NBA Betting Odds in Colorado

With 20 online sportsbooks from which to choose, hoops fans have tons of options when looking for NBA betting odds in Colorado. The recent success of the Denver Nuggets has helped attract bettors to NBA action as well in Colorado. Read on for a full rundown on how to get started betting on the NBA at Colorado sportsbooks including all the latest NBA odds, a how-to guide for getting an account, and NBA betting tips and recommendations.

Today’s NBA lines at Colorado sportsbooks

Throughout the NBA season, you can look below for the latest live NBA lines at top Colorado online sportsbooks. Click on any odds directly to go straight to the sportsbook, claim your bonus and lock in your bet. See the second tab for current NBA futures odds on the Nuggets or any other NBA team to win the NBA Finals. Use the drop-down menu to see more NBA futures markets including NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or Eastern/Western Conference winner.

How to open a new sportsbook account in Colorado

Whether you use the full online sportsbook or an app downloaded to your phone, there are three things you must do to bet on the NBA season. You need to:

  • Sign up for an account
  • Deposit money in that account
  • Pick your favorite NBA bets

DraftKings Sportsbook appThis holds true for NBA futures bets or any individual NBA game bets throughout the season.

1. Sign up

You must first sign up for an account with a licensed Colorado sportsbook before you can bet on the NBA.

Click any links on this page for the sportsbook of your choice. The sign-up or registration tab should be among the first things you see. Click it and fill in the blanks with any required personal and account information, including your:

  • Name
  • Birthday
  • Email
  • Phone
  • Last four digits of your Social Security Number
  • Username
  • Password

If there’s a space for a promo code or bonus code, find the code here on this website, and plug it in. That will ensure you get the best bonus on the market for that sportsbook.

Finally, accept the terms and conditions and submit your application to complete the sign-up process. If you prefer betting from your phone, you can then download either the iPhone betting app or Android betting app directly from the sportsbook.

2. Make a deposit

Next, you must deposit money into your sportsbook account to use to make NBA bets. Log in through the website or app. The cashier tab should be among the first things you see.

Choose whatever method of deposit works for you, enter the amount you want to deposit, and follow the prompts. Methods of deposit include debit and credit cards, online banking, third-party payment processors, and cash at various retail locations.

Finally, confirm the transaction, and the deposit should be available within seconds.

3. Decide what you want to bet on

The last step involves browsing through the NBA betting markets and deciding what you want to bet on. Log in through the website or app. Browse through the NBA markets under the basketball or NBA tab. Click on a bet you like and a bet slip will be instantly created.

Enter the amount you want to bet, check the potential payout, and click again if you want to lock in those odds and confirm the bet. You can also add more single bets to the slip and turn multiple bets into a parlay if you like.

NBA live betting and apps in Colorado

Perhaps the most exciting thing Colorado online sportsbooks offer is live betting on Nuggets games and the rest of the NBA. Simply put, this is placing bets in the middle of an NBA game at odds that change with the action on the court.

That means it happens fast, making it perfectly suited for betting apps. As long as you’re in the state of Colorado, that means you can bet from anywhere — even from your seat inside Ball Arena at a Nuggets home game.

You’ve got to get your bets down fast before the odds change, but live NBA betting offers you the opportunity to hedge bets, double down or increase your action as much as you like.

Live NBA betting also opens up a number of NBA betting markets. That means quarter and half betting and player props with lines that change with almost every basket.

How to read NBA betting lines

The NBA lines you’ll find posted at Colorado sportsbooks cover the three main bet types: point spreads, moneylines and totals. Here’s what you might find when checking out Denver Nuggets odds for an upcoming game:

  • Memphis Grizzlies      +3.5 (-110)                  +155                O 203.5 (-110)
  • Denver Nuggets          -3.5 (-110)                   -175                 U 203.5 (-110)

The first number is the spread with the odds in parentheses.

Here, the Nuggets are 3.5-point favorites over the Grizzlies. That means the Nuggets have to win by four or more for point spread bets on Denver to win. Nuggets bettors will win $100, plus their bet back, for every $110 they bet.

It also means the Grizzlies have to win, or lose by fewer than three, for spread bets on the Grizzlies to win. Grizzlies bettors will also win $100, plus their bet back, for every $110 they bet.

Next are the moneyline odds. Here, the Nuggets are -175 favorites and the Grizzlies are +155 underdogs. That means if the Nuggets win the game, straight up, moneyline bets on the Nuggets will pay $100, plus the bet back, for every $175 bet.

It also means moneyline bets on the Grizzlies will pay $155, plus the bet back, for every $100 bet if the Grizzlies win.

