For many years, American football seemed as confusing to Britons as its own national sport, cricket, to most people in the US. Talk of touchdowns, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and passing yards was likely to be received with just a blank stare by people at home talking about bowlers delivering googlies and the player at silly mid-off taking a very sharp catch.

However, times have changed, and the sport now has a very strong following in the UK, directly affecting the amount of money spent betting on many aspects of the game.

Why many Britons now live in the NFL

While NFL games have been featured on TV for quite some time, up until 2007, it remained a distinctly niche-interest sport.

But that was the year when a couple of NFL mid-season games started to be played in the UK. Stadiums that typically hosted soccer matches would be transformed into gridiron pitches where the teams would battle it.

From a relatively modest start, interest gradually increased each season, and now these events are sold out soon after the dates and teams have been announced.

A significant breakthrough came in 2019 with the move of the North London soccer team, Spurs, to their new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, specifically designed to host NFL games annually.

In 2024, it played host to the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets, which saw the Vikings claim victory with a 23-17 scoreline. The other match involved the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New England Patriots playing at the iconic Wembley Stadium. In this game, the Jaguars enjoyed a convincing 32 – 16 win before flying back to home soil for the rest of the regular season.

Already, fans are looking forward to the 2025 games, which, officially announced, will once again feature the Jets and the Jaguars, who the Cleveland Browns will join. For the Jaguars, this will be the 14th year they’ve traveled the Atlantic.

Betting on success

The increasing popularity of American Football in the UK has had some notable effects on the number of people and the amount of money being wagered on the sport. Never before have NFL odds generated much interest in the UK, as the figures from 2023 and 2024 show.

For example, in September 2023, the run-up to the London NFL games saw a 57% rise in the number of NFL-related searches online, which numbered 215,960 on one leading sportsbook’s website. The 2024 figure was slightly lower at 206,000, but this is still double the usual number of betting-related searches in the UK for the NFL in the regular season.

Overall, betting on the NFL in the UK and Ireland shows a steady 65% increase yearly, and the wagers that have been put on have seen an increase of 60%. The total amount of stakes has also risen by 46%. Regarding the London games, this figure rose by 51% between 2023 and 2024.

Britons’ growing familiarity with both the players and the game’s intricacies has also meant that more bets are being placed on outcomes like touchdown scorers and receiving yards achieved.

Putting it all into context

This fondness for betting on the NFL should come as no surprise given the context of the sports betting scene in the UK.

Whereas it has only been legalized in the US since the Supreme Court’s historic 2018 decision, betting on sports is deeply embedded in British culture. It is also one of the world’s most liberal countries regarding the activity that the firm oversees, but it is also governed by the Fair Gambling Commission.

Sports such as horse racing have long relied on betting to finance them, and over the last couple of decades, soccer has also seen a considerable increase in the amount being wagered on it.

Naturally, the arrival of online sportsbooks provided a massive boost to this.

In addition, online betting operators have been heavily involved in sports sponsorship for some time, cementing the sector’s position as being almost as important as the sports themselves.

The Super Bowl boost

Mention must also be made of the effect the annual Super Bowl has on betting in the UK. Even half-hearted fans of the NFL tend to show interest in this. Although the time difference means it starts when most people go to bed, many stay up until the small hours to watch, with bars and clubs staying open to show it.

This year’s game promises to be no different, with the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs among the favorites to carry off the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

And you can bet many Britons will be putting money on them, too.