Drives and downs set the price
American football is played in drives. A side has four downs to gain ten yards, and each set of downs either moves the chains or ends the drive. That structure makes the live price readable: at any snap you can ask how likely this drive is to end in a touchdown, a field goal, a punt or a turnover.
- Side on offense. A stronger offense is more likely to finish a drive with a touchdown and less likely to give the ball away.
- Score. Touchdowns and field goals move the winner price in uneven steps.
- Turnovers. An interception or fumble ends a drive with no points and hands the ball over, a big swing in a close game.
- Clock. Late in the game, the drives left decide how much a trailing side can still recover.
Sportsbooks often price down, distance and field position as well; our engine works at drive level. Within a drive the price drifts with the clock, and at the end of the drive it can change a lot.
How a possession model prices football
For American football our engine uses a possession model. Each drive ends in one of four ways: touchdown, field goal, turnover or punt. Every side has its own chance of each ending, and the game clock decides how many drives are still to come.
Add up the expected points of the current drive and the drives still to come, and you get a distribution of final margins. The winner, next drive and three minute scoring markets all come from that model, so they agree with each other.
One thing makes football special: the score moves in uneven steps of three and seven points, so a field goal and a touchdown change a close game very differently. A side down by four needs a touchdown, and the price knows it. The engine reprices every second and again on every drive result.
Micro-markets on every drive
Football is naturally split into small questions, which makes it a strong sport for micro-markets. Every football game in the engine offers these:
- Result of the next drive: touchdown, field goal or no score.
- Points scored in the next 3 minutes, yes or no.
- Winner of the game.
A next drive market is priced before the drive, locks when the offense takes the ball and settles when the drive ends. The three minute window locks at its start and settles yes at the first touchdown or field goal inside it. Both settle from the incident timeline.
The drive result is the easiest call to follow on a phone while watching, because it lasts a few minutes and ends in a clear result. These are the same windows licensed operators get from our micro betting generator for American football.
| Event | Effect on prices | Market status |
|---|---|---|
| Drive starts | Next drive market for that offense locks | Open for the following drive |
| Punt | Drive market settles no score, possession changes | Open |
| Touchdown or field goal | Score updates, drive market settles | Micro-markets suspended for about ten seconds, then reopened |
| Interception or fumble lost | Drive market settles no score, possession flips | Micro-markets suspended for about ten seconds, then reopened |
| Final minutes | Each drive weighs more, the clock drives the winner price | Short suspension after each score |
When football markets pause
Football has natural gaps between drives, so a next drive market can stay open while the teams change ends and lock the moment the offense takes the ball. The dangerous moments are anything that changes possession or the score.
The engine suspends micro-markets for about ten seconds after a touchdown or field goal, then reprices and reopens. Turnovers get the same treatment, because they hand the ball over without points. Punts end a drive without a pause.
Settlement follows the incident timeline. A next drive market settles when the drive ends, and the three minute window settles when its market resolves, either at the first score or when the window closes.
In the game, calls made before a pause keep their multiplier. You simply see the tile return with a new price.
Call football drives for points
In RealTimeBets Play you call the next drive result, a score in the next three minutes or the winner for points. Choose a tile, back it with points and watch the drive unfold. When the drive ends, the call settles and you win points at the multiplier shown when you called.
Play is a game for adults 18 and older. No money is wagered, points have no cash value and cannot be bought, transferred or exchanged, and there are no prizes.
Games listed here are in the engine now. Right now each one is a replay of fictional teams with a "Replay" tag, and games from the licensed data feed are tagged "Live". We use NFL only as the phrase fans search for and do not claim official league data or any partnership.
A Sunday with a private league turns every drive into a shared moment. Learn how calls, multipliers and leagues work on the prediction game page.
Football odds for licensed operators
For licensed sportsbooks, American football is often the sport with the most in-play handle, and drive-level markets suit it well. The live football odds API carries winner prices over REST and server-sent events streaming push, with the event data feed for score, clock, incidents and lineups. Starter includes settlement webhooks signed with HMAC SHA-256.
Growth adds micro-markets through the API, here the next drive result and points in the next three minutes, and the risk engine with liability per market, a stake cap per customer and a sharp flag that halves limits.
Start with the sandbox key you get at signup. Production keys need a stored licence record (licence number, regulator, country) and a paid plan.