sites in the UK. BetMGM is a betting site that originated in the United States after all, although in the UK it’s run by LeoVegas. This betting site is perhaps not as heavy on US Sports as you might think, but it does offer American football betting and can offer betting on college football as part of that.
Having said that, we wish there was more. When it comes to the NFL, not only can you bet on individual matches, you can try bets such as betting on an individual side to make the playoffs, or individual division winners. With BetMGM it’s basically just overall winners and the Heisman trophy winner, but we expect better coverage (such as betting on bowl games) as the season draws to a close.
What We Like:
Room for Improvement:
Here is a direct comparison of what is on offer at legal college football betting sites in the UK, based on our list of the top ten.
Betting Sites | NCAAF Outights | Conference Winners | Heisman Winner | Individual Games | Other NCAAF Markets |
BetUK | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
PaddyPower | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
BetGoodwin | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Bet365 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
BetMGM | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Betfair | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Luckster | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Fafabet | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
William Hill | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
QuinnBet | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Want to know how we choose the leading betting sites for college football in the UK? Well, hard luck if you don’t as we are about to tell you!
This is far and away the most important aspect of choosing the best college football betting sites in the UK. Because NCCAF betting is a ‘specialised’ form of betting, sports betting sites in the UK are hardly falling over themselves to offer such markets. However, quite a decent number do, and we pick out those that offer the most markets.
The most common markets at the college level when it comes to American football are the overall winners of the (unofficial) NCCAF championship and the winner of the Heisman trophy. However, we look for sites that offer much more in the way of betting options when it comes to online college football betting sites markets.
We also check out the odds offered by college football playoff betting sites in the UK. Not only do we check out the simple win/lose odds we also check the handicaps offered and the odds available for the handicaps. It can be difficult betting on college football, as a few well-financed universities tend to be dominant. Therefore, getting decent odds on handicap betting in particular is extremely important.
As you already know, you’re not going to be inundated by markets when betting on college football so when we evaluate a sports betting site in the UK and its suitability for college football betting, we also take a look at the site as a whole. We even keep our fingers crossed and see if we can uncover any kind of betting bonus or promotion specifically for college football betting (although we ain’t come up with one yet).
Other important aspects of a decent site include the software being easy to use, the number of payment options available, the speed of withdrawals and much, much more. You can find out how we rate bookmakers overall by clicking on the link we have just provided.
Because of the size of the USA, college football is structured on a regional basis in order to avoid excessive travelling. College football teams are sorted into several divisions and conferences. The collegiate football structure for the 2024 season in terms of conferences is as follows:
Division I-A
American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Conference USA, FBS Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-12, Southeastern, Sun Belt.
Division I-AA
Big Sky, Big South-OVC, Coastal Athletic, FCS Independents, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Patriot League, Pioneer Football League, Southern Conference, Southland, Southwest Athletic, United Atheltic.
Division II
CIAA, GLIAC, Great American, Great Lakes, Great Midwest Athletic, Gulf South, Independent DII, Lone Star, Mid America, Mountain East, Northwest 10, Northern Sun, Pennsylvania State Athletic, Rocky Mountain, SIAC, South Atlantic.
Division III
American Rivers, American Southwest, CCIW, Centennial, Commonwealth Coast, ECFC, Empire 8, Heartland, Independent DIII, Landmark, Liberty League, Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic, Michigan, Middle Atlantic, Midwest, Minnesota, NESCAC, New England Women’s And Men’s Athletic, New Jersey, North Coast, Northern Athletic Collegiate, Northwest, Ohio, Old Dominion, Presidents’, So. Cal., Southern Athletic Association, USA South, Upper Midwest, Wisconsin.
The best football players on a high school level usually end up at a college in a Division I-A conference, with less able players finding a college in a lower division conference.
Each season every college team plays a short schedule of only fourteen or fifteen games, with only eight or nine being within their own conference. After each game, all colleges on a division level are ranked by two polls – one by the Allied Press, and one by AFCA coaches. When the season is over, the teams are ranked by the College Football Playoff section committee.
The top four ranked college teams are matched in two championship games. The top-ranked team and the team ranked fourth meet, and the teams ranked two and three play each other. All top 25 ranked teams match up in an end-of-season bowl game. The name of the matchup depends on the venue selected, for example, the Rose Bowl is played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the Peach Bowl is played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Rose Bowl is considered the most prestigious bowl game, but it is not always a college playoff semi-final.
The winners of the two games mentioned above meet in the National Championship, with the venue rotating every season.
As you might expect, there is not the depth of betting on NCAAF markets as there is on the NFL. We have though, picked out a handful of bets that you are likely to see when betting on the available college football betting opportunities.
The simplest bet of all – betting on the winner of an individual game. As this is an American sport, college football games seldom end in ties, so don’t expect odds for a tie to be given.
Handicap betting or ‘betting on the spread’ as it is also known is the most popular form of betting in the States, and you’ll be able to bet on the spread at UK sports betting sites. Each team will be given an artificial points handicap aimed at evening out the contest. It’s up to you to select which team will win once their handicap is applied.
This is a bet on the total number of points in the game, on an over/under basis. The actual points total and the odds will be selected by the sports betting site.
Most sports betting sites in the UK that accept bets on college football will only give one option for a handicap, but others may offer alternative handicaps that you can take a look at.
