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How To Legally Bet on NCAA Basketball in the United States

The NCAAB men's division is one of the most popular sporting leagues in the nation. Although the athletes are amateurs and remain in an unpaid role, college athletes are in many respects more popular than NBA stars. Not only do people pay attention to the rankings of the Power Five conferences throughout the year, and the seeding of the big tournament in March Madness, but many focus on stats and scores and other data to help strengthen their gambling positions. If you're interested in legal basketball betting, this guide will provide you with some helpful information on the NCAAB betting, including whether or not betting on college basketball is legal in the US, what types of licensed and regulated sportsbooks provide their services to US residents, and what the NBA has to say about sports betting. Betting on colege basketball is extremely active and popular, and includes lines for the regular season, March Madness betting lines, and optoings for betting on the Final Four.

It is our objective to make sure you have all relevant information about betting on sports as a United States resident so that you can make highly informed decisions regarding your level of involvement in this type of entertainment. We intend to dispel myths about what is and is not legal for American bettors, and make sure our visitors have access to legally sanctioned sportsbooks that offer high quality betting services in a safe and secure environment.

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About Legal Betting on College Basketball

First, it's very important to find legal avenues with which to bet. Betting on college basketball is certainly widespread, and you can find literally dozens of lines and prop bets for every game played, but not every sportsbook you visit will be a legally sanctioned destination at which to bet. The best way to go here is to find a site that's outside of the US yet still allows Americans to deposit and withdrawal money. These sites, often found overseas, do not fall under the United State's gambling jurisdiction for PASPA or the Federal Wire Act or any other gambling restrictions. Thus citizens of America are completely free to bet as much as they want via offshore sites. The sportsbooks you see listed in this guide fall into this category, and are verified by our analysts to hold legal licensing and compliance certifications, and to be subject to legitimate regulatory oversight.

Don't worry about a non-US based sportsbook being short on betting options. College basketball is absolutely huge all across the globe. Europe in particular pays a great deal of attention to the NCAAB, as many teenage Europeans look to go through the American collegiate system to earn their draft into the league. It's a big part of their culture in Europe.

Is Betting on College Basketball Legal in the United States?

If you weren't able to glean the information from the previous section, then let's be more direct with it. Throughout the United States, US based sports betting is largely considered to be an illegal activity. However, the illegality of the activity is mostly kept in the bookmakers' side of the equation, not the private citizen's. That is to say, no private citizen is ever charged for laying down bets on a game, but since illegal bookmakers are heavily prosecuted, you probably wouldn't find anyone willing take your bet - at least not anyone reputable. This is why we suggest finding offshore sites with which to bet your college basketball. There are sites out there dedicated to the NCAAB, and the recommendations we offer have all been carefully reviewed and evaluated.

The NCAA's Take on Sports Betting

The NCAA doesn't quite have a figure like Adam Silver of the NBA, who is preaching the benefits of legal basketball betting, but many figureheads within the organization, and many talking heads without, seem to promote the idea of legal gambling on collegiate basketball. Of course, detractors insist that this will compromise the students, but proponents point to the fact that it doesn't happen now, yet betting is still huge. So, by extension, why would it happen with legal betting?

However, those are proponents, pundits and low-ranking officials. The NCAA itself, as holier-than-thou as it always has been, and remains staunchly against the idea of legalized gambling. They're more of a Puritan mentality on the issue, and they certainly don't want anyone interfering with their ability to profit mightily off the backs of student athletes.

There may come a time when the NCAA lightens up, but the odds are strong that they'll continue to stand in opposition to gambling, with only a few voices dissenting from the mainstream thought.

Helpful Online Resources for College Basketball Fans

Official NCAAB Website