Legal CFP Betting – How To Bet On The College Football Playoff

When it comes to betting on the College Football Playoffs, there are many legal sports betting sites available. Most sportsbooks offer futures for the winner of each bracket and the winner of the National Championship game. Along with futures, legal CFP betting sites offer game lines for every single matchup along with player and game props. However, some states do not allow locally regulated sportsbook apps to offer any game and or college player prop betting. Use this page as the ultimate guide to legal sports betting for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff.

• Use Bovada to bet on the College Football Playoff at 18+
• Sportsbooks like Bovada have no CFP player prop restrictions

Best College Football Playoff Betting Sites

Can I Legally Bet On The College Football Playoff?

College football betting is legal and fans can wager on games in each state. States do have individual regulations in regard to collegiate betting. Some states allow college betting so long as the event is not taking place in the state while other markets restrict betting on local schools altogether, even if the game is taking place in another state. Some states even go as far as banning local sportsbooks from offering odds on the college football playoff. Due to online sportsbooks like Bovada and BetOnline, betting on college football is available with no restrictions.

What CFP Betting Sites Take Players At 18?

All of our top recommended CFP betting sites accept 18-year-olds, including Bovada, BetOnline, and BetUS. Most of the locally regulated sportsbook apps like DraftKings or FanDuel have a legal sports betting age of 21+ in most states for betting on the College Football Playoff.

What States Have CFP Betting Restrictions?

First off, internationally regulated sportsbooks like Bovada have no restrictions of any kind for betting on the College Football Playoffs. At Bovada or BetOnline, bettors can wager on game lines, player props, game props, futures, and more on in or out-of-state teams.

Bet On The CFP In Your State With Bovada

 

The majority of states with legal sports betting with a locally regulated market have restrictions for betting on college football. Typically, the bans are on betting on college football player props or in-state teams. Most states allow betting on future odds for the National Championship winner and game lines for each matchup. However, you may not be able to place these wagers if you are betting on a team from the state that you reside in. Also, Oregon is a state that does not allow the local sportsbook apps to offer any college football betting of any kind.

Where Can I Bet On The College Football Playoff?

Where To Bet On Indiana Hoosiers Football

The Hoosiers are making their second straight appearance in the College Football Playoffs as the number one seed in the tournament this time. There are endless ways to bet on the CFP at Bovada and other Indiana sportsbooks in 2025, as there are few restrictions in the state. However, DraftKings and other local apps do not allow betting on live player props.

Where To Bet On Miami Hurricanes Football

The Hurricanes beat the odds and were selected for the 12-team CFP, but are not favored to make it past the first round. For those using Florida sports betting sites who want more than what Hard Rock Bet offers (no player props), Bovada and BetOnline both accept FL residents at 18 and have no restrictions for betting on Carson Beck passing yards or other player props.

How To Bet On The College Football Playoff

Many different betting odds exist on the College Football Playoffs. The most popular betting options are via moneyline, spread betting, on total points, and prop bets. Each betting style is explained below, with an explanation of how to calculate the payouts for each as well:

• How To Calculate Payouts: The most important part when betting on the CFP is understanding payouts. Payouts are calculated separately for favorites and underdogs. Favorites are indicated by the negative symbol next to their odds. That number next to the negative symbol is how much must be bet to win $100. Underdog payouts, shown by the plus symbol next to their odds, indicate the amount of money won based on a $100 bet. On any successful bet, you also get your original wagered amount back in addition to the payout.
• Moneyline: Moneyline bets on the College Football Playoff are super simple because they are just on which team will win. Payouts on moneyline bets fluctuate based on how large of a favorite or underdog a given team is. Because it is just a straight-up bet with no advantage given to the underdog, moneyline bets often offer large payouts on the underdog and weak payouts for the favorite.
• Spread Betting: Meant to create even odds for both teams, spread betting is a great way to bet on favorites and underdogs. Just like when calculating payouts, the negative sign indicates the favorite, and the plus symbol signals the underdog. For a bet on the favorite to be a success, the favorite must win by at least the given number. If they lose or win by less than that number they fail to cover the spread. The underdog covers the spread if they lose by less than the given number, or if they just win outright.
• Total Points: The most popular bet for College Football Playoff bettors without a preferred winner is on the total points. To bet on total points the bettor must select “Over” or “Under” the predetermined total. The odds on both over and under typically come with -110 odds (i.e. bet $110 to win $100), but fluctuate based on the amount bet on each side. Total points bets are most commonly made on the combined total of each team, but they can also be found as prop bets for each team individually.
• Prop Bets: There is almost no limit to what a prop bet can be on the College Football Playoff. Prop bets can range from bets on the number of catches by a given receiver, tackles by a defensive player, or even on the total number of field goals made. The most popular College Football Prop bet is on the color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coaches!