The last number for both teams is the totals line with the odds in parentheses. You bet that the total score will be over or under 203.5 points. If you’re right, you get paid $100, plus your bet back, for every $110 you bet.

Vegas NBA odds vs. local NBA odds

For the most part, Nuggets odds will open at the same lines at online sportsbooks in Colorado as they do at sportsbooks in Las Vegas.

That said, they may end up slightly different by tipoff. Sportsbooks set lines to draw an equal amount of betting action to both sides. If more money comes in on one side, they’ll move the line.

There’s more interest in the Nuggets locally, which means more money is bet on Nuggets games and the lines at Colorado sportsbooks are subject to change more than they are in Vegas, potentially making them different at tipoff.

What other NBA bets can you make?

NBA betting is more than just game lines like spreads, moneylines and totals. There are NBA prop markets where you can bet on games within the game. These include wagers on whether a player or team can reach a statistical milestone in the game, allowing you to bet on scoring, rebounding or assist totals, for example.

NBA futures are more than just betting on the NBA Finals, as well. The other NBA futures markets available in Colorado may include:

  • Conference and division winners
  • Team win totals
  • Team to make the NBA playoffs
  • Player awards like MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player
  • Draft selections
  • Lottery placement
  • Free agent signings

Use the drop-down menu in the odds board above to see the various NBA futures markets offered in Colorado.

NBA Finals betting in Colorado

The NBA regular season is great, and the playoffs even better, but things really heat up in the NBA Finals. The final two teams in the playoffs square off with an NBA title on the line, and you can get in on the betting action in all kinds of ways.

Basketball Court

You can bet on who wins the best-of-seven series, the winner of each game, who will win the NBA Finals MVP award, etc. The NBA futures market morphs into the NBA Finals market, where you can bet on which of the two teams you think will win it all at odds that change with each game.

You can also increase your potential payout on series bets by getting specific with the number of games you think one side will win by and in which game they will claim the title.

Game-by-game betting allows you to focus on the action on the court every other night, with more specific game betting opportunities than any other time. Of course, there’s also live betting for every NBA Finals game and even more prop markets surrounding the players and teams in the championship series.

Colorado sportsbooks are also bound to run all kinds of odds boosts and promos surrounding the NBA Finals. The marketing and promotion departments always step it up around big events on the sports calendar, and this is one of the biggest.

NBA bets for beginners

If you’re new to NBA betting, it’s a good idea to stick to the basics, and it doesn’t get any more basic than moneyline betting. You simply pick the Nuggets or any other team to win a game and lock in the bet at the currently posted moneyline odds.

You bet the favorite at negative moneyline odds, which show you how much you have to bet to win $100 plus your bet back. You bet the underdog at positive moneyline odds, which show you how much you can win, plus your bet back, for every $100 you bet.

Basically, if the line is Nuggets -110, you’ll earn a total of $210 on a $110 bet if the Nuggets win the game. If it’s Nuggets +110, you’ll earn a total of $210 on a $100 bet if the Nuggets win. All they have to do is win, and you’ll get paid at the odds as they were when you placed the bet.

Another popular bet for beginners is to put together a moneyline parlay involving the other NBA games on a single night’s schedule. Just pick winners and combine the bets into one to make it a parlay. The parlay will pay better than the bets would separately.

The catch, of course, is you’ve got to win them all so parlays are decidedly more difficult the more games you add. Traditional moneyline parlays are very tough to win, but they’re easy to put together and one way new NBA bettors typically get involved in the action.

Best sportsbooks & bars to watch the NBA in Colorado

One of the best things about online and mobile sports betting coming to Colorado is you can bet on the NBA from anywhere inside the state as long as you’ve got access to the internet (and have a verified betting account).

That includes this list of Colorado bars in the NBA.com Nuggets Bar Network, where fans know they’ll always find Mile High Basketball on the big screen:

  • Blake Street Tavern: 2301 Blake St., Denver
  • Viewhouse Ballpark: 2015 Market St., Denver
  • Viewhouse Centennial: 7101 S. Clinton St., Centennial
  • Viewhouse Littleton: 2680 Main St., Littleton
  • Viewhouse Colorado Springs: 7114 Campus Drive, Colorado Springs
  • The Cherry Cricket Ballpark: 2220 Blake St., Denver
  • Stoney’s Uptown Joint: 1035 E 17th Ave., Denver
  • Stoney’s Bar and Grill: 1111 Lincoln St., Denver
  • The Celtic: 1400 Market St., Denver
  • Rhein Haus: 1415 Market St., Denver

Retail sportsbooks in Colorado for NBA betting

While online sportsbooks represent the easiest and most convenient way to bet on the NBA in Colorado, there are also licensed retail sportsbooks that take NBA bets. These are all at casinos in the towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek, and more are opening all the time.

