If you live in California and are looking to bet on college football online then you are in the right place. On this page I will recommend our top rated betting site for California residents, look at the progress of regulated sports betting in the state, provide examples of the three most popular college football bets, and finish with a straight forward 3 step guide you can follow to place your NCAA football bets online right away.
Best Betting Site For California Residents
Bovada.lv is our recommended betting site for California bettors interested in wagering on NCAA Football games. Bovada has served the US market since 2012 and they proven themselves as a trusted and secure betting site that is popular across the United States, including California.
College Football Betting in California
At this time it is not legal to operate a sportsbook in the state of California. This doesn’t look like it will change in the near future after two ballot measures relating to the legalization of sports betting failed by significant margins in the November 2022 midterms. The issue could appear on the ballot once again during the 2026 midterm elections.
Currently the best option for California residents is to bet through offshore betting sites that are licensed and regulated outside of the USA. Bovada.lv falls into this category as a sportsbook that is licensed and regulated in Antigua, while accepting American players.
Popular College Football Bets
There are three betting options that take the majority of betting action for each college football game. These are the point spread, money line and total.
Below I will explain each of these three betting options using a week 1 game from this season between California and Oregon State.
Point Spread
The point spread is the most popular college football betting type. The spread is especially important for college football games because the teams can be of significantly different quality. The spread is able to even out the teams from a betting perspective.
The favored team must win by more points than the spread amount to “cover the spread”, while the underdog must either win the game outright or lose by fewer points than the spread to “beat the spread”.
In this example Eastern Michigan is a 2.5 point favorite (-2.5). Eastern Michigan must win the game by 3 or more points for a spread bet on Eastern Michigan to win. San Jose State are 2.5 point underdogs (+2.5). The San Jose State Spartans must either win the game outright or lose by 2 or fewer points to beat the spread.
To Win (Money Line)
You can also simply wager on which team will win the game outright. The risk vs reward of the bet on either team is determined by their money line odds. A bet on the favorite will win less money than the wager and a bet on the underdog will typically win more money than the wager amount.
In this example Eastern Michigan are -140 favorites, which means you would have to risk $140 to win $100 betting on Eastern Michigan. San Jose State are +120 underdogs, so a $100 bet on San Jose State would win $120 if they pulled off the upset.
Total (Over/Under)
Betting on the total is the third most popular bet on college football games. The oddsmaker will set a total and you can bet on whether the number of points scored by both teams in the game will be over or under the total.
In this example the total is set at 56 points. Over bets will win if 57 or more points are scored in the game, while under bets would win if 45 or fewer points are scored. If exactly 56 points are scored the over/under bets would push.
How To Bet On College Football in California – 3 Step Guide
Follow this three step tutorial to bet on college football games online from anywhere in California.
Step 1. Open A Bovada.lv Account
Click the above link, click ‘Join Now’ on the landing page and fill out the sign up form to create an account.
Step 2. Deposit
Log into your Bovada account and click the ‘Deposit’ link under your accounts drop down menu. Choose your preferred deposit method (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Bitcoin, Ethereum), enter the deposit amount, and follow the instructions to fund your account.
You can withdraw your winnings via bitcoin, bank transfer or check through the mail.
Step 3. Bet On NCAA Football
Click ‘Sports’ from the top menu bar, select ‘Football’ from the sports menu, and select ‘College Football’ from the ‘Football A-Z’ menu.
Select the bet that you want to make, enter your Stake amount on the Bet Slip, and click ‘Place Bets’ to make your wagers.
Here’s a screenshot showing the clicks after you’re on the ‘Sports’ page:
Are you ready to bet? Click here to visit Bovada.lv.
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