The Futures Bet

Betting on futures is the way most people will interact with wagering on the CFP, as it will be solely futures odds for most of the season. Legal College Football Playoff betting sites accept future wagers throughout the entire year, as they are posted almost immediately after the previous year’s College Football Playoff concludes.

What Teams Have Odds To Win The CFP?

The NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision – commonly known as the FBS – features 125 teams, and usually about 50 of them will have odds, no matter how long, to win the College Football Playoff. These odds will change over time, with wins and losses affecting chances to make it to, or win, the Playoff.

How To Bet On College Football Playoff Futures

Betting on a team to win the College Football Playoff is simple – you simply choose the team, and if their current odds are acceptable to you, you place the bet. Some prefer to time the market, while others like to get their bets in before the season starts. Note that when you bet on the College Football Playoff, you do not get paid out until the event itself happens – even if that is months away.

The Spread Bet

The spread bet is the most popular College Football bet type, and that goes double for a huge event like the CFP. Spread bets use handicapping to balance action on both sides of a given wager, and the moneyline – or bet cost – is typically the same on either side of said wager (usually set at -110). With spread betting, the presumed favorite will “give” points to the presumed underdog. A favorite then has to win by a given number of points to pay out, while the underdog can lose by a given number of points and still win the wager.

• – Oklahoma Sooners -3.5 (-110) vs. Georgia Bulldogs +3.5 (-110)

In this matchup, the Sooners are favored by 3.5 points. This means that if you wager on OU, they’ve got to beat Georgia by at least 4 points to win the bet. Meanwhile, the Dawgs can win outright or lose by up to a field goal and still win the wager. Sportsbooks usually use half-point increments on these kinds of bets in order to avoid “push” results, where all action on a particular wager would be refunded.

The Over/Under

The over/under is the third-most-popular CFP bet type. Over/under bets, also called totals bets, are not concerned with winners and losers, instead only focusing on the total combined points scored between both teams in a given matchup. Before the game, your book will assign the game an over/under number, and you simply place a wager on whether you think the two teams will combine to score more or fewer points than said number.

• – Notre Dame vs. Ohio State O/U 48.5 (-110)

Here, the over/under (or O/U) number is set to 48.5 points, and the odds are posted at -110 on either side of the wager. If you pick the “over” and the final score is 27-23, that adds up to 50 points, so you’d win the bet. However, if you picked the “over” and the final score is 27-13, that adds up to 40 points, and you’d lose the wager.

Legal Deposit Methods For CFP Betting

Depending on the chosen book, the accepted sports betting deposit methods vary for US players. Between credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and bank/wire transfers, there are quick and secure legal deposit options for all players. The limits for the top deposit methods at Bovada Sportsbook can be found below:

Cryptocurrency Deposits

• Bitcoin – $10 min and no maximum for deposits / no fees.
• Ethereum – $50 min and no max for deposits / no fees.
• Litecoin – $10 min and no maximum for deposits / no fees.

Other Legal Deposit Methods For CFB Sportsbooks

• Visa/Mastercard – $20 min and $1,500 max with a fee of 15.9%/ deposit.
• Player Transfer – $10 min and $15,000 max for deposits / fees vary.
• MatchPay – $20 min and $1,000 max for deposits / no fees.
• Voucher – $10 min and $3,000 max for deposits / no fees.

How Do I Choose The Best CFP Sportsbook Bonus?

Nearly every online College Football Playoff sportsbook offers a bonus worthy of a National Championship, but they vary depending championship-worthiness depending on the player. The best sportsbook bonuses for different CFP bettors are determined by looking at the maximum bonus percentage, the amount of time the bonus must be bet through (i.e. rollover), and the minimum deposit amount. The best bonuses for the two most frequent styles of CFB playoff bettors are:

• Short-Term Bettors: For CFB bettors looking to make the fewest possible bets before withdrawing is Bovada with their industry-low five-time rollover. That rollover makes it much easier for bettors to withdraw because there is less risk involved when not having to bet through their entire bankroll multiple times. Bovada is the most commonly used sportsbook for high-rollers as well due to their low rollover of 5X for both cryptocurrency and non-crypto currency deposits.
  
• Long-Term Bettors: BetOnline is the sportsbook to use for CFB bettors who plan to stay for a while. They offer the largest bonuses in the industry, albeit with higher rollovers that are irrelevant for those planning to stay long term. Their cryptocurrency bonus for first-time depositors is a 100% match up to $1,000 with a 14X rollover.

