There are many different ways of betting and the growing popularity of online betting makes it easier than ever to use them. You might have seen the term prop bet used but what does it mean and how can you place this sort of wager?

The Basic Definition

Most sports bets are based on the outcome of the event. Which team will win or what the winning margin will be, for example? However, prop bets are different because they’re entirely unrelated to the result. Instead, you’re betting on a specific set of circumstances happening at any point.

To avoid confusion, prop bet is the name commonly used in the US and Canda. Most people associate it with American football in the NFL and the lesser-known CFL. The Super Bowl is the biggest day of the year for prop bets, with many people across the country choosing this day to make their only wagers of the year on this huge event. 

It’s a significant part of the appeal of the Super Bowl, as even someone who doesn’t really follow the sport can easily place a fun prop bet or two. It’s considered a light-hearted kind of wager that doesn’t require a lot of research. Yet, someone who follows the sport closely might see that they also offer the opportunity to put their knowledge to good use.

In the UK and other parts of the world, prop bets would generally just be considered different betting markets given as part of the match odds. If you’ve never thought of prop bets before now - or never even come across the term - you might very well have already placed some of these wagers without realising it.

Examples of Prop Bets in the NFL

Since these bets are so closely linked to the NFL, it makes sense to look at some prop bets in American football. This look at NFL prop bets for Canadian bettors explains that these wagers can be classed as player props, team props, or game props. They can include bets like the total number of passing yards achieved by a team or the number of touchdowns scored by a certain player.

While the Super Bowl is the day when prop bets rain down most heavily on betting sites across North America, every NFL game has a big selection of these special wagers. They’re easy to find alongside the rest of the match odds. 

How to Get Started?

Fans love prop bets but if you know nothing about this sport, the options for gambling carrying yards, passing yards, and receiving yards can seem daunting at first. Yet, the truth is that a lot of casual bettors love the simplicity they offer.

The first step is to click on the game you’re interested in. If you’re not a big NFL fan, you might want to keep things simple by looking for players you know and terms  - like touchdown - that you’re familiar with. If you’re a bit of a gridiron expert then you can delve more deeply and look for specific odds that look like they offer good value. 

How Does This Relate to Football Bets?

If we take off our NFL hat for a moment, we can see that we just need to change a few terms to find out what the equivalent bets are in football (of the soccer variety). Instead of betting on Patrick Mahomes scoring a touchdown or the Buffalo Bills racking up 200+ passing yards, what are some similar bets?

Lionel Messi to score a goal in the game would be a prop bet. Erling Haaland to get a yellow card or Manchester City to get 5+ corners in a game would all be prop bets. This perhaps makes it clearer that these are just side bets on different markets. In the NFL, prop bets are also used to add some fun. So, you can bet on the colour of the Gatorade that is poured over the winning team in the traditional celebration at the end of the Super Bowl game. 

You can also bet on amusing or unusual things that might take place during the national anthem or the halftime show. This most closely relates to special bets in other parts of the world and they’re popular with bettors looking to add something different to their viewing experience.

Prop Bets: Nothing to Fear After All

As we can see, prop bets aren’t something from another world that has to be feared or avoided. It’s a kind of sports bet that can be ideal for someone who gambles just once or twice a year but it also offers possibilities for an expert sports fan who plans to use a lot of data and experience to place extremely specific wagers.