The list of currently open and operating licensed retail sportsbooks in the state of Colorado includes:

  • Ameristar (Barstool): 111 Richman St., Black Hawk
  • Bronco Billy’s Casino (BetAmerica): 233 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek
  • Colorado Grande (ISI): 300 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek
  • Golden Mardi Gras Casino (DraftKings): 300 Main St., Black Hawk
  • Isle of Capri Casino (Caesars): 401 Main St., Black Hawk
  • Johnny Nolon’s (ISI): 301 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek
  • Lady Luck Casino (Caesars): 340 Main St., Black Hawk
  • Monarch Casino (BetMonarch): 488 Main St., Black Hawk
  • Red Dolly Casino (Elite Sportsbook): 530 Gregory St., Black Hawk
  • Sasquatch Casino (Sasquatch): 125 Gregory St., Black Hawk
  • Saratoga Casino (Betfred): 101 Main St., Black Hawk
  • Wild Card Casino (Wild Card): 120 Main St., Black Hawk
  • Wildwood Casino (BetWildwood): 119 N. Fifth St., Cripple Creek

Colorado NBA betting rules and regulations

Colorado voters passed Proposition DD in November 2019, making sports betting legal across the state. Legal and regulated sports betting launched on May 1, 2020, with the first Colorado online and retail sportsbooks inside licensed Colorado casinos taking bets.

You can now bet on the Denver Nuggets, the NBA and a variety of other sports, teams and athletes in Colorado. So long as you’re 21 or older and placing the bets at a licensed retail sportsbook inside a licensed Colorado casino or through a licensed Colorado online sportsbook or app while you’re inside state lines.

There are currently 16 licensed Colorado online sports betting apps and 13 retail books, but more are certainly coming. In fact, the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission has already approved 31 sports betting licenses across the state.

There are no notable restrictions when it comes to NBA betting specifically in Colorado.

Why stick to legal sportsbooks for NBA betting?

The greatest benefit government regulation brings to sports betting is somewhere to turn to if things go wrong. The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission regulates sports betting across the state and offers you a government body to turn to if you have a problem with a Colorado sportsbook.

Illegal offshore sportsbooks can’t do the same, and you’re taking a big risk if you bet with one of them.

Legal and regulated Colorado sportsbooks, both online and retail operators, offer competitive lines, great bonuses and promotions, and real consumer protection backed by the state itself, making them your best bet.

NBA Betting FAQ for 2021:

NBA betting systems that guarantee profits and the people who try to sell them to you cannot be trusted. Do your homework, develop your own NBA betting strategy based on that research, and you’ll find a much easier path to profitability.

If you must use some kind of system, try a bet sizing system that uses simple math you can follow. You can find these all over the internet for free, and while they won’t help you pick winners, they might help you turn a profit with just a few good picks.

The real red flag for that NBA betting system you saw for sale on the internet is that its author makes more money selling the system than he or she does betting with it. Unless it’s got receipts, bet slips and complete records proving its success, the system is a scam.

Both pregame and live NBA betting can be fun.

Pregame betting gives you some time to refine your strategy. Live betting happens so fast, it’s a reactive pursuit. Plus, live NBA betting offers you the opportunity to hedge your bets, increase your pregame action and possibly make up for pregame betting mistakes. Either way, both can enhance the game watching experience.

When it comes to pregame betting, most of the time you’re going to want to wait until it’s close to tipoff before you bet. That way, you know all the lineup info before you bet.

Live NBA betting can be done at any time throughout the game, but late in quarters and halves is when you might find you’re able to make the best guesses as to what is bound to happen next.

Then there’s the NBA futures markets, where the earlier you can get a bet down, the better the odds usually are. Once a team plays well enough to be considered a favorite, the price might be too high.

There’s no real secret to how to become a winning NBA bettor. Do a lot of research, look for value bets where you figure the payout is at least equal to or better than the true odds of the bet winning, and avoid bets where it isn’t.

Also, pay attention to trends and team tendencies, as the NBA is as predictable as its stats.

If you had a surefire way to pick NBA winners, would you bet your picks, or try to sell them over the internet? If it’s the former, then you should know that buying NBA betting picks is probably a bad idea.

There’s no substitute for good research. Plus, if you pay for picks, that’s additional money out of your budget that you’d need to win back betting to break even.