Best Betting Apps for 2024

Author: Taylor Smith | Last Updated: March 2024

Sports betting is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States. After having largely operated in the dark for years, it’s finally starting to come out of the shadows.

While there are quite a few platforms now running legal operations in the US, you can still place sports bets using offshore operators as well. The following are some of the best sports betting apps in the industry today.

A number of states have legalized and started to regulate sports betting since the United States Supreme Court voted to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May of 2018. So, residents of quite a few states now have legal access to state-regulated sports betting, which is a dream come true for those that have been clamoring for legalization for years.

The prevalence of smartphone technology has made betting on mobile apps more prevalent than ever as well. Nowadays, it’s massively important for operators to offer mobile compatibility for their online sports betting platforms, especially considering the vast majority of people use their mobile devices to place their bets.

Each of the real money betting apps listed above has what you’re looking for in a mobile sports betting provider. Most importantly, they all meet our stringent safety requirements. You don’t have to worry about your personal data being compromised if you patronize any of the mobile sports betting apps in this table, as our team of experts has thoroughly reviewed them all to ensure they’re as safe and secure as possible.

Best Real Money Betting Apps

In addition to checking the boxes when it comes to safety, the 2024 sports betting apps listed above are also among the very best in the industry when it comes to their other offerings, too. So, if you’re in the market for the best apps for sports gambling that offer great bonuses, fast payouts, rapid withdrawal speeds, a bevy of banking options, competitive odds, and more, you can certainly do worse than the online sports betting apps listed above.

Best Betting Apps by Sport

The best apps for sports betting cover all sports all over the world. So, just because you’re in the United States doesn’t mean you can’t bet on sports like soccer, cricket, or rugby that are more popular internationally. The same can be said if you’re in another country and you want to wager on major American sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball or major US sports events like betting on 2024 Super Bowl. Point spreads, totals, moneylines, prop bets, and futures bets are easy to find on the best sports gambling apps, and they will also offer an array of in-game betting options if you’re wanting to bet on the action while the game is still going on!

What Makes These the Best Apps for Mobile Sports Betting?

Safety and Security

As mentioned previously, it’s hard to enjoy your online betting experience if you can’t do so with the comfort of knowing you’re safe. The internet is the Wild West when it comes to laws and regulations. Unfortunately, there are some sketchy operators out there willing to use the murkiness to their advantage by stealing your personal information.

That’s why it’s absolutely vital that you only sign up for real money betting apps that meet and exceed all industry standards for safety and security. Measures like password encryption and two-factor authentication are just a couple of the simple steps that developers can take to keep your information locked up safely. You can’t enjoy your betting endeavor if you’re worried about being hacked. If you use any of the online betting apps listed above, though, you don’t have to worry at all about your information being compromised. All the mobile sportsbook apps we recommend meet our lofty expectations for safety.

Real Money Betting Bonuses

Sportsbooks want to make it worth your while to sign up. Because there are so many real money online sports betting apps out there these days, the best ones have to try and differentiate themselves to try and stand out from the competition. One way they can accomplish that goal is by offering lucrative bonus programs to incentivize you to sign up and bet.

Bonuses vary from site to site. So, take the time to shop around in order to find the bonus offers that can help you boost your bankroll. Just about every mobile sportsbook app has a welcome bonus. That means, when you make your first deposit, the site will credit your account with extra cash that you can then use to place bets on football, basketball, soccer, or whichever sport you fancy. For example, some sites will offer a 100% bonus up to a certain dollar amount. This means that if you deposit $500, you will get an extra $500 added to your account!

Welcome bonuses are pretty standard, but the other offers may change depending on which apps for online sports gambling you download. Some online sportsbook apps offer weekly and daily bonuses for you to take advantage of. Others will credit you with a referral bonus if you get a friend to sign up and deposit, while others may offer additional bonuses on any subsequent deposits you make. Bonuses are a phenomenal way for you to inflate your betting bankroll!

Variety of Banking Options

Your options when it comes to payment will vary depending on your location. Some banks and credit card companies have policies in place to try and prevent customers from processing financial transactions with online betting sites. That means your credit card may not work if you’re trying to make a deposit. Fortunately, you’re not up a creek without a paddle if this applies to you. The best real money betting apps accept a pretty good variety of different banking options.

