Official betting is a form of gambling that takes place only at licensed sportsbooks. It can be conducted in person or online and offers a variety of wagers on the outcome of games, including point spreads, over/unders, moneyline bets and totalizators. The odds on winning bets fluctuate in real-time according to the amount of money being placed on each outcome and the bookmakers’ return rate.

When you make a bet on an NFL game, you can choose the winner of the game or prop bets that focus on how teams will score and in what order. You can also bet on player prop bets, which are based on individual players’ performance. The most popular bets are on the first team to score a touchdown, and you can also place a bet on whether a particular player will score a field goal or safety.

New Jersey was among the first states to legalize sports betting after the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018. The state’s retail and online sportsbooks opened for business in November, and BetRivers and SugarHouse were the first online sportsbooks to launch.

The NFL is beefing up its anti-gambling efforts by dedicating security staff and partnering with integrity firms to monitor the betting market. Those measures will allow the league to see more of the bets being placed, where they’re being made and who is placing them. The NFL has also boosted its in-house technology and is training its own integrity team to crack down on offending players and coaches.