 

Best CFP Betting Welcome Bonuses

• Bovada Crypto – $750 max bonus/75% deposit match/5x rollover
• Bovada Non-Crypto – $250 max bonus/25% deposit match/5x rollover
• BetOnline Crypto – $1,000 max bonus/100% deposit match/14x rollover
• BetOnline Non-Crypto – $1,000 max bonus/50% deposit match/10x rollover
• MyBookie – $1,000 max bonus, 50% deposit match, 10x rollover

Do Legal CFP Betting Sites Have Fees On Withdrawals?

There are fees for some withdrawal methods but it depends on the legal sportsbook that is being used to wager with. If using internationally licensed books like Bovada, some of the fastest sportsbook payouts are on the table with no fees. These methods consist of the many different types of cryptocurrencies on the market with Bitcoin sportsbooks being the most prominent. If betting with state-regulated sportsbooks, there are no fees for bank transfer payouts but cryptocurrency is not an option.

• Bovada – No fees with crypto, MatchPay (P2P)/no fees every 90 days for Check by Courier and Bank Wire payouts
• BetOnline – No fees with crypto, P2P/$45 flat or 3% fee with Wire Transfer, $80 fee for Money Order payout
• MyBookie – No fees with crypto/no fees with Bank Transfer payouts under $300 and $10 covered on fees over $300
• DraftKings – No fees with online banking or PayPal payouts/crypto is not offered
• FanDuel – No fees with Bank Transfers, PayPal, or checks/crypto is not offered

Historic Odds For The Winner Of The CFP

The College Football Playoff has been in place since the 2014 season which saw Ohio State crowned National Champions. The CFP is now through eight seasons, teaching college football bettors some valuable lessons. Going through the eventual winner’s odds prior to the season, conference championship, Semi-Finals, and National Championship game creates an outline of what past winners have looked like at different benchmarks in the season.

Season	Team	Preseason Odds	Semi-Finals	National Championship
2024	Ohio State	+800	+450	-135
2023	Michigan	+800	+190	-185
2022	Georgia	+350	+120	-140
2021	Georgia	+600	+135	-145
2020	Alabama	+300	-200	-320
2019	LSU	+2500	+140	-185
2018	Clemson	+400	+250	+170
2017	Alabama	+250	+150	-170
2016	Clemson	+700	+800	+180
2015	Alabama	+700	+100	-260
2014	Ohio State	+4000	+600	+175

Other Ways To Legally Bet On The College Football Playoff

In addition to all of the above, big games like those that make up the College Football Playoff will typically have lots of other bets you can place. There will be game specials, like how long the national anthem will run or what color outfit the halftime performer will wear. You can also assemble multiple individual wagers into parlay bets, where all legs have to win in order for your ticket to pay out. Most sportsbooks will allow you to stack all kinds of different CFP bets into parlays, with straights, spreads, totals, props, and specials all on the same ticket. Parlay bets are harder to win, but they pay out at much higher rates than their constituent bets.

All that said, the most common type of CFP wager that doesn’t fall under the above categories is the futures bet. These bets will typically be available year-round, often posted a full year in advance of the CFP. Futures bets are basically long-term props. The most common NCAAF futures wagers are on which team will win the championship game and which player will take home the Heisman Trophy.

Mobile Betting On The College Football Playoff

Residents of every US state have access to mobile sports betting, with all different betting types available to bet on College Football Playoffs. While the state-based mobile betting platforms have official iPhone and Android apps, the offshore books actually make use of mobile web-app experiences to bring you all their odds and lines. These app-like interfaces require no downloads, are always automatically updated on the backend, and take bets in all 50 states with no wait. To access any offshore book’s mobile betting portal, simply visit the site of your choice via your smartphone’s or tablet’s web browser, and you’ll automatically be redirected to a small-screen optimized mobile sportsbook interface. From there, you can tap and swipe your way to big College Football Playoff winnings!

• iPhone
• Android
• Google Pixel
• Samsung Galaxy
• iPad
• LG Wing

College Football Playoff Live Betting

Legal CFP betting sites that allow live betting have become extremely popular in the last few years. Whereas traditional sports betting requires you to have all your bets turned in and finalized before a given game gets underway, live sports betting allows you to wager on lines all game long. All of the major offshore sportsbook operators accept live bets, and almost all land-based sportsbooks do, as well. When live betting, all the typical wager types (straights, spreads, totals, props) will be offered, and these will dynamically adjust as the game is being played, in real-time! Live betting adds hundreds of lucrative and exciting betting opportunities to every game, and there’s no more immersive way to bet on the College Football Playoff than to do so via live betting.