Most online sportsbooks accept major debit and credit cards. Gambling with Bitcoin has become incredibly popular over the past few years, as well, and many sports betting apps now accept Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency as a viable form of payment. You may also make your deposits using an e-wallet, like PayPal or Neteller. You’ve never had more options when it comes to making deposits or withdrawals with your mobile sports betting provider than you do right now.

Best Sports Betting Odds and Lines

Line shopping is an important skill for any good sports bettor. Not every sports betting site is going to see every game the same way, for example, so it is usually worth your while to look from site to site to try and find an edge. The best sports betting apps online offer comprehensive coverage of every sport and provide a variety of different ways to attack every game. Some sites even offer alternative betting lines to try and keep things interesting.

Betting odds are created based on multiple different factors, including:

• Betting trends
• Team strengths and weaknesses
• Current promotions

Betting apps will take betting trends into consideration, which will cause the betting odds to shift as more bettors place their wagers. If the majority of bettors are betting on one team, then the sportsbook will adjust the odds for the other team to help balance out the bets. This helps ensure they do not lose a massive amount of money on any one game.

It’s good to have options, and there are multiple ways to bet on a single game. The top mobile betting apps know this, which is why they make a point to expand their offerings with a wide variety of coverage and competitive odds.

Variety of Betting Options

If you’re going to choose a sports betting app that fits your needs, you need to make sure they have a variety of betting options available.

Understanding payouts and how betting odds work. Sports betting is easy, so long as you know the amount you are going to bet. In general, you will likely only come across one of the two types of betting odds when using betting apps:

• American Odds
• Decimal Odds

American Odds

American odds are the most common that you will come across when using football gambling apps. These odds represent your return based on a $100 wager. The easiest way to remember payouts is to refer to what we said above.

Positive betting odds represent the amount of money you would win from a $100 bet, while negative betting odds represent the amount of money you would need to wager in order to earn $100.

Decimal Odds

Although less common, many bettors prefer decimal odds because they are a bit easier to convert than American odds. Decimal odds will be presented as positive decimal numbers rather than positive or negative. They represent winnings based on a $1 bet.

For example, let’s use the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans as an example. The decimal odds would look like this:

Remove a value of one to determine the profit you would earn for each dollar wagered. The Browns offer a payout of 83 cents per dollar bet, while the Texans offer a profit of $1.70 per dollar bet.

Live Betting

One of the features that we love to see available to users on mobile devices is live betting. Some people may argue that it’s easier to be at a computer to place live bets, but that ultimately depends on the user.

Live betting is all about flexibility, so bettors should be able to adjust their wagers on the fly based on the action.

If you are more comfortable using your phone, it can be just as easy an experience using your phone as long as you have the proper Android betting apps to use!

Moneyline, Spread, and Totals

These are some of the most basic bets you can make at almost every sports betting app. If a betting app doesn’t have these options, run for the hills! It’s probably not a legitimate betting resource.

Moneyline Bets

With the moneyline, you’re simply picking the winner of the game. Unlike the point spread, the moneyline isn’t designed to try and level the playing field. Betting on the underdog will give you more upside considering that team will face longer odds, but they also have substantially lower chances of actually winning.

Point Spread

One way for oddsmakers to level the playing field is by slapping every game with a point spread. Not every team is evenly-matched from a talent perspective, which is why you’ll see a point spread on every matchup.

The point spread is designed to make it more appealing to wager on the underdog. For example, Team A may be listed as a 7-point favorite over Team B. If you’re betting on Team B to cover the spread, they either have to lose the game by fewer than 7 points or win the game outright. If you’re betting on Team A to cover the spread, they have to win the game by at least 8 points.

Both sides of the spread will usually come with similar odds, most commonly -110 at mobile sportsbooks.

Props and Specials

Another option that you will see at most betting sites and real money sports betting apps alike will be props and specials. Props stands for proposition bets, and they are bet types that fall into the entertainment category.

These types of bets are based on what might happen or could happen in a game that has already started, not something that will happen before the game is played.

One common prop bet is which team will score first. This can be done with both moneyline and spread betting types. But most people tend to use them with point spreads because it is easier for beginner bettors to understand how they work. Another common prop bet is betting on the weather forecast for the game.

Baseball Runline Bets

The runline is essentially baseball’s version of the point spread. You will almost always see a baseball runline of 1.5. This is the best way for oddsmakers to try and even the playing field between a couple of teams that may not be on the same level in terms of talent. If you bet on the favorite, that team has to win by at least two runs in order for your wager to cash. If you bet on the underdog at +1.5, that team either has to win the game or lose by no more than one run. All the top real money baseball betting apps offer runline odds.

