Want to bet on Super Bowl 2023? Guide to sports betting in Oregon, understanding odds, point spreads, bet types and more
Sports betting has now been legal within the state of Oregon for more than a few years. Despite many Oregonians over the age of 21 making wagers on professional sporting events every day, there are still throngs of people who may not be keen to jump into the action without knowing how it all works. That’s understandable.
With that in mind and the Super Bowl taking place this weekend, we’ve updated out guide that will help you learn how to sign up and bet on the Super Bowl and more sports if you reside in the state of Oregon. We will try and help you learn how to set up an account and what certain terms mean, like “money line” and “point spread” and more. We’ll also tell you how odds work, and what those numbers mean, so you can get the most out of your wagers if you decide to bet on Super Bowl 57 between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City kicking off on Sunday.
HOW TO GET STARTED
The Oregon Lottery is partnered with DraftKings, which is the only legal online outlet for sports betting within the state of Oregon. Download the DraftKings app on iOS (for iPhone) or Android, or with your desktop computer.
Select the “Join Now” button to create an account: For this, you’ll need to input an email address and some personal information including the last four digits of your social security number (for tax purposes).
Fund your account: Once you are signed into your new account, tap the green “+” icon in the top right corner of the app display. From here, you can fund your account in a variety of ways by adding a debit or credit card, or a checking account directly to your DraftKings account. You can also fund it through a third party money transfer services like Paypal, Venmo, etc. Now that you have available funds, you can place bets.
HOW TO BET
- Navigate to, and then choose your game, match or event
- Select your bet to add it to the bet slip (you can also select multiple bets consolidated into one larger bet called a “parlay,” but more on that later)
- From the Bet Slip, choose the amount you’d like to wager (it will automatically display your potential winnings based on the odds offered for the event and the amount you have selected to wager)
- Double check your wager and understand how much you stand to win or lose
- Select “Place Bet” and your bet should be accepted immediately
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF SPORTS BETTING
Before you get started throwing your hard-earned money around, you should probably know a few things, like what all those odds mean, and what you can expect in terms of a return on your wager if you win. We’re just going to cover some of the basics.
What is a point spread?
Two of the most popular bets for the Super Bowl are on the point spread (the number of points by which a team must win the game in order for the bet to be a winner) and the total, also known as the over/under (the total number of points scored by both teams).
The Philadelphia Eagles are 1.5 point favorites over Kansas City in Super Bowl 57 as of 6 p.m. PT on Saturday, February 11. That makes Kansas City the underdogs. The over/under for this year’s Super Bowl is 51 points.
Contrary to popular belief, the point spread is not a consensus on how many points oddsmakers think one team will win by. Rather, it is a number designed to generate as close to an equal number of bets on both sides as possible.
Beating the spread is known as “covering.” For the Eagles to cover their spread of 1.5 points, they must win the game by 2 or more points. Conversely, underdog Kansas City can cover by either winning the game outright, or losing by less than 2 points. The spread can change up until kickoff — and even afterward, during live betting — but the number locks in once you make a bet.
A spread with a whole number, say, 2 points, opens the opportunity for what’s called a “push” if the winning margin ties. You don’t win anything but you get your original bet refunded. This also applies to other bets, which is why most of them involve a fraction, like 44.5 yards or 48.5 points.
What does the over/under mean?
If you believe the game will be a high-scoring affair, you might want to make a bet on the total, currently 51 points for Super Bowl 57. That means if you bet the over, both teams combined must score at least 52 points for your bet to win. If it doesn’t, those who bet the under will win.
What is a money line?
A money line bet is one of the simplest bets you can make. You’re just picking the winner, The money line is simply the odds of a team winning the game outright, meaning you are just picking the winner of a game or event. The money line is presented as a three-digit number. For example, a money line of +100 would mean that you would make a profit of $100 if you bet $100 and were correct. Or, if you bet $10, you would win $10. A negative money line represents the amount that you would have to bet to win $100 if you were correct. For example, a -200 money line means you would have to risk $200 in order to win $100 if the bet was correct and won.
In the case of this year’s Super Bowl, the Eagles to win is -120. So, a bet on the Eagles to simply win the game, no matter how much they win by, is somewhat less profitable than using a point spread. You will have to bet $120 of your own money to win $100. (Of course you get your original $120 back as part of the $220 payout.) A money line bet on Kansas City, however, will win $100 on a $100 bet, for a total payout of $200.
What is a “prop” bet?
If this sounds like a lot to take in, there are much simpler ways to bet on the game, including some aimed at the casual fan or even someone who knows nothing at all about football. A perennial favorite is betting on the coin flip at the start of the game to determine which team can choose to get the ball first. There are only two choices: heads or tails. You can even bet on which color of Gatorade the winning coach will be doused in at the game’s conclusion. Seriously.
This is what’s called a proposition or “prop” bet. It involves betting on whether a particular event will or won’t happen during the game, and there is a vast array to choose from. They can be disarmingly simple, such as guessing which team will get the ball first, whether the first score of the game will be a touchdown or a field goal, and whether or not the game will go into overtime.
Prop bets based on a particular player’s performance are always popular during the Super Bowl. You can bet on whether Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes will pass for over or under 294.5 yards, how many catches his favorite target, tight end Travis Kelce, will have (over or under 7.5) or how many touchdown passes Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will throw.
What are “futures” bets?
If you want to bet on a future result or outcome, like how many wins a NBA or NFL team will have by the end of the season, or which team will win the World Series in 2020, there are several options to choose from offered by a sports book.
Where can I learn more about how to bet on sports?
There are several places you can find more detailed information and explanations of different bet types, understanding odds and more. DraftKings has a very comprehensive online sports betting guide that includes tutorials and gives examples of the various bets you can make. You can also drill down in those guides to find out more about moneylines, point spreads, over/under betting, and for the more advanced bettors, details about how parlay betting and teasers work.
Have a plan, and stick to it: Sports betting is supposed to be fun, but it can become a problem if you don’t set limits
Set a budget in advance of money you can afford to lose, and stick to it. Whether it’s a monthly limit, or a limit for a certain event. Look at betting on the game as a form of entertainment and not as a way to gain money that you need. If things head south, don’t make additional bets to try to win back what you’ve lost. This is one of the quickest ways gamblers dig themselves a deep hole.
Betting on the Super Bowl is supposed to be fun, and for most people, it is. But for others, compulsive gambling is a serious problem. For help, call 800-GAMBLER.