Again, some UK sports betting sites will offer a single total points over/under option you can bet on, but others will offer alternative over/under points for your consideration.
The Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the best player in college football. Illustrious names to have won the Heisman Trophy include Roger Staubach, OJ Simpson, Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson and Lamar Jackson. Most sites will offer odds on the winner of that season’s Heisman Trophy.
As well as the options above, many sites will offer odds on the overall NCAAF winner for the season. This is for Division I-A, the highest level of college football in the United States. As described previously on this page, there are ten conferences at this level, comprising 134 teams. Although not an official competition, the winner of the college football playoff national championship is recognised as the NCAAF champion.
You may find sites that offer prices on the winners of each individual conference, but this is rare. Those that do offer it will probably only accept bets on conferences at the Division 1-A level.
Another rare bet you might find at some UK sports betting sites is the number of wins a college football team will secure on an over/under basis. If you really know your college football, then you could find success with this particular bet.
Betting on individual college players is a big no-no in the USA. In some states, it is even banned, and some states such as New York restrict New York sports bettors from betting on any New York-based college team or athlete.
Of course, the UK is not the US, so player props (betting on individual player performances) are allowed, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any. However, some sites do offer them, such as a top-level college quarterback throwing a number of touchdown passes in a season on an over/under basis.
Live betting on college football games in the UK is something of a rarity. Very few sites offer betting on individual games at the college level, and even fewer will offer live betting on them. However, if a site does offer individual game betting, you should be able to bet live but your betting options are very likely to be limited. You’ll be able to bet on the eventual game-winner, but that really is about it.
There’s zero live streaming of US college football at UK sports betting sites. Coverage of college football in the UK is pitiful. SkySports have a contract with NBC which allows them to broadcast the occasional Notre Dame (University in Indiana) game, but that’s about it. BTSport used to cover NCAA football games but coverage was dropped when they were taken over by TNT Sports.
Betting on college football is about as niche as it gets. Finding a winning strategy is going to be difficult, as football at this level tends to be dominated by a few colleges that routinely manage to attract the best athletes from high schools all over the country. Here, however, are a few tips on how you can get the most from your college football betting.
Congratulations! You’ve found a UK sports betting site that offers odds on college football in the US! But … how can you be sure you’re getting the best odds? In our experience, because college football betting is so niche, the odds for specific college football betting events vary little across the different sites.
For research purposes, we’ve picked out a few sites offering odds on the 2024 NCCA Football Championship and compared the prices of the favourite teams. This may indicate which site offers the best college football betting odds, but it’s best to investigate some of the sites we have listed on this page for the best odds depending on what it is you intend to bet on.
Site | Georgia Bulldogs | Ohio State | Texas Longhorns |
BetUK | 13/4 | 9/2 | 7/1 |
BetMGM | 13/4 | 9/2 | 7/1 |
Paddy Power | 3/1 | 4/1 | 6/1 |
BetGoodwin | 10/3 | 9/2 | 15/1 |
Bet365 | 13/4 | 9/2 | 8/1 |
You will find that all the sites on our top ten list offer apps that you can download and install onto your mobile devices. They are easy to use, which is essential when it comes to finding NCAAF betting markets as you will probably have to dig deep in order to find them!
If you don’t like overloading your precious phone space with apps then don’t worry, all the sites on our list can be used via a mobile browser so you don’t have to download them to use a betting site on your mobile devices. It is more convenient to use apps, though.
As previously mentioned, there is no live streaming of college football at betting sites in the UK, so you won’t be able to live stream college football via apps, either.
So, we’ve outlined a few betting sites for college football betting in the UK and explained a lot about them. We also explained where you can get the best college football betting odds, and how to understand betting markets such as college football point spreads. We hope what we have given you here will help with your NCCAF betting, and we wish you the best in your legal college football betting site usage!
Yes, you can bet on college football in the UK at legal college football betting sites which, in the UK, is any sports betting site with a valid and current UKGC licence.
Although it does not have the most college football betting picks when it comes to markets, we feel as an all-rounder, BetUK ranks highest among the best college football betting sites currently available in the UK.
Yes, bet365 has a very good range of US college football markets.
College football is easier to predict than NFL games as specific colleges tend to dominate. However, the odds reflect this and usually are not very generous. It is therefore better to use handicap betting, or ‘betting on the spread’ as Americans would call it. Evaluate the spread and make your bets accordingly.
We have three main college football betting tips – do your research but do not rely too heavily on statistics as they can be misleading, specialise on a particular conference or a tight number of conferences, and make sure you look out for the best NCAA football odds.
Right here! In US sports, the ‘lines’ usually refer to the three most popular bets, which are the moneyline (which in the UK we would call ‘odds to win’), points spread (UK: handicap) and totals (UK: over/under). Most betting markets, including US college football betting markets, will have all three bets in some form.
Peter is one of the most well-known and well-respected names working in the field of online sports betting today. Having a Bachelor of Arts degree, Peter has worked for many high-profile publications in the industry, both online and in the real world. He joined the SafestBettingSites team in 2021 and has provided millions of words ever since. When not writing, Peter enjoys performing and writing music, gaming, reading and he is a massive movie buff, with a particular love of Japanese cinema and anime.
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