Over/Under Odds or Totals

Over/under betting also known as totals, is another option provided by most basketball betting apps. This one works a little differently than moneyline betting. Rather than betting on a team winning, this is a wager on whether or not a certain number of points are scored over the course of a game.

Futures Bets

Futures odds are odds on a team’s long-term potential. Before a season starts, online sportsbooks will give betting odds to win that year’s World Series or Superbowl, for example. These odds fluctuate as the season progresses, so there is usually better value to be had at the start of the year.

Parlays

A parlay is a combination of different bets that you put together into one larger bet. The more bets you have in your parlay, the greater the potential payout is if all of them win.

Parlays are great because they can increase your chances of winning by providing the opportunity for you to potentially hit on multiple longshots (teams with low odds) instead of betting on just 1 or 2 high odds teams and getting an even bigger return on those bets if only one wins.

However, it also means that you need to get more than one bet right to make any money at all versus betting everything on single bets and coming away with nothing. It’s definitely a riskier approach, but it’s one that pays out well if you manage to get all your bets correct.

Teasers

Teasers are another popular betting type that is similar to parlays in the sense that they are best used with point spreads instead of moneylines. The difference between parlays and teasers is that it doesn’t include multiple bets, just one bet with altered lines or odds.

A teaser works exactly like a parlay, except you don’t need to win every bet for your moneyline to win (you simply need more points at the end of the game compared to your opponent).

Another added benefit of using teasers is their low vigorish (vig) odds, meaning soccer betting apps do not take as much profit from them because they know bettors will be putting their money on these types of bets anyways.

User-Friendly Mobile Interface

The last thing you want to do is to try and navigate a betting app that looks like it was developed in the 1990s. Technology has advanced to the point where you can do everything on your mobile device, so why should betting on sports be any different? The best online sports betting apps in the industry today use state-of-the-art software that keeps the app looking clean. You shouldn’t have to bust your brain to try and navigate your way through the app. The mobile betting process is supposed to be simple, so don’t overlook ease of use when it comes to what you’re looking for out of a real money betting app.

Mobile Compatibility – iPhone and Android Betting Apps

Traditional NFL Fantasy Football Apps vs. Daily Fantasy Football Apps

Fantasy sports remains one of the most popular social sports games in the country. Millions take part in fantasy football to test their NFL knowledge against family and friends. A huge number of popular football fantasy sports apps are available right now.

For many years, daily fantasy sports was one of the only options available for those in the US to make any types of “wagers” on sports. For those unaware, DFS is an accelerated form of fantasy sports that take place over a single day. There are a huge number of popular NFL daily fantasy sports apps available around the United States, too.

There are some key differences between these apps and traditional NFL betting apps. Below is a quick description of how these two fantasy sports applications work.

Traditional Fantasy Football Apps

Fantasy football is simple. It requires participants to form a “fantasy” team of real players competing in the NFL. These participants are given points based on how their fantasy players perform over the course of a season.

Traditional fantasy NFL does not offer any real money. Social circles will often have side bets related to their fantasy sports leagues. You will not find any US fantasy football apps offering payouts, though.

Daily Fantasy Football Apps

Daily fantasy sports grew incredibly popular over the past few years. Prior to PASPA’s removal, it was one of the only ways for sports fans to earn money based on their sporting knowledge. Daily fantasy football apps work in the same way as traditional football apps, aside from the fact that winners are decided over the course of a single day.

DFS football apps can offer some great opportunities to win money. Most agree that correctly picking DFS teams is more difficult than traditional sports betting, though. As football betting grows around the country, daily fantasy football seems to become less popular.

Why You Should Use a Betting App Instead of an Online Sportsbook

Convenience

Betting online is more convenient than making your way to a land-based casino to place your bets. Let’s all thank Al Gore for inventing the internet. However, placing a sports bet on mobile sports gambling sites is even more convenient than doing so at traditional websites as well.

If you’re stuck in line at the grocery store, for example, you don’t have to drop everything and rush home before kickoff. Instead, just fire up your trusty mobile betting app and have your bet placed within a matter of seconds. There is really nothing that beats the convenience of having a real money sports betting app handy.

Line Shopping

Shopping for lines via mobile sports gambling apps is also easier than doing so on your computer. Just a few taps of your finger can take you quickly from app-to-app, and all of the betting odds you’ll see are up to the minute. If a last-minute injury to a player has shaken up the lines, the new odds will be posted as quickly as possible. Obviously, line shopping over the internet is a lot less time consuming than doing so at a land-based sportsbook, too.

Ease of Use

App developers know that customers value simplicity. We mentioned how important it is to use an app that has a clean, easily-navigable interface. Betting on a top app for sports betting is also just flat-out easier than doing so on an old school webpage. You can find the bet you want to place, enter your risk amount, and have your bet submitted within seconds with just a few taps of your thumb. If you’re betting on a mobile device, ease of use is one of the main reasons.

How to Get Started Mobile Sports Betting

1. Download Your Sports Betting App

Downloading and signing up for real money betting apps is incredibly simple. Search “sports betting,” “betting apps,” or another comparable term in your smartphone’s app store. Sift through the options before you find the app you want to download. Click “download” and your new app should start loading onto your phone or tablet right away.

2. Sign Up and Create an Account

Before you place your bets, you have to create your account. Find the “Sign Up” or “Join” tab within the app. You’ll be prompted to enter some personal data, like a username and password, in order to create your account. Remember to make your password as unique as possible as a way of keeping your account secure.

3. Make a Real Money Deposit

Next, you’re ready to fund your account! Find the “Deposit” screen and choose your preferred banking method. You can use a credit or debit card, cryptocurrency, an e-wallet, or one of the other many banking options. Enter the amount you want to put into your account as well. Some real money online betting apps have certain limits on the amount of cash you can deposit at once, but these limits tend to be pretty high.

4. Collect Your Sports Betting Bonus

Before you hit “Submit” on that first deposit, don’t forget to grab your first-time deposit bonus! Enter the promotional code attached to your welcome bonus on the deposit screen. Double-check everything to make sure you’re set to deposit the right amount, and your new balance should be reflected immediately after you complete the transaction.

5. Find Betting Lines and Place Your Bet

Now, it’s time for the fun part! The vast array of sports on which you can bet should be easily found through your app’s home screen. Take the time to sort through your options before finding the bet you want to place. Next, enter the amount of money you’re willing to risk. Remember to never risk more than you’re okay with losing when you place a bet. Once you’ve done that and submitted your bet, you’re ready to sit back, relax, and watch the cash flow in!

Betting Apps Tips to Win

Sports betting is not an exact science. It can be difficult, even for the best and most experienced sports gamblers, to find consistent success. There are several ways that bettors can increase their odds of coming out victorious, though.

Below are some tips to keep in mind when playing through different mobile betting apps.

Always Research the Bets You Plan to Make

Many are happily surprised to learn just how easy online sports betting really is. In some ways, this can be a curse. Inexperienced bettors will often make wagers on games and sports they know nothing about in hopes of winning big. Don’t make this mistake and instead put research into all of the bets you plan to make.

Avoid Making Bets on Emotion

It’s never a good idea to place bets based on emotion. This is all too common. Many make the mistake of putting money on a team or players simply because they are a fan. Instead, only make bets when your research suggests they are likely to win. This could even mean making a bet against your favorite team!

Start Out Betting Small

Those new to sports betting sometimes make the mistake of wagering large amounts of money all at once. This is usually a poor idea. Inexperienced sports gamblers should instead start out by making small wagers. As time goes on, you can begin to make larger bets.

Look for Great Underdog Opportunities

Finding great underdogs is one of the best ways to win big betting on sports online. The trick, of course, is knowing how exactly to spot these underdogs. Make sure to look for these opportunities, as they tend to be offered every single week.

Know When to Take a Break

Sports betting is extremely fun. Sometimes, however, it can end up leading to large monetary losses. Everyone should have an idea of when to take a break. If you begin to notice a large downward trend in your sports betting, make sure to take a break and reassess your betting strategies.

Real Money Betting Apps FAQ

Final Words on Sports Betting Apps

With so many people using smartphones these days, it’s an absolute must for any provider to be able to offer a comprehensive mobile sports betting experience. You can find just about everything on a mobile app that you would be able to find on a traditional website nowadays, and the offerings are as comprehensive as ever.

If you’re looking for an app that offers competitive odds, safety and security, a slew of banking options, fast payouts, and more, check out the list of high-quality online betting apps at the top of the page!